f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Analysis Of Jack London Novels.TXT
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A Analysis Of Jack London Novels
A literary Analysis of Jack London three most recognized works, Sea Wolf; The Call of the Wild; and White Fang. Jack London lived a full life, even though he died at the young age of forty. In his life time he experienced many things, and I believe that these experiences were the catalyst of his novels. Jack London was an oyster pirate, a government patrolman in San Francisco Bay, a sailor and an agrarian reformer, a seal hunter in the North Pacific and a gold prospector in the frozen Klondike, a war correspondent and a prizefighting reporter, a socialist soapbox orator who later became a lecturer at universities, a family man and landowner, and of course a true American writer. A critic by the name of Alfred Kazin once said "that the greatest story London ever wrote was the one he lived."
London had a hard life as a child and as a young man, in spite of this London grew to become one of Americas most popular and highly paid authors ever. He was not a baby boomer. This was not just an American thing, London was known around the world for his great adventure stories, that could be enjoyed by all ages. Londons life was diversified and so were his writings. Today, London is mostly known for his "dog stories", The Call of the Wild and White Fang. In addition to those great works London wrote many other stories and novels, all of which were published in the seventeen years that he wrote professionally. Londons writings vary in quality as well as in subject, his from the cheapest and worst kind of pieces to the beautiful works like The Call of the Wild and Sea Wolf. In this literary analysis the focus will be on Londons more well known and enjoyed works. Londons life defiantly coincides with his writing. Professor Earle Labor attributes London's success as a writer to three different factors: poverty- how London rose from the bottom all the way to the top, wanderlust- the fact that he spent a good portion of his life on the road gave him ample material to write about, and last but not least was, "the omnivorous appetite for reading that gave him his philosophical substance and sense of artistic form."
London was a complex individual whose character was made up of apparent contradictions. He was a declared socialist, but above all, a devout individualist. He believed in the politics and economics of socialism and decried the iniquities Of capitalism, but at the same time set out to succeed within that system. And he did, earning more money than any other writer before him. He appeared to be a well rounded man in all things, but he was plagued by ill health, and he consistently hurt his physical state by exerting himself to the utmost. He helped create a London myth by refraining from denying untrue stories of his superhuman exploits, but yet he strongly believed in being honest to everyone. He was a lover of humanity who wanted and fought for equality and justice for all, at the same time stressed the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race. This mixture in London prefigured the twentieth century with its dramatic inconsistencies, its political and social revolutions, and its great upheavals in world culture. For London broadcast his message of raw life with all its inherent flaws, ecstasies, and miseries at a time when the world was still digesting "Victorian pap", the sentimental stories of drawing room propriety that demanded a rigorous screening of anything unseemly. Jack London cracked the hypothetical bed of that literary world.
"The Call of the Wild and White Fang are two of London's best and most popular works" says Paul Horowitz . In both of these stories he stressed the fact that human and dog relationships. He probably started the common phrase "mans best friend". The Call of the Wild met with instantaneous success upon its publication and soon won for its author international fame. Today both works are in constant demand throughout the world by people of all ages. London set out to write a companion piece to an earlier story, Bitard. Bitard had represented the personification of absolute evil in a dog and with the goal of redeeming the species. This story wasn't complete so London began The Call of the Wild. He later said that the writing it' got away from me ... before I could call a halt." In the end, a masterpiece was created. The inspired quality of its language, which reads like a in depth poem, and its pulsing drive give the work a such a great twist.
On the surface, it is the adventure story of a dog, Buck, who is forcibly taken from an easy life in sunny California to the frozen North. He is put to work pulling sleds, Buck fights with self determination and finally " Buck took up the duties of leadership"( p. 40). He over comes the lead dog named Spitz in order to become the lead dog, but once Buck earns this position he leads a good sled team that is not ready for the new owners. The new team is sold to some new people who are not ready for the hardships of the Klondike, and they eventually starve to death. All of the dogs on the team die, except for Buck. Buck was rescued by a well known gold prospector by the name of John Thornton. Buck falls in love with John and will not leave his side. The one time Buck hears " The sounding of the call" (p. 63) and he leaves the camp of John Thornton to be with the wolves. When Buck returns to camp he finds John Thornton dead because of Indians. Eventually, he responds to a higher call and escapes to the wild and leads the wolf pack. The story, though, has meaning on psychological levels. Primarily, it is a metaphors about a human relating the journey of the hero as he passes through the trials of initiation and the stages of transformation into a higher nature, until finally there is greatness in both the dog as a whole and in his creation.
Following the success of The Call of the Wild, London decided to write a complementary work-the story of a dog taken out of the wild to become part of civilization. Thus, White Fang was created. White Fang is about wolf who's mother goes into a tribe of Indians because food is scarce. The cub ( White Fang) is taken in by a tribe but at the same time rejected by his mother. This is the first step in his hard upbringing. He is not friend to all of the other Indian dogs and even the Indians. He leaves camp with his master. He is sold to a new owner. This new owner is mean to the dog and does not let him live a desired life. This new owner makes white fang a fighting dog. The wolf is the champ of the region until he fights a small bull dog. "White Fang tore wildly around, trying to shake off the bulldog's body" (p. 167)He almost dies but the fight is broken up and white fang is rescued by a good man by the name of Weedon Scott. White Fang loves his new master and this is the first time he has experienced love for anything. Scott eventually has to go home to California and is about to leave White Fang. "White Fang was howling as dogs howl when their masters lie dead" (p. 186) White Fang did not want this to happen so he ran as fast as possible to the ferry and just made it. Scott goes back to California and White Fang lives there happily ever after. White Fang, however, lacked the depth of the former book, and, though well written and a wonderful novel in itself, was unable to have more than one level to its subject. It remains more a fable built upon ideas rather than an overwhelming vision of life as a whole. White Fang, representing the tried-and-true dog who was rescued by the love of civilized man, serves better as the complement or opposite to Bitard, the abysmal brute and outcast of civilization.
A major theme in both The Call of the Wild and White Fang- that appears throughout the author's writings is that of wild, essential natures pitted against civilization or cultivation. It is through this struggle that some find strengths they had not realized they possessed, others fall to forces greater than they; still others are unable to face the struggle at all. Buck, in The Call of the Wild, responds to his essential nature calling to him through all the acquired layers of civilized habit. For Buck, hesitation of crossing the thin line between the two sides is unnecessary because he turns away from civilization and determines to live in his primordial beast state. White Fang, on the other hand, is required to learn the habits of a civilized life, which means giving up his primordial nature to the laws of civilization. London faced this struggle himself in everything he did: "Life is strife, and I am prepared for that strife. If I had not been an animal with a logical nature, I would have stagnated or perished by the wayside." Probably the most well known body of London's work is his saga of the Klondike: of the white men who were there before the gold rush, of the chechaquos (the tenderfeet) who arrived at the time of the gold rush, and of the native Indian tribes who had been there since time immemorial and who would remain there long after the white men. They are the stories that brought attention to Jack London throughout the entire world. London spent less than a year in the North; in fact, he spent no more than two seasons in the specific region known as the Klondike. However, he has written, "It was in the Klondike I found myself. There nobody talks. Everybody thinks. You get your true perspective. I got mine." Many of these tales he heard from the old-timers who would open up to him in the bars at Dawson and other cities. The tales have their origins in fact, about facts that were already exaggerated by those North landers who were known for "their inability to tell the precise truth," but the finished product was always uniquely London.
While others have written tales of that area, no one but Jack London has written of it with such force and eloquence. If there is one element that London mastered best here, it is the sense of atmosphere. A vivid picture is presented of the North land, of the "white silence" where "all movement ceases, the sky clears, the heavens are as brass; the slightest whisper seems sacrilege, and man becomes timid, affrighted at the sound of his own voice." But not only that, London conjures up the sense of a brooding that envelopes the character, plot, and setting. One doesn't just read it; one breathes it, feels. it-lives it! Many consider The Sea-Wolf to be among the best sea stories ever written, for it is a moving and epic tale, much of which is London at his best. Not only did it achieve great literary success, but it also was effectively realized in several cinematic versions. The story ranks in the great tradition of one of London's literary influences, Herman Melville. Drawing upon his experiences seal hunting in the North Pacific, he created a story with a lot of realism. He put himself and his contradictory nature into the two opposing characters, Wolf Larsen, the ruthless and rugged individualist, the superman, and Humphrey van Weyden, the highly cultivated and virtuous gentleman. It is in the slash of these two forces that London gives vent to his innermost struggles: idealism versus materialism, conscience versus instinct. The novel's drama proceeds to a resolution of this elemental conflict through van Weyden's struggle to( fulfillment and mastery of life's forces and Larsen's ultimate deterioration. Ironically, the majority of the critics and the public misunderstood the work, thinking it a glorification of the superhuman and individualism, and London later wrote, ". . . I attacked Nietzsche and his super-man idea ... no one discovered that it was an attack upon the super-man philosophy. " Although London failed in reaching his purpose of striking gold in the Klondike during the gold rush of 1897-98, he certainly did strike a vein that not only enriched him during his lifetime but continues to enrich the world today. In the twentieth century, London's writings have had fluctuating fortunes: in the years following London's death in 1916, his popularity diminished some what, though his titles continued to sell. However, by 1936, London was dismissed critically and academically. One critic stated that "it is almost certain that his vogue is passing." Finally, beginning in the 1960's, there was a new reassessment and revival of London's works, as several studies, biographies, and reprints of many of his stories were published. It is true that London's writings have many shortcomings, and the weaknesses are not hidden. Some of his characters seem one-dimensional, especially the women; many of the men seem unbelievably heroic. His image of love and sex was romantic and sentimental. A master of the episode--the basis for his short stories-London could rarely integrate his longer works successfully. He felt that a higher purpose of his writing was as a vehicle for the expression of his political and social ideas; yet, in most cases, where the message predominated over the art, it tended to spoil the effect of his literary work. Incredible as it may seem, London felt that he lacked imagination, and one of his major fears was that he would run out of ideas. He found his plots and ideas by reading newspapers, by talking to people who related incidents in their lives, and by modifying plots taken from the huge storehouse of books he had read. Later in life, he actually bought story ideas from a fellow socialist, Sinclair Lewis, then a young reporter fresh out of college. London even managed to "borrow" from his greatest literary influence, Rudyard Kipling. Early in his career, London admitted: "There is no end of Kipling in my work, I have even quoted him. I would never possibly have written anywhere near the way I did had Kipling never been." He was even called the "Kipling of the North," but London outdid his master by the sheer mythic power and vision of his tales. And the works of London endure, some having become popular classics. His literary accomplishments outshine his faults and the criticisms leveled at his work. As the eminent London scholar Professor Labor states: ". . . even his worst work is readable. If he is sometimes clumsy, he is seldom dull. He is capable of moments of lyric intensity. He possesses, moreover, an exceptional feeling for iron. " Above everything else, London captured a universal force in his writing-a sense of life's ultimate mystery- which holds the reader spellbound. Because these stories are reprinted from many different sources-some from the anthologies compiled by London, there are inconsistencies and occasional archaisms in spelling, terminology, and punctuation. Ironically, London wished to be remembered for his works of philosophical, sociological, and political importance, which he considered superior to his works of literary merit or "for children". This opinion was shared by a few early critics, one of whom went so far as to say that London would "take his place in the encyclopedias as a philosopher and a propagandist rather than as a literary artist." Yet it has been his literary achievements that have exerted influence, largely unacknowledged, on the generations of writers who succeeded him. This influence can be seen in the works of Robert Service, Ring Lardner, Hemingway, Steinbeek, Kerouac, and Mailer. Today, Jack London is celebrated for his great contribution to literature, and rightly so. It is believed that London was the best American writer on his given topic (the struggle through life). London had a charm that brought the reader to enjoy the region of focus. He intertwined the story of the uncharted Klondike with the story of life and how he lived it. Weather through the story of a dog or a man London knew what life was all about even though he lived a relatively short life. One of his great theories was "Eat or be Eaten", or "Do or Die." London also believed in the statement from Darwin called survival of the fittest as is seen in Sea Wolf.
I will leave you with this thought from the master Jack London himself, "It is so much easier to live placidly and complacently. Of course, to live placidly and complacently is to not live at all . . ."
Bibliography
1. London, Jack: The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and other stories. edited by Andrew Sinclair, New York N.Y. : Penguin Books, 1981
2. London, Jack: The Call of the Wild, White Fang, Sea Wolf, and forty short stories. edited by Paul J. Horowitz, New York N.Y.: Portland House, 1998
3. Stone, Irving: Sailor on horseback, Gardencity, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977 4. Walker, Dale: Jack London and Conan Doyle: a literary kinship, Bloomingdale In.: Gaslight Publications, 1989
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Biography of Charles Dickens again.TXT
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        There is something about Charles Dickens' imaginative power that defies explanation in purely biographical terms. Nevertheless, his biography shows the source of that power and is the best place to begin to define it.
	The second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens, Charles was born on February 7, 1812, near Portsmouth on England's south coast. At that time John Dickens was stationed in Portsmouth as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. The family was of lower-middle-class origins, John having come from servants and Elizabeth from minor bureaucrats. Dickens' father was vivacious and generous but had an unfortunate tendency to live beyond his means. his mother was affectionate and rather inept in practical matters. Dickens later used his father as the basis for Mr. Micawber and portrayed is mother as Mrs. Nickleby in A Tale of Two Cities.
        After a transfer to London in 1814, the family moved to Chatham, near Rochester, three years later. Dickens was about five at the time, and for the next five years his life was pleasant. Taught to read by his mother, he devoured his fathers' small collection of classics, which included Shakespeare, Cervantes, Defoe, Smollet, Fielding, and Goldsmith. These left a permanent mark on his imagination; their effect on his art was quite important. dickens also went to some performances of Shakespeare and formed a lifelong attachment to the theater. He attended school during this period and showed himself to be a rather solitary, observant, good-natured child with some talent for comic routines, which his father encouraged. In retrospect Dickens looked upon these years as a kind of golden age. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, is in part an attempt to recreate their idyllic nature: it rejoices in innocence and the youthful spirit, and its happiest scenes take place in that precise geographical area.
	In the light of the family's move back to London, where financial difficulties overtook the Dickens's, the time in Chatham must have seemed glorious indeed. The family moved into the shabby suburb of Camden Town, and Dickens was taken out of school and set to menial jobs about the household. In time, to help augment the family income, Dickens was given a job in a blacking factory among rough companions. At the time his father was imprisoned for debt, but was released three months later by a small legacy. Dickens related to his friend, John Forster, long afterward, that he felt a deep sense of abandonment at this time; the major themes of his novels can be traced to this period. His sympathy for the victimized, his fascination with prisons and money, the desire to vindicate his heroes' status as gentlemen, and the idea of London as an awesome, lively, and rather threatening environment all reflect these experiences. No doubt this temporary collapse of his parents' ability to protect him made a vivid expression
 on him. Out on his own for a time at twelve years of age, Dickens acquired a lasting self-reliance, a driving ambition, and a boundless energy that went into everything he did.
	At thirteen Dickens went back to school for two years and then took a job in a lawyers office. Dissatisfied with the work, he learned shorthand and became a freelance court reporter in 1828. The job was seasonal and allowed him to do a good deal of reading in the British Museum. At the age of twenty he became a full-fledged journalist, working for three papers in succession. In the next four or five years he acquired the reputation of being the fastest and most accurate parliamentary reporter in London. The value of this period was that Dickens gained a sound, firsthand knowledge of London and the provinces.
	Dickens was very active physically. He loved taking long walks, riding horses, making journeys, entertaining friends, dining well, playing practical jokes. He enjoyed games of charades with his family, was an excellent amateur magician, and practiced hypnotism. One tends to share Shaw's opinion that Dickens, in his social life, was always on stage. He was like an eternal Master of Ceremonies, for the most part: flamboyant, observant, quick, dynamic, full of zest. Yet he was also restless, subject to fits of depression, and hot tempered, so that at times he must have been nearly intolerable to live with, however agreeable he was as a companion. 
	In view of his very strenuous life it was not surprising that he died at fifty-eight from a stroke. At his death on June 9, 1870, Dickens was wealthy, immensely popular, and the best novelist the Victorian age produced. He was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey, and people mourned his death the world over.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Biography of Charles Dickens.TXT
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        There is something about Charles Dickens' imaginative power that defies explanation in purely biographical terms. Nevertheless, his biography shows the source of that power and is the best place to begin to define it.
	The second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens, Charles was born on February 7, 1812, near Portsmouth on England's south coast. At that time John Dickens was stationed in Portsmouth as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. The family was of lower-middle-class origins, John having come from servants and Elizabeth from minor bureaucrats. Dickens' father was vivacious and generous but had an unfortunate tendency to live beyond his means. his mother was affectionate and rather inept in practical matters. Dickens later used his father as the basis for Mr. Micawber and portrayed is mother as Mrs. Nickleby in A Tale of Two Cities.
        After a transfer to London in 1814, the family moved to Chatham, near Rochester, three years later. Dickens was about five at the time, and for the next five years his life was pleasant. Taught to read by his mother, he devoured his fathers' small collection of classics, which included Shakespeare, Cervantes, Defoe, Smollet, Fielding, and Goldsmith. These left a permanent mark on his imagination; their effect on his art was quite important. dickens also went to some performances of Shakespeare and formed a lifelong attachment to the theater. He attended school during this period and showed himself to be a rather solitary, observant, good-natured child with some talent for comic routines, which his father encouraged. In retrospect Dickens looked upon these years as a kind of golden age. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, is in part an attempt to recreate their idyllic nature: it rejoices in innocence and the youthful spirit, and its happiest scenes take place in that precise geographical area.
	In the light of the family's move back to London, where financial difficulties overtook the Dickens's, the time in Chatham must have seemed glorious indeed. The family moved into the shabby suburb of Camden Town, and Dickens was taken out of school and set to menial jobs about the household. In time, to help augment the family income, Dickens was given a job in a blacking factory among rough companions. At the time his father was imprisoned for debt, but was released three months later by a small legacy. Dickens related to his friend, John Forster, long afterward, that he felt a deep sense of abandonment at this time; the major themes of his novels can be traced to this period. His sympathy for the victimized, his fascination with prisons and money, the desire to vindicate his heroes' status as gentlemen, and the idea of London as an awesome, lively, and rather threatening environment all reflect these experiences. No doubt this temporary collapse of his parents' ability to protect him made a vivid expression
 on him. Out on his own for a time at twelve years of age, Dickens acquired a lasting self-reliance, a driving ambition, and a boundless energy that went into everything he did.
	At thirteen Dickens went back to school for two years and then took a job in a lawyers office. Dissatisfied with the work, he learned shorthand and became a freelance court reporter in 1828. The job was seasonal and allowed him to do a good deal of reading in the British Museum. At the age of twenty he became a full-fledged journalist, working for three papers in succession. In the next four or five years he acquired the reputation of being the fastest and most accurate parliamentary reporter in London. The value of this period was that Dickens gained a sound, firsthand knowledge of London and the provinces.
	Dickens was very active physically. He loved taking long walks, riding horses, making journeys, entertaining friends, dining well, playing practical jokes. He enjoyed games of charades with his family, was an excellent amateur magician, and practiced hypnotism. One tends to share Shaw's opinion that Dickens, in his social life, was always on stage. He was like an eternal Master of Ceremonies, for the most part: flamboyant, observant, quick, dynamic, full of zest. Yet he was also restless, subject to fits of depression, and hot tempered, so that at times he must have been nearly intolerable to live with, however agreeable he was as a companion. 
	In view of his very strenuous life it was not surprising that he died at fifty-eight from a stroke. At his death on June 9, 1870, Dickens was wealthy, immensely popular, and the best novelist the Victorian age produced. He was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey, and people mourned his death the world over.
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Character Sketch of Joe Gargary.TXT
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	Joe Gargery might not be the smartest or wisest of
Dickens' characters, but he is definitely one of the kindest
and most humane.  Although Miss Havisham gets much
attention for being different, I think that you will soon be
convinced that Joe, however simple he may be, is definitely
a unique character.  It is my opinion that Dickens made an
effort to raise the readers respect for Joe by the sharp
contrast between him and his wife.  Three qualities
belonging to Joe are his affectionate nature, pride, and his
perseverance.
	When Joe asks Mrs. Gargery to marry him, he
especially insists that she bring her young orphaned
brother, Pip, to live with them.  Joe never reminds Pip of
this fact, except when telling Pip how much he thinks of
him.  Mrs. Gargery, on the other hand, is constantly
reminding Pip to be thankful of her "raising him by hand". 
At one point, Pip decides he will teach Joe to read. 
Although Joe has no real aspiration for this, he humors Pip
and lets the boy instruct him.  As mentioned before, Mrs.
Gargery is a very cruel person.  One would think living
with her would drive even a saint to kill.  Even so, Joe
never says a harsh word about his wife and treats her with
the utmost respect.  Pip's decision to go to London has a
greater impact than most readers think.  Not only was Joe
losing a set of hands around the forge, but he was also
saying farewell to a boy who must have been  like a son to
him.  Joe knew that once Pip left they would never have the
same relationship.  It was clear to Joe that this was Pip's
dream, so not once did he question the decision Pip had
made. 
	When Pip is asked to come to Miss Havisham's and
"play", Mrs. Gargery and Pumblechook are driven crazy
wondering what gift she will give Pip for his service.  Joe,
on the other hand, pays no attention to their high hopes.  
His pride is also evident when he turns down the money
Jaggers offers him for Pip's indentures.  It is not that Joe
couldn't use the money, after all he is losing Pip's help in
the forge and his wife is bedridden.  
	Joe proves to be a man of great perseverance.  He
manages to run a smithy, be married to a wife with a
temper that makes a rabid dog seem tame, and be a father
and friend to Pip.  To have the responsibility of any one of
these would be enough to put a great deal of stress on any
individual, much less all three.
	I think that Dickens might have used Joe in connection
with Biddy to represent the opposite of  Miss Havisham
and Estella.  Whatever the case, I feel that Joe exhibits the
three qualities mentioned and many other gratifying ones. 
Be it today or a century ago, I believe that Joe Gargery is a
unique character because of his philanthropic ways.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Christmas Carol again.TXT
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	A Christmas Carol, although occurring at a different time period than today, still holds values and lessons that are important in society today.  The main character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, starts off having no feelings for others or any Christmas spirit, but changes from his gloomy, dark appearance to a carefree, child-like persona at the end.  Dickens shows in A Christmas Carol that personal greed will lead to peril, while kindness and generosity lead to personal happiness.
	One of Dickens social concerns was the lack of sympathy or feelings that people have toward other people.  In the story,  Scrooge had no feelings toward his family or friends and held a strictly professional relationship with them, creating a hostile bond between them.  For example, Bob Cratchit's wife does not like the idea have toasting to Scrooge because of the way he treats his long time employee.  Also, Scrooge is looked down upon by the charity collectors because he simply states that they should die to accommodate the others who need it.  Secondly, society has a negative view on Scrooge because of his attitudes and shows no feelings or compassion for Scrooge in the future.  For example, the thieves are able to steal Scrooge's possessions because no body cares about Scrooge or his things.  Also, the businessmen that Scrooge does business with regularly show no feelings about his death and go to his funeral simply for food.  Dicken's shows a way to resolve the problem by simply treating others how you wa
nt them to treat you.   At the end Scrooge's attitude changes and changes in how society will treat him are shown to be inevitable.  
	Another social concern is the priority of family over money and personal gains.  Money proves to be the golden idol that is worshipped by the people in the Christmas Carol, but also proves to destroy lives.   For example, Scrooge gives up a chance at having a loving family when he chooses money over his girlfriend Belle, who turns out to have a happy family with another loving husband.  Also, Scrooge's old business partner, Marley, put his life to waste because of money and suffers pain in his afterlife which could have been easily avoided.  A Christmas Carol also shows that people can be happy without money, just as long as the love is genuine.  For example, Scrooge's nephew married happily not to a wealthy lady, but a middle class ordinary woman and are happy together.   Also Bob Cratchit's family, despite poverty and lack of food, still have a loving environment that keeps the family together and happy.  Dickens shows that simply sacrificing for friends and family can bring happiness and joy.  Scrooge doub
les Bob Cratchit's salary while showing his appreciation and visits his nephew resulting in a stronger bond that money can not buy..
	Another social concern that Dicken's portrays in A Christmas Carol is that people do not know the true meaning of Christmas;  Scrooge throughout the story is given opportunities to display Christmas acts but requires the assistance of the three spirits.  First, he was invited to dinner at his nephews, but he bluntly refused calling Christmas a humbug.  Family is the most important part of Christmas and should always take priority.  Scrooge already failed at an attempt at family and had a chance to make amends with his sister's son.  Secondly, Scrooge also refused to donate any money that he hoards to the needy when the charity collectors come to collect.  Even though Scrooge has more than enough to generously donate and spread around , he refuses to donate saying that he pays enough in taxes.  Christmas should be a time of generosity and a time to help those who are not as fortunate.  In the story Scrooge realizes his lack of compassion and donates generously and takes up his nephews offer.
	Dicken's A Christmas Carol shows universal themes that society should learn to live by everyday and not just holidays or special occasions.  Scrooge learns these lessons with the visit of three spirits and a journey into his painful past and future so he could see his attitude toward people and societies attitude towards him; this allows him to change and create a new path for himself other than the one set out.  A Christmas Carol makes readers aware of their personal attitudes and presents a way to change for the better.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Christmas Carol.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
	A Christmas Carol, although occurring at a different time period than today, still holds values and lessons that are important in society today.  The main character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, starts off having no feelings for others or any Christmas spirit, but changes from his gloomy, dark appearance to a carefree, child-like persona at the end.  Dickens shows in A Christmas Carol that personal greed will lead to peril, while kindness and generosity lead to personal happiness.
	One of Dickens social concerns was the lack of sympathy or feelings that people have toward other people.  In the story,  Scrooge had no feelings toward his family or friends and held a strictly professional relationship with them, creating a hostile bond between them.  For example, Bob Cratchit's wife does not like the idea have toasting to Scrooge because of the way he treats his long time employee.  Also, Scrooge is looked down upon by the charity collectors because he simply states that they should die to accommodate the others who need it.  Secondly, society has a negative view on Scrooge because of his attitudes and shows no feelings or compassion for Scrooge in the future.  For example, the thieves are able to steal Scrooge's possessions because no body cares about Scrooge or his things.  Also, the businessmen that Scrooge does business with regularly show no feelings about his death and go to his funeral simply for food.  Dicken's shows a way to resolve the problem by simply treating others how you wa
nt them to treat you.   At the end Scrooge's attitude changes and changes in how society will treat him are shown to be inevitable.  
	Another social concern is the priority of family over money and personal gains.  Money proves to be the golden idol that is worshipped by the people in the Christmas Carol, but also proves to destroy lives.   For example, Scrooge gives up a chance at having a loving family when he chooses money over his girlfriend Belle, who turns out to have a happy family with another loving husband.  Also, Scrooge's old business partner, Marley, put his life to waste because of money and suffers pain in his afterlife which could have been easily avoided.  A Christmas Carol also shows that people can be happy without money, just as long as the love is genuine.  For example, Scrooge's nephew married happily not to a wealthy lady, but a middle class ordinary woman and are happy together.   Also Bob Cratchit's family, despite poverty and lack of food, still have a loving environment that keeps the family together and happy.  Dickens shows that simply sacrificing for friends and family can bring happiness and joy.  Scrooge doub
les Bob Cratchit's salary while showing his appreciation and visits his nephew resulting in a stronger bond that money can not buy..
	Another social concern that Dicken's portrays in A Christmas Carol is that people do not know the true meaning of Christmas;  Scrooge throughout the story is given opportunities to display Christmas acts but requires the assistance of the three spirits.  First, he was invited to dinner at his nephews, but he bluntly refused calling Christmas a humbug.  Family is the most important part of Christmas and should always take priority.  Scrooge already failed at an attempt at family and had a chance to make amends with his sister's son.  Secondly, Scrooge also refused to donate any money that he hoards to the needy when the charity collectors come to collect.  Even though Scrooge has more than enough to generously donate and spread around , he refuses to donate saying that he pays enough in taxes.  Christmas should be a time of generosity and a time to help those who are not as fortunate.  In the story Scrooge realizes his lack of compassion and donates generously and takes up his nephews offer.
	Dicken's A Christmas Carol shows universal themes that society should learn to live by everyday and not just holidays or special occasions.  Scrooge learns these lessons with the visit of three spirits and a journey into his painful past and future so he could see his attitude toward people and societies attitude towards him; this allows him to change and create a new path for himself other than the one set out.  A Christmas Carol makes readers aware of their personal attitudes and presents a way to change for the better.
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Cry in the Night.TXT
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A Cry in the Night 
Setting: The story starts in New York City, most likely present day. Then as the story goes on it moves to minnesota out to Erich's farm. It is winter in Minnesota and very cold. Characters: Jenny is the main character of the story. She is a divorced mother of two. She is young and pretty. She works at an art museum in New York City to support herself and her two little girls. She is kind and sweet and has a brilliant sense of humor. Erich is an artist. He's mysterious and curious. His actions speak louder then most words because he tends to be quiet during the story. On the outside he seems like the most perfect man. The type that every woman hopes of meeting and falling in love with. But on the inside he holds dark secrets of his past and a twisted, hateful mind. Kevin is Jenny's ex-husband. He's a struggling actor with a great sense of humor. He tends to be a little selfish, but always tries to put everything on the good side of the hill. He cares about Jenny and his children even if it seems like he doesn't. Clyde is the old man who works on Erich's farm. He basically runs the place and had been around ever since Erich was in diapers. He worked with Erich's father to make his farm the most respected and well known in the county. Rooney is Clyde's wife. She used to be great friends with Erich's mother. She turns to Jen to give her a friend and some confidence. Everyone around the farm thinks that Rooney is crazy and doesn't know what she is doing. She's smart and a good cook, and loves to help. Mark is Erich's best friend from childhood. He is a doctor and helps out Erich whenver needed. When Erich starts to get weird, Jen turns to Mark for help and friendship. Mark is a helpful man who cares deeply for others. In the story it seems like he's falling for Jen. Tina and Beth are Jen's little girls. They are both young and influential. Summary: She had been struggling ever since her and Kevin had broken up, Jen thought to herself one night as she was rushing out of work to go pick up Tina and Beth. Life had just gotten out of hand for her after the divorce. Money seemed like it was everything. But she was still happy. She knew she'd pick up her children go home and make them dinner and feel all cozy in their little apartment. That was what she was really looking forward to for the night. Jen knew that the next day would be very big and important. All her boss told her was that a special unknown, yet very talented, artist would be coming to the gallery and that she would be the one to introduce him and his work the the art sellers and buyers. What Jen did not know, was that this man was named Erich Kruegar, and was soon to be her future husband. Walking into work the next morning was nerve wracking to her. Not only because she was meeting this "infamous" artist, but also because she had to worry about the children's new day care center. Worrying wasn't an abnormal thing in her schedule though, she always had something on her mind other then herself. She knew Kevin would be showing up that night because it was pay day. He always showed up on pay day. He'd say to her something along the lines of, "But Jen, I'm a struggling actor? You don't want me to starve do you? I promise I'll pay you back Jen, I swear!" He'd never pay her back she thought to herself as she walked into the gallery. Mr. Hartely, the owner of the gallery, rushed Jen through the door and gave her some paperwork. Erich would be there soon he had told her. He also made clear to her his plans with Erich and where he would be and at what times. It was her job to arrange the artwork to a precise order that was given to them by Erich. Jen stared in awe at Erich's work. He's great she thought to herself as Mr. Hartely walked out the door. Day dreaming about the man on the front of the pamphlet she found herself thinking of what type of life this handsome man led, if he was married. All of a sudden, she felt something behind her. She had bumped into Erich Kruegar. He must have let himself in without Jen hearing him. He was early she thought. Staring caught herself staring at him, he is gorgeous she thought to herself with a smile. Making polite conversation they hit it off. Erich was considerate, intelligent, and clean cut. Erich had insisted on taking her out for lunch. Knowing this will completely throw her bosses schedule haywire, she hesitantly agreed. They immediately hit it off. She felt like he really cared as he stared at her every movement. After lunch they bought coffee and walked back to the gallery. Meeting her boss at the door she knew she was in for it. Erich quickly introduced himself and took full credit for them being late. Mr. Hartely nodded and opened the door to the gallery. The customers would be there soon and then the gallery would be full, loud, and full of life. After the showing of the artwork, Erich insisted on walking Jen to the day care to pick up her children then to take them out for supper. Him being very financially secure, took it upon himself to invite Jen everywhere. Jen felt uncomfortable at first about all the money he had been spending on her. But when he insisted that he didn't mind and that it was all his pleasure to do so. She gave in. After about a month Erich brought up and important issue, marriage. The thought of such commitment scared Jen to death. Thinking about what had happened to her last marriage she was very hesitant upon answering. But after thinking it through she figured it would be the best thing to do. It would take her children out of this environment and it would make her happy. Because Erich made her happy. Kevin had shown up one night when Erich was over visiting Jen and the kids. Erich stood amazed as Jen handed Kevin over some money. While Kevin was there Jen had explained to him what was going on between her and Erich. Kevin didn't think it was such a hot idea, but he took it as a sign of her moving on and he knew there was nothing he could do about it, so he left. Erich was enraged that Jen gave Kevin money for no reason, even when Kevin didn't pay any type of child support or anything. But then he thought, well soon we will be gone and I will take her away from all of this, and that is what he did. After the Wedding they moved on up to Minnesota. This is where all of the fun began. They did not have a honeymoon because they didn't want to leave the kids at such a young age with people they did not know. Erich had also told the town that Jen was a widow and not a divorced woman. And the emptiness of the farm also seemed just a little bit fishy to her. But she just figured it was nothing and thought about all the good things. She noticed slight changes in Erich's behavior. He was very obsessed over his deceased mother, and he had ill memories of his father. He cried in his sleep and wandered secretly around the house. Jen didn't know what to do, so she just tried to ignore it. But when scary things started happening to her, she started to worry. Erich would leave in the morning and go out to his little cabin in the woods. No- one besides him was aloud there, and nobody but him and his mother had ever been there. He told Jen it was his special place to be at peace and where he felt he could work his best. Jen understood this, thinking nothing really of it. Until, Erich started to leave for days at a time. This really worried Jen, she also missed her husband. They had only been married such a short while, she just could not understand why all of this stuff was happening. When she went on a walk one day she stumbled upon something. It was a graveyard. It was the Kruegar Family Graveyard. Opening the fence she entered the little space and looked around. She scanned all the gravestones, but none shown up with the name "Caroline Bonardi". Caroline was Erich's mothers name. Then deep in the corner, under a big tree was a stone. Jen slowly walked across to look at the stone as she peered down a hand on her shoulder startled her. She turned around to find Erich standing behind her. His face looked stern and he looked upset. She looked at him innocently and his face calmed he told her of his mother, her accident, and why she was buried in the far corner. Jen thought about everything he said, and asked herself, why doesn't this all work out? Weeks passed and she had become quite close Clydes wife. Clyde was the man who ran the farm while Erich was away. Rooney was Clyde's wifes name. She was a simple woman, who was made out to be crazy and looney. Which she was not. Jen knew this right away, just after spending some time with her. Rooney told Jen a lot of things Erich had left out. How when Erich was young, he was really very attached to his mother. He never wanted Caroline out of his sight. Jen never let on that she knew any of this stuff when Erich was around. But then really strange things began to happen. One was when Kevin turned up dead. The police had stopped by to talk to Jen about Kevin's death. He was found in a nearby river his car had been run off the bank and into the rapid icy water. In the car was Jen's jacket, so the police were led to believe that Jen had something to do with the accident. But truth was, Jen didn't even know that Kevin had been up and around Minnesota at the time. Jen was confused. Soon enough everyone thought she was a crazy confused woman, they thought she was dangerous because she lied. Jen felt like there wasn't a care in the world, but then Mark showed up. Mark believed that Jen was telling the truth. He was on her side. Together they tried to figure everything out. Then one day. Jen came home to find that Erich had taken Tina and Beth away. He called later that night saying he wouldn't be back. He made her feel guilty by saying things such like telling her that she promised that she'd never leave him, and that she said they'd be together forever. Jen was stressed beyond belief, how in the world did he find out about her trying to leave. She then knew that the only thing she could do was find that cabin out in the woods. She set out, day after day, not knowing where and when she would find it, and then one day, she stumbled upon it. She broke into the cabin by breaking a window and unlocking the door. Upon entering she felt this cold chill go right through her. She looked around, amazed. Art work lined the walls. But it wasn't Erich's artwork. It was not his scribbled signature. It was one of a woman named Caroline Bonardi. Looking around Jen stood in a maze of art supplies. She just couldn't understand. What did Erich do with all the time he spend here, if all he did was copy over the signature of his mother. So she looked around. She found a closet, or what appeared to be a closet. She opened to the door and to her horror, on an easel, was a picture of her, her 2 children, dead. It was a brutal picture. She was scared, this was Erich's work. Taking the painting under her arm, she ran. As soon as she got back to the house, she called for Mark. Mark arrived at the house no more then 10 minutes later. In horror she showed the picture to Mark. All of a sudden there was a knocking at the door. Who could that be? They quickly shoved the painting into the closet, and opened the door. There stood the sheriff. He looked at Jen and said, "We need to speak with Erich, where is he?" Jen told him that he had gone a little vacation with the children and should be back soon. The sheriff nodded and then said to her, "Your husband is a fraud, those were his mothers paintings, not his," and then he left. Jen couldn't take it anymore she turned to Mark, and started to sob. It was Erich's 35th birthday on that next day. It was nearly 20 years ago that Caroline had died. Sad enough that she had died on his birthday. It tore him up. Then it hit her, she realized what she had to do in order to get Erich to come back. Ever since Erich was a little boy he had never left the farm on his birthday. Jen had always resembled Caroline. That is why Erich had picked her. It had taken her this long to realize this. She knew what she had to do. In order to get her children back and to help Erich, she had to pretend to be Caroline. There was a picture of Caroline that Erich had treasured. Jen found some clothes that were basically identical to those Caroline was wearing in the picture, she put them on, and went outside to sit in Caroline's chair. Mark was sitting inside waiting. Then all of a sudden came Erich running, he was dressed just the same as Jen, just like Caroline was in the picture. He had a gun. Mark had called the sheriff to come down. Mark ran outside in fear that Erich would shoot at Jen. Jen was just as scared and then, "BOOM". Erich was dead. Jen had began to cry. Mark had put his arms around Jen and hugged her. Everyone had come running. The sheriff arrived. Erich's body was taken away. But where were her children. Erich had whispered that he had been staying 6 hours north of there and that the children were alone. But now Erich was gone, and they didn't even know where to start. Jen was going crazy. Her little babies were alone, in the cold. They would freeze to death. Mark recalled a house that Erich had owned, it was the first place they checked. He was right. And then it seemed to come to an end. Jen couldn't go back to New York, she had no life there, and yet, she had no life in Erich's house either. Mark had told her that he had a little house on a lake that he rented out. Jen took it. There she lived and raised her children. Traumatized for life she would stay, but she at least knew that all her troubles were over, and she'd always have a friend when she needed one, and that was Mark. Conclusion: This book was really good. A page turner at any rate. I loved it. It was full of suspense and mystery. I kept asking myself, "What's going to happen next?" I just could not put it down. The book told a good story though. It taught about lies, deceit, cheating. That's life, right? It seemed like the story was real. As much as we all know it was not. It could have been. And it could have happened to anyone
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Doll House.TXT
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A Doll House
Translation Trouble
In the play "A Doll House" the main character, Nora, is in a situation where she is caused to act, emotionally and physically, as a doll to please her husband. Nora has to be very sneaky and conniving in order to be perfect and talked down to by her husband. The translation of this play from Norwegian was a little difficult. The title can either be translated as "A Doll House" or as "A Doll's House". Many people believe either title fits the theme of the play.
I believe that the title "A Doll's House" may fit because it is Nora being a doll in order to please her husband Torvald. Torvald sees her as his toy, not as a human equal to himself. Torvald gives his wife pet names such as "spend thrift" and "squander bird". This shows just how controlling he really is. Nora just plays along, keeping secrets from Torvald in order to please him at any expense. This was a very common situation during the era whom this play was produced. Nora is smart and capable of a lot more but she lets herself be held back in order to be the perfect wife for Torvald.
The title "A Doll House" would not fit the play because this states that everyone in the house is a doll. However, Nora is the only character truly pretending to be what they are not. This title would work if everyone was trying to give off an image that wasn't true, such as Nora did. If Nora is a doll then all the other characters would be the humans playing with her, causing her to do extra ordinary tasks such as forgery and lying. The best title is definitely "A Doll's House" because Nora is the only character acting in a different manner in order to please her power hungry husband, Torvald. Even if she was conniving it was all in good intentions. It takes a very loving wife to go out of her way in order to make sure that her husband isn't burdened down with the expenses of a trip that saved his life. However, Torvald doesn't really see his Nora as his wife emotionally but as his little sex pet. This is what Nora finally realizes at the end of the play when Torvald is only worried about himself and what everyone else thinks about him. Nora realizes that she has been Torvald's doll and will no longer be and she leaves him. Just the act of a woman thinking for herself, let alone leaving her husband over it. This was extremely rare during the era in which this play was produced.
The title "A Doll's House" really does best express the true meaning of this play. The meaning of course is that a woman's life should never be made up by what her husband says. Nora of course fitting to Torvald's liking in order to please him no matter what it took. She then sees just what kind of a husband Torvald really is causing her to leave him. A very revolutionary play.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Dream.TXT
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A Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream By: A. Theseus More strange
than true. I never may believe These antic fables nor these
fairy toys. Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool
reason ever comprehends. The lunatic, the lover, and the
poet Are of imagination all compact. One sees more devils
than vast hell can hold: That is the madman. The lover, all as
frantic Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt. The poet's
eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to
earth, from earth to heaven And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Turns them to
shapes, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a
name. Such tricks hath strong imagination That, if it would
but apprehend some joy, It comprehends some bringer of
that joy; Or in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a
bush supposed a bear! (V,i,2-22) Theseus, in Scene V of A
Midsummer Night's Dream, expresses his doubt in the
verisimilitude of the lover's recount of their night in the forest.
He says that he has no faith in the ravings of lovers- or
poets-, as they are as likely as madmen are to be divorced
from reason. Coming, as it does, after the resolution of the
lovers' dilemma, this monologue serves to dismiss most of
the play a hallucinatory imaginings. Theseus is the voice of
reason and authority but, he bows to the resulting change of
affection brought about by the night's confused goings on,
and allows Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius to
marry where their hearts would have them. This place where
the line between dream and reality blurs is an important
theme of the play. Theseus is also a lover, but his affair with
Hippolyta is based upon the cold reality of war, "Hippolyta,
I wooed thee with my sword, And won thy love doing thee
injuries..."(I,i,16-17). He is eager to wed Hippolyta and
marriage is the place where reason and judgement rule. He
wins the hand of his bride through action not through flattery,
kisses and sighs inspired by her beauty. In lines 4-6 of his
monologue he dismisses the accounts of lovers and madmen
on the grounds that they are both apt to imagine a false
reality as being real. When, in I,i,56, Hermia tells Theseus, "I
would my father looked but with my eyes", Theseus
responds, "Rather your eyes must with his judgment
look."(57). Theseus has a firm belief that the eyes of lovers
are not to be trusted. That the eye of the lover "...Sees
Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt..."(11) is, to him, proof of
this. It precisely by enchanting the eyes of the lovers that the
faeries manage to create so much mayhem: "Flower of this
purple dye, hit with cupid's archery, sink in apple of his eye!
When his love he doth espy, let her shine as gloriously as the
Venus of the sky."(III,ii,101-7) Puck doesn't change
Helena's nature, nor does he change her features. When
Lysander wakes, he beholds the same Helena that he's
always despised and suddenly he is enthralled. For Theseus
this is merely caprice and in no means grounded in reality.
Theseus doubts even the existence of the faeries, believing
the lovers have, at a loss to explain the inexplicable changes
of heart they've experienced, dreamed them up: "And as
imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the
poet's pen turns them into shapes and gives to airy nothing a
local habitation and a name."(14-17) A trick of the light, an
abundance of shadows, lack of sleep, an overactive
imagination or any one of these or million other causes are
the most likely explanation. In equating lovers, poets and
lunatics Theseus gets into interesting territory and serves to
elevate lovers while he denounces them. The lunatic "...sees
more devils than vast hell can hold.." while the poet's eye
"...Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to
heaven..."(9-13); thus this same imagination is responsible
for both mad ravings and great art. The concrete reality of
earth co-exists with both heaven and hell as the Faerie world
co-exists with the mortal world. A poet could, just as easily,
be a lunatic depending on the nature of his visions. That
lover's are often (bad) poets, is prime example of this
interchangeability. "Such tricks hath strong imagination, that,
if it would but apprehend a joy, it comprehends some
bringer of that joy; or in the night imagining some fear, how
easy is a bush supposed a bear!"(18-22) Theseus describes
the faulty and incomplete reasoning employed by poets and
lovers alike. Given evidence of some thing, conclusions are
made as to the nature of that thing. This usually incorrect
conclusion, having been reached, is followed by madcap
mix-ups and hilarity- at least for the audience. While
distrusting the nature of love and its effect on people,
Theseus also recognizes the salutary effect it has, as
Demetrius and Lysander, once bitter foes, present
themselves to him as friends. He allows the lovers to marry
according to their affection and betrays his own affection and
appreciation for the intoxicating draught called love, "Here
come the lovers, full of joy and mirth. Joy, gentle friends, go
and fresh days of love accompany your hearts!"(V,i,28-30)
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Farewell to Arms.TXT
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A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is somewhat of
a Romeo and Juliet love story, with a tragic ending. In this
novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine
Barkley. Their love affair must survive the everything that is
around them during World War I. The setting of this novel is
war-torn Italy. The love between Catherine and Frederick
must outlast long separations, life-threatening war situations,
and the uncertainty of each other's whereabouts or
condition. This is a love story of two people who need each
other in a period of chaos.
The book A Farewell to Arms is partly autobiographical.
Hemingway , like his hero, was a Red Cross ambulance
driver on the Italian Front in World War I. Not only was
Hemingway wounded in the war, but he also recuperated in
a hospital in Italy. During his recuperation, Hemingway had a
very romantic liaison with a nurse. The relationships between
the characters in the novel, including doctors, soldiers, etc.,
reflect the actual relationships Hemingway had during his
stay in Italy, and the plot of the story is historically as well as
geographically accurate. Before Ernest Hemingway wrote
the book A Farewell to Arms, he was already regarded as
a good literary writer, but after the publication of this book
he was considered a great one. A Farewell to Arms was
Hemingway's first commercial success, selling over 80,000
copies in the first four months.
In this story there are only two main characters, Frederick
Henry and Catherine Barkley. Frederick Henry acts as both the narrator and
central character in the novel. The reader is not told so much
about Catherine, only what is understood from Frederick's
point of view. Catherine acts as a static character in the
novel. She has already known love and lost it so she
understands that she cannot build her whole life around
Frederick. Frederick, on the other hand, is a very dynamic
character, and he has to come to grips with many of the
principles of life and death that Catherine has already
learned. There are few other characters in the book of any
significance, but of some small importance are Rinaldi, who
is Frederick's best friend on the fighting front, and also the
priest in Frederick's company whom he befriends and with
whom he has long talks about life.
The plot structure of A Farewell to Arms starts out with an
introduction to the major characters and with the setting of
the war. Hemingway also introduces the various problems
each main character struggles with throughout the novel.
Catherine Barkley and Frederick Henry are introduced to
each other casually and the reader begins to wonder what
will come of the relationship between the two characters.
This seems to be the narrative hook in the novel. Following
this the reader is told about various scenes of war, and
further introduced to Frederick Henry's character.
Frederick is then wounded in war and shipped back to the
hospital. In the hospital Frederick and Catherine are reunited
and the reader sees the development of love between the
two characters. After Frederick's stay in the hospital he is
sent back to battle and has to leave Catherine. However,
after only a short time back at the front Frederick Henry,
seeing the lack of discipline and confusion in the army's
retreat at Caporetto, deserts and returns to the stability of
his relationship with Catherine. The battle at Caporetto is the
climax in the war action part of the novel, but there is still
rising action in the love story. Frederick Henry makes a
successful escape to Switzerland with Catherine, and all
seems to go well for them for a time. A child had been
conceived during their affair but during the birth Catherine
begins hemorrhaging. She delivers the baby stillborn and
soon after dies. This scene is the climax of the novel. After
Catherine dies the book ends very abruptly, leaving very
little falling action.
In the novel there are two very prominent types of conflict.
One is man verses man, which is seen constantly in the
battles of the war, and the constant fighting that takes place
as a background in the story. The other type of conflict that
we see is man verses himself, which is shown in Frederick's
constant struggle within himself. Since we are told of
Frederick's thoughts we know constantly of the internal
struggle within himself over everything from his love for
Catherine to his thoughts during battle in the war. The
conflict that Frederick experiences within himself starts at the
beginning of the novel and is not resolved until Catherine's
death.
The theme that Hemingway seems to emphasize throughout
the novel is the search for order in a chaotic world.
Hemingway conveys this through Frederick's own personal
search during the chaos of World War I. Catherine has
found strength within herself to help lead her through life.
Frederick sees this in her and wants it also. Through his
involvement with Catherine, Frederick slowly begins to find
his own inner strength, and as a result his of his affair with
Catherine he leaves his previous wild life of prostitutes and
drink. He states in the novel that spending the night with
Catherine is better then spending the night in a house of
prostitution even though his feelings for her are not deep at
that time. He becomes aware of an element of stability in
their affair and realizes that the war that he is involved in is
too chaotic, so he deserts the Italian soldiers he has been
helping. He and Catherine make a life for themselves totally
isolated from everything and everyone else. Frederick
believes that his life is now completely in order and yet he
still seems discontented. He continuously has to convince
himself that he has "a fine life," and he has not yet reached
Catherine's emotional level that enables her to be perfectly
happy in their love and yet not dependent on it for all
comfort and support. He never reaches a place of internal
peace until the end of the book when Catherine dies and he
realizes that he can not be totally dependent on another for
happiness in this life.
A Farewell To Arms was a was a well written novel that
gives people a whole different perceptive about the people
and events of World War I in Italy. The book was not the
least bit confusing when it came to the text and was really an
enjoyable book to read. This book could be appreciated
both by the average high school student or an adult looking
for a great book. It had an interesting, moving plot that kept
the reader interested in the book, and has been appreciated
and read for many years by people of all ages. From reading
this book one learns much about Ernest Hemingway himself
plus the times and problems of World War I. This book was
a classic in 1929 and is still seems contemporary today.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Lesson Before Dying.TXT
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A Lesson Before Dying
In A Lesson Before Dying, Mr.
Grant Wiggins' life crises were the center of the story.
Although he was supposed to make Jefferson into a man, he
himself became more of one as a result. Not to say that
Jefferson was not in any way transformed from the "hog" he
was into an actual man, but I believe this story was really
written about Mr. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins improved as a
person greatly in this book, and that helped his relationships
with other people for the most part. At the start of the book,
he more or less hated Jefferson, but after a while he became
his friend and probably the only person Jefferson felt he
could trust. The turning point in their relationship was the one
visit in which Jefferson told Mr. Wiggins that he wanted a
gallon of ice cream, and that he never had enough ice cream
in his whole life. At that point Jefferson confided something
in Mr. Wiggins, something that I didn't see Jefferson doing
often at all in this book. "I saw a slight smile come to his
face, and it was not a bitter smile. Not bitter at all"; this is the
first instance in which Jefferson breaks his somber barrier
and shows emotions. At that point he became a man, not a
hog. As far as the story tells, he never showed any sort of
emotion before the shooting or after up until that point. A
hog can't show emotions, but a man can. There is the
epiphany of the story, where Mr. Wiggins realizes that the
purpose of life is to help make the world a better place, and
at that time he no longer minds visiting Jefferson and begins
becoming his friend. Mr. Wiggins' relationship with his Aunt
declined in this story, although it was never very strong. His
Aunt treated him like he should be a hog and always obey,
yet she wanted him to make a hog into a man. His Aunt was
not a very nice person, she would only show kindness
towards people who shared many of her views, and
therefore was probably a very hard person to get along with.
The way Mr. Wiggins regarded his relationships most likely
would have been different were he white. Mr. Wiggins feels,
and rightly so, that several white men try to mock or make a
fool of him throughout the story. This was a time of racial
discrimination with much bigotry, so if the story took place in
the present, it would be much different. In fact, there
probably would have not even been a book because in the
modern day, and honest and just jury would have found him
innocent due to the lack of evidence. It wasn't really clear
what sort of situation Mr. Wiggins was in regarding money,
but he could not have been too well off because he needed
to borrow money to purchase a radio for Jefferson, and he
commented about the Rainbow Cafe: "When I was broke, I
could always get a meal and pay later, and the same went
for the bar." I suppose he had enough money to get by, but
not much extra. As the book progresses he probably had
less money to work with due to the money he was spending
to buy the radio, comic books, and other items for Jefferson.
Mr. Wiggins seemed to be well respected by the
community, and he felt superior to other African Americans
because he was far more educated than they were. That
makes Mr. Wiggins guilty of not practicing what he
preaches, although Jefferson probably made it clearer to him
that the less intelligent are still humans with feelings. At the
start of the book, Mr. Wiggins did not understand this. He
went to visit Jefferson because Miss Emma and his Aunt
more or less forced him to do it. He really had no motivation
except that he would be shunned by his Aunt if he did not
comply. The whole process of Mr. Wiggins' development
and the plot of this story both spawn from the crimes of two
characters with no other relevance to the story. After the
police found Jefferson at the liquor store with the dead
bodies all around, he was of course taken to trial and the
times being what they were, he was convicted with very little
doubt that he would be found innocent. Miss Emma, his
godmother was afraid that he would die a hog and have
lived a meaningless life. She wanted him "Not to crawl to the
white man, but to get up and walk to him at the end." At first
Mr. Wiggins was not very concerned about Jefferson, he
just wanted to pass the time he had to spend with him, but
then after a while he began to think of what it would feel like
to be a dead man, and what he could do to make the time
Jefferson had left to be the best they could for him. This was
the greatest achievement Mr. Wiggins accomplished in the
entire book. He managed to be able to have pity upon
Jefferson without empathy. After the point in which he
discussed the ice cream and the radio with Jefferson, and
Jefferson admitted for the first time that he was more than a
hog, Mr. Wiggins truly cared. Mr. Wiggins developed
greatly during the course of this story, along with other
characters featured in the story. Vivian met new people and
increased the quality of her relationship with Mr. Wiggins,
Miss Emma finally got to see someone stand for her, Tante
Lou learned that she had a decent nephew after all, and
Jefferson got off of his four legs and stood. The End!
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A modest proposal.TXT
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A modest proposal 
An Ironic Proposal Unlike most essays, Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is written for the reader to see through what the narrator is expressing. The narrator does not want the reader to agree that the solution to overpopulation and poverty in Ireland is to eat babies, he wants the reader to see there needs to be a practical solution. By stating the advantages and objections to his proposal, using ironic words and phrases, he directs the reader not to see the apparent, but the implicit. Swift's narrative voice metaphorically compares the Irish to pigs and cows, which implies the Irish are being treated subhumanly. Although something seems one way to the narrator, Jonathan Swift wants the reader to see it in an opposite light. Firstly, the narrative voice begins the essay by describing the deplorable conditions in which the Irish peasants are living. He demonstrates there is a serious problem with a great need for a solution. He then suggests a solution and then lists a whole list of advantages. His propsal of eating the Irish babies is followed by advantages such as "by the sale of their children, [the parents would] be rid of the charge of maintaining them after the first year"(14). Another advantage is, as Swift put it, "the poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own"(14). These quotations imply that the poorer tenants have nothing of value and that they would have to resort to selling their own flesh and blood in order to earn an income; they also do not take into consideration that the parents might want to have a family and children who will live with them past the age of one year. A decrease in the meat consumed by Ireland would lead to an advantage of "the addition of some thousand carcasses in our exportation of barreled beef"(14). A quotation such as this asks the residents of Ireland to eat human flesh to improve exportation. All the advantages he suggests are true: if his proposal was put into action, these would be benefits, but he is asking the poor to sell their children for consumption. The large population and poor living conditions of Irish peasants are matters which need to be taken care of. By means of downplaying his "modest proposal," the narrator leads the reader to believe his proposal is rationale. He even goes as far as saying, "I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection"(1) before he introduces the solution of eating infants. Of course there will be objections to this outrageous recommendation as it is a ridiculous notion. The suggestion of eating young children is most definitely not humble. He also proclaims, "[he] can think of no one objection that will be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom."(15). There are objections and they include more than just concerns about the population numbers. The Irish are being asked to consider ideas of selling their children for profit and cannibalism. If this idea is to go beyond just a proposal, the values of society should be questioned. If this is to be contemplated as a legitimate solution, the values of society should also be examined thoroughly, I might add. Throughout the essay, ironic words and phrases are used to make the reader see that there is a discrepancy between the stated word or phrase and the implied meaning. The title of Swift's essay, "A Modest Proposal" implies that his suggestion will be one of insubstantial content, something simple and unassuming. As a solution to the poor standard of living of the Irish, the narrator suggests eating children of about one year old. This recommendation is ludicrous and not simple at all. The narrator is asking the Irish to revert to cannibalism, which not just eating other human beings, it includes their own children. When the narrator begins to introduce this preposterous proposal, he comments, "I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection." (11) He proposes the idea of eating the young and then downplays this ridiculous notion as being humble. Although the narrator is suggesting an appalling idea, he minimizes it as a humble thought by claiming it is something simple or unpretentious and then continues to report that there will be no objections to his way of thinking. The narrator uses the term "carcass" more than once to describe the children being discussed. The Canadian Oxford Paperback Dictionary defines a carcass as "the dead body of an animal, especially one slaughtered for its meat"(138). By using the word carcass, the narrator exhibits that the Irish peasants are thought of as subhuman. Despite suggesting an outlandish notion, he is trying to make others see that there is a problem and it needs to be solved. Metaphors are used continuously throughout this essay to parallel the Irish peasants to animals. Before introducing the proposal, the narrator compares Americans to savages when he states, "a very knowing American"(11) told him that a child of one year makes "wholesome food"(11). They are treated like animals by the English and their landlords. The narrator also discusses eating the Irish infants, like one would a piece of animal flesh. The Irish peasants are constantly portrayed as animals. For example, "Pigs...are no way comparable in taste or magnificence to a well-grown, fat yearling child," (14) compares the babies directly to pigs. While introducing his proposal to the reader, he talks of how "infants' flesh will be in season throughout the year"(11). This confirms the narrator writing about the Irish as if they are animals that will become a new "excellent nutritive meat"(12) one could pick up at the market. Furthermore, the narrator metaphorically compares the poor treatment of the Irish to animals when writing, "[the landlords] have already devoured most of the parents"(11) of these children. The landlord have "devoured" the parents in the sense of excessive taxation and collecting high rent. The parents are paralleled to animals and dehumanized by being referred to as "breeders" several times in the essay. Lastly, the children are depicted almost as a form of currency. The sale of the children for food is to pay their parents' debts. The infants emerge as a form of collateral from this proposal. By using metaphors, the treatment of the Irish peasants as less than human by the English is depicted. Listing advantages and claiming that there will be no objections, the narrator rationalizes his solution and consequently makes the reader believe his suggestion will be one of insignificant content. He captures the attention of the reader by using irony, which is firstly evident in the title of the essay, "A Modest Proposal." His tone of voice detaches him emotionally by supporting this proposal with examples of how animals are bred, proposing that children be bred the same way. In conclusion, the narrator is deeply angry about the way in which the English treat the Irish peasants and he thinks something should be done. By stating the problems and proposing an extreme solution, he works with irony throughout the essay to allow his reader to see things on the flip-side. Swift's proposal is an antithesis to get the reader to see the contrary.
Bibliography
Work Cited "Carcass." The Canadian Oxford Paperback Dictionary. 2000 ed. Swift, Jonathan. "A Modest Proposal." Introduction to Literature. Eds. Isobel Findlay et. al. 4th ed. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 2001. 9-16.
1230
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Raisin In the Sun Staci King Lorraine Hansberry A.TXT
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A Raisin In the Sun Staci King Lorraine Hansberry A-2 PCP Penguin Books 10-29-99 1988 Rpt. 2 
 A Raisin In the Sun is a drama play that takes place "sometime between World War II and the present." The family lived in Chicago's Southside. The town was very "dusky" and as each day passed the nights got colder. The Younger family lived in a small old apartment with only two small rooms. The little one had to sleep on the couch every night. The house needed a great amount of fixing up; everyone was ready to move out. Ruth Younger is about thirty years old. She is married to Walter Lee Young and they have a son named Travis. " Ruth is a pretty girl, even exceptionally so, but now it is apparent that life has been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face. In a few years, before thirty-five even, she will be known among her people as a 'settled woman.'" Ruth tries to do everything she can to make her family happy. She just wants the best for them. Walter Lee Younger is a "lean, intense young man in his middle thirties, inclined to quick nervous movements and erratic speech habits and always in his voice there is a quality of indictment." He works as a chauffeur, but his dream is to one day open up a liquor store. Walter has a very bad temper and tends to say things he doesn't mean. Walter and his wife have been getting into many fights. He has a really bad temper. Many times when Walter gets upset he goes out and gets drunk. Walter likes to spoil his son Travis. Beneatha Younger is Walter's smart, younger sister. She is about twenty years old and " as slim and intense as her brother. She is not as pretty as her sister-in-law, but her lean intellectual face has a handsomeness of its own." She also gets her bad temper from Walter. Beneatha wants to become a doctor when she gets older. She says everything that is on her mind and it never seems like she is happy. Beneatha finds most everything people say to be offensive to her some how. Lena Younger, known as Mama, is in her early sixties. " She is one of those women of a certain grace and beauty who wear it so unobtrusively that it takes a while to notice. She has wit and faith of a kind that keeps her eyes lit and full of interest and expectancy. Mama is, in a word, a beautiful woman. Her speech is as careless as her carriage is precise-she is inclined to slur everything-but her voice is perhaps not so much quiet as simply soft." She is full-bodied and strong. Her husband died a short while ago. Mama works very hard to try and help her family have the best. She especially wants Travis to have the best. Travis Willard Younger is a "sturdy, handsome little boy of ten or eleven." He is very well mannered and tries to have fun just like every other kid does. Willy Harris and Bobo are the two men who are going to help Walter invest in starting a liquor store. Early one Friday morning, Ruth, who was in a bad mood, woke up Travis so he could get ready for school. Then she woke up Walter so he wouldn't be late for work. Ruth and Walter got into an argument because Walter wanted to invest in a liquor store. Ruth knew they didn't have the money to do it. Walter started going off on how colored women never support their husbands and their dreams. When Beneatha got up they stopped arguing. Walter went from arguing with Ruth to bothering Beneatha about becoming a doctor. All furious because he was getting no where, Walter slammed the door when he left. Mama got up to see what all the commotion had been. As Ruth told her what happened, Mama went around picking up after everyone like she always did. Ruth asked Mama about the check. It seemed to be the only thing everyone had been thinking about lately. She told Mama about Walter's idea of investing in a liquor store. Mama replied, "We're not business people and I don't want selling liquor to people on my ledger this late in life." Mama noticed Ruth wasn't looking very good. Ruth said she was just tired. Ruth asked what Mama planned on doing with a ten thousand-dollar check. Mama said she wanted to put some money away for Beneatha to go to college and she thought about buying a nice house with a backyard and everything. As Mama and Ruth's conversation continued, Beneatha came out of the bathroom. Beneatha got upset when Mama and Ruth were teasing her so she said how she didn't believe in God. Mama was very upset by this statement. Mama slapped Beneatha in the face and demanded she say, "In my mother's house there is still God." Mama walked off and Beneatha got up and left. While Mama was watering her plants she asked Ruth to sing a song, but got no response. "She turned around at last to see Ruth had slipped quietly to the floor, in a state of semiconciousness." Bright and early Saturday morning, everyone was up and cleaning the house, except for Travis whom was staring out the window. Travis was worried about his mother and wondered where she went. Mama told him she just went to run an errand. After he talked to Willy Harris on the phone, Walter left to go see Willy in person. Travis went outside to play. Beneatha asked Mama where Ruth really went. Mama told her Ruth went to the doctor. Ruth came home and told Mama and Beneatha she was two months pregnant. Ruth hollered for Travis to come inside. When Travis got inside he started telling all about he blood and guts form the rat he had been chasing. Ruth quickly grabbed him and covered his mouth. "Beneatha came quickly and took Travis. She pushed him gently out the door, while he strained to see what was wrong with his mother." The doorbell rang. It was the moment they had all been waiting for. The postman had arrived with the "big" check. Travis rushed downstairs and came back up with an envelope. After opening it up and examining it carefully, Mama told Ruth to put the check away. "Mama didn't look at Ruth when she said it. Her eyes seemed to be seeing something somewhere very far off." Mama asked Ruth if she went to see the woman doctor today, but before she could her answer, Walter walked in. The first thing he did was ask about the check. As Walter started talking about the liquor store, Mama told him he should talk to his wife. Walter refused so Mama yelled at him and said, "There ain't going to be no investing in no liquor stores." As Walter attempted to leave Ruth tried to go with him, but he didn't want her company. All upset, Ruth went to the bedroom. Mama and Walter got into a huge fight. Mama ended up telling him Ruth was pregnant and that she thought Ruth might be thinking about getting rid of the child. Walter didn't believe his wife would do a thing like that. Mama said, "When the world gets ugly enough-a woman will do anything for her family. The part that's already living." Ruth opened the bedroom door and stood there. She had been listening to the entire conversation. Ruth said she would have an abortion and that she had even gave the doctor a five-dollar down payment. "There was total silence as Walter stared at his wife and as Mama stared at Walter." Absolutely speechless, Walter picked up his keys and his coat then walked out. Mama got her hat and left seconds after Walter. Later that day Beneatha came out in her new dress from Asagai. Her and Ruth were dancing to music when Walter came home drunk. With the alcohol affecting him quite a bit, Walter pretended he was a great leader, while running around the room and talking in a language of his own. Beneatha left and went on a date. Walter started to talk in a violent manner. Ruth tried to get him to talk to her, but Walter just wouldn't do it. She finally gave up and headed toward bed. As Ruth walked off, Walter began to talk to her seriously. Ruth turned around to go talk to him. When Mama finally came home, Walter asked where she had been. Mama ignored him and began making conversation with Ruth. After Walter asked for about the tenth time, Mama said she had gone to town to tend to business. Walter began to think she had done something crazy with the money. Ruth was angry when Travis came home late so she told him to go straight to bed, but Mama stopped him. She asked Travis if he knew what she had done with the money. He said he wasn't sure so Mama told him she went out and bought a nice house for him to live in. Ruth was excited to hear this wonderful news. Ruth took Travis out of Mama's arms and sent him off to bed. Walter wouldn't look or talk to anyone about the news. Mama told them all about the new house in Claybourne Park and how they would be the only colored people living there. Ruth went to tell Travis all about the new house. Mama tried to explain to Walter why she did what she did. "Bitterly, to hurt her as deeply as he knew possible, Walter said, 'So you butchered up a dream of mine-you- who always talking 'bout your children's dreams...'" Mama tried to respond, but before she could get a chance, Walter was already out the door. "Mama sat alone, thinking heavily." Friday night, a few weeks later Walter's boss called and said that if Walter didn't come to work the next day then he would be fired. It turned out Walter hadn't been at work for the past three days. When Mama asked where he had been, he said he had just been driving or walking for hours. Then he would stop somewhere and watch everything. After that he would go to the Green Hat and get drunk while listening to the music. "Mama felt responsible for Walter being this way." She handed him an envelope and told him to put three thousand dollars in a savings account for Beneatha to go to school and that he could spend the rest of the money however he pleased. Mama got up and left as Walter just sat there and stared at the envelope. While finishing packing, the doorbell rang. It was a white man from Clayborune Park. The man wanted to talk to Mama, but since she wasn't home he talked to Walter. He introduced himself as Karl Linder, then went about trying to convince them not to move by saying they were not wanted there, and that people who live at Claybourne Park were willing to buy the house back from them for more then what the Mama had originally paid. Angered by what Mr. Linder was saying, Walter threw the man out. Mama came home. They told her how a man had come to welcome her to Claybourne Park and how they couldn't wait for the Youngers to move in. Mama knew what the man had really come for. The doorbell rang. It was one of Walter's friends, Bobo, who was also investing in the liquor store. Bobo told Walter how Willy took off with all the money that was to be invested in the store. Bobo apologized for everything then left. Then Walter told Mama he never put the three thousand dollars in the bank for Beneatha. Out of complete anger, Mama went over to Walter and slapped him across the face several times. Walter came out of his room frantically looking for something. Beneatha tried to make Walter angry, but he just ignored her. He finally found a small piece of white paper he had been looking for then quickly left, slamming the door behind him. When Walter came back he told everyone he had called Mr. Linder and asked him to come over so he could accept the man's offer to buy the house back. When Mr. Linder showed up Walter did exactly the opposite. The man left rather disappointed. The movers showed up and packed everything downstairs. Mama stood alone in the living room, examining the place carefully. She took one last final look, grabbed her plant, and went out the door for the last time. The conflict was between colored people and white people. This conflict came about when the Younger family decided they were going to move into the Claybourne Park area. Only white people lived in that area. A man from the "welcoming committee" even came over and tried to convince the Younger's not move by offering to buy the house back from then for more then what Mama had originally paid for it. Other colored people who had lived in the Claybourne area were bombed or other harmful things happened to them. The theme of the play was never give up. One should always follow his or her heart and try to fulfill their dreams. Walter wanted the best for his family and tried to do everything possible to make a better life for his son. He would have given his life for Travis to have a better one. Mama also felt the same way as Walter. She gave up a large sum of money to help her children and grandson have better lives. Each character in this book had a dream he or she wanted to fulfill. By hard work, effort, support, and faith each person could make their dream become reality. Since the Youngers did not give up, in the end, they got the new home they wanted and greatly deserved. The reading level of this play was average. The author explained things in a great amount of detail. After reading over half of the book, it is still in only the second day of the story. I found the book to be really sad. The way the family was treated, I found to be unfair. The book's value was educational and had a good message. I really enjoyed reading this book. Although the book was very well written, I don't think it needed to be so detailed. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to all my friends.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Raisin in the Sun.TXT
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A Raisin in the Sun
The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their
time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in
our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism.
Not having enough money and always being put down
because of the color of their skin held them back from
having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama
was the one who had the most pride and held the family
together. Ruth was being prevented from having a baby
because of money problems, Walter was bringing him self
down by trying to make the liquor store idea work. Once
Mama decided to buy the house with the money she had
received, Walter figured that he should further go on with the
liquor store idea. Then, when Walter lost the money, he lost
his dignity and tried to get some money from the "welcome
party" of Cylborne Park. Mama forced him to realize how
far he went by making him show himself to his son how low
he would go. But he showed that he wasn't susceptible to
the ways the racism created. Raisin In the Sun Dreams can
be seen in many ways. A dream could be something you had
in the night that seems so real, or a dream could be your
fantasy, where everything is going your way. The last type of
dream is something that has more of a deep sense and plays
an important role in your life. The type the dream the
Younger family had. Each individual had their own hopes
and anticipated something. Walter and his chance to be big
and important with his liquor store, Beneatha and becoming
the opposite of an asimillist and becoming a doctor, or Ruth
and her moving out of the rap trap of a life and home, and
becoming something bigger and more significant. The person
I saw that had the foremost wishes was Mama. All she
wanted was to see her family happy and for her to be happy
herself for once. She wanted the family to stop suffering and
"never moving forwards". Mama wanted Travis to have his
own room, and by this she sacrificed her own personal room
for that by sharing with Beneatha in the new house. She was
sick and tired of this anguish the family received. Her dream
was to see her family stop having distress and be in a higher
class and to be basically be happy. In the beginning of the
play Mama anticipated the insurance money coming. She
hadn't decided right away on what to do but she the basic
idea. From the time she didn't have money to a little bit
after, Mama began to really see what her family was put
through. Before the money came, the family began to have
their own dreams and Mama listened. They varied, of
course, but they had one primary meaning; to get out of this
rut they were in and head to somewhere big. Once Mama
got the money, it took a little time but she had her mind set,
she went and bought a house. She felt it would be the best
thing to benefit everyone in the household. She ignored the
racial lines the would prevent the normal black people from
even thinking of moving in that type area and pursued her
dream, her dream house. Once the "welcoming committee"
showed up, Mama was luckily not there, she understood
that difficulty would lie ahead, but she didn't care. Not much
would stop her from her dream, not even losing the money,
the essential life force of her dream. Walter's incompetence
isn't a big enough hurdle to prevent her from continuing her
dream. She would sacrifice for her family, like working and
not spend as much money. In the end of the story everything
worked out fine. I think because she stuck so severely to it
and tried her hardest not to let go of her dream. Letting go
of it would be like giving up on her life. Her dream was
definitely a positive dream to everyone, all she wanted to do
was to make everyone happy. Walter was disappointed at
times because Mama denied the money he needed so badly,
but he didn't see things the way Mama did. Mama was the
one that saw past all the little things that would hold her back
from completing her dream. But that's the thing she did the
most and the best, held on the dreams and made them come
true.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Rose for Emil1.TXT
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A Rose for Emily
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"
tells a story of a young woman who is
violated by her father's strict
mentality. After being the only man in
her life Emily's father dies and she
finds it hard to let go. Like her father
Emily possesses a stubborn outlook
towards life, and she refused to change.
While having this attitude about life
Emily practically secluded herself from
society for the remainder of her life.
She was alone for the very first time
and her reaction to this situation was
solitude. This story takes place throughout the
Reconstruction Era from the late 1800's
to the early 1900's in Jefferson,
Mississippi. Emily was raised in the
period before the Civil War. Her father
who was the only person in her life with
the exception of a former lover who soon
left her as well raised her. The plot of
this story is mainly about Miss Emily's
attitude about change. While growing up
Emily was raised in a comfortable
environment because her father possessed
a lot of money. Considering that her
father was a very wealthy person who
occasionally loaned the town money Emily
had everything a child could want. This
caused Emily to be very spoiled and
selfish and she never knew the value of
a dollar until her father left her with
nothing but a run down home that started
to decay after a period of time. She
began to ignore the surrounding decay of
the house and her appearance. These lies
continued as she denied her father's
death, refused to pay taxes, ignores
town gossip about her being a fallen
woman, and does not tell the druggist
why she purchased rat poison. Her life,
like the decaying house suffered from a
lack of genuine love and care. Her
physical appearance is brought about by
years of neglect. As time went on pieces
from Emily started to drift away and
also the home that she confined herself
to. The town grew a great deal of
sympathy towards Emily, although she
never hears it. She was slightly aware
of the faint whispers that began when
her presence was near. Gossip and
whispers may have been the cause of her
hideous behavior. The town couldn't wait
to pity Ms. Emily because of the way she
looked down on people because she was
born with a silver spoon in her mouth
and she never thought she would be alone
the way her father left her.
Miss Emily might have stayed out of the
public eye after the two deaths because
she was finally alone, something she in
her petty life was not use to. Emily's
father never left her alone and when he
died Homer Barron was a treat that she
was never allowed to have. He later died
and left her and she was completely
alone after that. After her fathers
death she went out very little; after
her sweetheart went away, people hardly
saw her at all. ( )
With this dilemma she isolates herself
from civilization, using her butler,
Tobe to run her errands. Miss Emily
cannot except the fact that times are
changing and society is growing. Maybe
Miss Emily is shy about her old
fashioned beliefs. If no one was to
observe her then no one could force her
to change. Emily had been through much
and has seen many generations grow
before and around her. This brings
reason to her strong Confederate
beliefs. Miss Emily refused to allow
modern change into her depressed life.
For example when she refused to let the
newer generation fasten metal numbers
above her door and attach a mailbox when
Jefferson got free mail service. This
reflects Emily's stubborn persona caused
by her father's treatment when she was
young.
"A Rose for Emily is told through the
eyes of the townspeople. William
Faulkner expressed a lot of the
resident's opinions towards Emily and
her family's history. They mentioned old
lady Wyatt, her great aunt who had gone
completely mad.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Rose For Emily.TXT
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A Rose For Emily
William Faulker's " A Rose for Emily" tells the story of a young woman who is violated by her father's strict mentality. After being the only man in her life Emily's father dies and she finds it hard to let go. Emily was raised in the ante-bellum period before the Civil War. This story takes place in the Reconstruction Era after the war when the North takes control of the South. Like her father, Miss Emily possesses a stubborn outlook towards life and refuses to change. This short story explains Emily, her mystified ways and the townsfolk's sympathetic curiosity.
The plot of the story is mainly about Miss Emily's attitude about change. "On the first of the year they mailed her a tax notice. February came and there was no reply. They wrote her a formal letter asking her to call the sheriff's office at her convenience. A week later the mayor wrote her herself, offering to call or to send his car for her, and received in reply a note on paper of an archaic shape, in a thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink, to the effect that's he no longer went out at all. The tax notice was enclosed, without comment." (189). Miss Emily was convinced that she had no taxes in Jefferson because before the Civil War the South didn't have to pay taxes and since her father had made a contribution to the town of a generous amount, Colonel Sartoris, mayor at that time had remitted her taxes, she felt that that promise or rather gift still stood good. "After her father's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all."(190). Miss Emily might have stayed out the public eye after those two deaths because she was finally alone, something she in her life was not used to. Emily's father never let her alone and when he died Homer Baron was a treat she was never allowed to have. Miss Emily's stubborn attitude definitely came from her father's strict teachings.
The characters of this story are very briefly mentioned, Miss Emily and Mr. Homer Barron are the two main characters described. Miss Emily was described as a short, fat, aged and mysterious women during her later years. Miss Emily had been through much and had seen many generations grow before and around her. This brings to reason her strong Confederate beliefs. Homer Barron; on the other hand was quite the opposite, "A Yankee-a big, dark, ready man, with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face,"(191). Homer described himself as man who couldn't be tied down. This had to be a terrible opposition for Miss Emily. Towards the end of the story Emily seems to prove him wrong.
The setting of this passage is highly essential because it defines Miss Emily's grasp of ante-bellum ways. This story take place throughout the Reconstruction Era from the late 1800's to the early 1900's in Jefferson, Mississippi. Jefferson was just one of the many Southern towns which was reformed by Northern reconstruction. The confederate quickly deteriorated without free labor to aid their farms and plantations. Miss Emily refused to allow modern change into her desolate life. For example she refused to let the newer generation fasten metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox when Jefferson got free mail service. This reflects Miss Emily's unyielding persona caused by her father's treatment when she was young. When Miss Emily's death occurred the newer Jefferson generations were left without an ante-bellum perspective.
"A Rose for Emily" is told through the eyes of the townspeople which is an example of limited omniscient; a narrator inside the work telling the story. Faulkner expressed a lot of the resident's opinions towards Emily and her family's history. They mention old lady Wyatt, her great aunt who had gone completely mad. These opinions seem to come from female members of the town because they have a nosy approach. "At first we were glad Miss Emily would have an interest, because the ladies all said, 'Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a laborer.'"(191). The ladies continue to throw sympathy towards Miss Emily, although she never hears it. She is slightly aware of the faint whispers that began when her presence draws near. Gossip and whispers might have been the causes of her ghastly behavior.
The story's theme is simple, Miss Emily cannot accept the fact that the times are changing and society is growing. With this dilemma she isolates herself from civilization, using her butler, Tobe, to run her errands. Maybe Miss Emily was shy about her old-fashioned ways and beliefs. If no one was to observe her then no one could force her to change. "She died in one of the downstairs rooms, in a heavy walnut bed with a curtain, her gray head propped on a pillow and moldy with age and lack of sunlight."(194). This might have been a horrible way to die because no one was quickly informed of her death, no one knew how the tragedy occurred and she died in solitude, all alone. When Miss Emily died Jefferson lost a monument of the Old South.
This passage contains a high rate of symbolism, icing on the cake as far as the work is involved. "A small, fat, woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing in to her belt."(189). The hidden timepiece at the end of Emily's chain symbolizes how time has been hidden from her all these years. This hidden time results in her stubborn unchanging ways. "Only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting it's stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps."(188). Her house represents the Old South, almost like Miss Emily is the only one left to face a modern generation. This could be the reason why she remained isolated for such a long span of her life.
This story's tone is disturbing. " When the Negro opened the blinds of one of the windows, they could see that the leather was cracked; and when they sat down, a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs, spinning with slow motes in the single sun-ray."(189). The dust leaves an old and sluggish impression. The reader can almost inhale the motes of aged old dust. "Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a ling strand of iron gray hair."(195). This excerpt leaves the reader shocked and disgusted.
Faulkner's style is quite difficult to read because it isn't written in chronological order. It begins by telling about Emily's past and her family history. This information explains her future behavior and opinions. The ending seems rather abrupt and sudden, but very chilling and non-expectant. The diction and sentence structures are fairly advanced, but soon lead to a greater understanding of the passage because it sets the mood of that specific time. "And now Miss Emily had gone to join the representatives of those august names where they lay in the cedar-bemused cemetery among the ranked and anonymous graves of the Union and Confederate soldiers who fell at battle of Jefferson". (194). Terms like this were used throughout to aid in setting the Reconstruction Era mood.
In conclusion, "A Rose for Emily" is a shocking tale about Emily Grierson, her love, and her inability to accept change. Emily is a prime example of the Old South and it's changing hardships.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Streetcar Named Desire.TXT
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A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams is known for
his powerfully written psychological dramas. Most of his
works are set in the southern United States and they usually
portray neurotic people who are victims of their own
passions, frustrations, and loneliness. The play represents the
conflict between the sensitive, neurotic Blanche DuBois and
the crude, animalistic Stanley Kowalski. Blanche visits the
home of her sister, Stella, in New Orleans and that is when
Stanley started picking at her, almost testing her. Before she
had met Stanley, she told her sister of how their plantation
had been lost due to the costs of paying for the funerals of
many family members. There was not enough money for her
to keep the plantation. While Blanche bathed after her
arrival, Stanley came home. Stella had told him what had
happened and he immediately insisted that Blanche was
swindling them. He hinted that Blanche had sold the
plantation in order to buy beautiful furs and jewelry. He went
through Blanche's trunk while she bathed, Stella insisted he
stop. He was looking for sale papers from the plantation.
After Blanche was finished bathing, Stella was outside, so
Stanley started questioning Blanche. She insisted that she
had nothing to hide from him and let him go through all
historical papers from Belle Reve, the plantation. While living
with Stella and Stanley, Blanche had met a man named
Mitch, who she started dating. She liked him a lot but she
hid many things from him. Firstly, she hid secrets of her first
lover, her husband Allan Grey. Every time she thought of
him, she thought of how he killed himself and she heard the
polka which played in the background. She did not want to
speak of this to Mitch. After Allan's death, Blanche used to
go to the Tarantula Arms hotel where she would have
intimacies with strangers. She did it because she felt it would
fill her empty heart. She did not want to tell Mitch because
she wanted him to respect her. Blanche was very careful to
hide her looks too. She felt that she was old looking and
tried to avoid bright lights from glaring down on her. She
covered a light in Stella's house with a Chinese paper lamp
to keep it from being so bright she hid her looks from Mitch,
he never saw her in the day. Finally, one day, Stanley tried
to find out many of Blanche's secrets and told them to Mitch
so he would not fall for her, even though he was considering
marrying her. He told Mitch of her intimacies, and told him
of when she had a relationship with one of her students.
Mitch felt deceived, she lied to him about many things, her
age, her past. Stanley taunted Blanche until he attacked her
in violent passion. When Blanche tried to tell her sister what
Stanley had done to her, she does not know what to think.
Blanche retreats into a private dreamworld. She tells Stella
and Eunice, a friend, of how she is going to die. She says
she will die from eating an unwashed grape. Grapes are a
symbol with sexual overtones. Stanley represents the
unwashed grape that will kill her. Blanche says that she will
die with her hand in the hand of a young ship's doctor and
she will be buried at sea. She will be dropped into an ocean
as blue as her first lover's eyes. Blue is used in this play as a
symbol of sadness. It represents her husband's death. Her
husband, to her, was different than other men, he had
beautiful blue eyes and she compared him to a seahorse.
The male seahorse is different because it id him that gives
birth unlike other creatures, as her husband was unlike other
men. Stella does not believe her sister after she tells her what
Stanley has done, instead, she has her sent to a mental
institution. She cries as Blanche is taken away, perhaps she
knows she has made a mistake but Stanley soothes her,
telling her everything will be back to normal, as he is opening
her blouse. Stanley has won, Blanche was gone, things
would be like before, he thought. In this play, there were
two streetcars mentioned. One was a streetcar named desire
which symbolized Blanche's desire to be loved. The other
was a streetcar names Cemeteries which symbolized
Blanche's fear of death. Both the desire to be loved and the
fear of death were quiet apparent in the way Blanche
thought. She wished to be loved like she was with her
husband, and she feared death, as it took her first love.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Tale of Two Citie1.TXT
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A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities has long been one of Charles Dickens' most favored books. This book opens in the year 1775 by contrasting two cities: Paris, France and London, England. Throughout this story various characters are "recalled to life", meaning that they have had a new chance at life. Dr. Manette is clearly mad after being in prison for eighteen years. When Lucie, the Dr.'s daughter, and Mr. Lorry eventually nurse the doctor back to a healthy state and out of his insane state they had "recalled him to life." Dr. Manette was nursed from an insane state with no real life to a sane one with a very functional life. In doing this Lucie and Mr. Lorry, in a way, gave Dr. Manette's life back to him or "recalled him to life." Another instance in which someone is "recalled to life" involves Charles Darnay. Charles Darnay is on trial for treason in England(Book 2, Ch.2-4). C.J Stryver and Sydney Carton are representing Darnay in this trial. Sydney Carton saves Darnay from death in this trial with his miraculous wits. Through this Darnay is given another chance at life ,and therefore was "recalled to life." The last and most significant instance of someone being "recalled to life" is found in the last chapters of this book. Sydney Carton has recently switched places with his look alike, Darnay, and is awaiting the guillotine. While Sydney awaits his death he thinks, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, then I have ever done, it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." Through these words Sydney recognizes that by sacrificing his life for Darnay, a loved one of Lucie, he will be doing the best thing that he has ever done and can do. Sydney is finally satisfied with himself, he is no longer a drunken fool, but a hero that now can live or die with himself. By dying, and saving Darnay for Lucie, Sydney Carton is "recalled to life." Throughout this book "recalled to life" has been the most important theme. Almost all of the main characters in this novel were "recalled to life." This theme was the most important because it allowed us, the readers, to see the characters trates being used by them and to understand how much a character would do for another. When Carton represented Darnay on trial and saved his life we saw how smart Carton was. In the last instance of "recalled to life" we saw how much Carton really felt for Lucie when he saved Lucie's husbands life in return for his own. The theme "recalled to life" is seen throughout this novel and should be recognized as one of the most important.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Tale of Two Cities 2.TXT
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A Tale of Two Cities
	When writing a book, most authors are writing about an issue they have.  
However, other themes become apparent through the course of the piece, either 
consciously or subconsciously.  One such theme is a reversal of characters in A Tale of 
Two Cities.  Individuals and groups of people change dramatically from the outset of the 
book all the way up to its conclusion.  Three of the most obvious changes in character are 
Sydney Carton, Madame DeFarge, and the French people as a whole.
	Sydney Carton is first described at Darnay's trial as not paying attention to what's 
going on, sort of an oaf.  He is portrayed as a drunk, and even admits this to Darnay on 
their "date."  However, love, they say, is strong;  Carton's love for Lucy changed him 
greatly though the course of the novel.  He stopped drinking when he visited, and even 
pledged his life to her, and everyone she loved.  Carton changed even more dramatically 
when death on the guillotine was approaching.  He waxed philosophical about the future, 
and even quoted a few scriptures.  This is most certainly not the man first seen at the Old 
Bailey with the sideways wig.
	Another interesting change took place in the character of Madame Defarge.  She 
is first portrayed as a woman of principle who is helping her husband with the revolution. 
However, Madame Defarge makes a startling metamorphosis from supporting character 
to antagonist when she is revealed to be the shadow.  She is shown to be cruel and petty, 
not the compassionate woman one would assume of a leader of a revolution against 
tyranny.  This part of  the novel casts a shadow of doubt over the rest of the characters, 
and one begins to question the validity of all the characters.
	Finally, the French people themselves start out as downtrodden and miserable 
victims of a corrupt system.  But it is illustrated that they could be just as heartless as 
their rich counterparts, the aristocrats, when it came down to it.  For example, anyone 
who was an aristocrat, or even associated with aristocrats, was sentenced to death.  As 
the novel went on, the French people grew more heartless, for the executions continued 
without end.  This last reversal in character is the most disturbing, because it holds true 
in the real world.
	These examples are but a few of the many in A Tale of Two Cities, and this 
theme of character reversal one of a myriad of possible interpretations.  However, the 
fact remains that these integral characters all  changed drastically: Carton for love, 
Madame Defarge for revenge, and the French people for power. The cause of these 
reversals was honor; Carton had pledged his life to Lucy, and Madame Defarge and the 
French people wanted to honor France.  Without these reversals in character, Dickens 
would have had a much more convoluted novel, and perhaps would have even had to 
introduce even more characters into the plot.  As it is, the changes wrap up the book with 
one decisive stroke, leaving the reader with a sense of closure rather than apprehension.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Tale of Two Cities again.TXT
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A Tale of Two Cities 
A Tale of Two Cities Dickens, Charles Appleton Library 266 pp. The main purpose of this book is to show the contrasts between the peaceful city of London and the city of Paris, tearing itself apart in revolution. This is apparent in the very first line of the book, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." This is a contrast of the two cities, London, the tranquil home of Mr. Lorry and the Darnays'; and Paris, the center of a bloody revolution. The author shows gentleness in these violent times in the persons of Dr. and Lucie Mannette, both gentle and peaceful. He also characterizes the evil side of the revolution in the apathetic and depraved Misuser and Mademoiselle Defarge, who go about their business while death carts roll-- as do heads-- through the streets of Paris. He does though, depict a ray of light amongst all this evil; the heroic Carton, who gave his life for his friend and a woman he knew he would never have. The biggest contrast of all, is in the person of Misuser Darnay, the gentle English family man, who is also related to the evil Marquis Evremonde. I personally like stories that use historical events as backdrops because it brings these seemingly distant events closer to us. This book definitely offers insight into life in the two cities at the time of the French Revolution. I think it does an excellent job of depicting just how completely engulfed some people became in the revolution. It shows how people were blinded by the desire for freedom from their former oppressors, so much so, that they attacked anyone and anything that was even remotely related to their past rulers. I think this was effectively done by excellent characterization, using each character to depict a different aspect of society, then contrasting them by making them rivals. I really took away a different view of that time period. Some of the language he used was definitely outdated, yet precisely what you would expect for a novel of that time period. I was able to follow the story fairly well, although there were a few times, in switching back and forth between cities, that I got a little lost Still on the whole I liked the way the story flowed. Unlike some stories of that time, there wasn't really any profanity or taking of God's name in vain, which is always good to see. There are other Dickens books that I have liked more, but I still thought this was a very good example of his work. I thought the style was pretty consistent with other books by Dickens I've read. It seems he uses characters to symbolize traits of people quite often, like Tiny Tim symbolizing innocence in the Christmas Carol to contrast Scrooge's unkindness. I thought the setting, combined with the title and characterization, provided an in-depth look at the time period of the French Revolution and the events around it. It starts with the title, which is appropriate for obvious reasons, those being that the story shifts between London and Paris quite often. The description of the settings really added to the experience of the time period. The way he described the prison cells, the area around the guillotine, and beautiful house of the Darnays' helped promote the contrasts between the cities, as well as put you right into the story. As far as suspense goes, there really wasn't much, so if you're looking to be kept on the edge of your seat, then I wouldn't really recommend this. However, this book has an fantastically intricate plot, and a pretty good ending. Overall I liked this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who likes Dickens and is also interested by the time period surrounding the French Revolution. However, if you're looking for a cliffhanger full of action, this isn't really the book for you. 659
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Tale Of Two Cities LA.TXT
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A Tale Of Two Cities LA
A Tale of Two Cities
This paper is a literary analysis over the book A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens. It contains information about the author, plot, and characters in the story. Devices and styles used to complete the book are also in this paper.
On February 7, 1812 in Portsea, Charles Dickens began his life. His father, John Dickens, spent little time with Charles. The family lived in poverty and John was in prison much of the time. When Charles was two, the family moved to London. At age twelve, Charles worked in a factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He only worked there for a few months, but it was a miserable experience that would remain with him his whole life.
Dickens attended school until he was fifteen. He always enjoyed reading, and especially adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. Authors like William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding greatly influenced his work. However, most of the knowledge he used as an author came from his environment around him. In the late 1820s, Dickens became a newspaper writer and reporter. Dickens= first book, Sketches by Boz, written in 1836, consisted of articles he wrote for the London Chronicles. After he married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. This was the beginning of his career.
When Dickens was twenty-four, he became famous for the rest of his life. His first fame came with The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club with Dickens= adventure stories. Other works followed such as, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, and Our Mutual Friend.
In 1837, Catherine=s sister Mary, died. Dickens suffered much grief. This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Dickens and Catherine had ten children in all. In 1958 the couple separated. Through his life, Dickens was an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and an editor. Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. This led to involvement in many organizations until 1865 when Dickens health started to decline. In 1870 Dickens died of a stroke. The world remembers him as one of the best authors in history.
In two basic locations the story takes place. The main action is in England and France during the French revolution. The action begins in 1775 at Tellson=s bank in England, then it moves to France in a wine shop where the rebels have headquarters. Tellson=s bank in England is also a rebel base. The people in France are poor and the nobles keep getting richer. This leads to dirty streets and unhealthy people. This is the cause for the revolution. Doctor Manette is a main character in the story. He was a well-respected doctor that fell into trouble among nobility before the time of the story. The nobles put Manette in a prison for eighteen years. These years of solitary confinement drive him crazy. His only comfort in the dark are his tools and workbench that his uses to make imaginary shoes. During these years Manette has no sense of time or anything. Manette was in his fifty=s when he got out of prison. His hair was long and dirty. His well-built body wore thin in those eighteen years. Time and normal life helped to restore Manette=s body and also his mind. After the rebels break Manette out of the Bastille, he evolves back into the man he was before the imprisonment. This took almost three years. We found that Manette is a deeply caring and compassionate family man. He earns the respect and love of most everyone. It takes great strength of character and determination to overcome the horrors of eighteen years of confinement in the Bastille. Manette was a moral man. He knew that the French nobles were wrongfully stealing money and leaving the peasants in poverty. He was a shoemaker in his dreams and a scientist in real life. Manette loved his daughter very much and was happy to give her to Charles Darney in marriage. He knew Darney was a good man and loved his daughter very much. When Darney tried to tell Manette of his past, Manette would not allow him to speak until he and Lucie married. To show the great character that he was, Manette used his knowledge of the prison to return and help Darney escape, even after his terrible experience there. Manette was not without flaw though. At one point everyone has to crack. When Darney told Manette that he was Charles Evermond after the wedding, Manette went back to his solitary mentality. He went back to work with his tools on his shoes until his family buried the tools and bench. They did this and soon Manette had his health back.
Sydney Carton is an insolent, indifferent, alcoholic lawyer. He loves Lucie, but knows he is unworthy of her. Carton once had a promising future, but his life went downhill. Carton is an unhappy man on the outside and a brave and heroic man on the inside. He dies for Lucie, in the place of Darney in the end of the story. "Carton to be about thirty when he goes to the guillotine, but he is actually middle-aged, somewhere around forty. What gives one that illusion of youth is the adolescent nature of his love in its purity and tenacity.@(Dickens 360)
Charles Darnay is a Frenchman who chooses to live in England for secret reasons. Darnay becomes Lucie's husband and the father of her children. He is a good man, but his origins are mysterious. Darnay has an inclination for getting into mortal trouble and someone always comes to the rescue, every time with a greater risk. With his propensity for getting jailed and tried on charges carrying the death penalty, it is no wonder Lucie falls in love with Darney. The story begins in the year 1775 when Jarvis Lorry finds Lucie Manette and tells her that her father is alive and in France. After finding her father, they return to England to testify for Charles Darney who is on trial for treason. DeFarge releases Darney and everyone is happy. As Dr. Manette starts to get better, three suitors come to him for Lucie. Darney is the lucky one who gets to marry her. After the wedding, Manette has a relapse of his prison days. Lorry then destroys the shoemaking kit. In 1789 the storming of the Bastille in France occurred and began the revolution. The guillotine became overused, killing anyone relating to nobility. Darney returns to France to save a friend, but the French capture him and put him on death row. Manette freed him then unknowingly condemned him because of family actions in the past. Since Carton looked like Darney, he took Darney's place at the guillotine. Madame Defarge found out so Mrs. Pross had to kill her to save the Manettes'. Carton died happy knowing that Lucie would live happily.
There are many conflicts in this story and one of these is Sydney Carton's conflict with his past and outer self. In his past he was a drunk and led a miserable life. As a lawyer, Carton had a chance at a good life, but ruined it with alcohol. This made it very difficult for him when he fell in love with Lucie. Carton knew that he was unworthy of such a woman, or any woman at all. The plan to save Darney gave Carton a chance to overcome his past and allow people to remember him as something better than a drunk. This showed that Carton had a loving and heroic inner self that anyone can respect. I have learned that the power of love is the strongest of all emotions. Love knows no limits. Not even hate or the ultimate revenge can overcome love. Carton gave up his life for Lucie because love allowed him to do the unthinkable. He did not do it to be happy with Lucie. He did this simply for his love to be happy without him. Mrs. Pross also did the unthinkable because of love. She murdered Madame Defarge out of love and determination to save her loved ones. We find that the power of love will compel people to do anything selflessly for others.
Author styles and devices greatly affect the story. To set the emotional scene Dickens describes the feelings of the characters. By explaining the setting of the novel Dickens can show the reader how the people of the two cities are feeling toward each other and the nobles. Dickens also uses humor to cause a break in a serious story. One example of this is when a wine barrel breaks on its way to the wine shop. Since the people in the streets are so poor, they flock to the spill and save every drop of the wine leaving the cobblestone street clean. One of Dickens greatest abilities is to describe scenes to give the reader a vivid picture. This quotation from the end of the book that shows his ability. AThere is a dreadful compulsion in the Carmagnole, a ghastly apparition of a dance-figure gone raving mad, keeping a ferocious time...like a gnashing of teeth in unison, with dancers who advance, retreated, struck at one another=s hands, spun, clutched and tore, and then, with their heads low down, and their hands high up, swooped screaming off.@(Dickens 374) Foreshadowing is another important element used by Dickens. Many times he foreshadows the Revolt to come. AThe time was to come, when that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there.@(Dickens 38) This foreshadows the blood shed because there is going to be a revolt. Dickens tells A Tale of Two Cities in third person. This is a perspective of writing where the narrator tells the story. There is also dialogue between characters. The omniscient narrator tells the story. He knows everything, including what the characters do not know. The title, A Tale of Two Cities is appropriate for this story. They directly relate to the setting that is London and Paris. These are two cities of major importance during the French revolution. They house a tale of dramatic happenings of individuals and the countries as a whole.
A Tale of Two Cities is a long and boring book. As I look back on the story, I find that the last 120 pages of the book were much more eventful than the first 270 pages. This causes lose of interest early in the story. Without interest, getting anything out of the pages is hard. Then, all of the sudden, the plot becomes exciting and the story is over. This is not the best way to write a story. For these reasons A Tale of Two Cities is not a book for people who are not die hard readers. Works Cited.
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York, New York: The New American Library of World Literature, Incl., 1936.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Tale of Two Cities.TXT
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A Tale of Two Cities
	When writing a book, most authors are writing about an issue they have.  
However, other themes become apparent through the course of the piece, either 
consciously or subconsciously.  One such theme is a reversal of characters in A Tale of 
Two Cities.  Individuals and groups of people change dramatically from the outset of the 
book all the way up to its conclusion.  Three of the most obvious changes in character are 
Sydney Carton, Madame DeFarge, and the French people as a whole.
	Sydney Carton is first described at Darnay's trial as not paying attention to what's 
going on, sort of an oaf.  He is portrayed as a drunk, and even admits this to Darnay on 
their "date."  However, love, they say, is strong;  Carton's love for Lucy changed him 
greatly though the course of the novel.  He stopped drinking when he visited, and even 
pledged his life to her, and everyone she loved.  Carton changed even more dramatically 
when death on the guillotine was approaching.  He waxed philosophical about the future, 
and even quoted a few scriptures.  This is most certainly not the man first seen at the Old 
Bailey with the sideways wig.
	Another interesting change took place in the character of Madame Defarge.  She 
is first portrayed as a woman of principle who is helping her husband with the revolution. 
However, Madame Defarge makes a startling metamorphosis from supporting character 
to antagonist when she is revealed to be the shadow.  She is shown to be cruel and petty, 
not the compassionate woman one would assume of a leader of a revolution against 
tyranny.  This part of  the novel casts a shadow of doubt over the rest of the characters, 
and one begins to question the validity of all the characters.
	Finally, the French people themselves start out as downtrodden and miserable 
victims of a corrupt system.  But it is illustrated that they could be just as heartless as 
their rich counterparts, the aristocrats, when it came down to it.  For example, anyone 
who was an aristocrat, or even associated with aristocrats, was sentenced to death.  As 
the novel went on, the French people grew more heartless, for the executions continued 
without end.  This last reversal in character is the most disturbing, because it holds true 
in the real world.
	These examples are but a few of the many in A Tale of Two Cities, and this 
theme of character reversal one of a myriad of possible interpretations.  However, the 
fact remains that these integral characters all  changed drastically: Carton for love, 
Madame Defarge for revenge, and the French people for power. The cause of these 
reversals was honor; Carton had pledged his life to Lucy, and Madame Defarge and the 
French people wanted to honor France.  Without these reversals in character, Dickens 
would have had a much more convoluted novel, and perhaps would have even had to 
introduce even more characters into the plot.  As it is, the changes wrap up the book with 
one decisive stroke, leaving the reader with a sense of closure rather than apprehension.
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Wack On The Side Of The Head.TXT
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A Wack On The Side Of The Head
Acute Ambiguity
Roger von Oech, the author of A Whack on the Side of the Head, makes an unusual offer that thinking at random will increase the efficiency at which ideas become more abundant. This particular concept is certainly an original way to come up with new, fresh problem solving techniques. Ambiguity in the world can help new ideas flow for anyone when looked at in a creative way.
Chapter seven begins by explaining an example that would make the case against using ambiguity. In fact, the title of chapter seven is "Avoid Ambiguity". While it is true that vague statements leave questions unanswered, the traditional idea behind gathering information is to find specific details and clear communicated information. Ambiguous communication can be dangerous in some situations where the consequences of not understanding the complete picture can cause harm. Therefore, communication of specific information is needed in some situations, however, the author then goes on to explain how the ambiguous statement or event can lead to more accurate and applicable solutions.
In the event that a problem would arise in a company or social gathering that would call for a creative solution, random thinking techniques would be incredibly applicable. The author gives great examples of creative solutions and brainstorming techniques from the simple event such as a fundraiser all the way to complicated matters such as national defense strategies (von Oech, 1990). Many situations can be complimented by this type of thinking process. However, finding places to begin within a random pattern can be challenging. Based on the random, ambiguous thinking technique, my wife and I used this method for a creative solution to figuring out how to decorate our nursery. We followed the different steps that the author suggests in order to come up with creative ideas. First, we asked ourselves the question, "What do we want out of the nursery?" Then, we opened the dictionary and picked a random definition to begin our thinking process. Next, we applied the random definition to the original question and came up with a nursery theme that the whole family can be proud of!
Another original concept that this book brought to the attention of the reader is that of foolishness. There are definitely benefits to conformity such as civilized societies and workplaces, however, the author states that very few original ideas come about in a setting of conformity. This creative and even uncomfortable technique can be very effective.
In a world of conformity like our United States military, the lack of originality becomes overly abundant. The ideas that flow in a non-traditional setting produce beautiful art, timeless music, and priceless entertainment. It never hurts to ask the opinion of the least likely candidate for the answer because it is difficult to determine what the opinion will be. This concept was eluded to on an episode of Star Trek. In this situation, the Enterprise landed on a planet that had a genetically superior race of humans. This race had no deformities, health problems, or imperfections. The planet was in danger of a chemical that would wipe out the entire existence of the humans on this perfect planet. The irony was that the solution to this planet's problem came from a device that helped a blind man on the Enterprise see. If the people of the Enterprise were perfect like the people on the planet, the idea for solving this problem would have never been found. Roger von Oech's book was a true source of idea stimulation. Creativity is such an important part of life both personal and professional, however, it is often overlooked or even stifled by the way in which we ask ourselves to solve problems. Many of concepts in this work can feel risky or even uncomfortable to perform, yet that is the part of each person that can bring out the best ideas. Reference
Von Oech, Roger. (1990). A Whack on the Side of the Head. New York, NY: Warner Books, Inc.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\A Whole Novel Or Many Short Stories.TXT
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A Whole Novel Or Many Short Stories, The Answer Is Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway has written many books, which have heralded him as a great author, but there is one novel that seems to have questions swirling about it, In Our Time. In this novel the main character is in question, you are unable to tell right away whether the chapters/stories are linked together as a novel, or if they are all separate short stories. Having read the book, and having done a background check on Ernest Hemingway the person, it is apparent that the stories are linked together and have a main character, Nick Adams, that progresses as the novel moves along. The first example is the way the life of the main character, Nick Adam, mimics Hemingway's own life. There are far too many similarities between Nick Adam's life and Hemingway's life. Second, in reading the book, the reader can see the way Nick Adams grows as a person. This is not only because there is a direct link between chapters, but also there is foreshadowing, and there are the same characters used throughout the book.
Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time directly parallels Hemingway's own life. The chapters are linked together in a way, though they are not linked through Nick Adams, who is the most mentioned character and is described the most in detail. The first section of stories is definitely linked, by the use of the same characters and the development of the characters. In some of the stories there are direct referrals to the previous story. As the reader reaches the middle of the book the connections start to diminish. The characters change, but the stories still follows Hemingway's own life. It is as if the reader is following Nick, but in an indirect method. Nick is the same person, simply with a different name: such as Kreb, Mr. Elliot, and he. Many of the chapters have the pronoun "he" as opposed to an actual name. Towards the end of the book, the story refers back to the character Nick, and his development. This development again follows Hemingway's own life, and his healing from such things as being a participant in World War I.
There are many parallels to Hemingway's life and his main character's development. First in "Indian Camp" chapter one, we are introduced to Nick Adams and his father. They are on a boat going to an Indian camp to operate on a woman who cannot deliver her baby. The simple connection to Hemingway's life is that his father was a doctor, Dr. Clarence Hemingway. In "Indian Camp" you see other connection between Nick and his father, in real life Hemingway definitely had a connection with his Father. It has also been documented that Hemingway's father taught Ernest to fish and hunt. And in the book Nick's ability to fish, shown in the story "The End of Something", which he was taught by his father.
The next main point occurs in "The End of Something," the setting for this story takes place on Hortons Bay. In Hemingway's life his parents had a summerhouse on Hortons Bay. Hemingway just placed part of his own life into the book; this is merely a prime example of the similarities of living between the character Nick and Hemingway's own life. There are more direct references to Hemingway's own life. In "Soldier's Return," the main character is Kreb. In the story, Kreb returns from World War I in the summer of 1919, and is soon pressured by his parents to do something with his life. Now in Hemingway's life he returned from World War I in January of 1919, and was pressured by his parent to do something with his life. The examples and connections between Hemingway's life and the book grow.
Hemingway's first wife was almost Fifteen years older than he was. This parallels the book once again, "Mr. and Mrs. Elliot", in this story they are newly weds, Mr. Elliot is twenty-five, and Mrs. Elliot is forty years old. In the next chapter we meet another couple, unnamed, a man and his wife. In this chapter the man and wife seem to have a lackluster relationship; the husband does not notice the wife all that much. It can be concluded that their relationship is deteriorating from when they first got married. This is like Hemingway's life, in the idea that Hemingway was married four times. The character's relationship is either like Hemingway's first or second marriage; both ended in divorce. It could be the first, but more likely it is Hemingway's second marriage, because the character names in the book change.
In addition to the obvious written similarities, there are non-spoken connections between Hemingway and his book. The middle section of the book involves Kreb, and he talks about how he likes Europe, France and Germany especially. Also, the stories "Mr. And Mrs. Elliot" and the "Soldiers Return" take place in Europe. While in real life Hemingway liked Paris, France: the first thing he did when he got to Europe, as a soldier, was to go to Paris.
Though the obvious connection can be made between Hemingway and his characters in the book, there are definite and foreshadowed connections between chapters in the book. "Indian Camp" and "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" have connections such as the main characters involved, the setting, and the attitudes of the characters. In "Indian Camp", the main characters are Nick and his father. Nick is a young inquisitive boy, and his father is his guide, and a doctor. In the "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" Nick is young and questioning, and his father is still a doctor and he still guides Nick through his questions at the end on the chapter. Also, the setting is basically the same, except the place and time is slightly changed by a few days and the family is then at their house. Finally, the attitudes are the same between Nick and his father, their relationship does not change, and Nick's father answers his questions and spends time with him.
The connection between chapters continues into the next chapters. Between "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" and "The End of Something", the setting is the same, as well as the character of Nick and his growth. The setting is the same in these two chapters, not the time, though there is less than a ten-year difference, the place is the same, Hortons Bay. In chapter two, Nick's father has hired people to take the logs out of the bay after the mill closed down, and in chapter three Nick and Marjorie are rowing a boat in Hortons Bay and they are talking of it. Now the next connection is a little more vague. This being the growth of Nick, he is merely a few years older but his maturity is apparent, he is like his father. Nick has taken the role of the guide, like his father teaching him to fish he has taught Marjorie to fish, and like his father guiding him through his questions, he is guiding Marjorie through the bay. Going to the next chapter there are more connections. In "The End of Something" has the same characters as "The Three Day Blow." Also, the relationships are the same between the chapters. The characters in chapter three are Nick, Marjorie, and Bill. The same three characters can be found in chapter four. In chapter three Nick has a somewhat romantic relationship, while Nick and Bill have a confiding relationship, since they talk to one another. Now in chapter four, Nick and Bill talk the entire chapter, and Marjorie comes up and good feeling is had for how bad Nick feels to not have him in his life, you can see how important she was to him. Also, Nick's development is still continuing and still can be seen. Nick is seeing what Marjorie meant to him, and he is growing.
Between "The Three Day Blow" and "The Battler" the connections are a little weak but they still exist. Nick is still the main character, and he is still growing. In "The Three Day Blow" is Nick visiting Bill, and the feeling is that Nick does not really have a house, he is just kind of a drifter, shown by the fact that he has no socks. While in chapter five "The Battler" Nick has just been beaten up in a train yard, where he is drifting. He ends up eating with two homeless men that are crazy, one more crazy than the other. But Nick still has no place in his life.
The next six chapters do not involve Nick at all. It is as if the reader goes away from Nick and reads about people who are living their lives, as Nick should. When we return to Nick, it is in Chapter twelve, "Cross Country Snow" and Nick is skiing through heavy fluffy snow. He is with his friend George, while the story shows how Nick needs company and how he likes to be in the wilderness. Throughout the book, there are certain themes that appear. Along with the themes in the book, the other idea throughout the story is the growth of Nick Adams. Nick starts out liking being outside with his dad, and wanting to be like his dad. As the stories go on you can see Nick taking on his father's paternal instincts. The reader can see this when Nick guides Marjorie just as he was guided by his father in such areas as rowing the boat and teaching fishing techniques. As the book goes on you can see how Nick likes the outdoors and to be alone with the land, it just seems like he is a woodland man who treks though life. As the book goes on, Nick treks through chapters. It does not matter if it is through a train yard or though the woods, since Nick always seems to end up alone, and that is the way he likes it.
The development of Nick Adams is the development of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway grew through the love and nurturing that his father gave him, as did Nick Adams. Ernest Hemingway liked to be alone and liked the wilderness, as did Nick Adams. Hemingway has surprising effects to the war, as did Nick Adams; such as The growth from a boy to a mid twenty year old man is the same for Hemingway as he portrayed it in In Our Time, through Nick Adams.
In Our Time shows the progression of Nick Adams, which is apparent through the descriptions given in the chapter. In addition to the arguments that are stated in this paper, there are other opinions such as this. "Hemingway meant there to be a controversy in this book, but you can definitely see a link throughout the book," said by John DelVecchio, author of many book, such as the 13th Valley. Also a release by the University of Florida, David V. Gagne states, "It's sort of like a painting, if you could pick out nay one individual brush-stroke, you can view the painting in its entirety". This merely furthers the adage that there is a connection between stories.
Nick Adams progression runs parallel to Hemingway's own life. It is quite noticeable to see the progress of Nick Adams and to see how the real is linked to the fictional. Overall there is a limited argument that can be taken to say that the stories are separated, there is just too much information leading to the conclusion saying that stories are linked together.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Abortion.TXT
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Abortion
Abortion is an extremely complex and highly debated public issue that has consumed much of the American social and political arena in the late twentieth century. People on both sides of the debate present strong arguments that establish valid points. Society clearly states that child abuse and the murder of one's child is illegal, but does allow abortion. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, the fine line that exists between abortion and murder will be discussed and debated for decades to come.
In Judith Thomson's article, "A Defense of Abortion," she argues that abortion can be morally justified in some instances, but not all cases. Clearly, in her article, Thomson argues, "...while I do argue that abortion is not impermissible, I do not argue that is always permissible" (163). Thomson feels that when a woman has been impregnated due to rape, and when a pregnancy threatens the life of a mother, abortion is morally justifiable. In order to help readers understand some of the moral dilemmas raised by abortion, Thomson creates numerous stories that possess many of the same problems.
Thomson begins her argument by questioning the validity of the argument proposed by anti-abortion activists. Thomson explains that "most opposition to abortion relies on the premise that the fetus is a human being....from the moment of conception" (153). Thomson thinks this is a premise that is strongly argued for, although she also feels it is argued for "not well" (153). According to Thomson, anti-abortion proponents argue that fetuses are persons, and since all persons have a right to life, fetuses also posses a right to life. Regardless, Thomson argues that one can grant that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception, with a right to life, and still prove that abortion can be morally justified. In order to prove this argument Thomson proposes the example of "the sick violinist."
According to this story, Thomson explains, imagine that one morning you wake up and find yourself in bed surgically attached to a famous unconscious violinist. The violinist has a fatal kidney ailment, and your blood type is the only kind that matches that of the violinist. You have been kidnapped by music lovers and surgically attached to the violinist. If you remove yourself from the violinist, he will die, but the good news is that he only requires nine months to recover. Obviously, Thomson is attempting to create a situation that parallels a woman who has unintentionally become pregnant from a situation such as rape. Thomson has created a situation in which in which an individuals rights have been violated against their will. Although not the two situations are not identical, a fetus and a medically-dependent violinist are similar situations for Thomson. In both cases, a person has unwillingly been made responsible for another life. The question Thomson raises for both situations is, "Is it morally incumbent on you to accede to this situation?" (154). Most individuals would find the situation ludicrous and feel little, or no, obligation to the sick violinist. But, Thomson points out, one may use this example to illustrate how an individual's right to life does not mean other individuals are morally responsible for that life. Remember, Thomson explains, anti-abortion activists argue that all persons have a right to life, and violinists are persons (154). Granted an individual has a right to decide what happens in and to their body, Thomson continues, but as anti-abortion activists argue, a person's right to life outweighs your right to decide what happens in and out of your body (154). Therefore, you are obligated to care for the sick violinist. Yet, most people would find this obligation completely ridiculous, which proves to Thomson that there is something wrong with the logic of the anti-abortionists' argument. Thus, Thomson concludes that an individual does have the right to decide what happens to their own body, especially when pregnancy has resulted against a person's will (rape) and in a manner that violates her rights.
Another story that Thomson utilizes to address the abortion debate is the "people seeds" example. According to this story, one is to imagine that there are "people-seeds" flying around in the air like pollen. An individual desires to open their windows to allow fresh air into their house, yet he/she buys the best mesh screens available because he/she does not want any of the people seeds to get into their house. Unfortunately, there is a defect in one of the screens, and a seed takes root in their carpet anyway. Thomson argues that under these circumstances, the person that is developing from the people seed does not have a right to develop in your house. She also argues that "despite the fact that you opened your windows" the seed still does not have a right to develop in your house (159). Thomson is drawing a parallel to a woman who accidentally becomes pregnant despite using contraception. Like the person who got the people seed in their house, despite using precautions, the woman is not obligated to bear a child. The woman clearly used contraception and tried to prevent pregnancy, and is not obligated to bear this child in her body. Thomson thinks that, under these circumstances, abortion is definitely permissible.
Finally, Thomson tells another tale to illustrate an answer to some of the questions raised by the abortion debate. Thomson asks the reader to imagine a situation in which she was extremely ill and was going to die unless Henry Fonda came and placed his cool hand on her brow. Yet, Thomson points out, Fonda is not obligated to visit her and heal her. It would be "nice" of him to visit her and save her life, but he is not morally obligated to do so. This, for Thomson, is similar to the dilemma faced by the woman who has become pregnant, but does not want to keep her baby. Thomson feels it would be "nice" for the woman to bear the child, but no one can force her to do so. Just like Henry Fonda must choose whether or not he wants to save Thomson's life, the mother has the right to choose whether or not she wants to give birth to the baby. Pregnancy is a condition that affects the woman's body and, therefore, the woman has the right to decide whether or not she wants to have a baby.
Although I agree with many of Thomson's arguments, there are a few aspects of her argument that I feel are not correct. First, Thomson states that if two people try very hard not get pregnant, they do not have a "special responsibility" for the conception. I completely disagree and think that two mature individuals have to be held responsible for the results of sexual intercourse. The couple engaged in an act that is understood to have significant consequences, and the couple has to be held responsible for the products of intercourse. Furthermore, if a couple had engaged in sexual intercourse and both contracted a sexually transmitted disease, both people would be held responsible for their actions. Thus, I feel a woman possesses the right to decide whether or not she wants to bear a child, but I do think individuals have to realize that they are responsible for the results of a serious act like sexual intercourse. However, Thomson does respond to this criticism of the people seed argument by offering asking the question, "Is it realistic for a woman to get a hysterectomy, so she never has to worry about becoming pregnant due to rape, failed contraception, etc.?" Obviously, there is some logical merit to this response, but I do not think it appropriately addresses the real issue of "special responsibility." For example, imagine a young boy who gets very hungry for dinner. Yet his mother has had a hard day at work and taking a nap upstairs. His father hasn't come home from work yet either, so the boy decides to heat himself up some soup. He knows he is too young to use the stove, so he decides to use the microwave which is much safer. In fact, he even uses potholders when he takes the hot bowl out of the microwave because he does not want to burn himself. But, as he walks into the living room to watch television, he slips spills the hot soup on his arm and breaks the bowl on the floor. Now, even though the boy took "reasonable precautions" he still is at least partly responsible for his mistake. He took many "reasonable precautions" to avoid hurting himself, but, in the end, he still accidentally hurt himself. This situation exactly parallels a woman who has used contraception and still gotten pregnant. The woman tried not get pregnant, but accidents happen. Thus, the little boy has to be held partly responsible for burning himself because he chose to cook himself hot soup. Similarly, the female has to be held partially responsible if she gets pregnant even if she used contraception because she, like the boy, put herself in a risky situation.
In conclusion, Judith Thomson raises numerous, strong arguments for the permissibility of abortion. Overall, she argues that the woman has the right to decide whether or not to have an abortion because the woman has the right to decide what happens to her body. Still, in closing, Thomson interestingly notes, "...I agree that the desire for the child's death is not one which anybody may gratify, should it turn out possible to detach the child alive" (163).
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 2.TXT
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 
The conflict between society and the individual is a very important
theme portrayed throughout Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn. Many people see Huckleberry Finn as a mischievous boy who is a bad
influence to others. Huck is not raised in agreement with the accepted ways
of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him
through life. As seen several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his
innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more
right than those of society. Society refuses to accept Huck as he is and isn't going to change its
opinions about him until he is reformed and civilized. The Widow Douglas
and Miss Watson try to "sivilize" Huck by making him stop all of his habits,
such as smoking. They try to reverse all of his teachings from the first twelve
years of his life and force him to become their stereotypical good boy. However, from the very beginning of the novel, Huck clearly states that he
does not want to conform to society. "The Widow Douglas she took me for
her son, and allowed she would sivilize me...I got into my old rags and my
sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." (page 1) Huck says this
shortly after he begins living with the Widow Douglas because it is rough for
him to be confined to a house and the strict rules of the Widow Douglas. Huck's father, a dirty and dishonest drunk, was also a problem. He
was so angry that his son could read, that he severely beat him and then
forced him to stay in a secluded cabin. Huck then devises a plan to escape
and heads down river were he teams up with Jim, a runaway slave. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out
down the Mississippi. As they run from civilization and are on the river, they
ponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. The
river never cares how saintly they are, how rich they are, or what society
thinks of them. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be,
and that is Huck. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the
freedom of the wilderness to the restriction of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Society
automatically sees a black person, and even further, slaves, as inferior. They
never think of slaves as human beings, only as property. A slave, such as
Jim, could be the nicest, most caring person you have ever met, but since he
is a slave he is presumed incapable of such things. Ironically, Huck believes
he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. In Chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of
society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he comes
up with a story about his father being on the raft with small pox. The men
fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give Huck money
and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking
help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick
man. This is contrasted to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he
actually did a morally just action. Huck's acceptance for his love for Jim is shown in Chapter thirty-one. Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson to return Jim, yet he ends up ripping the
letter and wishes to free Jim. "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'-and he tore it
up." (page 214) Here, we see that Huck concludes that he is evil, and that
society has been right all along. The ending is perhaps most disappointing because it seems as though
through all the situations that Huck is growing up and accepting his innate
ideas of right, when in fact he hasn't grown at all. In the last chapter after
everything has been cleared up and set straight, Aunt Sally wishes to adopt
Huck and unfortunately, Huck is against that idea. "But I reckon I got to
light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to
adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." (page
294) In Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry, Huck finds
himself living in a society that doesn't fit him. Huck is considered an
uneducated backwards boy, constantly under pressure to conform to the
"humanized" surroundings of society. Everywhere he looks there are people
who value things that he sees as meaningless. Huck feels trapped and begins
his journey, with Jim, down the river in an effort to find someone or some
place that will bring him happiness. Huck and Jim's adventures give us a
chance to examine the society they live in. The conflict between society and
the individual is one of the most important themes of this novel. Throughout
the story we learn that Huck functions as a more noble person when he is not
confined by the hypocrisies of civilization.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.TXT
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain develops the plot into Huck and Jim's adventures allowing him to weave in his criticism of society. The two main characters, Huck and Jim, both run from social injustice and both are distrustful of the civilization around them. Huck is considered an uneducated backwards boy, constantly under pressure to conform to the "humanized" surroundings of society. Jim a slave, is not even considered as a real person, but as property. As they run from civilization and are on the river, they ponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. These social injustices are even more evident when Huck and Jim have to make landfall, and this provides Twain with the chance to satirize the socially correct injustices that Huck and Jim encounter on land. The satire that Twain uses to expose the hypocrisy, racism, greed and injustice of society develops along with the adventures that Huck and Jim have. The ugly reflection of society we see should make us question the world we live in, and only the journey down the river provides us with that chance. Throughout the book we see the hypocrisy of society. The first character we come across with that trait is Miss Watson. Miss Watson constantly corrects Huck for his unacceptable behavior, but Huck doesn't understand why, "That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it" (2). Later when Miss Watson tries to teach Huck about Heaven, he decides against trying to go there, "...she was going to live so as to go the good place. Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn't try for it." (3) The comments made by Huck clearly show Miss Watson as a hypocrite, scolding Huck for wanting to smoke and then using snuff herself and firmly believing that she would be in heaven. When Huck encounters the Grangerfords and Shepardsons, Huck describes Colonel Grangerford as, "...a gentleman, you see. He was a gentleman all over; and so was his family. He was well born, as the saying is, and that's worth as much in a man as it is in a horse..." (104). You can almost hear the sarcasm from Twain in Huck's description of Colonel Grangerford. Later Huck is becoming aware of the hypocrisy of the family and its feud with the Shepardsons when Huck attends church. He is amazed that while the minister preaches about brotherly love both the Grangerfords and Shepardsons are carrying weapons. Finally when the feud erupts into a gunfight, Huck sits in a tree, disgusted by the waste and cruelty of the feud, "It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree...I wished I hadn't ever come ashore that night to see such things." Nowhere else is Twain's voice heard more clearly than as a mob gathers at the house of Colonel Sherburn to lynch him. Here we hear the full force of Twain's thoughts on the hypocrisy an cowardice of society, "The idea of you lynching anybody! It's amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a man!...The pitifulest thing out is a mob; that's what an army is- a mob; they don't fight with courage that's born in them, but with courage that's borrowed from their mass, and from their officers. But a mob without any man at the head of it is beneath pitifulness" (146-147). Each of these examples finds Huck again running to freedom of the river. The river never cares how saintly you are, how rich you are, or what society thinks you are. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be, and that is Huck. The river is freedom than the land is oppression, and that oppression is no more evident than it is to Jim. It is somewhat surprising that Huck's traveling companion is Jim. As anti-society that Huck is, you would think that he would have no qualms about helping Jim. But Huck has to have feelings that slavery is correct so we can see the ignorance of racial bigotry. Huck and Jim's journey begins as Huck fights within himself about turning Jim over to the authorities. Finally he decides not to turn Jim in. This is a monumental decision for Huck to make, even though he makes it on the spot. This is not just a boy running away from home. It is someone who has decided to turn his back on everything "home" stands for, even one of its most cherished beliefs. In this way Twain also allows to let us leave our thoughts of bigotry behind also and start to see Jim for who he really is, a man. Even though Huck has made his decision about Jim, early in the voyage we see Huck's attitude towards Jim as racist. Eventually Huck plays a mean trick on Jim and we see Huck begin to change his attitude, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterward, neither" (86). Later on in the story Huck becomes very caring and protective for Jim, where this reaches a climax at the point where Huck saves Jim from two slave catchers by tricking them to think Jim is was Huck's small pox ridden father. The dialogue between Huck and Jim also illustrates that Jim is more than someone's property. He is a human being with feelings, and hopes for a better future. He is not some ignorant, uncaring sub-human, but plainly the opposite. Twain does not necessarily come out and say that slavery is evil, that is far above Huck's understanding, but he gives us the ammunition needed to make that decision for ourselves. Huck and Jim's adventures give us a chance to examine the society they live in. It also gives us a chance to examine ourselves as well as the society today. The story is over a hundred years old, but many of the social vices then, sadly, pertain to our society now. There are more examples of human failings in this book, the trickery and cheating of the King and Duke, the lack of caring by the townspeople for Boggs, the naiveté of the Wilks sisters and the lack of common sense in Tom Sawyer. There is cruelty, greed, murder, trickery, hypocrisy, racism, and a general lack of morality, all the ingredients of society. All through the adventure you have Huck Finn and Jim trying to find the one thing they can only find on the river, freedom, but a person can only stay on the river for so long, and so you have to go on land to face the injustices of society. Quite a contrast, the freedom of being without authority, being able to think for yourself, running right next to the constraints made upon you by society. Somewhere deep within the story Twain is making a powerful statement, a wish for all humanity, that we can be brave enough to break with what others assume is correct and just, and make decisions for ourselves and the ability to stand on our own and do something about it. We are that mob that stood outside Colonel Sherburn's house, we are the Grangerfords and Shepardsons, and we are the King and the Duke, and even the foolish townspeople in every town they conned. Somewhere along the line we must become I, someone has to have the courage to stand up for what is right, to be what Colonel Sherburn would call a real man. Huck gives us that chance, that ability to see things for what they are. His adventures along with Twain's sharp criticism are so uniquely combined to give us that realization. The greatest thing is that it is done so well that we almost think that we are the ones that discovered it.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Against the Gods.TXT
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Against the Gods 
Through all the years of stocks, people never thought of defining risk with numbers. It was never about a definition, but about the feeling in your gut when you see that your risk was rising. In the world of Stocks there are two types of people; the ones who stand by risk and the ones who lean on security. The aggressive and the faint-hearted. The young man, who separated these, weak from strong, wrote an article in June 1952, to the Journal of Finance. This man, Harry Markowitz, an unknown 25-year-old graduate student at the University of Chicago, wrote a fourteen-page article titled "Portfolio Selection." Markowitz was dealing with a subject 'considered too dicey and speculative for sober academic analysis.' He was writing for the big boys.
Immediately Markowitz decisively pinpoints his objectives, stating that 'an investor should not select securities based on their individual properties, but based on how they fit into the whole of the portfolio.' In other words, the risk of a prospective security is irrelevant to the investment decision, it is only the degree to which the addition of this security raises the risk of the portfolio as a whole that should be considered. This is an important perspective, since it is quite possible for an extremely unpredictable security to add very little risk to a portfolio when it is "uncorrelated" with the securities already in the portfolio. In other words, since the individual securities do not move together, some of the movement of each is "washed out" by the movement of the others. These happenings are very unreliable to predict and nowhere near able to control. Stocks, bonds, saving accounts, and each investor's returns depend on this, risk. However they are still able to manage the risks that they take. The higher the risk should in time produce more wealth, but only for the patient investors who can stand the heat.
Risk was the notation that Markowitz used to construct portfolios for investors who "consider expected return a desirable thing and variance of return an undesirable thing." The 'and' is the hinge on which return and variance helps Markowitz build his case. He has decided therefore that risk and variance have become synonyms. This then brings us to variance and standard deviation. 'The greater the variance or the standard deviation around the average, the less the average return will signify about what the outcome is likely to be.' The market is always unpredictable, this is why investors take the easy way out and only bet a small bit than bet a larger bit and win more. They know that they are also capable of losing the larger bit as easily as losing the smaller bit. In von Neumann's game of strategy, he says that by diversifying instead of striving for the kill the investor at least maximizes the probability of survival.
Efficiency means maximizing output relative to input, or minimizing input relative to output. Markowitz rather reserves the term "efficient" for portfolios that combine the best holdings at the price with the least of the variance. But what it really means or what we really want to hear is that efficient portfolios minimize that 'undesirable thing' called variance while simultaneously maximizing that 'desirable thing' called getting rich. Its too bad it isn't that easy. Efficiency is the only loophole in Markowitz's article that has to be encouraged by the investors gut feeling.
The stock market is a game. It's a strategic game that has to be played knowingly. The market isn't just a sport that you can manipulate and win millions on your first try. It's a way of life. A religion to some. These some know what gut wrenching risk is. It's a risk of numbers. An art, which is followed by each stroke of the brush. A risk of life. A rush that you get when you're hurtling down a roller coaster at top speeds. It's a feeling of superiority. It's the smell of sweat, cologne, leather briefcases and freshly pressed business suits. It's a whole other world. A utopia. Everything relies on its turnout. In our daily lives the Stock Market is God.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Agatha Christie.TXT
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Agatha Christie 
Agatha Christie is the best-known mystery writer in the world. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language. Another billion have also been sold in forty-five foreign languages. Her works have been translated into more languages than those of William Shakespeare. Only the Bible and Shakespeare outsell her novels, thus making her the most successful mystery writer of all time.
Agatha Miller was born in Torquay, England on September 15, 1890. As a child, she was educated by her mother and did not attend school. In 1914 she was married to Colonel Archibald Christie, an aviator in the Royal Flying Corps. Around this time, World War I broke out. To help the war effort, Agatha worked for the Red Cross as a nurse. This experience was useful when she later wrote about various poisons and diseases.
Agatha and Archibald divorced in 1926, but Agatha continued to use his name. Later, she married Max Mallowman, an archeologist. She accompanied him on his excavations in Syria and Iraq. These experiences gave Christie inspiration for various novels.
During her career, Agatha Christie wrote 79 novels as well as short story collections. Some of her most famous books include: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile, And Then There Were None, and Murder On the Orient Express. Agatha also wrote six romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In addition, she wrote over a dozen plays. The Mousetrap opened in London in 1952 and is now the longest continuously-running play in theatrical history.
In 1971, Agatha achieved her country's highest honor. She received the Order of the Dame Commander of the British Empire. However, four years later she died. Even though Agatha Christie is dead, she remains the greatest mystery writer the world has ever known.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Agony And The Ecstacy.TXT
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Agony And The Ecstacy
The Agony and the Ecstacy depicts Michelangelo's struggle to become the embodiment of Renaissance humanism. In the course of the novel Michelangelo must overcome the interference of his family, religious dogma, political intrigue, papal patronage, military campaigns, and artistic jealousy to realize his artistic ambition.
Despite his father's opposition, twelve-year-old Michelangelo becomes an apprentice, first to painter Ghirlandaio and then to Bertoldo, a sculptor, who directs a school financed by Lorenzo de' Medici, patron of Florentine art. Michelangelo quickly wins Lorenzo's esteem, meets his children (among Them two future popes, Giulio and Giovanni, and Contessina, his first love), suffers the first of several attacks by jealous colleagues (his nose is broken by Trrigiani, whose later appearances always threaten Michelangelo), and through forbidden dissection learns the anatomy and physiology he needs. Eventually Savonarola, a reform priest, comes to power, and his crusading zeal threatens Lorenzo de' Medici's family and the Florentine art world.
When Savonarola gains political, as well as religious control, Michelangelo flees Florence and travels to Bologna, where he meets the sensuous Clarissa Saffi and carves the Bambino that attracts the attention of Leo Baglioni. In Rome for the first time, Michelangelo meets Jacopo Galli, a banker, who commissions a sculpture; Giuliano Sangallo, an architect; and Bramante, another architect and an adversary. In Rome, Michelangelo carves the Pieta, learns about the whims of religious patrons, and becomes interested in St. Peter's - the building of the new St. Peter's will embroil him in controversy and ultimately consume his last years.
Michelangelo return to Florence, where he carves "the Giant," a sculpture of David which becomes the symbol of Florence. There he meets Leonardo da Vinci, his principal rival, and Raphael, the painter - the three become the triumvirate of Renaissance Italian art. Jealous of Leonardo Michelangelo competes with him as the two artists paint frescoes for the rulers of Florence.
Word of Michelangelo's work reaches Pope Julius, who forces Michelangelo to work in bronze, rather than his beloved marble, and to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It is Julius who resolves to build a new St. Peter's.
Julius is followed by two Medici popes who only add to Michelangelo's problems: Giovanni, by forcing him to work with marble from Pietrasanta, an almost inaccessible region, thereby making Michelangelo an engineer, and Giulio, against whose forces Michelangelo must use his engineering talents to fortify the city of Florence. The Medici popes are followed by Pope Paul III, who commissions Michelangelo to paint the Last Judgment and who, after bitter disputes about the ongoing building of St. Peter's, appoints him as architect for the cathedral. The dome, Michelangelo's last creation, is the appropriate capstone for his creative efforts. In addition to achieving artistic acclaim, he finds an assistant, Tommaso de Cavalieri, who is to complete St. Peter's, and Vittoria Colonna, the female epitome of Renaissance humanism and his last great love.
The Characters
Stone presents Michelangelo as the idealized Renaissance humanist, the artist whose commitment to his work becomes a religion and whose creative efforts are no less than godlike. In fact, his commitment to art is such that it alienates him from society, makes him a misunderstood recluse, and, in becoming the outlet for his passion, prevents him from finding love. Because art becomes religion, art cannot be commercialized; the artist is not a businessman. Overly generous to his parasitic family and deaf to the warnings of his banker/agent Galli, he lives in relative poverty, unlike Leonardo and Raphael. Also unlike them, he works alone, refusing to compromise his work by using, even in the Sistine Chapel, other painters. Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, despite their stature, exist in Stone's novel primarily as foils, artists whose deficiencies help define Michelangelo's greatness.
Other characters serve to demonstrate the plight of the artist whose superior work is often prey to the jealousy of less talented colleagues. Torrigiani breaks Michelangelo's nose, itself part of a work of art, as Stone carefully points out in the first paragraph of the novel. Later Vincenzo, an inferior sculptor in Bologna, defaces Michelangelo's St. Petronius because of jealousy. Perugino's vicious attack of Michelangelo's work motivated, according to Raphael, by envy and despair: Michelangelo has made Perugino;s work obsolete. Another act of "desecration" is committed by Bandinelli, who breaks into Michelangelo's studio during the attack on Florence. "The forces of destruction march on the heels of creativity."
Despite the obstacles posed by such critics, Michelangelo succeeds because of his own talent, which is shaped by his mentors: Ghirlandaio, who instructs him in painting; Bertoldo, who instructs him in sculpture; de" Medici, Il Magnifico, whose Platonic Academy instruct him in poetry and in the blending of classical and Christian cultures that characterizes his work. Even after his death, Lorenzo;s ideas and influence inform Michelangelo's art.
The women in the novel serve primarily as symbols which ultimately are related to Michelangelo's work. Contessina, Lorenzo's daughter is inaccessible, because of her exalted position, and pure; Michelangelo is bound to her aesthetically, spiritually, and mystically. Clarissa Saffi, a fictional rather than historical character, represents the emotional and physical side of love, and she is accessible. According to Michelangelo, she is the female form "already carved" and is the incarnation of love in its "ultimate female form." During the Florentine War he thinks of both women, and when their images merge, they become one, "the figure of love itself." This blending is analogous to the blending of classical and Christian in his work.
The Agony and the Ecstasy is a lengthy, sprawling novel, a large canvas peopled with characters from all walks of life. The historical characters serve to provide a cultural and intellectual milieu, a background for Michelangelo. Many of the fictional characters are from the lower classes, which tend to be sentimentalized and contrasted with the corrupt and ambitious upper classes. Nowhere is this conflict of values more apparent than in the juxtaposition of the Topolinos, the stonecutters, and the denizens of Rome.
Themes and Meanings
In the Agony and the Ecstasy, Stone uses Michelangelo as a working definition of the idealized artist, a creation who is, simultaneously, a godlike creator. Early in the novel Michelangelo refer to God as the "first sculptor" and as the "supreme carver"; later, he refers to artists as the species "apart"who will speak for God. "To draw is to be like God," asserts Michelangelo, who claims elsewhere that sculpture is "my faith." As he gazes at his Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo recalls Genesis, and Stone has him, in analogous terms, see all that he has made and "find it very good."
This extraordinary analogy is extended when Michelangelo sees himself as not only God the Father, but as "God the Mother," source of a "noble breed, half man, half god": as God the Mother, he inseminates himself with his "creative fertility." Stone thus incorporates sexuality within religiosity and provides his readers with a new metaphor involving the equation of sex with sculpture. In its coarsest terms, the relationship is described by Beppe: "What you put into the ladies at night, you can't put into the marble in the morning." In more elevated terms, the conflict between art and sexuality is akin to the traditional opposition between the body (sex) and spirit (art). Given that conflict, the sculptor expresses his relationship to marble in sexual terms; having expended himself on the marble, he has no creative energy for personal relationships. For Michelangelo the act of creation involves the "thrust, the penetration, the beating and pulsing: toward climax. Blocks of marble are seen as "virginal"; the chosel penetrates and seeds its female form. Conversely, when he makes love to Clarissa, the sexual act is expressed in terms of sculpture: He uses a "chisel" on the "warm living marble" of Clarissa's body, which had been earlier described as being "already carved." Through the use of the analogy Stone explains Michelangelo's relative lack of sexual interest in women (Clarissa is a fictional character), but Stone avoids dealing with his subject's bisexuality.
Stone also addresses the incompatibility of art and business. During most of his life, Michelangelo is totally dependent on the patronage of the wealthy, especially the papacy, and their whims and eccentricities prevent him from expressing himself in his beloved marble. Although a creative god in theory, the artist is, as Michelangelo ruefully acknowledges, a "hireling," below a tradesman in status. Rather than financing the artist and allowing freedom of expression, the patrons exercise their vanity and force artists to work on inappropriate projects. Running throughout the novel is the notion that the artist exist only to be exploited both artistically and financially. Lodovico may not approve of his son's vocation, but he extorts money from him. Michelangelo is, in truth, his father's "quarry." Finally, he recognizes that both his Holy Fathers and his earthly one have exploited him.
It is only the committed artist who can survive, even thrive, in the midst of such materialism. Michelangelo's commitment allows no distractions and necessitates mastery of every phase of art: painting, poetry, sculpture - he masters them all. Like the amateur film director who wishes to control all phases of the filmmaking process, the sculptor wants to control the marble from the time it is cut from the quarry until the carved statue is safely installed. Therefore, readers learn that Michelangelo can cut stone, that he can build roads to the quarry, that he can protect his work from the ravages of war. According to Bertoldo, the stone "works with" a sculptor like Michelangelo.
Critical Contest
The Agony and the Ecstasy, perhaps Stone's most acclaimed novel, is a worthy successor to Lust for Life (1934), his first venture into the artistic world, and the two novels contain many of the same themes. Stone's other novels concern, for the most part, political figures as diverse as Eugene V. Debs and Mary Todd Lincoln; he returned to the world of art in Depths
Of Glory (1985), a novel about the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. In his genre, the biographical novel, Stone has no American equal in quality or quantity, though Andre Maurois is a worthy foreign rival.
The lack of competition is understandable, given the demands of the genre and the lack of critical appreciation for it, despite its popular acceptance. First, the research is formidable, for the biographical novelist must know not only his subject but also his times, including history, religion, politics, science, and the arts. Second, because they believe that less imagination and creativity are required in "history', critics value fiction over fact. As Stone points out, however, a biographical novel is not simply history or biography; a biographical novelist must select and shape his material to give it dramatic structure and theme. In The Agony and the Ecstasy, Stone eliminates historical characters, alters them, adds fictional ones, and has them reappear so as to give unity, focus, and theme to his novel. Given the massive amount of material that was at his disposal, tone's novel is a significant achievement.
Sources of Further Study
Clements, Robert j. "the Artist as Hero," in Saturday Review. XLIV (March 18, 1961),p.18.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Airframe By Michael Crichton.TXT
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718
Airframe 56 passengers are injured. Three are dead. People are shocked, terrified, confused. What happened on TPA flight 545? Why did it happen? Could it have been prevented? A very popular late night news show has the power to totally destroy an innocent airplane manufacturer. A race between a high executive working for Norton, and a news reporter from Newsline to outwit one another has begun. [this is where you would insert your own review here if needed. mine was on if this book should be made into a move or not.] This could be a great book for a movie. It has good characters, a dramatic plot, and it is fast paced. However, good books are often known to be awful movies. But I think that if it was done right it would be good. It has a dramatic, gripping scene at the beginning of the book that "hooks" you. It is when the aircraft starts diving and climbing at incredibly steep angles. People and luggage are flying everywhere for quite a long period of time. The movie would have a great opening that would get the audience "hooked" and concerned about what caused the fatal oscillations. And about a third of the way through the book, before you are done worrying about what went wrong with the flight, the main character Casey Singleton has her life threatened. At this point you know this character well, and you like who they are. You begin to worry about the character and read to see what happens to her. There are also a few good chase scenes that keep you reading, and I think would work well if this book was made into a movie. One is in the airplane hangar. She climbs up some scaffolding and comes to a dead end so she plays Tarzan and swings down on a power cable. There is another good part that still stands out in my mind. It was when she was in the airplane, in total darkness, and she is being followed. The unknown stalker pushes her out of the airplane, only for her to land in the safety netting. I think this scene would also work out well if acted out in a movie. Not only could a movie be made easily from this book just because of its fast moving plot, action sequences, and concern for the characters, it is a very informational piece of literature. That information could be incorporated into the movie. Michael Chrichton had to have done extensive research to make this book so realistic. It helped me understand how much stress airplane manufacturers are put under just to make sure their planes are safe. Also it was informing on how airplanes worked and how precise these flying pieces of metal were. It also showed how the media can influence such a vast amount of people in one news broadcast. And the broadcast doesn't even have to be informational or based on hard facts, all it had to do was scare the public, which was not hard to do. This book also is one that makes you think. If made into a movie it would be like a mystery show. You have to help the main character figure it out. It is not one of those books where you are frustrated because you know what the character should do, in this case you are frustrated because you don't know what they should do next. The book will lift your hopes up and then slam you onto the floor. You think Casey has it figured out but she doesn't. There are so many details and fine print. You have to read between the lines, pay attention to detail and think ahead. Even though, you still may not figure it out until the very end. This book has the qualities to be made into a movie. A movie that could be watched more than once. The book has suspense, thrill, a fast moving plot, it is very informational. This book has it all. Even a happy ending. If there is a good movie to be made out there, it is Michael Chrichton's Airframe. I personally know of two other books of his that were successfully made into films. Jurassic Park and Sphere are two that come to mind. This book has potential as well.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Aldous Huxley.TXT
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Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
By: Aldous Huxley Brave New World opens in a technically
advanced future world. In the beginning of this book, we see the Director of
World Hatcheries lead the new hatchery students on a tour of a
Conditioning Center in London where babies are produced in bottles and
pre-sorted to determine which class level they will be born into. These
class level range from Alpha-plus, the highest level, to Epsilon-minus,
the lowest. There are no parents, and babies are conditioned from birth
to learn certain behaviors. All diseases have been eliminated, and when
people are feeling down, they just take soma, a wonder drug. Also, people are
conditioned from birth not to love one person, so there is no marriage and
most people have many lovers. There is no God; instead, Henry Ford is
worshipped as the god Ford. Another accomplishment of this society is the
elimination of aging. Bernard Marx has unorthodox viewpoints and is outcast as
an eccentric. He likes being alone, but in this society being alone is
discouraged. His isolation from society has made him very different from
everyone else. His only friend is Helmholtz Watson, an accomplished intellect
who writes government propaganda. Watson has grown war of life as
it is, and his supervisors have him under close watch. Two co-workers
are discussing Lenina Crowne, another worker, in a changing room. They
act as if she were property, able to be bought and sold. Bernard is disgusted
by this, so he decides to ask Lenina to go to a Savage Reservation in New
Mexico. Bernard visits the Director for permission to go. The Director tells a
story of when he went to a Savage Reservation with Linda, a pretty
colleague. During their visit,Linda was lost, and the Director had to leave. So
Bernard and Lenina go to the Savage Reservation, which is inhabited by Indians.
They quickly find Linda among the Indians. At first they do not realize
who she is, but she explains what happened. Linda is aged and obese. Also,
Linda has a son named John who is the Director's child. John is educated
and mature, having read
Shakespeare (forbidden in civilization). Bernard takes
the two back to London for study. Once back, Linda takes too much
soma, so she falls into a coma. John is displayed by Bernard, who becomes a hero.
But "the Savage" (as John is called) is frightened by the new world he sees.
The fear and oppression he experiences make him long for his old life.
Lenina becomes infatuated with John, and her candid attempts to make him
love her end with his becoming angry at her openness. John vows never to
take soma, or to succumb to civilization. John believes he can save himself if
he avoids this brave new world. John enjoys conversations with Helmholtz,
and Bernard becomes jealous. They soon realize that the three of them
are different from the rest of society. At the bedside of his dying mother,
John becomes enraged and throws the hospital soma supply out the
window. Helmholtz and Bernard arrive, and Helmholtz helps John destroy the
narcotic. Bernard deserts the two and calls a guard. The three are taken to see
Mustapha Mond, an elder wise man. Mond knows that all three harbor
revolutionary minds, so he tells them that their only option is to live on an
island with other such people. Mond then explains how society has developed
without public knowledge of history or literature. He explains that, in
order to keep society at a balance where everyone is happy, only
certain people can read these books. The two men leave for the island, but
John takes up residence in an abandoned lighthouse. He tries to "purify"
himself from this awful society. Crowds soon come to see him, among
them Lenina, whom he mauls terribly. He is given soma. When he awakens, he
realizes what he has done, and he hangs himself. Huxley did an excellent job of
portraying the possible future. The most prominent theme is alienation.
Helmholtz, John, and Bernard were shunned for not having conventional
beliefs. The future presented by Huxley is almost frightening, because in order
to achieve happiness, individuality and knowledge had to be sacrificed.
Huxley wrote this book to warn us. He wanted us to know that society
should not be controlled, and that there is a price for a peaceful society.
Since society is still the same in the end, Huxley shows the same
hopelessness that George Orwell showed in 1984. I liked this book because Huxley
paid attention to detail and created a thoroughly engrossing literary
masterpiece. Huxle "predictions" have begun to become reality. For instance,
soma is strikingly similar to prozac. Huxley's thinking was truly ahead of its
time.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Alias Grace.TXT
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Alias Grace
Introduction Margret Atwood a long time celebrated author, has most recently published Alias Grace. Atwood has taken a different approach to this novel. Although fictional this story has been based on reality. Grace Marks, the main character is indeed, on of the mid-eighteen hundreds most famous criminals. She was the celebrated villain of the Kinnear-Montgomery murders. This novel has a terrific sense of mystery but also enough interest to engage the reader into its historical drama. Plot Summary Alias Grace, begins in the main character, Grace Marks', sixteenth year of incarceration for the murder of Thomas Kinnear, her past employer. Her supposed accomplice in the murders has already been killed for the murder of Kinnear, although Marks being a woman was handed a lighter sentence of life, although originally sentenced to death also. The death of Nancy Montgomery, Kinnear's housekeeper and mistress, was disregarded as both villain had already been sentenced to death. Grace is around thirty years old, being accused of the crimes when she was only sixteen. Grace is prison where she has been mentally tortured during her rotation from prison to asylum over time. Doctors who wish to "examine" her frequently visit. She has now has a subconscious aversion to these doctors and the world which she knows. She has become accustomed to being silent and unseen. This novel begins with the interest of a young doctor in Grace, Dr. Simon Jordan. He is noted as being from a wealthy family and of good name, but is more interested in studying abroad about sanity and those enclosed in asylums rather than interest at home. He has little experience in dealing on a personal basis with the question of sanity of patients, but is intrigued by this fabulously sensationalized murderess. A group that has continuously tried for the pardon of Grace Marks has recruited him. In hopes of discovery that she has been found mentally sane and furthermore innocent on all counts of murder. Dr. Jordan's main purpose is to help recover the lost memory of the time during the murders. This memory which some to believe was conveniently forgotten helped convict her during the trial; almost as if she had admitted to the killings. During the course of his visits with Grace, Dr. Jordan encourages her to tell of her life before the murders. Grace begins her story with her family in Scotland. Grace had been left with her abusive father and the smaller children after her mother died on the passage to America. A trip taken for necessity rather that need: for her father was in a bit of financial trouble in Scotland. Grace is sent out in Canada as a servant. Here is where Grace meets her first true friend, Mary Whitney. Mary teaches Grace to be her own person. Unfortunately, Mary has a horrible death due to a bad surgical abortion and Grace is left alone and trouble by the gruesome death of her friend. Grace travels from house to house looking for the right setup for her services. Finally, she meets Nancy Montgomery the housekeeper of Thomas Kinnear. She takes a job under Nancy mistakenly believing in their friendship. Soon Nancy is overtaken with Grace in the house, she becomes increasingly jealous of her role with Mr. Kinnear. This leads to the obvious discovery of a romantic relationship between Kinnear and Montgomery. With the proposed dismissal of Grace and the hired hand McDermott, Grace is led with McDermott into killing the two and robbing them for their own escape. Although not long after, in a hotel, Grace and McDermott, even though ironically using the alias Mary Whitney, are arrested. At this point in Dr. Jordan's analysis of Grace months have passed. He has become more and more involved in the Grace Marks story. This reaches the point to where he believes he has fallen in love with her. In return he has taken to his landlady to relieve his frustrations of his untouchable desires for Grace. Dr. Jordan becomes even more involved with the case and is determined to find out the memory lapses in Grace's story. The group who hired Dr. Jordan has become restless for his slow process to uncovering the truth. Dr. Jerome DuPont enters the medical study of Grace Marks. Although Grace has known Jerome before but as a peddler and friend named Jeremiah. Much to the dismay of Jordan, DuPont is given the opportunity to put Grace into hypnosis, in full view of her peers. During this momentous scene, Grace is hypnotized into a state of unconsciousness where she able to retrieve memories not perceived during consciousness. Grace, after asked many specific questions, uncovers the mystery of the night of the murders. In fact, the time not remembered by Grace, is of a personality not her own but that of Mary Whitney. Here Mary Whitney declares her guilt, but states that Grace would have no recollection of this time. After this scene, all goes back to its original way for many years. Dr. Simon Jordan's affair with his landlady becomes too controversial and abruptly leaves town and neglects to say goodbye to his patient or his female admirers. The group dedicated to Grace's innocence still argues for her release but now basis their reasoning on mental insanity of the Grace during the murders. Grace is returned to prison for which she is still hopeful for her release on account of her hypnotic trance confession. Much time has passed and Dr. Jordan has no longer been heard from. Only from letters of correspondence with others do the readers discover he has been injured in the Civil War. He has become engaged, but the event is being postponed until his mental capabilities are restored. Coincidentally, his mother questionably states his reference to his fiancee as "Grace". Now at the age of forty-five, almost thirty years after the murder, Grace, still working as a servant outside of prison, is set free. With her new freedom Grace becomes deeply disturbed. Prison has become her life, and now she knows little of what else to do. Grace with the help of the Governor and his daughter they help her find her in this emotional transition. As a special request they help her with her personal items and bring her to the state of New York where a home has been provided for her. In a surprise turn of events, a boy who used to also work for Kinnear, who also helped convict Grace during the trial, asks Grace to live with him. He is sorry for testifying against her and asks her forgiveness. Grace eventually marries the man and goes on to live a life with her husband. The novel ends with the final correspondence to Dr. Jordan from Grace an update from her of present life with her husband. Setting The setting of Alias Grace is extremely important in the story. The story takes place in the novel and in actuality in the mid to late eighteen hundreds. The murders of Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear occurred on July 23, 1843. The crime and court proceedings are all dated to their actual time and place. The murders took place in Kingston a small town in Canada. This is important because during this time in history their was little sense of the American way of thinking "innocent until proven guilty" theory. The judge, jurors, and the public had all decided Grace Marks was guilty before she was even tried. There was no sequestering of juries in those days to prevent false accusations from tainting the opinions of those trying Grace Marks. Also during those times, the sentencing was more brutal than today. If a person was found guilty of murder the sentence was death by hanging. This was true for the fate of McDermott ended in this way. Almost as malicious, life in prisons and asylums were considered inhuman or even barbaric by today's standards. In addition, the correct diagnosis of mental disabilities was nearly nonexistent. Therefore, in this case, the purpose of using hypnosis was widely unorthodox, and its unveiling of multiple personality disorders was a stunning revelation. Many cases of guilt by insanity were tried and put to death while other mentally capable convicts were entered into an asylum. 
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\All is Not for the Best.TXT
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All is Not for the Best
"All is Not for the Best" 10-K Candide Voltaire's Candide is
the story of an innocent man's experiences in a mad and evil
world, his struggle to survive in that world, and his need to
ultimately come to terms with it. All people experience the
turmoil of life and must overcome obstacles, both natural
and man-made, in order to eventually achieve happiness. In
life, "man must find a medium between what Martin (scholar
and companion to Candide) calls the "convulsions of
anxiety" and the "lethargy of boredom"" (Richter 137). After
a long and difficult struggle in which Candide is forced to
overcome misfortune to find happiness, he concludes that all
is not well (as he has previously been taught by his tutor, Dr.
Pangloss), and that he must work in order to find even a
small amount of pleasure in life. Candide grows up in the
Castle of Westphalia and is taught by the learned
philosopher, Dr. Pangloss. Candide is abruptly exiled from
the castle when found kissing the Baron's daughter,
Cunegonde. Devastated by the separation from Cunegonde,
his true love, Candide sets out to different places in the hope
of finding her and achieving total happiness. On his journey,
he faces a number of misfortunes, among them being
tortured during army training, yet he continues to believe that
there is a "cause and effect" for everything. Candide is
reunited with Cunegonde, and regains a life of prosperity,
but soon all is taken away, including his beloved Cunegonde.
He travels on, and years later he finds her again, but she is
now fat and ugly. His wealth is all gone and so is his love for
the Baron's daughter. Throughout Candide, we see how
accepting situations and not trying to change or overcome
obstacles can be damaging. Life is full of struggles, but it
would be nonproductive if people passively accepted
whatever fate had in store for them, shrugging off their
personal responsibility. Voltaire believes that people should
not allow themselves to be victims. He sneers at naive,
accepting types, informing us that people must work to
reach their utopia (Bottiglia 93). In Candide, reality and "the
real world" are portrayed as being disappointing. Within the
Baron's castle, Candide is able to lead a Utopian life. After
his banishment, though, he recognizes the evil of the world,
seeing man's sufferings. The only thing that keeps Candide
alive is his hope that things will get better. Even though the
world is filled with disaster, Candide has an optimistic
attitude that he adopted from Dr. Pangloss' teachings. In
spite of his many trials, Candide believes that all is well and
everything is for the best. Only once, in frustration, does he
admit that he sometimes feels that optimism is "the mania of
maintaining that all is well when we are miserable" (Voltaire
41). Candide's enthusiastic view of life is contrasted with,
and challenged by the suffering which he endures throughout
the book. Voltaire wrote this book in a mocking and satirical
manner in order to express his opinion that passive optimism
is foolish (Richter 134). Candide eventually learns how to
achieve happiness in the face of misadventure. He learns that
in order to attain a state of contentment, one must be part of
society where there is collective effort and work. Labor,
Candide learns, eliminates the three curses of mankind:
want, boredom, and vice. In order to create such a society,
man must do the following: love his fellow man, be just, be
vigilant, know how to make the best of a bad situation and
keep from theorizing. Martin expresses this last requirement
for such a society succinctly when he says, "Let's work
without speculating; it's the only way of rendering life
bearable" (Voltaire 77). One of the last people that Candide
meets in his travels is an old, poor Turkish farmer who
teaches Candide a lesson which allows him to come to terms
with the world and to settle down happily. The revelation
occurs when Candide and his friends hear of the killing of
two intimate advisors of the sultan, and they ask the Turkish
farmer if he could give them more details about the situation.
"I know nothing of it, said the good man, and I have never
cared to know the name of a single mufti [advisor] or vizier
[sultan]... I presume that in general those who meddle in
public business sometimes perish miserably, and that they
deserve their fate; but I am satisfied with sending the fruits of
my garden there." (Voltaire 76) Upon learning that this man
did not own "an enormous and splendid property" (Voltaire
76), but rather a mere twenty acres that he cultivates with his
children, Candide is startled. He sees that the man is happy
with his life, and at that point Candide decides to build his
own life around the principal of being productive. He
decides that all he needs to be happy is a garden to cultivate
so that he, too, can keep from the three great evils.
Candide's garden symbolizes his surrender to the world and
his acceptance of it. He eventually realizes that his former
ambitions of finding and achieving a perfect state of
happiness were fulfilled, though his successes were not as
great as he had wished. Instead, he has found happiness in a
simple way of life. He also learns that everything in life is not
evil, which he perceived to be the case while undergoing
misfortunes. He also concludes that Dr. Pangloss was right
all along, "everything is for the best." Throughout the entire
book, we observe Candide searching for happiness,
sustained by his dream of achieving that happiness. He
believes, in his optimistic way, that he will find Cunegonde,
his true love, and Dr. Pangloss, his mentor, and all will be
well. When Candide is reunited with both he realizes that he
was right not to lose hope. In essence, it was Candide's
optimism that keeps him from a state of total dejection,
maintaining his sanity during troubled times. Candide
eventually achieves happiness with his friends in their simple,
yet full, lives. The book's ending affirms Voltaire's moral that
one must work to attain satisfaction. Work helps Candide
overcome his tragedies and enables him to live peacefully
and in contentment. The message of Candide is: "Don't
rationalize, but work; Don't utopianize, but improve. We
must cultivate our own garden, for no one is going to do it
for us" (Richter 161). 
Works Cited
Bottiglia, William.
"Candide's Garden." Voltaire: A Collection of Critical
Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Richter,
Peyton. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.
Tsanoff, Radoslav. Voltaire's Candide and the Critics.
California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1966.
Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1976.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\All Quiet on the Western Fron1.TXT
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All Quiet on the Western Front
Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the
greatest war novels of all time. It is a story, not of Germans, but of
men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were
destroyed by the war. The entire purpose of this novel is to
illustrate the vivid horror and raw nature of war and to change the
popular belief that war is an idealistic and romantic character. The
story centers on Paul Baümer, who enlists in the German army with
glowing enthusiasm. But in the course of war, he is consumed by it
and in the end is "weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without
hope." Through Baümer, Remarque examines how war makes man
inhuman. He uses excellent words and phrases to describe crucial
details to this theme. "The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in
our hearts." Baümer and his classmates who enlisted into the army
see the true reality of the war. They enter the war fresh from school,
knowing nothing except the environment of hopeful youth and they
come to a premature maturity with the war, their only home. "We
were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had
to shoot it to pieces. We are not youth any longer." They have lost
their innocents. Everything they are taught, "the world of work,
duty, culture, and progress" are not the slightest use to them
because the only thing they need to know is how to survive. They
need to know how to escape the shells as well as the emotional and
psychological torment of the war. The war takes an heavy toll on the
soldiers who fight in it. The terror of death will infest the minds of
soldiers and bring about horrible images of death and destruction
until they break down and go to pieces. "Every hour and everyday,
every shell and every death cuts this thin [line of sanity], and the
years waste it rapidly." In these dangerous moments, anybody
would have gone mad, have deserted their post, or have fallen. It
takes a special kind of soldier to deal with this emotional abuse; a
soldier who will not go to pieces at the sight of a mutilated body; it
takes a soldier like Baümer. Baümer has "grown accustomed to it;
war is the cause of death like influenza and dysentery. The deaths
are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible." He has rid
himself of all feelings and thoughts. His emotions lie buried in the
earth along with the soldiers who fell prey to them. His dullness
protects him from going mad at the sight a slaughtered comrade or
butchered friend. He wants to live at all costs so "every expression
of his life must serve one purpose and one purpose only,
preservation of existence, and he is absolutely focused on that." For
the cost of life is the death of his emotions, his survival depends on
it. Every shell that falls, every shot that fires, a soldier must face the
possible certainty of death. To Baümer, death carries hand grenades
and a bayonet, and a rifle really to take what he has long
protected-his life. Whenever he looks into the eyes of an enemy
soldier, he does not see a man, but sees death staring back at him.
What can you do but fight back? He can not and will not coexist
with you. It does not matter that he is a man of your same
distinction; it does not matter if he has a mother, a father, a sister or
a brother. All that matters is that he wants to take your life. The only
way for you to live is to destroy him before he does destroys you.
Your salvation means his sacrifice. The life of a man is the price you
pay for your continual existence. Baümer would destroy him
because he threatens his survival and his survival is most important.
"We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers-we reach the zone
where the front begins and become on the instant animals." The fate
of Baümer and the fate of all soldiers depends on their faith in their
primal instincts. "The menace of death has transformed us into
unthinking animals in order to give us the weapon of instinct..." His
instinct protects him from the madness and the horror of mutilation.
He says "...We have become wild beasts. We do not fight... we
defend ourselves against annihilation." It is survival of the fittest;
killed or be killed. Baümer not only believes this but also reinforces
this idea with every shot he that fires and every man he that kills.
"They are different men here, men I cannot properly understand,
whom I envy and despise." This is how Baümer feels, he cannot
relate with men who have not fought the war. They are disillusioned
by the war because they have not experienced it. "And of that you
are not able to judge. You see only your little sector and so cannot
have any general survey." They believe they can command the war
without personal fighting in it. Baümer and all soldiers are different,
changed from when they entered the war. "We will not be able to
find our way any more." They are the lost generation; they dread
the end of the war almost as they dread wound and death. They
have nothing to forward to but years of rage. They have
experienced the horrors of war but not experienced enjoys of life.
They will be pushed aside and forgotten and the years will past, and
in the end they will fall into ruin. All Quiet on the Western Front
tries to explain the purpose of war and its uselessness. It is a story
of an almost obliterated generation that fought for nothing but the
principle of hate. Change the names, and it could have been the tale
of a Frenchman, an Englishman, or an American. It is perhaps the
most tragic generation our human records tell of. It bears the
overwhelming accent of simple truth that makes you wonder why
war still exists.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\All Quiet on the Western Fron2.TXT
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All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is by Erich Maria Remarque. This book was an extraordinary war story. Remarque uses excellent words and phrases to describe crucial details of the book. Remarque had first hand experience because he was a German in World War I. So he expresses his opinions through Paul the main character of the book. One of the strongest themes in this book is that war makes man inhuman. From the author's point of view soldiers was often compared to various nonliving objects that were inhuman. The soldiers are compared to coins of different provinces that are melted down and now they bear the same stamp(236). Remarque thinks that the soldiers mind state has been changed from when they were school boys the stamp being the mark of a soldier changing them forever. Also soldiers are compared with "automatons" or more commonly referred to as robots(105). Remarque uses this analogy to give the impression that the soldiers are enduring the same feeling over and over again as if they were inhuman. In this classic war story Remarque also describes the soldiers as inhuman wild beast in addition to the nonliving objects. Paul states that when soldiers reach the zone where the front begins they are transformed into "instant inhuman animals"(56). Remarque is saying that the zone is like a magical line; once they cross it there not the same person as they were on the other side of the line. He says "We have become wild beasts. We do not fight we defend ourselves against annihilation"(103). Here Remarque states that the German soldiers are only defending what they have not attempting to take what they don't. Paul says that they become something like men again after they get the food we need(106). Remarque is implying that the drive for food changes them into terrifying wild beasts but when they get the food they change back into humans again.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\All Quiet On The Western Front.TXT
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All Quiet On The Western Front
The story centers around a young soldier named Paul in some unnamed regiment in the German army. They fight the Allied forces of the United States of America and Europe, plus their friends. The story is about how Paul and the other soldiers with him, who are also his closest friends, deal with the many aspects of the war. They do this in the only way that they know how, and they are not always successful. Remarque deals with the characters' fears and thoughts by mixing them together into the story. You form a kind of bond with the various characters throughout the book. Although the author does not offer great detail on any one character, you still find yourself caring and hoping for each of them as they fight, love, hate, and in many cases, die. This is mainly through each of the character's personalities, which are so well-developed that you find yourself wondering if these were real people at some time or another and you might travel to Germany to meet them. The plot is not linear, and in most cases I would say that this is a negative thing. However, in the book the author actually uses it to enhance the storyline by not dwelling on any one scene for too long. Many chapters end and you find yourself wondering if there was supposed to be more. By the end, you realize that it actually enhances the plot greatly. One moment the people might be eating and bathing in the barracks, and the page after they are fighting on the front lines. It skips around a lot, but I became used to it. I may even grow to miss it in the future. This story's real strength lies somewhere else, though. This is in the portrayal of the characters' thoughts and feelings. Each character reacts to situations so realistically that many times I found myself thinking: "That's what I would have done!" This blends well with Remarque's many ventures into human nature throughout the book. He uses his characters to go into the depths of all of our souls, and he does it with skill. Especially well done was the part where Paul gets some leave of his duties and he goes back home to his family for a few weeks. While there, he realizes that he is no longer one of these people, that he is changed forever from what he has seen and what he has done. He cannot imagine living a life without something to do and the almost constant threat of the shellings and killing. His life, and those of his friends, has been ruined forever by this war, and he does not know how to deal with what he is presented. This book does have faults, though. The violence is often and almost excessively gory, such as the scenes where a soldier gets his head shot off by a shell and he continues to run, blood spilling over everyone. I understand that Remarque wants to get across the injustices of the war, but I still found myself disgusted and repulsed - not against the author, but more with the fact that our race can even do theses things to each other, and that we are willing to throw away millions of lives away for such petty causes. However, the story is wonderful overall, and it is an excellent foray into human nature and its many facets. Remarque did a wonderful job of blending the lives of his characters with the war and his forays into our souls. I would recommend this book to anyone, even those who have never liked war novels. It may open your eyes, as well as your mind.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Allegory of the Cave.TXT
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Allegory of the Cave
A report I had to do on Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Plato
was born 427 B.C. and died 347 B.C. He was a pupil
under Socrates. During his studies, Plato wrote the
Dialogues, which are a collection of Socrates' teachings.
One of the parables included in the Dialogues is "The
Allegory of the Cave". "The Allegory..." symbolizes man's
struggle to reach understanding and enlightenment. First of
all, Plato believed that one can only learn through dialectic
reasoning and open-mindedness. Humans had to travel from
the visible realm of image-making and objects of sense to
the intelligible or invisible realm of reasoning and
understanding. "The Allegory of the Cave" symbolizes this
trek and how it would look to those still in a lower realm.
Plato is saying that humans are all prisoners and that the
tangible world is our cave. The things which we perceive as
real are actually just shadows on a wall. Just as the escaped
prisoner ascends into the light of the sun, we amass
knowledge and ascend into the light of true reality: ideas in
the mind. Yet, if someone goes into the light of the sun and
beholds true reality and then proceeds to tell the other
captives of the truth, they laugh at and ridicule the
enlightened one, for the only reality they have ever known is
a fuzzy shadow on a wall. They could not possibly
comprehend another dimension without beholdin! g it
themselves, therefore, they label the enlightened man mad.
For instance, the exact thing happened to Charles Darwin.
In 1837, Darwin was traveling aboard the H.M.S. Beagle in
the Eastern Pacific and dropped anchor on the Galapagos
Islands. Darwin found a wide array of animals. These
differences in animals sparked Darwin on research, which
lasted well up to his death, culminating in the publishing of
The Origin of Species in 1858. He stated that had not just
appeared out of thin air, but had evolved from other species
through natural selection. This sparked a firestorm of
criticism, for most people accepted the theory of the
Creation. In this way Darwin and his scientific followers
parallel the escaped prisoner. They walked into the light and
saw true reality. Yet when he told the imprisoned public
what he saw, he was scoffed at and labeled mad, for all the
prisoners know and perceive are just shadows on a wall
which are just gross distortions of reality. Darwin walked the
path to understanding just like the escaped prisoner in "The
Allegory of the Cave." Plato's parable greatly symbolizes
man's struggle to reach the light and the suffering of those left
behind who are forced to sit in the dark and stare at
shadows on a wall.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Amazing Grace.TXT
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Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace is a book about the trials
and tribulations of everyday life for a
group of children who live in the poorest congressional
district of the United States, the South Bronx. Their lives
may seem extraordinary to us, but to them, they are just as
normal as everyone else. What is normal? For the children
of the South Bronx, living with the pollution, the sickness, the
drugs, and the violence is the only way of life many of them
have ever known.
In this book, the children speak openly and honestly about
feeling 'abandoned', 'hidden' or 'forgotten' by our nation, one
that is blind to their problems. Studying the people
themselves would only get us so far in understanding what
their community is really like and why they feel this way.
Jonathan Kozol really got to know the people individually. 
We can take his knowledge and stories to try for a better
understanding of the environment in which they live. By
doing this, we can explore the many reasons why the people
have problems, what some levels of intervention could be,
and possibly find some
solutions to making the South Bronx a healthier and safer
place for these children and others to live.
Problem Identification
The environment in which we study these people can only
be defined by first taking a look at possible reasons why the
people have problems. Some of the problems discussed in
Amazing Grace have festered throughout the United States
for some time now. The high numbers of drug users in the
community, the high amounts of gang-related violence, and
the numerous cases of people who have contracted the
AIDS virus are just some of the problems that have arisen in
this ghetto. There are many differences between this
community and others in the United States, one of which is
that the government has grouped these people all together
and made a ghetto of the lowest income families. This has
ostracized them from the rest of the nation. It has given
them many abandonment issues to deal with, while also
telling them they are not worthy of living among the wealthier
population.
Environmental factors are involved in the problems arising in
the South Bronx. Pollution, for
example, could be the biggest source of the high number of
children in the community who have asthma.
Asthma is a condition in which one has trouble breathing. 
Without clean air, breathing for an asthmatic is almost
impossible. A waste burner in the middle of the South
Bronx causes a lot of pollution and makes the air the people
breath, below safe levels of cleanliness. Another
environmental factor that affects the resident's healths has to
do with how most of the buildings in these neighborhoods
are run down and infested with rats. Many of the buildings
have no working elevators. This causes people to have to
walk several flights of stairs each time they want to leave
their apartments. This is very time consuming and tiresome. Then, 
when they find that there is so much violence and
drugs in the street, that it is not safe to be out there anyway,
they usually end up staying in their apartments for most of
their free time.
The cultural differences between these people and others of
higher income communities is also a
reason why they may have problems. Racism is very
obvious to the people of the South Bronx, especially
when they go outside of their district. If a woman from this
area goes to a hospital outside of her
district, a hospital that is more than likely wealthier and
cleaner, she is usually turned away and told to go to a
hospital in her own district. Others, who are admitted into
these hospitals, are put on a special floor, mainly for the
lower income or Medicaid patients. (Amazing Grace, p.
176) Another way the government discriminates against them is
how they are housed. Most of the
residents are living in government housing where the
government pays their rent. When the government
helped the people to get off the streets and out of homeless
shelters and then put them into low cost
housing, they put all of the residents in the same area. This
created their ghetto and kept them
segregated from the rest of the world.
Level of Intervention
If we look at these people through an exosystem, or "a
setting in which a person does not participate but in which
significant decisions are made affecting the person or others
who interact directly with the person," we would ask the
questions "are decisions made with the interests of the
person and the family in mind?" (Social Work and Social
Welfare, p.79) Did the government really think of the
people of the South Bronx when they grouped all of the
sick, troublesome, and low income families
together in the same community? What kind of opportunity
structure can people have when the government puts them
into never ending situations such as giving them only enough
money to get by, but not enough to get out of poverty? Some people 
say that it is not the government's responsibility
to get people out of poverty, but then whose fault is it that
they got there in the first place? No one asks to be poor, no
one asks to be homeless. Cultural differences are an excuse
some use for treating people of different backgrounds
differently. But can the government also participate in this
obvious form of racism? Our nation has tried for many
many years now to stop racism and prejudices, but the
problem is still prevalent in communities all over the world.
We could also look at the people and their problems using
a macrosystem, or the "'blueprints' for
defining and organizing the institutional life of the society,"
(Social Work and Social Welfare, p.79) to
decide if some groups are valued at the expense of others
and do these groups experience oppression? As
we have seen, the people of the South Bronx feel
abandoned, this is a type of oppression. They are
pushed away from the rest of society, where the only place
they can turn is to this community that is
filled with crime, violence, disease, and poverty. The
residents have shared assumptions about what the
government wants and expects from them. The
government's attitude towards these people is such that the
residents feel devalued and not worthy of being seen or
heard. Without much hope of financial stability, many have
turned to selling and/or using drugs. Selling drugs is seen as
an easy way of making some money, and using drugs keeps
a person on a high so they do not have to face reality. This
just continues the cycle of problems they face since selling
drugs to others keeps those others high, and staying on a
drug induced high only prolongs the problems.
Discussion and Recommendations
Because of all the trials and tribulations they go through, you
would think that everyone in this
community would lose hope. This is not true for many of the
children that Jonathan Kozol talked to and
became friends with on his many journeys into their
neighborhood. The children speak of their problems
with great maturity. Many of these children are far older
than their years on Earth, for they have felt
true abandonment by our nation. Many of the issues they
have had to deal with are not ones which we
think of as children's issues. AIDS, for example, is not
something that many think of as an issue that
children talk about or even think about. For the children of
the South Bronx though, it is a major
issue. With "one-fourth of the child-bearing women in the
neighborhoods where these children live
testing positive for HIV," (Amazing Grace, inside cover)
pediatric AIDS takes a high toll. The numbers
of children who have had one or both parents die of AIDS
in the South Bronx and surrounding areas is the highest
among the nation. If the government keeps sending the low
income and troublesome families into these neighborhoods,
"it is likely that entire blocks will soon be home to mourning
orphans, many of whom will follow their own parents to an
early grave." (Amazing Grace,
p. 194)
The government's placement of a waste burner in the South
Bronx is another prime example and a
reason why the children feel like they are being "thrown
away." Many residents believe that the waste burner is to
blame for their health problems. Many children in the
community are only able to breathe
with the use of a breathing machine because their asthma has
gotten so bad.(Amazing Grace, p. 170) Why
then would the city decide to put one there? Did the city
have the residents in mind when they built the
waste burner in this community? The residents do not have
much of a say in city, state or governmental
issues. Positions in government are held by wealthier and
more powerful people who more then likely have no first
hand knowledge of life in a low income ghetto. How can we
change this?
To change a whole community involves much more then
direct practice with individuals. Counseling
people on an individual basis gives individual responses.
The problems of the South Bronx are not with the individuals
themselves, but rather community organizational problems. 
Changing the social policy of the community is of utter
importance in making it a better place to live. The norms for
the people in these neighborhoods have gotten to be that of violence and
drugs. These are not healthy norms. To
change them, the communities could use more education on
social issues in the schools and communities to
help the people learn to live healthier lifestyles, to get the
word out that violence and disruptance are
not all right, and to help the people obtain some community
unity. Getting some of the well known
community members involved in politics is another way they
could get their voices heard and let the
government know their needs and desires. Support groups
held for people with AIDS, for people who have lost loved
ones, and also for people who just need a place to talk
about
their emotions and get their frustrations out, would help the
community as a whole and get more people
involved in the healing process of that community. If the
people in the South Bronx would act as a
community bound together to help themselves and each
other, there would be less tolerance for deviant
behavior among it's members. Then the ones who act
defiantly could be out-numbered, and the good
citizens of the South Bronx could reclaim their homes and
their lives.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\amityville horror.TXT
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amityville horror 
 
I did my book report on the Book ,"The Amityville Horror". Let
me just say that this is one of the scariest books I have ever read.
Its about a house in Amityville, New York that has some thing
very terribly evil and wrong in it. They moved there to get away
from city life, and brought themselves straight into the very heart
of evil. Things go wrong, people get sick,hurt, and nearly killed.
Things seem to appear when they aren't there, or stuff will move.
Sometimes a violent force would shove someone or knock things
over, and stuff would appear somewhere else. One thing that
scared me most was a creature that the youngest daughter called,
"Judy" would run around outside of the house. Sometimes it would
be in the basement, or looking into windows. It was a pig looking
beast that walked on two hoofed feet and had red eyes. One part
that was REALLY bad was when they found a secret room in the
basement. It was small, and the walls were blood red, maybe even
painted with blood. They think that a cult may have lived there
first and used that room for something, that I will not go into.
There was this one time, a pastor came to exercise the house, but
when he tried a deep rough voice screamed "GET OUT!".
Afterwards, he became very sick, he had the flu and a bad rash. He
couldn't hold down his food and felt bad for days. But in the end he
became well again.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Analysis Of Scarlet Letter.TXT
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704
The Scarlet Letter is a novel that deals with the never-ending theme of sin. Throughout history, people have committed all types of sins, and whether they are major or minor, people have been punished. However, the severity of a punishment is very difficult to agree on. Some people feel that sinners should be deeply punished no matter how little the wrongdoing was. Others feel that a person's punishment should be based upon the severity of their crime. However, what many people overlook is the fact that in time, we all have committed sins. In The Scarlet Letter, the idea of sin and punishment is the main theme of the novel and how Hester Prynne, the main character, has been punished for her sin of adultery. As Nathaniel Hawthorne states in this novel, "In the view of Infinite Purity, we are sinners all alike." This statement puts a big question mark on the true lives of the Puritans. If we all have once committed a moral wrongdoing, why is this young woman so harshly punished for her sin? Hester Prynne was a young woman living in a Puritan community in the "New World." Her husband, Roger Chillingworth was said to be lost at sea, and Hester assumed his death. Upon this basis, young Hester committed a crime of adultery with her fellow Minister Arthur Dimmesdale. The result of this extra marital affair was the birth of young Pearl, an "elf-like" child. When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. This letter "A" for adultery had to be worn on Hester's bosom at all times. However, Roger Chillingworth returns from sea and now seeks revenge on Hester's lover. When one analyzes the punishment inflicted upon her, it may seem harsh and cruel, especially for a Puritan society. It seems that Hawthorne agrees with this as well. Throughout the novel, it seems apparent that Hawthorne feels that the punishment Hester received was harsh and self-degrading. When one commits a sin, they should understand their mistake, receive their blame, and receive a "slap on the wrist." However, the punishment Hester received was far worse emotionally. Wearing the letter made Hester the talk-about of the town. When she walked through the marketplace, she received scornful looks, as if society was rejecting her for her wrongdoing. Hester was now living on the outskirts of town, isolated from neighbors and trying to communicate with her daughter Pearl. After many years of being swept out of society, Hester realized that her punishment was far worse than she deserved. Many times throughout the novel, Hawthorne sympathizes with Hester because of the emotional problems she encounters. Hawthorne sees her as the victim quite oftenly and blames it on her youth. She was forced to marry Roger Chillingworth at a young age, although she clearly had no feelings for him. Secondly, Hester's crime was one out of passion, not malice. It is clear throughout the novel that she has strong feelings for Dimmesdale and they outweigh her respect for the Puritan's code of law. Although Hawthorne does not condone adultery, he often feels that Hester's sin is somewhat out of necessity. She has nobody in her life. Her husband is lost at see and she lives with nobody. Dimmesdale was the first man Hester really loved, and he feels that because of these circumstances, her punishment far outweighed her crime. Throughout the novel, it is very clear that Hester does not abide by most Puritan traditions and she clearly is not very orthodox. However, at times in the novel, it seems that she has overcome her guilt and her love for Pearl is unmatched, yet the scarlet letter always reminds her of her adulterous sin. A human is very fragile and many things can hurt or upset them. As Hawthorne expresses, it is clear to Puritans that they have little or no sympathy for unruly persons. Hawthorne feels that once she has over come her guilt and has accepted her punishment, then Hester should be able to start over from scratch and unload this heavy burden from her back. However, that doesn't happen. This sin remains with Hester for seven years until her death, and the Puritan community never seems to forgive her for her sins. It is very clear that in this novel, Hawthorne is attempting to express his feelings on Puritan life and their rigid beliefs towards transgressors. However, people should be able to leave the past behind them and start over, yet that never seems to happen, and Hester is forced to drag this guilt around with her, until her last breath of air.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\And Then There Were None.TXT
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437
I recently read a mystery book by the name of "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. I read this book because I have read other books by Agatha Christie that were pretty well written. Ten people are invited to an island, called "Indian Island",by letters that were signed by people they had met before. When they got to the island, they found out that their host, U.N.Owen, had not arrived yet. At dinner, they heard a voice, accusing each of them of a murder, which they were all guilty of. After one of them is killed, according to the first verse of a poem that is framed above each of their beds called "Ten Little Indians", they figure out that the murderer is one of them! As more people are killed off, one by one, the group narrows the suspect list down, until only one is left alive but she figured that she would never get off the islan anyway, and she hung herself from the ceiling by putting a noose around her neck and kicking the chair away on which she was standing, but she was not the killer. One of the mysteries to this book was, of course, who killed all of the innocent people. Another mystery was that every time another person was killed a little indian figure would disappear from the edges of a serving plate. One more mystery was that every murder followed, in order, the famous poem "Ten Little Indians", which reads: Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One chocked his self and then there were nine. Nine Indian boys sat up very late; One overslept himself then there were eight. Eight Indian boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven Indian boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves then there were six. Six Indian boys playing with a hive; A bumble-bee stung one then there were five. Five Indian boys going in for law; One got in Chancery then there were four. Four Indian boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one then there were three. Three Indian boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one then there were two. Two Indian boys sitting in the sun; One got all frizzled up then there was one. One Indian boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none. I really enjoyed this book and thought it to be entertaining. It was a hard book to put down and I read about half of the book in one day because it was so interesting. And since it is a mystery I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen, but it had a strange twist right towards the end. I would definitley recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Angela.TXT
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Angela's Ashes Portrays Low Income Working Class Families 
 
While reading Angela's Ashes in my junior year of high school I thought about how life must have been for other families with low incomes during the Great Depression. Although Angela's Ashes takes place mainly in Ireland during the Potato Famine, I believe that what the McCourt family went through was very similar to the struggles that the working class experienced in the United States in the 1930's. The book outlines the life of Frank McCourt being Catholic and Irish in Limerick, Ireland. Throughout Angela's Ashes the daily struggles for food, shelter, medical care and Frank McCourt describes education while he looks back on life. One small paragraph in the book stands out as very moving. In this paragraph McCourt explains his view of his childhood. He says, "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." This paragraph not only gives his perception of growing up poor, Catholic and Irish, but also gives a little background on his general view of life from a child's eyes.
In this paper I will not only explain the significance of this book on the current media trend, but also compare and contrast McCourts life with the lives of many working class Americans during the same time period. There are many parts of the book, which I feel could be very significant in relating the main points of working class life.
I am planning on tying in articles about the Great Depression and the Potato Famine as well as giving the startling similarities. In one instance McCourt writes, "No, no matter what she can't bear the thought of putting us in an orphanage. That might be all right if you had the like of Boys' Town in America with a nice priest like Spencer Tracy but you could never trust the Christian Brothers out in Glin who get their exercise beating boys and starving the life out of them. Mam says there's nothing left but the Dispensary and the public assistance, the relief and she's ashamed of her life to go and ask for it. It means you're at the end of your rope and maybe one level above tinkers, knackers and street beggars in general." Frank McCourt came to the United States when he was nineteen years old and proceeded to get a college education and become an English teacher. He later wrote Angela's Ashes and won the Pulitzer Prize for this amazing book. The book was also turned into a movie, which I feel gives an even more accurate picture of growing up as poor and working class.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Angela's Ashes.TXT
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708
Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt is a genuine memoir that vividly tells the story of a young, Irish Catholic boy during the 1930's and early 1940's. Frank's memory of his impoverished childhood is difficult to accept, however, he injects a sense of devilish humor into his biography. He creates a story where the readers watch him grow beyond all odds and live through the pinnacle of the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. "People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty, the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years"(McCourt 11). His interaction with his family proves that despite the hunger and pain, love and strength come out of misery. Although the book tells the experience of an individual, the story itself is universal. Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants Malachy and Angela McCourt, Frank grew up in Limerick after his parents returned to Ireland because of poor prospects in America. Due to the Great Depression, Malachy could not find work in America. However, things did not get any better back in Ireland for Malachy. A chronically unemployed and nearly unemployable alcoholic, he appears to be the model on which many of our more insulting cliches about drunken Irish manhood are based. Week after week, Angela would be home expecting her husband to come home with money to eat, but Malachy always spent his wages on pints at local pubs. Frank's father would come home late at night and make his sons get out of bed and sing patriotic songs about Ireland by Roddy McCorley and Kevin Barry, who were hung for their country. Frank loved his father and got an empty feeling in his heart when he knew his father was out of work again. Frank described his father as the Holy Trinity because there is three people in him, "The one in the morning with the paper, the one at night with the stories and prayers, and then the one who does the bad thing and comes home with the smell of whiskey and wants us to die for Ireland" (McCourt 210). Even when there was a war going on and English agents were recruiting Irishmen to work in their munitions factories, Malachy could not keep a job when he traveled to England. Frank shows his courage and humanity by surviving through all the horror he has experienced. Death and illness were a major part of Frank's life that he had to learn to deal with at a very young age. Frank's twin brothers, Oliver and Eugene, and his sister, Margaret died as young children from lack of nourishment and care. As a child he was forced to beg for food, coal, and other necessities to keep from dying. His family would break off pieces of their home for wood to burn in a fire. At school, Frank was made fun of because he nailed his shoes together to keep from breaking and he wore the same clothes for months. Other boys in his neighborhood would get the telegrams from their fathers who went to work in England, but Frank and his family were still suffering from poverty. Frank had so much rage and anger inside of him that it inspired him to save money for America where he could turn his life around. In conclusion, Frank examined his ferocious childhood, and told a story so honest it is deeply moving. The fact that he survived this tragedy is nothing short of a miracle. The story shows one young boy and his response to the life he lived and the people around him. The book is both hilarious and heartbreaking because of how Frank deals with the situations he is faced with. This memoir tells the story of how a young Irish Catholic boy was faced with numerous horrors and dilemmas, but with his ability to grow, escaped his brutal childhood.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Animal Farm By George Orwell.TXT
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975
The oldest pig on the farm, Old Major, gathered all the farm animals into the barn. He told them of a dream he had about one day animals ruling the world. He said there was to be a rebellion in the farm against their cruel farmer, Mr. Jones. Old Major did not know when the rebellion was to take place but he knew it would be soon. He taught the barnyard a song called Beasts Of England. This song riled the animals up about the rebellion. Three nights later Old Major died. There were pigs to take his place though. They were Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer. They called Old Majors teachings "Animalism." After Old Major died the animals did not think that much of the rebellion as they used to. Two horses did not like the idea. They were Clover and Mollie. The other horse, Boxer, listened to what ever his leader said. The pigs also had trouble with the farmer's tame raven, Moses. Moses said that the rebellion was not a good idea. One day however, the rebellion did happen. After the animals had the farm secure, they made laws called the Seven Commandments. They were like our ten commandments. Then they renamed the farm from Manor Farm to Animal Farm. The pigs learned to read and write by looking at books in the farmhouse. They also learned many other things. The animals had to work even harder than before. They had to harvest the fields without any tools. The animals were still happy anyway because they were free from the farmers rule. An old donkey named Benjamin was unchanged after the rebellion. They had sort of what was like council meetings. Napoleon and Snowball were most active in the debates. They made committees to teach the animals how to read and write. Napoleon found that two dogs, Jessie and Bluebell, gave birth to six sturdy puppies. He took them away to the barn loft where no one could reach them but him. He was going to teach them himself. The cows were milked and the pigs took the milk for themselves. They said they needed it for their brains to work properly. They also said this about the ripen apples that fell. The pigs say that they need a certain thing to function many times throughout the novel. By the end of summer, the news about Animal Farm had spread throughout the country. Napoleon sent pigeons out to other farms in the area trying to rile them up to rebel. People around Animal Farm thought it would only last a little while but when they found out their animals were showing signs of rebelling, they came to the decision of attacking the farm. The strike force included twelve men, the former farm hands, and Mr. Jones who had a rifle. As the men approached the animals struck and won. The attack was lead by Snowball. They raised a flag and gave awards to those who deserved it. People were beginning to realize that Animal Farm was a real threat. In the winter Mollie left and went to another farm. Snowball proposed to build a windmill. At the meeting where they would decide about the windmill, the animals seemed to favor Snowball. Then Napoleon stood up and yelled and the puppies he raised charged into the barn after Snowball. Snowball ran off the farm and never came back. Napoleon was declared ruler and whoever opposed him were attacked by the dogs. The animals toiled on and they were surprised to hear that Napoleon wanted a windmill. Squealer explained why Napoleon wanted to build a windmill and they agreed. The construction of the windmill began and there was a huge storm which knocked it down. Napoleon blamed this on Snowball. Then all these animals came forward saying Snowball made them do unthinkable crimes and they were killed. One of the Seven Commandments said that no other animal shall kill another animal. The animals were puzzled. Squealer changed the commandment at night adding "without cause." Since the animals were not smart enough to remember, they just let it pass. Napoleon acquired the help of a human, Mr. Whymper, who sold hay, eggs, and other things of the sort. The neighboring farmer bought some wood but used forged bank notes. The humans attacked. This time they all had guns. The windmill was blown apart and there were a lot of casualties. Even though the animals were told they won by their leaders, they new they lost. A couple years later, Boxer was coming of age and was going to retire. He was working and he broke his leg. Napoleon called a "vet" but it was a man from the slaughter house. One of the smart dogs saw what the truck had written on it's side. Squealer again made an excuse and they believed it. Meanwhile, the pigs were breaking more commandments. They changed the commandment at night when they broke one. They started wearing clothes, sleeping in beds, and drinking alcohol. All of these acts were forbidden in the commandments. One day some farmers from neighboring farms came to Animal farm and had a dinner. They made a toast to Animal Farm and then played poker. The animals outside peered inside to watch. Just then Napoleon and another farmer played the same card and started fighting. Then the animals looked from pig to man and could not tell the difference. Protagonist: I think this book had many protagonists. One protagonist was Snowball. He was an honest character who cared about the animals' best interest. Antagonist: I think the antagonist in this book was Napoleon. Napoleon exploited the animals to benefit himself. He changed the laws many times to make his life more comfortable while the other animals had to do hard work. Theme: I think the author is trying to tell the reader that communism doesn't work. This was written as an antiwar book according to the introduction. Another clue that the book is about communism is how the pigs called the animals "comrades". I think the pigs symbolized revolutionary communist leaders such as Marx, Lenin, and Stalin.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Animal Farm.TXT
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Animal Farm...theme, characters, plot 
Animal Farm is difficult to read seriously for the first few chapters,
mostly because the
main characters are animals that talk not only amongst themselves, but also
with humans. After a
short period, though, the animals take on such believable personalities that
it is easy to forget that
they are not humans.
In the beginning, life is satisfactory at the Manor Farm. While food
rations are low, no
one is dying from starvation. One evening, an older member of the farm, a
boar named Old Major
announces that he will die soon. Before he dies, however, he wants to share
with the rest of the
animals his thoughts on how Man has ruined the animals' life. He says that
if animals were to
grow their own food, Man would no longer be needed on the farm, leaving all
the profits to the
animals. Society without man, of course, would be simpler and more relaxed.
Old Major then
suggests a revolution with the best of intents. A vote taken at the meeting
proves Old Major's
main idea, that "all animals are equal". All the animals on the farm leave
the meeting with fresh
energy, prepared to run Manor Farm on their own, although not sure how to
chase away their
human master, Mr. Jones.
Soon after Old Major's speech he dies. One evening, Mr. Jones neglects to
feed his
animals. They become hungry and break into the storage shed to find some
food. When their
master finds his storage room a mess, he is furious, and begins to whip the
animals violently.
The animals decide this may be their only chance to get rid of their master,
and spontaneously
fight back against Mr. Jones. He quickly flees from the farm with his wife.
 
 
The Manor Farm is quickly renamed the Animal Farm, and a variety of changes
take place.
The farmhouse is declared a museum, and a set of Seven Commandments is
created for the
animals to follow (Orwell, 40). The principle rules are "All animals are
equal" and the simple
phrase memorized by every animal, "Four legs good, two legs bad". The other
rules focus on
making sure no animal ever takes on evil human characteristics such as
drinking alcohol and
sleeping in beds.
Because the brains behind the Revolution, Old Major, is now dead, two pigs
appoint
themselves the leaders of Animal Farm, although the two do not agree.
Neither of the two pigs,
Napoleon or Snowball, hold all of the dreams which inspired the creation of
the farm. The only
character who constantly communicates the existence of "a better place"
after Old Major's death
is Moses, a raven. He never actually does farm work, but is still given
food rations for keeping
the animals motivated by talking of a perfect afterlife. Snowball, one of
the head pigs in the
Animal Farm's early days is more like Old Major than Napoleon, but still
leaves much to be
desired. Snowball's first action as self-appointed ruler is to set up
committees so that each animal
can be actively involved in making Animal Farm a success (Orwell, 49).
Snowball has the brilliant
idea of building a windmill. He carefully draws detailed plans of how the
mill will operate and
what it will produce. All the animals love the idea except Napoleon.
Snowball seems to follow
the rule "every animal is equal" quite closely, and the animals on the farm
seem to take his side in
arguments between him and Napoleon.
The fact that Snowball may be the favorite pig infuriates Napoleon. He is
a boar who is
quite secretive with his ideas, but always seems to firmly disagree with
Snowball. Napoleon
distances himself from the other animals and creates an illusion of
supremacy for himself. One
evening, during one of Snowball and Napoleon's frequent arguments Napoleon
sends his dogs to
attack his opponent. Snowball is brutally attacked and runs away, never to
be seen again on the
farm.
Therefore, Napoleon is left as the farm's only leader. The farm animals
always seem to
quickly adjust to these leadership changes and immediately accept Napoleon
as the farm's head.
The animals also seem to forget Snowball's important part in leading the
Rebellion and his
concern for their welfare.
Napoleon's concern for the supremacy of pigs becomes apparent quickly. He
orders all
the better foods, apples and milk, to be reserved for the pigs only (Orwell,
71). Eventually he
requires all "lower animals" to clear the path when a pig walks by them.
These changes come in a
subtle way and are peppered with reminders of how awful life was when humans
were in charge.
These threats cause the farm animals to barely notice how different their
farm is from Old Major's
dream. Suddenly, Napoleon makes an announcement. He has decided to build a
windmill. He
also declares that Snowball's original plans for the windmill were stolen
from Napoleon himself.
All the animals are eager to begin the windmill, which will generate
electricity to the barn. Soon
after the work on the windmill begins, all the animals, with the exception
of the pigs, are ordered
to work on Sundays. This is the first time the farm animals notice that
they are getting no more
rest than when Mr. Jones controlled them. This surprise, however, is soon
overshadowed with
the excitement of the windmill. Slowly, Napoleon becomes more distant, and
one day moves into
the sacred farmhouse to live. A few animals remember on the Seven
Commandments reading,
"No animal shall sleep in a bed", but when they read the actual rules they
read, "No animal shall
sleep in a bed with sheets" (Orwell, 79). From here, changes on the farm
occur more rapidly.
Napoleon takes the baby pigs born on the farm to live alone with him so that
he can instruct them
constantly. He also begins to only communicate with the "lower animals"
through his attendant,
Squealer.
Eventually the windmill is finished and named the Napoleon Mill. The mill
is not used for
electricity as promised, but rather for grinding corn to sell to humans.
Food rations are slowly
decreased for all the animals except for the pigs. The animals grow older
and many forget the old
Manor Farm. Hard work becomes the only memories the farm possesses. The
two old horses on
the farm catch Squealer altering the Seven Commandments (Orwell, 116). This
instance is not
forgotten, but not discussed publicly either. The older animals are forced
to see that their lives on
Animal Farm are worse than they were with human leadership. Finally,
Napoleon makes an
appearance walking on two legs and wearing one of Mr. Jones' old suits. He
officially changes
one of the main beliefs of Animal Farm from "Four legs good, two legs bad"
to "Four legs good,
two legs better".
The inevitable occurs, the farm makes serious human contact. Napoleon
invites many
local farmers to Animal Farm for a tour and dinner. Napoleon greets his
guests walking naturally
on his two hind legs and carrying a whip. As the gentlemen gather to eat,
the older farm animals
gather outside the farmhouse window and peer inside. Napoleon loudly
announces that the
Animal Farm is being renamed Manor Farm. The animals watch in shock as
slowly their leader's
face is transformed into that of a human (Orwell, 138,139).
This book clearly is anti-utopian, or following the understanding that
nothing works out
exactly as it is planned and nothing in this world is perfect. Old Major
has a wonderful dream, but
it was impossible to fulfill. In the end the situation was worse than it was
before anyone cared.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Animal FarmThe Comparison Of Napoleon And Keno.TXT
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575
Animal Farm: The Comparison of Napoleon and Keno The two books, Animal Farm, and The Pearl, consist of many different things. One book tells how an entire farm of animals can talk and think like human beings. It also tells you how they become the equivalent of the russian government by trying to take over the farm. The other story ,however, is about a poor man and his family trying to make ends meat with a small fishing job which pays off for him eventually when he finds a giant pearl. What do these two books have in common with each other? Power, wealth, and greed. In the book Animal Farm, we find the main character, Napoleon, as a young boar with ambition and a chance to win the struggle of leadership of his pears and enemies. In the story a leader or leaders must be found to represent the animals. Because the pigs are believed to be the most intelligent of the animals they are chosen to lead. As the book goes on you start to notice a change in Napoleon's behavior. He starts to betray his fellow animals and allie with the humans. Being that the others look up to him so much, they do not really notice this. Because he is in such a hunger for power and wealth he doesn't want to share it. This is why he has his own partner, Snowball, banned from the farm. This not only gave him more power but it also ensured him the support of the other animals. They believed that he was trying to save them from being exposed by a spy (Snowball) when the real spy was in fact Napoleon . In the story The Pearl, a man and his family who were extremely poor are barely surviving with what they have. Keno, the man, had a job as a fisherman. He used his most prized possession which was his boat. At the job one day he finds a giant pearl which to him is worth a lot of money. Things start to look up for Keno and his family. This pearl becomes a part of Keno and he will protect it at any cost. As the story goes on Keno begins to change. He starts to revolve his whole life around this pearl. He begins to change from a poor but proud family man into a greed and power driven psycho with a pearl. The question that still stands is "What do theses two characters have in common?" Well some way or another, each character becomes greedy and power hungry. Napoleon seeks the power and wealth of ruling the farm and the humans. Keno becomes wealthy and completely pulls a 180 transforming form a nice guy to a greedy money hungry pig. "PIG" That is the whole point behind Animal Farm. Pigs were chosen to lead the animals and it is believed by many the Russian rulers are all pigs. You can find many comparisons between two different characters. Sometimes it can be positive and sometimes it can be negative. Either way the comparison will not be out in the open. You have to think hard and dig deep to find it. Also, greed and power often corrupt people in the end. If i ever become rich and powerful I would either give some of it away or have someone else look over it for me.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Anne Sullivan Macy.TXT
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Anne Sullivan Macy
Anne Sullivan Macy was born on April 4, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Her parents were poor Irish immigrants. Anne had trouble with her eyes her whole life. When Anne was eight years old her mother died and two years later her father left. Anne's younger sister went to live with relatives and Anne and her younger brother Jimmie were sent to the State Infirmary, the almshouse at Tewksbury. They were sent there because Anne was too blind to be useful and Jimmie was lame with a tubercular hip. Jimmie died a few months later and Anne stayed there for four years. In October of 1880, when Anne was 14, she went to Perkins Institution and learned to read Braille. While she was there she had an operation on her eyes which allowed her to read normally for a limited amount of time. She stayed at Perkins for six years and graduated valedictorian of her class. Anne Sullivan Macy arrived in Tuscumbia, Alabama to be Helen Keller's teacher on March 3, 1887. She began spelling into Helen's hand and after about a month Helen "made contact with reality". When Helen was older she went to Radcliffe College. Anne "read" her all the texts that were not available in Braille. This eventually caused Anne to completely lose her sight. A year after Helen graduated from Radcliffe, Anne married John Macy, but their marriage soon broke up because Anne was too dedicated to Helen. Anne's vision began to deteriorate to the point that she could no longer be sure where she was going in unfamiliar places. She wasn't well and they didn't have a lot of money. In early 1913 they went on the lecture circuit. It didn't take very long before Anne became very sick and they realized that they couldn't do it alone. Helen decided to accept a pension that she had previously declined from Andrew Carnegie. When Anne was well they went on the road again, but this time Helen's mother was with them. After this tour they met Miss Polly Thomson who became their secretary. They continued to lecture until 1916 when Helen became so obsessed by the war in Europe that the only thing she could talk about was peace. Soon after, Anne got very ill with a cough that was misdiagnosed as Tuberculosis. She was rushed off to Lake Placid and then went to Puerto Rico where she got the rest that she needed. When she came back, they were offered a large sum of money to make a factual movie about Helen's life. They went to Hollywood and made the movie, but it was very embellished and it failed in the box office. At this time they were very poor, so they tried vaudeville. In 20 minutes they demonstrated how Anne had taught Helen. That was the first time in Helen's life that she had supported herself, and not only was she supporting herself, she was also supporting Anne and Polly. They did vaudeville for four years. Then in 1923, when Helen Joined the American Foundation for the Blind, she began what she called her life work, "Helping others who were traveling beside her in the dark silence"(19-20). Near the end of Anne's life her vision was totally gone. Anne Sullivan Macy died on October 20, 1936, having fulfilled her mission to make Helen free. Anne Sullivan Macy wasn't the first person to work with a person who was blind and deaf, but she was the first person to teach a blind and deaf person to function in a hearing and seeing world. Her work allowed people to realize that it is possible for someone with these handicaps to actually be taught. Although Anne and Helen's life is fascinating, I did not find this book motivation enough to learn further about dealing with blind and deaf people. However, it has made me more aware of the great difficulties of teaching someone with severe disabilities. Anne gave all of her effort and strength to help Helen. However, she was very selfish and wanted Helen all to herself. She didn't allow Helen to have any personal life whatsoever. Sometimes in life we have to give even more of ourselves to truly do the best for the person being helped.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Annie.TXT
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Annie's Baby
Book Report The title of the story is Annie's Baby. The date of it's original publication was in 1998. The author was an Anonymous pregnant teenager. But was edited by Beatrice Sparks. The main character of the story is Annie. Annie lives with her mom. After her dad left she became a different person. Annie is a very intelligent fourteen year old girl. But she seems a bit lonely. She's very pretty but she is kind of a slob. The other character is Danny. Danny's father is rich so he lives in a big house by the lake. The boy Annie falls in love with but treats her really bad.
Another character is Daisy who is the Diary that Annie writes in. The setting of the story in town out by a lake. Everyone knows each other. There is no narrator because Annie is telling the story from her point of view. Annie meets a boy at school and falls in love with him. He rapes her and she forgives him because she says she is in love. He hits her when she doesn't want to have sex with him but she later says it was all her fault when he gets mad at her. Annie ends up pregnant and Danny doesn't want to take responsibility for the baby. Danny says that it could be some one else's child. Annie has the baby and later gives her to a family that she knows will give Baby Annie a good life. The author is the main character so she thinks she is doing the right thing.
I think it's nice that Annie put the time when she would write in her diary. It gives the story more detail. The main theme is the outcome of puppy love. There weren't any leading symbols. I thought the story was sad because Annie was only fourteen and she had so much ahead of her. But when she gave the baby to that family it was probably the best thing that Annie could've possibly done. Her love was for a boy made her go through so much. She got raped beaten and to add insult to injury he dumped her.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another 1984.TXT
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Another 1984
From the very beginning Winston and Bernard make them enemies of their society. These characters risk their lives to try and recapture what we take for granted today. Winston and Bernard try to keep their individuality and recapture through their jobs, and the way they live. Both 1984 and Brave new World show us that we must be careful to protect our ideas and way of life. Through the two main characters, Winston and Bernard, the authors show the readers that once tyranny takes hold reality and individuality are lost. Winston attempts to keep in his individuality through the apartment he rents. The apartment, which was rented from the owner of the antique store, is one way he makes himself different. The antique store owner could sense how Winston was different from the others, and he showed that when he said, "There's another room upstairs that you might care to take a look at." (81) Winston is instantly charmed by the rooms nostalgic look and furnishing.! At first it was, "a wild, impossible notion, to be abandoned as soon as though of."(82) One thing that leads to him later renting the apartment is the fact that their is no visible telescreen. The owner told Winston the he never had one because, "Too expensive. And I never seemed to feel the need of it somehow."(82) In truth their was a telescreen behind the etching, which leads to the capture of Winston and Julia. The apartment was a huge symbol of the past to Winston. The apartment is decorated with relics of the past: a double bed, a metal etching of a church, a bookshelf filled with ancient tomes. Winston and Julia use these items as constant reminders of the past they are longing for. They believe that they can safely enter this world, separate from the one of the Party and Big Brother. In their mind it is a safe haven, in reality it is a rat, pest and filth ridden slum. It is not even safe from the Party. As it turns out there was a telescreen in the apart! ment. It was hidden behind the etching of the church, that Winston thought was so nostalgic. In the end Winston and Julia could not control their own lives, just like society where no one has a control. Bernard didn't have a nostalgic apartment, what he had was a way of life contrary to others. No one in his world wanted to worry about anything. They would drown their worries in the pleasure drug Soma. What Bernard would do is think about his problems, tell them to his friend, and find other ways to deal with them. Bernard refuses to run away from his problems. In fact the way he lives causes him to take on the problems of the society along with his own. Things like flying just to see the scenery and look at the moon. For Bernard it was not where he lived, but how he lived. One of the biggest similarity between Bernard and Winston is their jobs. The positions they hold allow them to hold links to the past and reality the way it was. Winston would constant! ly review records about the past as they actually happened. He would have to correct past articles to delete people that had been vaporized. He would then know exactly who was dead. Though he did not know how, he could only guess how those people had died. They had not been 100% faithful to Big Brother. Bernard's job as a hypnopedia specialist allowed him to see why people behaved the way they did. He knew that everything was actually conditioning. He realized that everything was fake and programmed. He saw the methods by which people were programmed. This caused him to question the methods. He saw how drastically these sleep treatments changed people. He also knew how people were breed, engineered and treated to be a certain way. He wanted to question the predestination. That was the reason that Bernard wanted to go to the savage reservation. He wanted to see that way people used to live. How he believed people should live. However, the very real feeling of van! ity and fame caused him to lose sight of his goal to change society. That was what both Winston and Bernard really wanted to do. They wanted to change society back to the way it was. The way it is today. Winston articulated this so much better. He was able to put down his feelings in his dairy. The diary was an old, yellow paged, ancient book purchased from the owner of the antique store. It was supposedly a book created before the great revolution and this is symbolic. It is symbolic because most books created before the revolution were destroyed. The best articulation that Bernard could come up with was his feeble attempts to make the director of the hatchery feel bad by going to the reservation over his objections. Bernard tries to fight society and embarrass his enemies, making them mad. He should have tried to show the masses why the establishment is wrong. He should have used the savage to show how a different life can mean happiness. It should be fa! irly plain to the readers of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World that Winston and Bernard are warnings over what society is heading towards. A time when only a very few will have their individuality and sense to question the establishment. A totalitarian society in which thoughts, actions and feelings are controlled. A time were I has no meaning, and the debate over freedoms will cease. We live in an imperfect society, where people do wrong and make mistakes. The worlds in which Winston and Bernard live do not even allow them to make mistakes. They can only do what their leaders see as right. In the end Winston and Bernard fail to achieve the great change for society. They do make their great change for themselves. They may end up in bad situations, however, it was by their choice and doing. Something the rest of society didn't have. I take this as a message to cherish the most important thing we have in our society, CHOICE. Orwell, George, 1984, New Americ! an Library, New York, 1981 Ibid. Ibid.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Animal Farm.TXT
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Another Animal Farm
George Orwell's Animal Farm is a political satire of a totalitarian society ruled by a mighty dictatorship, in all probability an allegory for the events surrounding the Russian Revolution of 1917. The animals of "Manor Farm" overthrow their human master after a long history of mistreatment. Led by the pigs, the farm animals continue to do their work, only with more pride, knowing that they are working for themselves, as opposed to working for humans. Little by little, the pigs become dominant, gaining more power and advantage over the other animals, so much so that they become as corrupt and power-hungry as their predecessors, the humans. The theme in Animal Farm maintains that in every society there are leaders who, if given the opportunity, will likely abuse their power. The book begins in the barnyard of Mr. Jones' "Manor Farm". The animals congregate at a meeting led by the prize white boar, Major. Major points out to the assembled animals that no animal in England is free. He further explains that the products of their labor is stolen by man, who alone benefits. Man, in turn, gives back to the animals the bare minimum which will keep them from starvation while he profits from the rest. The old boar tells them that the source of all their problems is man, and that they must remove man from their midst to abolish tyranny and hunger. Days later Major dies, but the hope and pride which he gave the other animals does not die. Under the leadership of the pigs, the most intelligent of the animals, they rebel against their human master managing to overthrow him. After the rebellion, under the direction of Napoleon, the most outspoken pig, and Snowball, the most eloquent pig, the animals continue to work the farm successfully. As with all societies, the animals have laws which must be obeyed. Their laws stated that animals shall never become like humans; cruel and manipulative. They shall not wear clothing nor sleep in beds. Most importantly, they are to respect one another's equality and killing another animal is strictly forbidden. Meanwhile, the pigs as leaders are taking bigger food rations for themselves justifying their behavior as something necessary for the "brains" of their animal society. At this point we begin to suspect that the pigs will abuse their positions and power in this animal society. Mr. Jones tries to reclaim his power but the animals prevent him from doing so in what they call "The Battle of the Cowshed". After the battle, Napoleon drives Snowball off the farm telling everyone that Snowball was on Mr. Jones' side. Napoleon is further appreciated by the other animals for exposing and removing the traitor, Snowball, from their midst. Slowly, Napoleon gets a stronger and stronger hold over the other animals, dominating their every action. The situation at "Animal Farm", the new name for "Manor Farm", really starts to change now. Napoleon moves into Mr. Jones' house, sleeps in his bed, and even wears his clothes. In order to make his actions appear legal, the law had to be interpreted differently, which Napoleon arranged. In defiance of the original laws, Napoleon befriends Mr. Pilkington, the human owner of a nearby farm. Napoleon had such control over the other animals that they accepted such a blatant disregard of their law about fraternizing with humans. The book ends with the pigs sitting at a table, eating with humans. Napoleon announces to those around the table that the name "Manor Farm" will be reinstated. The humans and pigs converse while the other animals outside look on. They, the lowly creatures according to the pigs and humans, look from pig to man and from man to pig, unable to differentiate between the species. The theme throughout Animal Farm is presented through the allegory of corrupt pigs and the passivity of the other barnyard animals. The humans in the story represent the Russian royal family and aristocracy, tyrants who abused their power with no regard for the peasants who, in essence, supported their royal lifestyle. The pigs represent the Bolshevik revolutionaries who led the masses in rebellion against the Czar and the entire royal family. Unfortunately, as with the pigs, power corrupted and the people were then oppressed by their "comrades" under the new communist government. Orwell's message about power, in the hands of a few, is corrupting and does nothing to benefit the masses.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Antigone.TXT
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Another Antigone
A Humorous Distillation of Antigone by Maurice Sagoff This poem is quite successful in getting the plot across to the reader. Unfortunatly, that is all he can get across because of his beleif that, "inside every fat book is a skinny book trying to get out." Sargoff cannot have character descriptions, themes, or any real detail in his "skinny book" because of his beleifs. Sargoff leaves off why Polynices should not be burried and why his brother, who is not even menchoned, can be burried. This is important to building the feelings of contempt towards Creon and an understanding of what Antigone is doing. Also, because this is a "Humorous Distillation," the tone of the play is lost. Instead of being a dramatic play about obeying a higher law, it is a comical, rhyming poem about what happened. This may cause it to lose the impact it had. Sargoff reduces important and pivotal points in the story to a sentence such as, "Creon wilts, and tries to bang a U-ee." This sentence does not tell of Creon's attempt to repent for what he! has done by burrying Polynices and then going to free Antigone. Even if Sargoff gets all of the plot across, that is not enough to tell the whole story. Aristotelian Unities Yes, Antigone does follow the Aristotelian Unities. The play occurs in the same place and roughly the same time. Things that happened before the play or outside of the place, was told by a messenger or a character themself. The action was all centered around Antigone's actions. Her actions were the sole cause of everything that happened. Greek Tragedy Antigone does follow the Greek definition of tragedy. Tragedy is a story or play that has a signifigant conflict of morals, with a noble protagonist displaying a tragic flaw that is their strength but leads to their downfall. The exposition of the story is when Antigone is talking with her sister and we learn of what has happened. The turning point of this play is when Creon tries to mend his wrongs by burying Polynices and freeing Antigone. Antigone herself is the tragic hero because she dies for what she believes morally right. Antigone's tragic flaw is that she has only sees her point of view which leads to her death. The denouement of this story is everybody dying and then Creon realizing what he has caused. The song of the story is attenden to throuhg the chorus' comentating on what is happening or through direct dialog. The thought of this play is wether it is right to follow heavenly laws or ones made by man. Antigone is the tool through which Sophocles tells th! at one should obey the law of the gods and human laws. The complication of the story is done through Creon misunderstanding what is happening. Creon thinks at one point that the guard has been bribed when actually he is telling the truth. Creon's recognition is when he finaly sees what has been happening and that Antigone is innocent and that Polynices should be buried.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Call of the Wild.TXT
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Another Call of the Wild
Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild, we follow a dog named Buck through his journey through the Klondike. We experience a transformation in him, as he adapts to the cold, harsh land where he is forced to toil in the snow, just to help men find a shiny metal. Buck seems to almost transform into a different dog by the end of the book. In this essay, I will go over what Buck was like, how and why he was forced to adapt to his new environment, and what he changed into. When we first met up with Buck, he lived in the Santa Clara Valley, on Judge Miller's property. He was the ruler of his domain, uncontested by any other local dogs. he was a mix between a St. Bernard and a Scotch Shepherd dog. He weighed one hundred and forty pounds, and he carried every one with utmost pride. Buck had everything he could want. Little did he know, he would soon have it all taken away from him. One night, while the judge was away at a raisin grower's committee meeting, the gardener, Manuel, took Buck away from his home. Buck was then sold, and thrown in a baggage car. This would be the beginning of a new, cruel life for Buck. On his ride to wherever he was going, Buck's pride was severely damaged, if not completely wiped out by men who used tools to restrain him. No matter how many times Buck tried to lunge, he would just be choked into submission at the end. When Buck arrived at his destination, there was snow everywhere, not to mention the masses of Husky and wolf dogs. Buck was thrown into a pen with a man who had a club. This is where Buck would learn one of the two most important laws that a dog could know in the Klondike. The law of club is quite simple, if there is a man with a club, a dog would be better off not to challenge that man. Buck learned this law after he was beaten half to death by the man who had the club. no matter what he tried, he just couldn't win. Buck was sold off to a man who put him in a harness connected to many other dogs. Buck was bad at first, but eventually, he learned the way of trace and trail. Buck had to learn many things if he was to survive in this frigid land. He had to learn to sleep under the snow, and to eat his food as fast as possible so as not to have it stolen. At about this point in the book, we see Buck start to go through a metamorphosis of sorts. He transforms from a house dog to a more primitive, savage version of his former self. It was as if hundreds of years of knowledge, learned by his ancestors, were dug up and brought out. Buck proceeded to lose all the fat in his body and replace it with muscle. Buck was no longer Judge Miller's pet. He was a machine of survival and triumph. Most Southland dogs like him ended up dead because of their inability to conform. Buck was born to lead the team, but one dog would do everything possible to try and keep him down. This dog's name was Spitz. Spitz was a white wolf dog who was a proven champion in confrontation and was as crafty as they come. It was clear that he and Buck would not work well together. When dogs have confrontation in the Klondike, only one survives. This was because of a law called fang. The law of Fang is such that, when two dogs fight and one is knocked to the ground, that is it. The rest of the spectators will instantly pounce on the downed dog and make quick work of it. All of these unspoken rules had turned Buck into the Best dog to ever roam the Klondike. Buck did eventually fight Spitz and send him to his death. After all of the transformations and cruelty he had been through, you would think that Buck would never be able to trust another human. He was being starved to death by a gold seeking group who had not brought enough food for the dogs. When Buck could finally not move another step, a man from the group started to beat Buck. As the blows grew less and less painful, and he was fading farther and farther, Buck knew he was dying. While Buck was being beaten, a man named John Thornton came forth and took Buck from his attacker. The man nursed Buck back to health, and from that day forward, Buck lived for that man. Buck loved him with all his being. After being with this man for quite some time, Buck started to hear a call from far away. He started paying more and more attention to this call. He went out for days at a time searching for it's source. This call was the call of the wild. He had a will to go off and be with other dogs. He felt the urge to be free from man and catch his own food. One day, Buck finally left for good. He was excepted by a pack of wolves who treated him like a wolf himself. And so the transformation was complete. Buck had changed from a dog, to a beast of nature.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Catcher in the Rye.TXT
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Another Catcher in the Rye
Here is an essay on "The Catcher in the Rye" Hope you will be able to post it! Through Holden's Eyes The Catcher in the Rye has truly earned it's place among great classic works. J. D. Salinger created a literary piece that was completely unique. The entire novel was written in the first person view of the 17-year-old, Holden Caulfield. The majority of the story is compiled of Holden's rudimentary monologue of 'complexly simple' thoughts, the rest utilizing his relay of previous dialogue. That and the use of unique punctuation, digressing explanations, and complex characterization, transformed the simple plot into the complex literary classic. The novel's dialogue and monologue alike, manage to relay the feel of natural speaking such as: "I mean you'd be different in some way - I can't explain what I mean." The contractions; you'd and can't - since they are common in everyday language - establish a very common and simple tone. Stress on the first syllable of "different," reinforces the tone by demonstrating how typically they speak, just as in reality. He uses dashes for pauses and signaling associative digressions. Instead of signaling pauses, commas are used mostly where mechanically required, for instance: "So all of a sudden, I ran like a madman across the street - I d*** near got myself killed doing it, if you want to know the truth - and went in this stationary store and bought a pad and pencil." Holden Caulfield creates a thought provoking point of view. On the surface many of his thought patterns seem unrelated and straying from the topic. His association of topic with digression is used almost constantly throughout the novel. However, realizing that these digressions are very relevant and even crucial to the topic allow the reader to gain true insight to the character. His statements about his sister's intelligence, followed by explanations of how well she listens, reveals Holden's associations of intelligence with being quiet and observant. Another example would be his tension around the nuns. Even though he enjoyed the conversation, he worried about being asked if he was Catholic. He stated they "...would have liked it better if he were Catholic." This gives insight to his discomfort with being judged morally, and to his association of people of morals looking down on those who don't share them. In Holden's descriptions and thoughts, Salinger accomplished the most unique aspect of the story's point-of-view. Instead of using the popular - however overrated - style of well refined thoughts and flowery descriptions, Salinger describes things as they are perceived upon a first impression. Naturally the human mind does not instantly process first encounters or experiences into drawn out rhetorical metaphors. We must think about them first, relate and compare them to past experiences, then form associations. This is based on Jean Piaget theory of assimilating new situations, accommodating them with previous knowledge, then forming generalizations for understanding, called schemas. [Houghton-Mifflin Psychology, pgs. 49-50] That is exactly how Salinger describes Holden's thoughts. Holden, like us all, has difficulty explaining things until they have been thought through. For instance, Holden observes Stradlater's grooming and his looks. Then he compares it to the way guys look in yearbooks, and what parents say about them. Last he concludes, through comparison, that Stradlater is the kind of guy that your parents ask about. He states: "I've had that experience quite frequently." In the more descriptive writings of other authors, it is difficult to relate to the complex associations. The majority of thought inspired by these works can sometimes be just to figure out the point. However, Salinger expresses the thought patterns of Holden in the same inherent ways that all humans think, and through that, relays a strong tone of realism and active thought. Despite the lack of dazzling rhetoric, Salinger's descriptions are no less intricate. They inspire a more natural style of analyzation that most can relate to easily. A more logical and linear path, relating to typical primal human thought, is followed instead of abstract reasoning and artistic representation. Finally, the elements previously discussed, and a few independent ones, will be used to examine the characterization of Holden Caulfield. Such as how Caulfield's tendency toward constant introspection and analyzing of his world, his digression of topics, and the nature in which he speaks, gives us clues to his character. His level of intelligence is in no way reflected by his lack of knowledge on trivial issues. He is adept at reasoning the things around him. Almost all of the insight Caulfield spoke of were things that would not have been taught to him. Such as repeatedly displaying understanding of human nature, pretensions, and thought processes. However, despite his intuition, he applies his often cynical and pessimistic reasoning to almost everything. This fact illustrates ignorance and a level of immaturity. This is obvious in his inquiry about the ducks, thoughts concerning women, obscene graffiti, and always getting a "pukey cab." Since the fact that his mental health was brought up often with his thoughts of being crazy, with statements like "I'm crazy, swear to God, I am..." and references of psychological hospitalization in the beginning and end, a psychological approach will be used to explain his manner. Holden demonstrates tendencies associated with both OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and bipolar Disorder, consisting of swings between manic and depressive states. OCD is characterized by obsessive thoughts and their motivation of compulsive acts to relieve the stress of the obsession. [Houghton Mifflin Psychology, pg. 539] It is quite obvious that Holden is very obsessed with detail. He also demonstrates a common symptom of OCD, counting. At Grand Central Station, he mentions repeatedly counting floor squares. Small details trouble him endlessly. Once he becomes so obsessed with type of luggage that his roomate has that he hides his own under the bed. Bipolar Disorder, the more severe of the two, is the most apparent in Caulfield. He displays an amazing amount of symptoms of this Disorder. He suffers symptoms such as: little need to sleep, difficulty remaining on topic discussions (jumping from subject to subject), bursting with ideas and insight, irritation with people who rationalize with them, excessive spending of money, impaired decision making (instances of people going to live on the streets), cynicism, and paranoia. The mania will give way to severe depression, in some cases, in a matter of hours. The examples of the previous symptoms are demonstrated in Caulfield's monologuos thoughts and dialogue. The instances of his jumping from topic to topic, and his insight and ideas, have already been discussed. Holden comments on his "little need for sleep" often like after the clubs close he says, "I wasn't sleepy or anything." A great amount of irritation is shown toward Sally when she points out flaws in his plans of running away. He becomes belligerent and tells her, "you give me a royal pain in the a**." In the beginning he comments on his abundant supply of money, but by the end he is forced to borrow from his sister. He frequently pays for peoples meals and drinks, donated money to nuns, and offered anyone a drink "on him". A textbook example of his impaired decision making was his plans to run away, pretend to be mute, and build a cabin in the woods. His cynicism is constant as he repeatedly generalizes everyone on the basis of dress, status, and looks. The thoughts of always getting a pukey cab and obscene words being everywhere are prime cases of paranoia. Then in his swing to depression, he comments on people making him depressed, his feelings of being "lousy," and once expressed thoughts of suicide. When he spoke of people coming to New York to get up early, he voiced his wish to jump out of the hotel window. Holden Caulfield, being afflicted with such handicaps, was doomed to fail in school, and his breakdown inevitable. Living in a time when clinical psychology would not come for a few years, Holden was forced to cope with this on his own. There was no one to go to for help, so his wish for it manifested itself into the one thing he would like. So in his subconscious wishes for control and help he said: "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where their going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy." The children represent all of his problems running rampid in his game of life that "old Spencer" told him of in the beginning. The absence of "big" people portray no one being in charge, and him the lone "big" person, express him as being souly in control. The playing in the rye field next to a crazy cliff would depict his nearness to his fall, while being oblivious to the danger. His one wish is to able to prevent this, to be in control. Then after establishing his wishes he considers it impossible by expressing thoughts of it's craziness. He is resolved that he cannot be in control, but it is all he wants. In a world before alternatives to his painful lifestyle, what can Holden do but blindly play the game in the rye field, right beside his cliff of sanity. "But life is a game boy. Life is a game that one must play by the rules." Bibliography 3rd edition Psychology (Bernstein-Stewart, Roy, Srull, & Wickens) Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, Massachusetts 1994
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Cyrano De Bergerac.TXT
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Another Cyrano De Bergerac
Every generation has its own heroes that display, what they believe to be, ideal characteristics. While each is different in their own way, many of these role models share similar qualities. Most tend to have courage, strength, compassion, or another respected trait, but this is not necessarily why they win the adoration of their followers. Cyrano De Bergerac is a perfect example of how many protagonists win our allegiance because his sensibilities will not be denied, because he lives life to the hilt, and because he is a victim of his surroundings. If there was ever a figure who would not be denied his sensibilities, it is Cyrano. When lovers admit, "I'd die for you," it is usually only a figure of speech. Cyrano actually crossed over enemy lines every day simply to mail love letters. He also confessed to her, "My mother made it clear that she didn't find me pleasant to look at. I had no sister. Later, I dreaded the thought of seeing mockery in the eyes of a mistress. Thanks to you I've at least had a woman's friendship, a gracious presence to soften the harsh loneliness of my life. " When Cyrano admits, "My heart always timidly hides its self behind my mind," the reader can instantly relate to this dilemma but it is the fact that Cyrano is able to overcome it that makes him a hero. Not only is Cyrano filled with emotion, but he also goes out of his way to live life to the fullest. Cyrano's introduction to the reader definitely leaves a lasting impression. Not only does he banish an actor from the theater for performing poorly, but he proceeds to recite poetry while dueling with another member of the audience. Every moment of Cyrano's life is filled with action like this. When he was informed that one hundred men were going to kill his friend, Ligniére, he was thrilled with the idea of fighting all these men at once, and, of course, he succeeded. How could anyone not love this man who takes Carpe Diem to its most extreme form? Also, Cyrano is a victim of his surroundings. This may be the one characteristic that completely wins over the reader. Cyrano's most obvious flaw is his grotesque nose, but this would not be so awful if the people around him didn't care. Knowing that he is the victim of a problem beyond his control, the reader can do nothing but sympathize with him. The epitome of this is his death. His only wish in life was to dye noble . . . by the sword, but he again he is hurt by an outside force that he had no influence over. When he says, "Fate is a great jester! I've been struck down, but from behind, in an ambush, by a lackey wielding a log! I've been consistent to the end, I've failed in everything, even in my death," the reader is completely won over. Perhaps the most impressive thing about those we follow is that they're human. Again, Cyrano De Bergerac is the perfect example of how a hero wins the adoration of his followers. By showing his intense feelings, living life to the fullest, and still remaining human, he is able to win the heart of almost any reader. Heroes have changed a lot over the years. When one looks at napoleon they are hardly reminded of John Lennon. While different generations find different qualities to be noble, there are some heroes, like Cyrano, who will be loved for all time.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Ernest Hemingway.TXT
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Another Ernest Hemingway
A young man by the name of Ernest Hemingway was born in 1898 and grew up in a suburb of Chicago Illinois. (Jones 416) His father was a doctor. As a boy, he and his father spent time together hunting and fishing in Michigan. (Brown 571) Hemingway wrote for his school newspaper. (Jones 416) During his youth Hemingway also played football and swam. (Smith 34) After graduating from high school, Hemingway was hired with the Kansas City Star newspaper. (Jones 416) While writing for the Kansas City Star, Hemingway began to develop his own unique style of writing. (Brown 571) Later, Hemingway worked for the Red Cross as an ambulance driver during World War I. (Jones 416) Only a few days before he would turn twenty years old, Hemingway was wounded in the leg and sent back to the United States. (Smith 34) In 1921, the Toronto Star sent Hemingway to Europe as a journalist writer. While in Paris he published two books. The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926 and was his first novel that made him a well-known writer. Hemingway loved to write about his adventurous activities. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's, Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Many people thought this was one of his best novels. Hemingway later wrote a novel about showing the need to accept life with honor. In 1952 he published this novel entitled The Old Man in the Sea. (Jones 416) Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for this novel. (Brown 571) Hemingway loved to experience nature. He loved adventure; and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and watching bullfights. These adventurous experiences helped shape his style of writing. Young writers later copied this style. They also copied his style of writing in short and direct sentences. (Brown 571) Hemingway looked at life as a game. He shaped literature into writing about how mankind is eventually totally defeated. He has been put down for writing about how men are always tough and not be afraid of danger. Hemingway became depressed during the last years of his life, and shot and killed himself in 1961. (Jones 416)
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Farewell to Arms.TXT
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Another Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms [If The Sun Also Rises was one of the best books I have ever read, then A Farewell to Arms is Truth. I simply cannot believe that these books existed so long without my knowledge of how grand they are. I consider myself to read constantly, more than almost anyone I know, literature and simple, and here in less than a month I read two books that are undoubtedly among the best I have encountered. How many other good books exist that I have yet to read? Am I really a reader? Will I ever finish them all? What will I do if I tire of reading?] When I finished FTA I was of course stunned by the death of Catherine and the baby and Henry's sudden solitude. "What happens now?" I felt, as I so often do when I finish a book that I want to go on forever. This is infinitely more difficult with a book that has no conclusion, and FTA leaves a reader not only emotionally exhausted but also just as alone as Henry and with nowhere to go. The entire work was aware of where it was going and what was going to happen next, and then to stop the way it did was unfair. Now, I've read enough essays while deciding which would be the topic for my class presentation that I know many people see that the unfairness of life and the insignificance of our free will are apparently the most important themes in the book, but I don't agree. I also don't agree that it is a war story or a love story. Exactly what it is, though, is not clear to me. Can't art exist without being anything? "There isn't always an explanation for everything." War and love are obviously important themes in the book, and the relationship between the two is explored by Hemingway and, somewhat, by Henry. In the first two Books we are in the war and the war is overwhelming. In the last two Books we are in love. And, just as the first two Books are peppered with love in the time of war, the last two Books are tinged with war in the time of love. The third Book is the bridge between the two 'stories' and it is not surprising that it centers on the escape. It is during the escape that Henry resolves that he is through with the war (a war in which he really has no place) and decides that all he wants is to be with Catherine. Until the third Book Henry doesn't seem to be agonizingly concerned with matters of right or wrong in the war and it seems, in fact, separate from him. Even when he is injured it doesn't appear that he is really a part of the war which surrounds him. He maintains a distance from it and this distance isn't really closed until Aymo is killed by his own army, he discovers that Bonello is only staying with him out of respect, and he is almost killed as a spy. After this he resolves to desert the army and be reunited with his love, Catherine. Henry is no dummy and he could easily tell that everything was not all correct with Cat, which leads to the question of his love for her. You must admit that Cat is a bit...well... flaky when they first meet. She loses that persona soon enough, although I couldn't help but distrust her integrity until somewhere in the middle of the fourth Book. It is also difficult to believe wholeheartedly in his love for her until much later in their relationship, and it leaves me wondering if he is leaving his involvement in the war because of his unfailing love for Cat or if Cat and any feelings he has for her are just excuses to escape the insanity of the war he experiences in the third Book. When he is with Catherine, they are in another place, untouched by the war, both symbolically (in the tent of her hair) and literally (in Switzerland). [It seems like I don't ever say anything earth-shattering, or even critical, in these response papers, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do that. The line, "The war seemed as far away as the football games of some one else's college," is beautiful.]
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Hamlet.TXT
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Another Hamlet
The real question is Hamlet crazy or is he just acting it. In my opinion there are many things throughout the play that make me tend to believe that he is crazy. When Hamlet enters Opheliu's room and she has the question if he is truly mad or if he is just acting. Hamlet is proven o be crazy in this play and statements and actions he days and does are the thing that prove this. There are many things that make me tend to beleive that Hamlet is crazy. There are also many things that he does that does not want to make you think that he is crazy but for others to think this of him it just make me want to beleive even more that he is crazy. One of the things that shows that he is crazy is that he contemplates suicide or as Hamlet says "self slaughter", this is definately a true act of pure craziness. Hamlet also wants to believe that he see's this ghost of his father that is odd because when he is in the room with his mother he starts to talk to the ghost and the mother does not see it. Also when he walked into Ophelius's room he just stood there staring at her for a long time and no normal person does this. This is just another example of one of the examples that proves that Hamlet is crazy. Hamlet also has a lot of evil in him like when he killed Polomius for no reason when he was behind the curtains in his moms room. Also when he see's his Uncle Claudius praying he is deciding whether or not it is a good idea to kill him. These are just other examples how I think that he is crazy. Another importnt thing to show that he is crazy is that he has no fear like when he started to follow his father apparation even when Horatio said don't go because it could be dangerous. He also does things that are very odd and random like when Ophelius and him were wathcing the play he just put his head in her lap and started mumbling about nothing. Hamlets image has also got very scrubby by the way he dresses and the way he looks. Ophelius said that when she saw him she was scared. These are all examples about why I think that Hamlet is crazy and this is why Ophelius thinks that he is crazy when He came into his room. Hamlet claims to his fathers ghost and to Horation that he is only acting crazy. Anyone that acts to be crazy really is crazy. So this does not make me change my mind that Hamlet is crazy. There are many instinces that make you want to believe that he is acting crazy but if you really think about it he really is crazy. In this play Hamlet has problems and by all the actions that he does only poves this theory.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Heart of Darkness.TXT
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Another Heart of Darkness
Ignorance and Racism Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, "Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain" (Achebe 252). Yet, despite Conrad's great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan, although their criticisim differ, are a few to name. Normal readers usually are good at detecting racism in a book. Achebe acknowledges Conrad camouflaged racism remarks, saying, "But Conrad chose his subject well - one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological pre- disposition..." (Achebe, 253). Having gone back and rereading Heart of Darkness, but this time reading between the lines, I have discovered some racism Conrad felt toward the natives that I had not discovered the first time I read the book. Racism is portrayed in Conrad's book, but one must acknowledge that back in the eighteen hundreds society conformed to it. Conrad probably would have been criticized as being soft hearted rather than a racist back in his time. Conrad constantly referred to the natives, in his book, as black savages, niggers, brutes, and "them", displaying ignorance toward the African history and racism towards the African people. Conrad wrote, "Black figures strolled out listlessly... the beaten nigger groaned somewhere" (Conrad 28). "They passed me with six inches, without a glance, with the complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages" (Conrad 19). Achebe, also, detected Conrad's frequent use of unorthodox name calling, "Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His in ordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts" (Achebe 258). Conrad uses Marlow, the main character in the book, as a narrator so he himself can enter the story and tell it through his own philosophical mind. Conrad used "double speak" throughout his book. Upon arriving at the first station, Marlow commented what he observed. "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly in the greenish gloom" (Conrad 20). Marlow felt pity toward the natives, yet when he met the station's book keeper he changed his views of the natives. "Moreover I respected the fellow. Yes. I respected his collars, his vast cuffs, his brushed hair. His appearance was certainly great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance" (Conrad 21). Marlow praised the book keeper as if he felt it's the natives' fault for living in such waste. the bureaucracy only cared about how he looked and felt. The bookeeper did not care for the natives who were suffering less than fifty feet from him. He stated the natives weren't criminals but were being treated as if they were, but at the same time he respected the book keeper on his looks instead of despising him for his indifference. Conrad considered the Africans inferior and doomed people. Frances B. Singh, author of The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness said "The African natives, victims of Belgian exploitation, are described as 'shapes,' 'shadows,' and 'bundles of acute angles,' so as to show the dehumanizing effect of colonialist rule on the ruled" (269-270). Another similar incident of "double speak" appeared on the death of Marlow's helmsman. Marlow respected the helmsman, yet when the native's blood poured into Marlow's shoes, "To tell you the truth, I was morbidity anxious to change my shoes and socks" (Conrad 47). How can someone respect yet feel disgusted towards someone? Singh looks into this question by stating, "The reason of course, is because he (Marlow) never completely grants them (natives) human status: at the best they are a species of superior hyena" (Singh 273). As I have mentioned before, Conrad was not only racist but also ignorant. He would often mix ignorance with racism when he described the natives. "They howled and leaped and spun and made horrid faces, but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity - like yours - the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly" (Conrad 35). "The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us - who could tell?" (Conrad 37). The end result of Conrad's ignorance of not knowing the behavior of African people concluded his division of the social world into two separate categories: "us," the Europeans, and "them," the Africans. Achebe concludes Conrad's ignorance towards the natives by stating, "Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,'... a place where man's vaunted intelligence and ferment are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality" (252). "Heart of Darkness was written, consciously or unconsciously, from a colonialistic point of view" (Singh 278). Conrad didn't write his book to the extreme of racism. Overall, the natives appeared better humans than the Europeans in Heart of Darkness. Conrad's ignorance led to his conformity to racism. His ignorance of not completely "granting the natives human status" leads him to social categorization. C. P. Sarvan wrote in his criticism, quoting Achebe, "Racism and the Heart of Darkness," "Conrad sets up Africa 'as a foil to Europe, a place of negations... in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.' Africa is 'the other world,'..." (281). Achebe, Chinua [An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988. Sarvan, C. P. [Racism and the Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Singh, Frances B. [The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Huckleberry Finn.TXT
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Another Huckleberry Finn
Superstition in Huck Finn In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, there is a lot of superstition. Some examples of superstition in the novel are Huck killing a spider which is bad luck, the hair-ball used to tell fortunes, and the rattle-snake skin Huck touches that brings Huck and Jim good and bad luck. Superstition plays an important role in the novel Huck Finn. In Chapter one Huck sees a spider crawling up his shoulder, so he flipped it off and it went into the flame of the candle. Before he could get it out, it was already shriveled up. Huck didn't need anyone to tell him that it was an bad sign and would give him bad luck. Huck got scared and shook his clothes off, and turned in his tracks three times. He then tied a lock of his hair with a thread to keep the witches away. "You do that when you've lost a horseshoe that you've found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadn't ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep of bad luck when you'd killed a spider."(Twain 5). In chapter four Huck sees Pap's footprints in the snow. So Huck goes to Jim to ask him why Pap is here. Jim gets a hair-ball that is the size of a fist that he took from an ox's stomach. Jim asks the hair-ball; Why is Pap here? But the hair-ball won't answer. Jim says it needs money, so Huck gives Jim a counterfeit quarter. Jim puts the quarter under the hair-ball. The hair-ball talks to Jim and Jim tells Huck that it says. "Yo'ole father doan' know yit what he's a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he'll go 'way, en den ag'in he spec he'll stay. De bes' way is tores' easy en let de ole man take his own way. Dey's two angles hoverin' roun' 'bout him. One uv'em is white en shiny, en t'other one is black. De white one gits him to go right a little while, den de black one sil in en gust it all up. A body can't tell yit which one gwyne to fetch him at de las'. But you is all right. You gwyne to have considable trouble in yo' life, en considable joy. Sometimes you gwyne to git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git sick; but every time you's gwyne to git well ag'in. Dey's two gals flyin' 'bout yo' in yo' life. One uv 'em's light en t'other one is dark. One is rich en t'other is po'. You's gwyne to marry de po' one fust en de rich one by en by. You wants to keep 'way fum de water as much as you kin, en don't run no resk, 'kase it's down in de bills dat you's gwyne to git hung." (Twain 19). Huck goes home and goes up to his room that night and Pap is there. In Chapter ten, Huck and Jim run into good luck and bad luck. The good luck was Huck and Jim finds eight dollars in the pocket of an overcoat. After dinner on Friday, they are lying in the grass, then Huck ran out of tobacco, so he went to the craven to get some, and finds a rattlesnake. Huck kills it and curled it up and put it on the foot of Jim's blanket. Night came and Jim flung himself on the blanket and the snake's mate was there, and it bit Jim on the heel. Jim tells Huck to chop off the snake's head, then skin the body of the snake and roast a peice of it. He took the rattles off and tied them to Jim wrist. Jim said it would help him. Huck says "I made up my mind I wouldn't ever take a-holt of a snake-skin again with my hands, now that I see what had come of it." (Twain 52). As one can see Superstition plays an important role in the novel Huck Finn. Huck killing the spider which is bad luck, the hair-ball that tells fortunes, and the rattle-snake skin that Huck touched are examples that brought bad luck to Huck and Jim in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another JD Salinger.TXT
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Another JD Salinger
J.D. Salinger's youth and war experiences influenced his
writings. J.D. went through four different schools for
education. He then went to World War II. After the war, he
had a lot to say, so he wrote down his thoughts. And, he
sure had some things to say.
Jerome David Salinger came into this world on January 1,
1919. J.D. was short for Jerome David. Jerome David went
by J.D. when he was young and he never let go of the name
as he got older. J.D. was born in New York City, New
York (Ryan 2581).
J.D. Salinger's parents were Sol and Miriam Salinger (Ryan
2581). His father, Sol Salinger, was born in Cleveland,
Ohio, and is said to have been the son of a rabbi. However,
Sol drifted far from orthodox Judaism to become an
importer of hams.
Sol married a Scotch-Irish lady (French 21). The lady's
name was Marie Jillich. She changed her name to Miriam to
fit into her husband's family (French 21).
Jerome David had a roller coaster marriage record. He was
allegedly married to a French physician in 1945 and
divorced her in 1947 (Ryan 2581). But other sources say
that Salinger has never admitted this marriage and the
records of the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics fail to
indicate that a divorce was granted in that state in 1947 to
Jerome David Salinger (French 26).
He then married Claire Douglas on February 17, 1955.
Claire Douglas was a Radcliff graduate born in England. In
1955, the two of them settled down in Cornish, New
Hampshire, where they raised two children (Unger 552).
J.D. divorced Claire Douglas in October 1967 in Newport,
New Hampshire (Ryan 2581).
In 1932, the time J.D. should have begun high school, he
was transferred to a private institution, Manhattan's
McBurney School. There, J.D. told the interviewer that he
was interested in dramatics; but J.D. reportedly flunked out
within a year (French 22).
In September 1934, his father enrolled him at Valley Forge
Military Academy in Pennsylvania (French 22). In 1935,
while attending Valley Forge, J.D. was the literary editor of
Crossed Sabers, the Academy Yearbook. Salinger's grades
at Valley Forge were satisfactory. His marks in English
varied from 75 to 92. His final grades were: English 88,
French 88, German 76, History 79, and Dramatics 88. As
recorded in J.D.'s Valley Forge file, his I.Q. was 115. While
such scores as J.D.'s must be treated with caution, this one
and another one of 111 that he made when tested in New
York are strong evidence that he was slightly above the
average in intelligence, but far from the "genius" category. At
Valley Forge, Salinger belonged to the Glee Club, the
Aviation Club, the French Club, the Non-Commissioned
Officer's Club, and Mask and Spur (a dramatic
organization) (French 22). While at Valley Forge, Salinger
began writing short stories, working by flashlight under his
blankets after official "lights out" (French 23). In June of
1936, J.D. graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy
(French #2 15).
In 1937, Salinger attended the summer session at New
York University. He attended the Washington Square
College campus of New York University. There is little
documented about J.D.'s attendance at New York
University. Shirley Blaney, a high school student, and the
only person in the world to ever interview J.D. Salinger, said
that it appears unlikely that Salinger attended New York
University for two years (French 23).
In 1939, Salinger returned to New York after traveling to
Vienna and Poland for a year, to enroll in Whit Burnett's
famous course in short-story writing at Columbia University.
According to Ernest Havemann, "Burnett was not at first
impressed with the quiet boy, who made no comments and
was interested primarily in play writing; but Salinger's first
story, "The Young Folks," which he turned in near the end of
the semester, was finished enough to use in Story, edited by
Burnett" (French 23).
When the war began, Salinger wrote to Colonel Miltion B.
Baker, at Valley Forge Military Academy, that he wished to
enter the service, but had been classified 1-B due to a slight
cardiac condition. J.D. asked what kind of defense work he
might do; but it was not long before Selective Services
standards were lowered enough, so that he was drafted in
1942 (French 24).
In September of 1942, there was a letter announcing that
Jerome David was attending the Officers, first Sergeants,
and Instructors School of the Signal Corps. So in
September of 1942, Salinger was in the war (French #2
15).
During the first part of his military service, Salinger corrected
papers in a ground school for aviation cadets, probably in
Tennessee. While in Tennessee, J.D. was classified with the
rank of Staff Sergeant. J.D. was in Tennessee until June 2,
1943 (French 24).
At the end of 1943, Salinger was transferred to the
Counter-Intelligence Corps. While at the
Counter-Intelligence Corps, J.D. was also corresponding
with Eugene O'Neill's daughter Oona, who after J.D. left
her, became Mrs. Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood. In 1944,
J.D. had additional Counter Intelligence training at Tiverton,
Devonshire, England (French 25).
J.D. entered the war when he joined the American Army's
Fourth Division that had landed on Utah Beach on D-Day,
June 6, 1944 (French #2 15).
Also in 1944, Salinger participated in five campaigns in
Europe as special agent responsible for the security of the
Twelfth Infantry Regiment. While at the Twelfth Infantry
Regiment it is noted that Salinger met Ernest Hemmingway
when the author-correspondent visited Salinger's regiment. It
was then that Salinger became disgusted when Hemmingway
shot the head off a chicken to demonstrate the merits of a
German Luger (French #2 16).
The Catcher in the Rye is a deceptively simple, enormously
rich book whose sources of appeal run deep and complexly
varied veins (Unger 553). As of 1966, Catcher in the Rye
had sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States
(Vertical/Biography 7).
As of 1966, Franny and Zooey shot to second place on the
best -seller list (Vertical/Biography 7). This book was two
stories. "Franny" was first published in the New Yorker,
January 25, 1955. "Zooey" was first published also in the
New Yorker, on May 4, 1957 (Ryan 2581).
The book Hapsworth 16, 1924 was published under the
circumstances in which Salinger had agreed to publish, "at all
bespeak a secretiveness verging on misanthropy"
(Vertical/Literature 51). The company that published the
story was an entirely obscure company, Orchises Press in
Alexandria, Virginia. In this novella, "Salinger reintroduces
us to the illustrious, eccentric, and Andst-ridden Glass
family" (Vertical/Literature 51), with its parents and seven
children, once famous as radio whiz kids (Vertical/Literature
51). The family's first appearance was in "A Perfect Day for
BananaFish." In this book, the main character's brother
Buddy, who is younger by two years and was with him at
the camp, purports to have just received the letter, 41 years
after it was written, in a package from their parents
(Vertical/Literature 51).
J.D. Salinger's youth and war experiences influenced his
writings. Those two items alone were enough to say that
Jerome David Salinger led an interesting life. And the third
item, his writings, was something that he had many of. But
because of his war experience, maybe he was left scared,
causing him to become a loner. Only one person has ever
interviewed Salinger.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another MacBeth.TXT
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Another MacBeth
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, we discover that Macbeth is a tragic hero. Macbeth is very ambitious, courageous, and a moral coward: all these things lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare defines Macbeth as a hero very clearly. From the courages in defense of Scotland is significant in the opening scene. However, he is very ambitious to be king. At the beginning of the play, he was loyal to the king. While he did imagine of murder his mind rejects it and said, "Why, if fate will have me king, why, chance may crown me," - Act I, Sc 3, p.44-45. Yet increasingly his ambition defeated his good nature. When Duncan named Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth decided on the murder of Duncan. When Duncan arrived at Inverness, Macbeth controled his ambition for the time being and did not kill Duncan. The failing of his decision was soon reflected by Lady Macbeth who called him a coward. From then on, after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth entered into a life of evil. Since he overcomed his good nature, he no longer needed to be with his friend Banquo. He wanted to protect his ambition, by killing the king, and now he killed Banquo, due to the prediction of what the witches said about Banquo's son becoming the king. Macbeth wanted to ensure that he would reach his ambition without problems. Macbeth, who now no longer needed any encouragement from Lady Macbeth, started to leave her in ignorance of his plans. Near the end of the play, Lady Macbeth sleepwalked and had a dream about the killing of Duncan and Banquo. She died because of all this pressure and her guilt about the murder. Soul of Macbeth have been destroyed since Macbeth love Lady Macbeth very much, as shown in Act I, Sc. 5, p.58, "My Dearest Love." The power of nemesis is shown clearly at the end of the play when Macduff came back to murder Macbeth. Macbeth would never have guessed that Macduff would come back for revenge for the killing in Macduff's household. This nemesis shows an additional force beyond Macbeth's control. Because of Macbeth's strong beliefs in ambition and the witches, when he found out Macduff was not born of woman, and also found out the Birnam Wood had been seen moving, he realized that the third apparition had deceived him and he understood he was no longer safe. Through the development of this tragedy, Macbeth has turned from a fine natured person to an evil person. His ambition, strong belief in the witches, has brought him to a tragic end of his life, and caused many people to lose their lives.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Much Ado About Nothing.TXT
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Another Much Ado About Nothing
The plot of "Much Ado About Nothing" is an elaborate network of schemes and tricks. This statement is confirmed throughout "Much Ado About Nothing". The play contains many examples of tricks and schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of characters. The major examples of such manipulation include- Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato tricking Benedick into believing that Beatrice loves him, Hero and Ursula trick Beatrice into thinking Benedick is in love with her. The relationship between Claudio and Hero also endures much manipulation. For instance Don John and Borachio trick Claudio and the Prince into believing Hero is unfaithful. As in the tradition of Shakespeare, the Friar deceives everybody into thinking Hero is dead. An instance of trickery involves Benedick being manipulated to believe Beatrice is in love with him. This trickery is carried out playfully by Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio. They realise Benedick's stubbornness in Act II Scene iii, when he states "man is a fool when he dedicates his behaviours to love." Due to this stubbornness Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio must devise a way of attaining the love amid Benedick and Beatrice. In Act II Scene iii the men accomplish this by way of waiting for Benedick to be within ears reach, then raising the topic of Leonato's niece Beatrice. Don Pedro's reference about "your niece Beatrice was in love with Signor Benedick." helps to accomplish such manipulation. This scheme is completed when this is overheard by Benedick, and due to his insecurity about love he falls for their trick, thus loving Beatrice. Another example of manipulation that is closely related to the one involving Benedick but Beatrice becomes the focus of the scheme. Like Benedick, Beatrice's feelings about love are strong and opposing. When she states "Not till God make men of some other mettle than earth" she assumes that her desired partner does not exist. Hero and Ursula believe that Benedick would make a good husband for Beatrice and as a result of this, they plan a scheme to bring about love between Beatrice and Benedick. Hero and Ursula accomplish their scheme in Act III Scene i. Their scheme is concluded by means of discussing that they have heard that Benedick loves Beatrice greatly. Beatrice overhears this and thinks the combination of her and Benedick's wit and intelligence would make a successful match. Beatrice displays her free will when making this decision. The most significant trick employed during the play is carried out in Act IV Scene i; this trick is crucial because it adds the uncertainty and action to fulfil the requirements of a romantic comedy. Don John and Borachio manipulate Claudio and the Prince into believing that Hero is unfaithful the night before she is to be wed. Don John and Borachio achieve this via Borachio setting up a meeting of himself and Margaret in Hero's room, thus Margaret portrays herself unknowingly as Hero. Don John then proceeds to convince Don Pedro and Claudio that he has received word of Hero's unfaithfulness. Claudio is without complications convinced, due to his insecure and influential nature. Don Pedro is also easily convinced because he feels loyalty between his brother and himself. This trick culminates on Claudio and Hero's wedding day when Claudio accuses and disgraces Hero. Additional manipulation succeeds the deceit of Claudio by Don John. In Act IV Scene i, after Hero is accused of being unfaithful, the Friar decides that she should just play dead until she is proven innocent. As in the tradition of Shakespeare, the Friar deceives everyone into believing that Hero died from the humiliation and shock of being disgraced on her wedding day. The deception carried out by the Friar is vital to the happy ending of the romantic comedy. It leads to another trick where Claudio is lead to believe that he is marrying Hero's cousin but ends up marrying Hero herself. The plot of "Much Ado About Nothing" is an elaborate network of schemes and tricks. This statement is confirmed throughout the play as in the examples previously discussed. The play is based around these tricks and schemes and is crucial for the plot development and for "Much Ado About Nothing" to fit into the genre of a romantic comedy. Therefore the plot of "Much Ado About Nothing" is an elaborate network of schemes and tricks.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another Romeo and Juliet.TXT
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Another Romeo and Juliet
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Author: William Shakespeare Genre: Play Orig. Pub. Date: 1596 . Setting: Verona, Italy. Mantua, Italy. Theme: Always tell the truth. Plot Summary: The play starts off when the Montagues and the Capulets are fighting. The Prince of Verona stops the quarrel and tells the two families that he is fed up with the feud. He says it has gone on too long and that this is the last of it. He says that the next person who fights will die. Later on that day, the Capulets have a costume party. Romeo goes to the party looking for Rosaline but instead finds Juliet and falls in love with her. Tybalt notices that Romeo is not a Capulet and wants to fight him, but Lady Capulet stops him so Tybalt tells Romeo that he will regret coming to the party. Romeo and Juliet get married secretly and no one knows but the Nurse. Tybalt sees Romeo and tries to fight him, but Mercutio fights instead. Romeo inadvertently kills Mercutio by getting in the way. Romeo then kills Tybalt. Juliet finds out that Tybalt is deceased and begins weeping hysterically. Even though she knows Tybalt is dead, she is still glad that Romeo is alive. The Nurse then announces that Romeo has been banished and Juliet begins weeping again. Capulet arranges Paris to marry Juliet on Thursday, but Friar has a plan to keep this from happening since Juliet is already married to Romeo. Friar gives Juliet a potion to drink the night before the wedding. The potion makes Juliet look dead but she really will be alive. Friar's plan is to fool everybody into thinking that she is dead, except that he will write to Romeo telling him the plan, and they will bury her and when the potion wears off. She will get out of the tomb and run away to Romeo and no one will ever know. The plan works great except that Romeo doesn't get the letter about the plan and he thinks that Juliet is dead. He is so in love with her that he goes to Juliet's tomb and kills himself. The potion wears off and Juliet comes out of her sleep and sees Romeo dead and then kills herself. Characters: Romeo-Impulsive, blind (love-stricken), romantic, caring. Juliet-Loyal and devoted to Romeo, defiant towards parents. Prince-Strict, mean. Montague-Strict, smart. Lady Montague-Nice, strict, peace maker. Rosaline-Romeo loved her, became a nun. Capulet-Strict, wise. Lady Capulet-Nice, strict, stuck-up. Friar Lawrence-Wise, old, bright. Paris-Proud, lonely, nice. Nurse-Helpful, loving, caring, not educated well. Mercutio-Loyal, willful, strong. Tybalt-Mean, strong, a fighter. Benvolio-Peace maker, friendly. Symbols or Allusions: Phoebus-sun god, Dian's wit-the mind of Diana, goddess of chastity, Echo-in classical mythology the nymph Echo, unable to win the love of Narcissus, wasted away in a cave until nothing was left of her but her voice. Distinguishing Characteristics: Tragic, romantic, exciting. Personal Response: I thought this plat was very confusing at first, but after about 2 acts I started "catching some lines" and learning how to interpret Shakespeare. I thought that this play was extremely downhearted yet exciting.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another The Crucible.TXT
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Another The Crucible
In the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, Miller displays how easily people can be fooled by the innocence of youth. He also exposes the gullibility of common people, even people such as Danforth and Hathorne, who play the role of the "wise" judges. A single girl, Abigail, causes the downfall of the whole society. Abigail scares the younger part of the society into submission. The people who must decide the fate of the rest of the society, see only her innocence and truthfulness. Abigail seeks the affection of John Proctor, a farmer who is respected and feared by most of the townspeople. Proctor makes a foolish mistake when he has an affair with Abigail. Later on he regrets having this affair, and he wants Abigail to forget that it ever happened. Abigail does not want to let him go, she wants him to decide between his wife, Elizabeth Proctor or her, Abigail. Abigail is deprived of attention and she seeks it from the community. Abigail's parents were killed when she was younger, and her uncle, Reverend Parris, does not pay very much attention to her. She attempts to give people the impression that she is a very tough person. John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor know what she is really like and wants to have nothing to do with her. In Act One she says, "I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down." From this we get the impression that she might be a little bit mentally disturbed. The way that she acts in front of John Proctor reveals that she is not as sure of herself as she would like us to believe. Mary Warren decides to confess to the fact that they are all lying, and that she never saw any spirits. In front Abigail, however, she breaks down and returns to her side. When Judge Danforth calls for Abigail to be summoned to court he is told that she has stolen her uncle's money and left the town. Despite this fact Judge Danforth does not think ill of it. Judge Danforth feels so secure in his position that he will not accept the fact that he can be wrong. During the trial Danforth is completely sure that he
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another The Pearl.TXT
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Another The Pearl
The Curse of the Oyster In The Pearl, by John Steinbech, evil transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. Evil was exhibited by the doctor who refused to treat Coyotito because his parents had no money. When the doctor heard of Kino and Juana's fortune in finding "the pearl of the world" (722), he boasted that they were patients of his while thinking of a better life for himself in Paris. Coyotito was healed when the doctor finally came to their straw hut. He deceived Kino by giving the baby a white powder that made him go into convulsions. An hour later he came and gave Coyotito the remedy and immediately wanted to know when he was getting paid. The evil in the pearl had reached the heart of the doctor. The pearl's evil did not restrict itself to infecting Kino's peers; it also affected Kino himself. He wanted to sell the pearl and use the money to better his family's standard of living. He had dreams and goals that all depended on the pearl. When Juana wanted to destroy the pearl, Kino beat her unmercifully: He struck her in the face and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side...He hissed at her like a snake and she stared at him with wide unfrightened eyes, like a sheep before a butcher. (742) Juana saw through the outer beauty of the pearl and knew it would destroy them, but Kino's vision was blurred by the possible prosperity the pearl brought. The malignant evil then spread to a secret cult known only as the trackers. This corrupt band of ruffians attacked and destroyed Kino's life. The very night that the trackers learned of Kino's pearl, they tried to steal it. The next night, Kino was attacked twice, which resulted in Kino committing murder. After the final struggle of the night, Juana went back to their home to find more baneful members of the heartless cult rampaging through their belongings to find the pearl. The end result was Kino and Juana's house going up in flames. The trackers then committed the cardinal sin, they destroyed Kino's canoe: This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal. (744) The trackers annihilated the most important material possession that any citizen of the community owned, "...for a man with a boat can guarantee a woman that she will eat something. It was the bulwark against starvation" (717). The evil invaded Kino's life and everyone who knew of it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Another To Kill a Mockingbird.TXT
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Another To Kill a Mockingbird
In Harper Lee's book, To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many examples of racism. During this time in history racism was acceptable. Racism is a key theme in her book. Not only those who were black, but also those who affiliated with blacks, were considered inferior. Atticus, a lawyer, who defended blacks in court, was mocked. An example of this is when Mrs. Dubose said, "Your father's [Atticus] no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" Mr. Dolphus Raymond was also criticized for affiliating with blacks, especially black females. Example is when Jem said, "He likes 'em [blacks] better 'n he likes us [whites], I reckon." Basically, you were black if you "liked" blacks. Blacks, because they were considered inferior, were expected to do everything for whites. Everything had to be perfect, without excuse. Even when Calpurnia, a Finch family friend, did not make the perfect cup of coffee, she was mocked. Book excerpt, "She [Calpurnia] poured one tablespoon of coffee into it and filled the cup to the brim with milk. I [Scout] thanked her by sticking out my tongue...". Even when blacks did do good, they were still mocked. An example is when Aunt Alexandra said, "Jem's growing up now and you are too. We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence." Even though Calpurnia was a female, Aunt Alexandra over-looked this, because of her race. People were so biased, it didn't matter how good a job a black person did. Since there was such strong racism in Maycomb, there were excuses made for whites. In the book, it was obvious that Bob Ewell was a mean man. It was also obvious that he was abusive to his daughter, Mayella, and he was the one who violated her, not Tom Robinson, because what the evidence showed. But, the people of Maycomb over-looked the evidence in favor of Tom Robinson, just because he was black. In Harper Lee's book, To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many examples of racism. The legal barriers to racial equality have been torn down, and racial exclusion from the benefits of society and the rights of citizenship is no longer nearly total, as it once was. But discrimination still limits the opportunities and stifles the hopes of many black Americans and other minorities. In the realms of housing, employment, medical care, education and the administration of the criminal justice system, we are still, as the 1968 Kerner Commission Report on civil disorders warned, "two separate Americas." At this moment in our nation's history, it is critical that we move definitively forward in remedying the effects of discrimination. But tragically, the most successful civil rights remedies have come under attack from conservative politicians and pundits. Affirmative action, for example, which is to be credited with the creation of an increasingly diverse workforce, has come under intense criticism. Voting rights laws, which have begun to integrate the halls of Congress and state legislatures, are also under attack. As long as our society is ridden with race-based problems, we will need race-based remedies. And while we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ANTHEM.TXT
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788
In the novel Anthem, Ayn Rand writes about the future dark ages. Anthem takes place in city of a technologically backwards totalitarian society, where mankind is born in the home of the infants and dies in the home of the useless. Just imagine, being born in to a life of slavery having no freedom, no way self expression, no ego. The city represented slavery. When in the city, Equality had been guilty of many transgressions. He was not like his brothers, he was different he was smarter, healthier, and stronger. At the age of five he advanced to home of the student, where he got scolded for learning faster then his brothers. Equality teachers told him that he had evil in his bones because he was taller then his brothers. Then at the age of fifteen when the house of vocations came Equality was guilty of the great transgression of preference because he wanted to be a scholar, but his selected vocation was to be a street sweeper. Every day while he swept by the fields he would watch and smile at Liberty and she would smile back. Liberty was a woman that worked in the home of the peasants. Making contact with a woman was prohibited but for when in the palace of the mating. The palace of the mating was where people were forced to breed. Equality thought touching a woman was shameful and ugly. Th! en one day while he swept the streets he found a grate that led to underground tunnel full of things from the unmentionable times. For two years he went to the tunnel and discovered a new glowing light. Then one day while in the tunnel decided that he must share his secret with his brothers. He decided that he would bring his secret in front of the world council meeting. When Equality entered the world council meeting the scholars got frightened and angry. They demanded that he tell them why he was there. He connected the wires and they glowed, the scholars backed up against the wall as they stared in horror. They told him that he they were going to punish for breaking so many laws. Equality trembled in fright he quickly grabbed the light and ran to the uncharted forest. No man followed because they feared the unknown. Those are all the ways in which Equality rejected the view of society. The uncharted forest represented freedom. When Equality spent his first night in the forest when he woke up he laughed and rolled through the leaves and the moss because he realized he was free which meant no more waking up to a bell, no more meals prepared for him, and no more sweeping streets. Then as he walked through the forest he came to a river he stopped and looked in the water for the first time in his whole life he saw what he looked like. When he saw his reflection it surprised him he did not look like his brothers he looked stronger then his brothers who looked short and fragile. The next day in the forest he had heard foot steps behind him he turned around and it was Liberty. She had heard of what he did and followed his path into the forest. While in the forest Equality hugged Liberty and realized that holding the body of a woman was not shameful. They walked for many days the farther they went from the city the safer they felt. "Everything which comes fro! m the many is good. Everything that come from one is evil." Ayn Rand wrote this in the end of the ninth chapter when Equality begins to doubt everything he has learned in the city. The mountains represented a new beginning. In the mountains Equality and Liberty found a house left from the unmentionable times. In the house there are many things they have never seen before like mirrors, light bulbs, a library full of books, and nice clothes. They promise to never leave the house and they claim it as theirs. They learn the word I while reading books from the huge library. Equality also names Liberty and himself, while reading through a book he learns of Prometheus who was a man who stole fire from the gods and taught men use the power of gods. Prometheus was punished as are all who bring light to men. He also reads of Gaea who mother of the gods and of earth. In the future Equality plans on going to the city one last time to bring his friends back to his new sanctuary to start a new beginning. He also plans on chiseling the word ego on his house so nobody ever forget the word. Equality and Liberty promise that they will never surrender the sacred! word I. In today's society more people need to ask themselves to imagine, being born in to a life of slavery having no freedom, no way self expression, no ego. Without these freedoms this country would not be what it is today. The importance of freedom is right to follow your dream. Because in America you can be any one you want to be.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Antigone.TXT
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570
The debate over who is the tragic hero in Antigone continue on to this day. The belief that Antigone is the hero is a strong one. There are many critics who believe, however, that Creon, the Ruler of Thebes, is the true protagonist. I have made my own judgments also, based on what I have researched of this work by Sophocles. Antigone is widely thought of as the tragic hero of the play bearing her name. She would seem to fit the part in light of the fact that she dies in doing what is right. She buries her brother without worrying what might happen to her. She "Takes into consideration death and the reality that may be beyond death" (Hathorn 59). Those who do believe that Antigone was meant to be the true tragic hero argue against others who believe that Creon deserves that honor. They say that the Gods were against Creon, and that he did not truly love his country. "His patriotism is to narrow and negative and his conception of justice is too exclusive... to be dignified by the name of love for the state" (Hathorn 59). These arguments, and many others, make many people believe the Antigone is the rightful protagonist. Many critics argue that Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone. They say that his noble quality is his caring for Antigone and Ismene when thier father was persecuted. Those who stand behind Creon also argue that Antigone never had a true epiphany, a key element in being a tragic hero. Creon, on the other hand, realized his mistake when Teiresias made his prophecy. He is forced to live, knowing that three people are dead because of his ignorance, which is a punishment worse than death. My opinion on this debate is that Antigone is the tragic hero. She tries to help her brother without worrying about what will happen to her. She says, "I intend to give my brother burial. I'll be glad to die in the attempt, -if it's a crime, then it's a crime that God commands" (Sophocles 4). She was also punished for doing what was right. Her epiphany came, hidden from the audience, before she hung herself. Creon's "nobleness" of taking in young Antigone and Ismene is overshadowed by his egotistical nature. He will not allow justice to come about simply because he wants to protect his image. He says, "If she gets away with this behavior, call me a woman and call her a man" (Sophocles 13). These elements prove that Antigone is the tragic hero. Creon, understanding his ignorance may lead one to believe that he is the true protagonist. But, if you define the word protagonist you would find that a protagonist is one who is a leader or supporter of a cause. Antigone is in support of her own actions in the burial of her brother Polyneices. She entrusts that she is doing what the Gods want, contrary to the belief of Creon. Many readers and critics may say Creon suffered greator hardships. Some may say Antigone never had an epiphany. Who would understand it if their own brother were left to the birds and dogs. There would be no rational thinking involved in a act like this. These are arguments envolved in deciding who is the tragic hero of Antigone. Critics, to this day, still argue about who is the tragic hero of Antigone. Many say that Antigone is the heroin. Others say that it is Creon. My research favors Antigone as the perfect protagonist. No matter who the reader sides with, it is agreed by most that there is a valid argument either way, in light of the fact that they both endure great hardships. Charles Woerner Dr. Walton English 12
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Arrowsmith.TXT
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2421
Arrowsmith is a classic American novel written by Sinclair Lewis. Lewis wrote this book in the early 1900's as a current outlook on the world of science in that time. The main theme it focuses on is commercialism and its effect on science. During this time period there were many advances in the field of medicine; everyone was racing to find the cure to deadly diseases and then patent it and profit off it. Helping humanity was more of a business than a service to the human race as doctors and institutes became more and more capitalistic. Like a business trying to maximize its profit, many doctors and scientists cut corners and guessed at many things so they could get their products or methods on the market as fast as possible. However, there were a few scientists who stayed strictly devoted to their science, not letting money, glory, and success corrupt them. Scientists such as this despised commercialism and held contempt against the other doctors and scientists who fell into that system of capitalism. The book follows the life of Martin Arrowsmith, a scientist who is torn between pure science and commercialism. He wants to be a true scientist but he is pushed into commercialism by everyone he meets, except for a select few. Among the few is Max Gottlieb, who is Martin's model for everything a true scientist should be. Gottlieb is a bacteriologist who is completely against the capitalist values of commercial doctors and scientists; he devotes himself religiously to his science, and he believes in being completely thorough and not guessing or accepting things without completely understanding them. Terry Wickett, a disciple of Gottlieb's, holds all the same values and attitudes as Gottlieb toward capitalism and commercialism. He helps Martin break away from commercialism, and become a true scientist. Another person who greatly helps Martin in his life is his first wife, Leora Tozer, who stands by and supports Martin no matter what. She devotes herself to Martin as much as Gottlieb devotes himself to his science. She supports him in whatever decision he decides to make, she helps and comforts him in his times of need, and she remains completely loyal to him at all times, even when he is not completely loyal to her. The story starts with Martin Arrowsmith as a medical student at Winnemac University, where he was first introduced to commercial science and pure science, and made to choose between the two. It is here that Martin first meets Max Gottlieb, who was a professor and the university and head of the bacteriology department, and becomes completely in awe of him. His classmates mock Martin for his choice in idol, because they see Gottlieb as somewhat of a failure in life, simply because he is poor and not very high standing or recognized in society, which is actually what Gottlieb prefers to be. A few of Martin's classmates that have a significant effect on his life are Ira Hinkley, Angus Duer, and Clif Clawson. Ira Hinkley is a humanitarian, self-righteous reverend who later becomes a missionary in the West Indies. He is studying medicine for the purpose of helping humanity and gaining glory for himself along the way. Angus Duer is a social climber who is studying science more for the sake of obtaining the inherent respect held for doctors and scientists. He does all the methods and techniques with a cold precision but only because he was told to do them, not because he wants to understand why things are the way they are. Clif Clawson is completely centered on making money and being successful. He went into medical school solely because he would be able to make a lot of money being a doctor or physician. The university essentially teaches students how to make money from their knowledge through commercialism, even more than the actual medical science itself. The following passage is part of a lesson that Dr. Roscoe Geake, who is a professor in the university, gives to his students. "Knowledge is the greatest thing in the medical world but it's no good whatever unless you can sell it, and to do this you must first impress your personality on the people who have the dollars. Whether the patient is a new or an old friend, you must always use salesmanship on him. Explain to him, also to his stricken and anxious family, the hard work and thought you are giving to his case, and so make him feel that the good you have done him, or intend to do him, is even greater than the fee you plan to charge. Then, when he gets your bill, he will not misunderstand or kick." Martin is constantly being pushed towards the commercial side of science and away from Gottlieb and pure science. Almost everyone in the university is trying to persuade him to do the same as them and become a practical doctor who works for profit, instead of a poor scientist who works for years before producing even the smallest discovery, which may or may not help anyone. Eventually he gives in and leaves Gottlieb to receive his doctorate and become a physician in Wheatsylvania, North Dakota, the home town of his fiancee, Leora Tozer. In Wheatsylvania, Martin is presented with the life of a commercial physician, and he becomes appalled with it. He learns that being a physician is more like trying to make it appear as if you are helping people than actually doing it. He finds that their main skill is not actually healing the patient, but dealing with the family after they failed to save the patient. They glorify their failure by saying they did all they could and more, and they spread the blame around as to not detract from their respectability. A physician in a neighboring town named Doctor Winter gives Martin this advice. "In a crucial case, you better call some older doctor in consultation-not that you need his advice, but it makes a hit with the family, it divides the responsibility, and keeps 'em from going around criticizing." Disgusted with this, Martin tries to be an honest physician, but he gets heavily criticized by all the other physicians and the entire town. The other doctors criticize him for not asking them for advice and splitting fees, and the townspeople think he is some hotshot doctor who believes he is above everyone else, and cares for no one save himself, which is ironic because he is the only one who is truly trying to help them. After a while Martin decides to leave when he receives an offer for a job in a medical institute in the city of Nautilus where he is led to believe he will be free to research whatever he wants. In Nautilus, Martin works in a medical institute under its director, Dr. Pickerbaugh. Dr. Pickerbaugh supports the idea of pure science and research and allows Martin freedom to research whatever he wants, but only to a certain extent. After Martin has been working a while Pickerbaugh becomes impatient because so much time has passed and Martin has not produced anything, so he begins to push Martin to publish his research and let the world know what he does. So once again Martin finds himself being pushed toward commercialism. Pickerbaugh wants him to publish so that the world may benefit from his work, and also so that glory and fame may come to Martin and the institute, which leads toward profit. After a few years Martin decides to leave after receiving a letter from Max Gottlieb asking him to work with him in New York. Gottlieb is working at the McGurk Institute in New York under director Dr. Tubbs, who has granted Gottlieb complete freedom in his research. Dr. Tubbs is a social-climber completely driven by commercialism. Everything he does, he does to profit himself and the institution. When Martin comes into the institution, Tubbs grants him the same freedom as Gottlieb. He is free to research whatever he wants for as long as he wants, and so Martin returns to Gottlieb and meets Terry Wickett. For a while everything goes well until Tubbs learns about Martin's research and tries to get him to publish. Martin is researching and experimenting with what could possibly be the cure to many of the deadly diseases at the time, such as tuberculosis and the Black Death. He refuses to publish because he has not finished the research and to publish right away would be straying away from pure science and towards commercialism again. Tubbs wants Martin to publish not because it would help humanity, but because it would bring fame and fortune to the institute. In commercialism, everything is a race to discover and produce something and then patent it and take the credit. We see this when another scientist in another institute publishes the same discovery on which Martin is also working. Tubbs is severely disappointed with Martin for not publishing sooner so that he could receive the credit and recognition, and he tells Martin to start working on creating other cures and publish them quickly. However, Martin decides to continue research on his current project and see if the other scientist missed or overlooked anything, which is approved by Gottlieb. Throughout this entire time Gottlieb is helping Martin stay true to science and protect him from success. In the following passage Gottlieb is telling Martin what it means to be a true and authentic scientist. "To be a scientist-it is not just a different job, so that a man should choose between being a scientist and being an explorer or a bond-salesman or a physician or a king or a farmer. It is a tangle of ver-y obscure emotions, like mysticism, or wanting to write poetry; it makes its victim all different from the good normal man. The normal man, he does not care much what he does except that he should eat and sleep and make love. But the scientist is intensely religious-he is so religious that he will not accept quarter-truths, because they are an insult to his faith. "He wants that everything should be subject to inexorable laws. He is equal opposed to the capitalists who t'ink their silly money-grabbing is a system, and to liberals who t'ink man is not a fighting animal; he takes both the American booster and the European aristocrat, and he ignores all their blithering. Ignores it! All of it! He hates the preachers who talk their fables, but he iss not too kindly to the anthropologists and historians who can only make guesses, yet they have the nerf to call themselves scientists! Oh, yes, he is a man that all nice good-natured people should naturally hate! "He speaks no meaner of the ridiculous faith-healers and chiropractors than e does of the doctors that want to snatch our science before it is tested and rush around hoping they heal people, and spoiling all the clues with their footsteps; and worse than the men like hogs, worse than the imbeciles who have not even heard of science, he hates pseudo-scientists, guess-scientists-like these psycho-analysts; and worse than those comic dream-scientists he hates the men that are allowed in a clean kingdom like biology but know only one text-book and how to lecture to nincompoops all so popular! He is the only real revolutionary, the authentic scientist, because he alone knows how liddle he knows. "He must be heartless. He lives in a cold, clear light. Yet dis is a funny t'ing: really, in private, he is not cold nor heartless-so much less cold than the Professional Optimists. The world has always been ruled by the Philanthropists: by the doctors that want to use therapeutic methods they do not understand, by the soldiers that want something to defend their country against, by the preachers that yearn to make everybody listen to them, by the kind manufacturers that love their workers, by the eloquent statesmen and soft-hearted authors-and see once what a fine mess of hell they haf made of the world! Maybe now it is time for the scientist, who works and searches and never goes around howling how he loves everybody!" Because of his research of a cure for the Black Death, Martin is sent to the West Indies where there is a serious epidemic of the Plague. He travels there with Leora and another scientist named Gustaf Sondelius, and meets with his former classmate, Reverend Ira Hinkley, who is now a missionary and doctor in the West Indies. Once there, Martin is faced with the extremely difficult decision between science and humanity. At this point, his research and tests on the cure are not complete and it is not certain whether or not the cure will work. However, Hinkley, Sondelius, and everyone else who knows he has a cure are pushing him to distribute it among the masses. Here he faces the question on whether he should immediately distribute the cure with the fairly large possibility of failure, or if he should withhold it until his tests are complete and he is certain on whether or not it will work. He has a dream where he gets in a car crash, and he has to choose between his science and the lives of others. "Shrieks, death groans, the creeping flames.... The car turning, falling, plumping into a river on its side; himself trying to crawl through a window as the water seeped about his body.... Himself standing by the wrenched car, deciding whether to keep away and protect his sacred work or go back, rescue people, and be killed." Martin chooses to continue his tests and be certain that the cure will work, as the population continues to be ravaged by the Plague. During this time, both Hinkley and Sondelius die of the Plague. Martin keeps up his work until Leora contracts the Black Death and dies. In his grief, Martin gives in and distributes the experimental cure to everyone. After the epidemic dies out, all the people of the West Indies label Martin as a hero and a savior, despite what the people thought of him when he withheld the cure. However, he feels that he betrayed Gottlieb and his science. It seems that commercialism often disguises itself as humanitarianism or uses humanitarianism to justify itself. It pushes you to act quickly and hopefully without any of the certainties demanded by science. For example, the main reason Sondelius went to the West Indies was to find glory and fame, rather than the saving the lives of thousands of people. However, he used humanitarianism as a way to try to persuade Martin to distribute the cure. When Martin refused, Sondelius called him a monster and claimed that Martin was not willing to help the suffering population, nor did he care about the hundreds of thousands of people dying from the Plague. What is ironic about this is that this pure science tends to benefit humanity more than commercialism science in the long run. The notion that one significant improvement over a long period of time is better than a series of failures and half-successes is drowned out by the propaganda of commercialism. Pure science produces methods and medicines that are certain. They have been thoroughly tested and proved to be successful, as opposed to the medicines produced by commercial scientists. While they produce more, they are not certain as to what effect they will have. They hope that if their product works in one situation, it will work in every situation. However, commercial science does have positive points as pure science has negative points. While pure science is more certain it is also much more long term. Commercial science gives immediate care and help, despite how much it may actually help. Pure science is presented as something that looks toward and works for the future, while commercial science deals with what is happening at the moment, but commercialism hinders pure science so much that, in effect, it may be bringing about the destruction of its own future.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\As I Lay Dying.TXT
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William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi where he became a high school drop out and was forced to work with grandfather at a bank. In 1925 Faulkner moved to New Orleans and worked as a journalist, here he met the American Sherwood Andersen, a famous short-story writer. Anderson convinced Faulkner that writing about the people and places he could identify with would improve his career as a writer. After a trip to Europe, Faulkner began to write of the fictitious Yoknapatawpha County, which was representative of Lafayette County, Mississippi. Often in this series of novels one could read of characters who were based on Faulkner's ancestors, African Americans, Native Americans, hermits, and poor whites. At some point in this period of writing, around 1930, William Faulkner wrote the novel As I Lay Dying. In this book, and others of this series, it was commonplace to find sentences that stretched on for a page in order to create mood, multiple narrators, or short stories complicated with a stream-of-consciousness blather that was hard to understand. Therefore, readers had difficulty following these novels, and Faulkner's popularity soon dwindled, that is until Malcolm Cowley wrote The Portable Faulkner, which contained excerpts from the Yoknapatawpha series, and made Faulkner's genius evident to his readers. Shortly thereafter, many of Faulkner's works were reissued and he became a literary giant, and was even awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949. Until death, Faulkner continued to create works of literature, including both short stories and novels. The Bundren family has recently suffered the loss of their most beloved mother, Addie. When Addie was young and fresh out of labor with her second of five children, she made her husband promise that when she died he would burry her in Jefferson, the town where Addie's family lived. Generally Jefferson was a one or two day trip, but when a rain spell floods the river and destroys both bridges and washes out the direct road to Jefferson, Anse, Addie's husband has to ford the river and take a much longer route to get to Jefferson. While crossing the river, a large log flowing downstream starts a chain reaction that results in a badly battered wagon, the death of a team of mules, a broken leg for the oldest of the five children, and a one-day delay in the journey. Many other troubles follow this family and the short trip to bury their mother becomes a nine-day journey with a dead body that is beginning to rot in the back of the wagon. Each of the character struggles internally throughout the novel, and when all is done, one ends up with a leg that may never work again, another is arrested, while the only Bundren daughter learns that there is no drug that will reverse a pregnancy. Obsession, it drives people to go above and beyond, to lie and to struggle so that they can satisfy their inmost desire. In As I Lay Dying, the main idea, or theme, is that of obsession. On the surface, this novel appears to be about the Bundren family's desire to give their mother what she wanted, even in death. However, after careful analysis it becomes evident that most of the novel's characters actually possess an ulterior motive that drives them to be so persistent in carrying out their dead mother's wishes. A good man and husband, Anse has everyone convinced that he is determined to fulfill his wife's wish to be buried in Jefferson. Especially when he acts so stubbornly about accepting help from someone other than his own family. However, he is only stubborn, because it is in his nature, not his wife's burial wishes. As the troop draws closer and closer to Jefferson, Anse talks more and more about what he truly obsesses over. For the longest time Anse has been able to eat all the food that his family and friends enjoy so much because he no longer has all of his teeth. His one true desire is to go to the nearest town, it just so happens that it is Jefferson, and buy himself a set of false teeth so he can "eat the victuals He aimed for man to eat..." Cash, the oldest of the children, is greedy to make money and has used his life's opportunities to become a carpenter, and a quite accomplished one at that. He is always busy with one job or another, the only trouble is that he hasn't any way to travel from his home to a job site except to walk or catch a ride with someone. Mr. Tull, a friend of the Bundrens, has hired Cash to do some work on his barn, but Mr. Tull lives quite a distance away. Cash knows that when he goes with his family to bury his mother they will have to pass by Mr. Tull's house on the way up and back. Cash convinces his father to drop him off at the Tull's house when they are coming home. Unfortunately, Cash breaks his leg on the trip and because he doesn't receive medical treatment soon enough, it is declared to be almost useless for the rest of his life. The only Bundren female, Dewey Dell, also has an obsession that she wishes to fulfill on this journey. Around two months before her mother died, Dewey Dell was impregnated by her boyfriend Lafe. Before she leaves, Lafe gives Dewey Dell ten dollars and tells her that there is a drug that can terminate a pregnancy and that she can get it at any pharmacy in town. However, Dewey Dell learns that it isn't that simple, and the first pharmacist she visits runs her out for trying to commit such an immoral act. In Jefferson she stops at a different pharmacy, but instead of finding a doctor, she finds a young boy, who poses as a doctor in order to take advantage of her. At the start of the journey Darl, the second eldest, has no driving obsession, but slowly, at first, thing change. Darl slips into insanity, perhaps because he is riding in a wagon with a rotting corpse, but soon his inmost desire is to rid himself of the coffin. While the family slept in a kind man's barn, Darl went so far as to set fire to the entire building in attempts to destroy the coffin and the corpse inside. Luckily, one of Darl's brothers gets his mother's coffin out of the barn before it catches fire. Ironically, when the assembly finally gets their mother buried and Darl is freed from his obsession, two men quickly imprison him again, by his own father's command, for burning down that barn. Vardaman, the youngest child is pushed by his desire to see the toy train that his sister had told him about. Moreover, he wanted to make sure that no "town boys" got it before Santa Clause could deliver it to his house, although it was still in the midst of summer. Vardaman, much like his brother Darl, has begun to slip a little into insanity, and often rambles on about a fish that he caught the day his mother dies, a fish who represents Addie. Vardaman has trouble cleaning the fish and appears to be doing more harm than good, but eventually, the fish is cooked and the affair is over. Powered by an obsessive curiosity, Vardaman cannot wait to get to Jefferson. And Jewel, who falls behind Darl in age, was driven by his desire to return home. Jewel keeps to himself, and is distinctly different from his brothers; he wants only to return home so that he can be apart from his family. After all, Jewel technically is not one of the Bundren children, but the result of an affair that Addie had with the local minister Mr. Whitfield. For the first half of the journey Jewel will not even ride in the wagon with his family, instead he takes his horse, which he bought and feeds with his own money, so that he will have no ties to the rest of the Bundren family. However, after the river accident, Anse sells Jewels horse in order to have enough money to buy a team of mules so that they can finish their journey. William Faulkner employs multiple narrators in order to tell this story to his readers, and thus creates a novel with several viewpoints. In doing this he allows his readers to gain access into the minds of almost every character in the novel. As it switches between various camera angles, a television program is portrayed in the same way. By allowing the audience to see the plot from several perspectives, Faulkner's readers, like a television viewer, has knowledge of events that all characters in the story do not know about. Therefore, the reader has insight into the thoughts and events that mold each individual character, and their motivation. Dewey Dell is goaded by her desire to terminate her pregnancy. However, had the author not allowed the reader to view the journey from Dewey Dell's perspective then the reader would not know what Dewey Dell had asked the pharmacist, or that she went to a different pharmacy to have an abortion, but was, instead, violated by a hormone-crazed young man. In fact, the reader may not have even known that Dewey Dell was pregnant had it not been for the standpoint of this novel. Vardaman's situation would also be a mystery to the audience had it not been for the way this work of fiction was written. Certainly, the author could have told the audience from and perspective that Vardaman was obsessed over a toy train, but in order to realize the intensity of his motivation the reader needs to see things from Vardaman's own direction. Therefore, the way Faulkner tells the story influences the theme and how well the reader can identify Faulkner's main idea. As any writer does, Faulkner wishes to captivate his audience and hold their attention. He hopes the reader anxiously awaits the discovery of what will next present itself to the individuals who are making this expedition. In order to do so, a writer has to create an element of suspense, which will cause the reader to be motivated to continue reading. In a sense he has to stir up in his audience an obsession for his work and for the characters involved. Oftentimes, Faulkner switches the narrator, and thus the point of view, to a different character whenever a significant event is about to take place in the novel. Faulkner, by occasionally switching topics in the midst of a sub-plot, causes the reader to anxiously anticipate the events that lie ahead for the travelers. In doing so Faulkner is attempting to cause his readers to obsess over the novel, and thus, gives his audience a method of relating the theme of the manuscript to their own feelings, which Faulkner creates. William Faulkner's use of multiple perceptions can be interpreted as a symbol that represents the multiple obsessions of the Bundren family. Each chapter is part of a whole; they all come together to create one novel. Likewise, the Bundren family is a whole, but is made up of separate and unique members. As each chapter has its own perspective, each member of the family has his own obsession; therefore, the various standpoints of the book represent the various obsessions of the individual family members. Thus by writing the novel with several view points Faulkner creates a symbol that contributes to the strengthening of the work's theme. Truly, As I Lay Dying is a revolutionary novel; Faulkner attempted to create a plot with a new and innovative perspective. Until this novel the world had never seen such a unique method of presenting the story. Faulkner paved the way for a new generation of writing; he took a chance on the unlikely. Though at first his book had little popularity due to its complexity, after Malcolm Cowley wrote The Portable Faulkner, Faulkner's novels were suddenly much easier to comprehend. Therefore, As I Lay Dying soon gained much more popularity. However, this novel is not considered great because it was popular, nor is it held in high esteem because it is part of a series. This is a great novel because it is different. In this book William Faulkner took a chance and won, he swam against the flow, and he survived. Many times when authors go out on a limb, they are condemned, and their career is damaged. However, Faulkner is one of the few writers who succeeded when he took a chance, and instead of falling for it, he was praised and lifted up. The plot and the portrayal of the characters made this a good novel, but its style and point of view made it a great one. When Faulkner began this novel he had no idea that it would become such a great success; he was just going about his daily life, and at the same time creating a story so he could publish it for a little extra money. Therefore, this novel should be included in a list of works with high literary merit because it is unique. It is an odd story told from a vast array of views. The reader is allowed to view the story from several different angles that provide an understanding far above that of any other novel. Also the author's style of writing, and his effective use of black humor contribute to the work's literary merit. Furthermore, this book contains vivid details of life in Mississippi and of the common tragedies that were often tolerated by people like the Bundrens. Thus, this novel is an astounding work of literature because it is an accurate portrayal of the time period, it contains an astonishing usage of literary tools, and it is written in a distinctive multiple-perspective point of view.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\As the roads became larger and because.TXT
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As the roads became larger and because they provided much more direct and accessible routes to cities, people had more options about where to live. The construction of Levittowns across the country exemplified another regularization phenomenon partially resulting from the interstate system. William Levitt, the mastermind behind the plan, bought thousands of acres of land outside cities such as New York and Philadelphia. On these vast stretches of property, Levitt organized the construction of entire towns. Construction of the roads induced the construction of suburbs and "suburbia," such as Levittown, (originally called "Island Trees") which drastically influenced the culture and social expectancies of the 1950s. 
Construction started in the late 1940s with the passage of the GI Bill to aid the soldiers returning from home. The increase of men coming home led to a serious housing shortage and the GI Bill provided money for housing as well as education. The need was so great Cape Cod and Ranch homes on Levitt's plots went up in a single day. Contractors merely reconstructed the prefabricated houses. With the help of Levitt, the baby boomers formed communities of these Cape Cod and Ranch houses winding along on roads with a village green that served as the central part of town. All of the homes looked similar, but it did not matter to the residents, satisfied and content to just have a house.
William Levitt promoted his construction well and people bought the homes before he built them. Homes within a community represented the ideal set up for the returning veterans and their families. These people wanted an appropriate place to start their new post-war life. By the 1950s and the end of the Korean War, a strong nationalistic and patriotic fever swept the country. It all culminated in a desire for the "blessings" of life - a happy family, a pleasant house, a job, and the materialistic benefits that came along. As the first planned community in the United States, Levittown provided all these things and helped to define the middle class American life. It was the stereotypical 1950s community with mowed, green grass and happy nuclear families. Levittown, Long Island represented the quintessential auto age suburb, what with the largest entirely white community in the United States. Most of its 70,000 residents held federally guaranteed mortgages.
But similar to the contradictions presented by other architectural developments along the road, Levittown was not all that it seemed. The outskirts of cities had become, "interminable wastelands dotted with millions of monotonous little houses on monotonous little lots and crisscrossed by highways lined with billboards, jazzed-up diners, used-car lots, drive-in movies, beflagged gas stations, and garish motels." (God's Own Junkyard... Peter Blake, p. 24) In her song "Little Boxes," folk singer Malvina Reynolds described the little box houses of Levittown and its residents as "all just the same." She described how everyone living in the houses all lived the same monotonous life and how everything always ended up the same, just like the houses. In Levittown, all the homes did look the same. Even all of the gardens were manicured similarly. Residents only hung laundry out to dry on specified hangers and only on certain days. If someone disregarded their grass for too long, Levitt would send people in to cut the grass and send the bill later. A facade of independence and liberation from the ways of the earlier era persisted, but Levittowns appeared just as rigid and standardized as most other elements of the 1950s. Incorporation of Levittown was a direct result of the Interstate Highway System.
The highways, for the sake of productivity and efficiency, generally skirted the cities, and which created a discrepancy between what remained inside versus outside the newly created border. Introduction of the interstate augmented industrial as well as suburban development. Yet, by this point in the 1950s, people associated the city with crowds and poverty, and so outside of the interstate boundary became the more attractive place to live. Again, political and social expectations fueled the move towards conformity (regarding residency) and distinct political boundaries formed. The interstates provided more access to cities from points outside, thus opening the door for the rise of "suburbia," or the lifestyle of outlying towns. William Levitt capitalized on this concept and built the planned communities just off the interstate access roads.
I think the spread of suburbia brought more good than bad. It brought a feeling of community, a feeling of belonging, and the great feeling of being a part of something "new." Today there are still subdivisions where the houses are built the same, the families are the same, and the jobs are the same. Levittown was merely the beginning.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Asher Lev.TXT
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I Comes Before "U" in the Alphabet and in Happiness Throughout life, one faces many responsibilities that could be taken upon; furthermore, sometimes one responsibility conflicts with another, causing a person to struggle to find which responsibility is more important in his life. In addition, for one to live his life in a manner that would make others content would be foolish, because this person would feel unsatisfied with his accomplishments and no one else would be completely pleased; It is impossible to make others completely happy, due to the fact that everyone would want and expect different things from this person. For instance, in My Name Is Asher Lev , Asher is unsure whether or not the responsibility of pleasing the important people of his life and community is more important than making himself happy. In order for Asher to make others happy, he must sacrifice his one desire of being an artist. After attempting to do so, he concludes that being an artist is a greater priority in his life, because can not meet the needs of all the people that are important in to him in his life. Asher's mother has no objections of his desire to draw, and is often encouraging him, which late in the novel leads him to become an artist. One example of his mother influencing him, she takes Asher, at a young age, on walks to several places, like the park. At these places Asher is able to draw different images, helping him find a hobby that he loves and that will later become his life. Another place his mother takes him to is the art museum. There they speak and learn about art, which Asher is later influenced by the paintings that are on display in that museum, and he often copies famous paintings. Another example, his mother is constantly asking Asher questions about his art, showing signs of interest. For instance, when she is ill and does not speak to her as often as she once did, she asks, "Asher?... Asher, are you drawing pretty things? Are you drawing sweet, pretty things? ...You should make the world pretty, Asher. Make it sweet and pretty. It's nice to live in a pretty world" (Potok, p.17-18). By speaking to Asher about art when she is so sick and has other things on her mind shows him that she enjoys his art and that it is important. Although his mother takes pleasure from happiness Asher gets by being an artist, his father is very against it. Asher's father and mother having conflicting expectations of Asher, it is already impossible to make them both completely satisfied at the same time. Throughout the novel My Name Is Asher Lev, Asher's father wants him to stop drawing completely by constantly calling art "foolish" and "from the sitra achra". In a discussion about art between Asher and his father, his father says, "Asher, you have a gift. I don't know if it is from the Ribbono Shel Olom or from the Other side. If it is from the Other side, then it is foolishness, dangerous foolishness, for it will take you away from Torah and from your people and lead you to think only of yourself"(109). In addition to talking to him, his father talks to the Rebbe and Asher's teachers to also influence him towards Torah and away from art. Therefore Asher is getting mixed feeling from the two closest people to him, leaving him no other choice but to pursue after his dreams. On his path of becoming an artists, Asher learns valuable lessons from Jacob Kahn, which leads him contradict both his parents. In order for Asher to become the best artist he can, he must forget about everyone else and draw from his heart. Jacob Kahn makes him realizes this when he says, "As an artist you are responsible to Jews?... Listen to me, Asher Lev. As an artist you are responsible to no one and to nothing, except the truth as you see it. Do you understand? An artist is responsible to his art" (218). Asher then on begins to live life for himself and not for other by focusing only on art. His father is upset with his decision and causes them to have turmoil in their relationship. In addition to angering his father, Asher paints images that also his mother and the Jewish community are unhappy with. These pictures started with nudes and later lead to drawing his mother on a crucifix. When his parents see this in the exhibit, they immediately leave disappointed. Along with his parents, several art critics and his community do like his art; but it was important for Asher to draw this painting because it makes him a good artist, being able to express himself without feeling any responsibility to anyone. Like any other person, it's favorable for Asher to live his life in a fashion that pleases him, making him satisfied him for attempting to fulfill his most desired goals. From a young age Asher dreams of becoming a great artist, but his father does not approve because of his ideals of being a Jew. Throughout his life, he stumbles several times on the path of becoming an artist, trying to please the important people in his life before himself. For example, to make Asher's father happy, he attempts to stop drawing. During this period of time, Asher suffers so much that he feels that he must begin to draw again. Therefore one should live to satisfy yourself rather than suffering for others. One should easily be able to accept Asher's reasoning and realize that it is beneficial for him to live in the manner in which he desires.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Atticus Finch To Kill A Mockingbird.TXT
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Atticus Finch represents the rational man in a world of highly emotional people. Atticus is a stable and mature figure who is able to cope with the unreasonable and highly emotional element of the town. He can handle the prejudiced white masses and still deal justly with the underprivileged Negro population. He is one of the few people of the town who understands the individual worth of a person regardless of the color of skin. He is able to defend Tom Robinson solely on the basis of justice and does not allow the color of Tom's skin to prejudice him against Tom's case. It is necessary to have a man with a high and ideal view of justice defending Tom Robinson because even Atticus knows that the case is hopelessly lost before he begins. He is wise enough to know that the prejud ices of the southern town will never allow justice to be done, but at the same time, he is determined that the truth be told so that those who convict tom will be aware that they are convicting an innocent man. Accordingly, in the final analysis of the story, Atticus represents the "justice" in the community of Maycomb. Atticus is also the spokesman of the moral philosophy of the novel. He always teaches his children that,"they must learn to be compassionate and understanding of the problems and conditions of life faced by othe r people,"He frequently advises Scout that she must be able to step into the shoes of others such as Ewells, Boo Radley, and the Cunninghams. Consequently, he will not allow the children to torment Boo Radley and wants Scout to try to see things from Boo's point of view. Atticus' relationship with his children is very important in understanding his character. He has an outstanding agreement,"with his children because he treats them as mature adults and tries to explain to them how to meet the problems that are presented to them in an adult world. All of Atticus' relatives feel that he is bringing up the children incorrectly, and they challenge his method of handling the children,"Uncle Jack punishes Scout without listening to her side of the story, whereas Atticus always gives her the opportunity to explain her point of view."Thus, Atticus is the voice of the reason and justice whether he is dealing with the grim ingrained prejudices of a southern community of whether he is "trying to handle a minor problem of discipline with his own children.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Atticus.TXT
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 Atticus
Atticus, a deeply affecting novel by Ron Hansen, opens in winter on the high plains of Colorado to the tropics of Mexico, as well as from the realm of whodunit detective mystery to the larger realm of the Mystery, which has its own heartbreaking, consoling, and redemptive logic. Misunderstanding, dissolute, prodigal, wayward, wastrel, alias, and bribery are only a few words that tell the powerful story of Atticus. The case was labeled as a suicide. The body was identified as forty-year-old Scott William Cody, a blue-eyed white male. The plot of the book takes three sharp turns. It begins as a conventional novel about the relationship between a father and his troubled adult son. After one character dies, it zigs into a murder mystery, and by the end has zagged into something entirely different, a parable, let's say, in which characters find redemption. Atticus Cody, Colorado cattle rancher turned oilman, appears at first to be a remote and judgmental dad, but as we observe the gentle, persistent concern he shows for his wayward son Scott, we discover nothing less than the ideal dad. Scott's testing of his father's love goes way beyond normal bounds: his alcoholism and general irresponsibility actually cause the deaths of several other characters. Scott's peregrinations take Atticus from his home in Colorado to the slums and bohemian underworld of a Mexican town. There, Atticus confronts a seamy and labyrinthine corruption that tries to separate him from the love of his son. Atticus, the Father, won't let go, and that's the point. In my humble opinion, the message of the book is that an ultimately moving meditation on the ineffable, unmatchable love between a parent and a child should always be a close bond, because you might not have a second chance for reconciliation. Atticus Cody receives a surprise Christmas visit from Scott, his estranged son who has been leading the life of a wastrel expatriate in Mexico. The friction between them is electric, and despite Atticus's profound love for his son he is unable to overcome the differences between them, and Scott returns to Mexico with their conflicts unresolved. Any hopes for reconciliation end when Scott supposedly commits suicide a few weeks later. Atticus journeys to Mexico to recover the body and he uncovers the story of his son's death, fitting together the pieces of mosaic that was Scott's life in Mexico--and encountering a group of disturbing characters along the way. Upon learning the circumstances surrounding his son's death, Atticus begins to suspect Scott was murdered. Unsatisfied with the police investigation, the sixty-seven year old father begins his own, struggling to comprehend the enigma of Scott's life and final days. It is an investigation that leads Atticus to an unexpected, but emotionally satisfying conclusion. Scott alias Reinhardt Schmidt, finally stopped the charade and disclosed his true identity and reunited with his father, bringing them closer than ever before. Scott Cody was in a lot of turmoil. He felt as if he was nothing, and couldn't do anything productive with his life. He was suicidal and was treated for it, where he also madly fell in love with Renata, his on-and-off girlfriend. He felt devastated when he lost her to another man. Scott was in even greater trouble when he was involved in a hit-and-run accident, where he killed a seventeen-year-old girl. The girl's boyfriend went after Scott, and accidentally murdered Reinhardt Schmidt instead of Scott. Scott realizes that will be a dead man if he doesn't take on Schmidt's identity. But soon enough, Scott realizes all the devastation that he brought to his family and to his friends, and so then he decides to unfold the truth behind his identity. I think I speak for everyone when I say this, we usually take people for granted. We don't talk the way we should, or express ourselves to the fullest. We later regret our behaviors when it's too late. Each day is a new day, and no one can really predict the contents, whether its good or bad. We should all treat each other with respect and love for one another, and treasure every moment you have with one another, because you never know what life will have in store for you. The author braids his plot so intricately that things are never quite what they seem. Though "Atticus" is a book one wants to race through to find out what's happened -- and the news is indeed shocking -- it demands pauses to admire the prose. Here is the sound of a Mexican jitney: "The pandemonium in the engines was like iron pans being clapped together." Here, the look of a gin mill after a shooting: "Tatters and silks of gunsmoke still hung by the ceiling." And in Colorado, the snow "strayed over the geography as though recalling how it was to be water." In the splendid "Atticus," Ron Hansen displays both an unblinking eye and a forgiving heart.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Augustine And Love.TXT
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April 14, 2000 Seminar 021 How does Augustine define love? Augustine states continuously that he was not yet in love, but was in love with love. This statement doesn't make sense to me. I don't believe that someone can be in love with something, if he or she doesn't understand what love is. "I was not yet in love, but I was in love with love, and from the very depth of my need hated myself for not more keenly feeling the need." (pg. 35) How can Augustine hate himself if he doesn't know what loves feel like? I think a lot of Augustine's statements about love are interesting. Augustine has some very good points about love, but he contradicts himself also. Is Augustine saying he wasn't in love or he doesn't understand love? Both of these statements make me wonder how can he be in love with love, if he isn't in love. After stating this, Augustine continues to support his statement by talking about friendship. Is the friendship Augustine mentions lustful or sincerely about love? "Thus I polluted the stream of friendship with the filth of unclean desire and sullied its limpidity with the hell of lust." (pg. 35) Obviously Augustine is letting the idea of love turn straight to lust. He talks about unclean desires, but he says he wants to be clean and courtly. Maybe Augustine has the wrong idea about love. Love is when you care deeply about someone and will do anything for them. Thinking about sexual desires and physical attractions are defining lustful ideas. Is Augustine talking about different kinds of love? Augustine states that he wants to be forgiven for the corruption of his soul so he can love God again. He also states whatever pleases you, you should love Him who created it. "If material things please you then praise God for them, but turn back your love upon Him who made them." (pg. 60) He continues this thought by saying we should love God for he created the world and without God we wouldn't be able to love anything in this world. He also states that God made the world and didn't leave. So is Augustine implying that if someone makes something and abandons it, that he or she shouldn't be loved? I think Augustine is implying that only those who create something and stay around should be loved. I agree with Augustine about this. If God would of created the world and left, I would of thought he created the world by mistake. By sticking around or admitting to creating the world, I feel as if God is able and willing to deal with whatever circumstances that may come His way. Augustine tells sinners to return to their heart and abide to God. Is Augustine saying that God doesn't create evil? Or is he saying that sinners learn to love evil and evil takes over their hearts? If God created everything, didn't he create evil as well? I think God created the devil, who was banned from God's kingdom, and he began preaching against God's word. If God created the devil and the devil created evil, then God created evil. I don't think God directly created evil, but indirectly through the devil. God realized that evil isn't good so he made the devil exit his kingdom. Augustine begins to talk about how his marriage was arranged. " Great effort was made to get me married. I proposed, the girl was promised me." (pg. 102) He continues to state that his mother wanted him to get married. Is Augustine truly in love with this girl? I don't think so, if he was truly in love with her he wouldn't need his mother to decide on marriage. I think Augustine really cared about this girl, but was being influenced to marry her by his mother. He goes on to explain how the girl wanted him to show her a vision for their future marriage. It seems to me as if the girl isn't all that sure about their love. I think she is telling Augustine this, to see if he truly loves her with all his heart and to see if he's ready to get married. Augustine mentions the idea about receiving personal glory when one's loved. Augustine is stating that people love to be praised. Is this kind of love selfish? I believe it is selfish. If not selfish, I wouldn't define it as true love. True love is doing something out of the kindness of your heart, you don't expect any favors in return. "The report of men's mouths and deeds known to men, bring with them a most perilous temptation from the love of praise, which goes round almost begging for compliments and piles them up for our own personal glory." (pg. 205) I interpret this statement to mean that people are tempted to be loved because those who are loved are often praised. In general after I read Confessions I believed that Augustine had some interesting thoughts. I wouldn't agree with half of them dealing with love. I think he brings some important ideas about lust and the temptation of being praised. Augustine knows that many other adversities come along with love. Love isn't an easy stage for people to go through, but when we are ready to love we shouldn't be afraid to love. I wouldn't call Augustine ignorant when he talks about love. In all actuality I think the different stages he has been through make him wise regarding love. He wasn't able to love with all his heart, but Augustine understood what it took to be able to love sincerely. I think Augustine defines love as a state of being where you give all of yourself to another person. Regardless of the person, whether it's God, a significant other, or a certain thing. Love is a mental, spiritual, and physical state that makes us a better person in the end.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Baseball History.TXT
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427
Baseball is North America's oldest and most storied professional team sport. Certainly, there have been numerous moments which are still remembered by baseball fans of all ages many years after they happened. We all remember moments like "The Catch" in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series and Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning home run in 1960. There are also the players who transcend the ages like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson. These players continue live on in the hearts and minds of the nation long after their playing days are over. The great players, teams and memorable moments of the 20th century are well remembered, but somewhat less known are those of the 19th century that helped to shape the game and provide a foundation for the great national pasttime that would develop in the current century. For the great Yankee teams of the 20's, 30's 40's and 50's, there are the St. Louis Browns of the American Association and Chicago White Stockings and Boston Red Stockings of the National League. The Ty Cobbs and Walter Johnsons of the game had their match in Cap Anson, Dan Brouthers and Amos Rusie. Colourful characters like Casey Stengel and Reggie Jackson had their equals in Arlie Latham and Mike "King" Kelly. It has been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This is certainly the case in baseball. The franchise shifts, player movements and salary issues of today are certainly not new, although the first half of the 20th century would give that impression. Since the National League began in 1876, at least one major league franchise either moved to a new city, moved to a new league, or has folded every year until 1893. Player movement of the early major leagues occurred quite frequently. Constant player movment and contract jumpers - players who left their old team for a better offer, often in the middle of the season - prompted Boston owner Arthur Soden to devise the reserve clause in 1879. There were also many player raids by teams on others, usually during the offseason, but occasionally - usually when a new league incited a war with the established leagues - during the season as well. The owners were always complaining that the players' $2500 salaries were too much. In 1889, owners took it upon themselves to impose a player classification system to control salaries that led to the formation of a new league by the players. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Bean Trees Again.TXT
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Running Head: THE BEAN TREES
Abstract
This book report deal with the Native American culture and how a girl named Taylor got away from what was expected of her as a part of her rural town in Pittman, Kentucky. She struggles along the way with her old beat up car and gets as far west as she can. Along the way she take care of an abandoned child which she found in the backseat of her car and decides to take care of her. She end up in a town outside Tucson and soon makes friends which she will consider family in the end.
Historical Context
From as early as the time of the early European settlers, Native Americans have suffered
tremendously. Native Americans during the time of the early settlers where discriminated against and still are today. At the arrival of the Europeans there was an estimated one million to eighteen million Native Americans (meaning living above Mexico) in population. There is also said there was about three hundred languages spoken at the time. Anthropologists have tried to summarize "the cultural practices and reduce the cultural complexity and they have come with twelve major cultural areas. But, material artifacts and mode of subsistence give a geographical area rather than on social organization or a people's way of life, including their family relationship." ( Mindel, 1998, p.382) The similar family structures can be traced in almost every Native American family from their basic family structure to marriage rituals. Europeans introduce disease to the Native Americans. The introduction nearly killed the total population. Diseases like the small pox, measles, chickenpox, influenza, and many other help to the extinction of almost half of the languages known today. When Europeans settle in the Native American land the quickly tried to acculturate them by taking their land, fighting them for land, and later using reservations to almost incarcerate them for the outside world because the did not want to live like the white man. Native Americans did not like the way they were being treated. Every generation that passes, there would be fewer and fewer Native Americans around the Americas. The Native Americans saw what the Europeans were doing to their land, they wanted their old way of life, and they wanted the Europeans to leave. The Europeans were relentless in their attempts to get rid of the Native Americas the attitude of the Europeans was felt among the Native Americans. All the Europeans wanted from the Native Americans were their land, their gold or their labor. Unfortunately for the Native Americans, the Europeans succeeded in taking everything from the Native Americans and in the end the Europeans did get it all.
Native Americans have been through a lot in America. They were the first ones here and they still are here. But the problem is that Native Americans are still treated with disrespect. There are still a lot of prejudice and racism against the Native Americans. I believe that if a race could survive after all the wars and disease that the Native
Americans have been faced with, they should be respected. Summary of Book
The dilemma brought forth to Marietta (Taylor) in the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, is that growing up in Pittman, a small rural town in Kentucky a town in which pregnancy was common among the youth. It was also a town where not many people were educated and not many would want to live. Marietta was one who did not want to be one of the youth mentioned because she is much smarter and better than that. She then decides to leave her hometown soon after high school in an old beat up 1955 Volkswagen ending up in the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. The plan did turn be as simple as it sounded. Along the way she acquires an Indian child abandoned in the backseat of the car. But the trials and obstacles along the way create an experience that far exceeds anything possible. Rough times. Problems that arise cause a person to think that they are not capable of overcoming the obstacles of life. Taylor leans that strength in a time of suffering is an important part of surviving periods of hardship. The suffering is easier to deal with when you have people around you that can relate to your troubles and help teach you how to overcome them. Financial problems are faced by many people and everyone can relate to it. Everybody has had those times where they need every penny that they have, except for those luckily enough to be born into money. Taylor had to suffer threw the dilemma of being broke, extremely broke. You can educate yourself by budgeting, but you can learn to adapt to deal with the problems brought forth to you. Taylor did hotel cleaning, worked for her friends, and worked a fast food place to have money for her and newly acquired child. She wants to get as far as her car will take her, no matter how hard it is to continue she will. Eventhough, Taylor was broke, it does not discourage her to get side tracked from her plans to go to Oklahoma or in the end as far west the car will take her. Taylor also learns has a lesson that most people do not have to learn until they are older. She learns that money is not needed to be happy and that friends and family are the most important in someone's life. Well it is safe to say that Taylor struggles in this transition but she strives to make the best of it.
The Journey to the west and womanhood. Normally, it takes any woman nine months to have a child, it took Taylor just one day after a stop in Oklahoma. She had an instant birth, her role in life took a hundred and eighty degree turn, she was no longer the student of life she is now the a teacher of life to a child. To be able to take on the responsibility of a child shows how willing Taylor is to learn the role of motherhood eventhough she was running away from it in the first place. Most people given the same situation would refuse to accept the child. After much thinking and confusion she takes the child in and later names Turtle because she hangs on to things. Taylor has gone from living with her mother to being on the road by her self to taking care of a child she had not expected. It seems that the road has more bumps than anticipated. Taylor finally gets as far west as she can she settled in a small town outside Tucson where she meets two of her future friends, Lou Ann and Mattie. Through their help Taylor feels at more at ease because she had meet this people to whom she can relate to, especially Lou Ann. Lou Ann and Taylor get along by the simple fact that both are from Kentucky and they are special to each other because both had a child, both were learning from each other, and both were helping each other get on with life. In addition, she learns that a child worth having because it is someone to share her love with. Later she meets a pair of Guatemalan political refugees Estevan and Esperanza who later help in a child welfare problem concerning Turtle. Finally, there is Mattie the owner of Jesus Is Lord Used Tires who familiarizes Taylor with town and later finds out is involved in transporting refugees into the United States. Taylor soon learns that being able to share your problems and your love with those that you are close to is an important part of life. When Taylor was on the road she was for the most part alone, once she was settled and in constant contact with Lou Anne and Mattie her problems began to become lessen. This is not a coincidence when you are with people who you share feelings with the same problems you faced before do not seem as hard or complicated. Over her journey the most important lesson that Taylor did learn was how to love and how to use love as a pad and a blanket from all the things that alone would be so hard. When Taylor is on the brink of getting Turtle taken away by child services there is no doubt that she is facing a great problem. But with the help of her friends the problem lessened and the weight of the problem concerned the group as a family not an only the individual family member facing it. In the end she keeps Turtle thanks to the help of Estevan and Esperanza. Turtle might have had to go through social services and maybe end up in a group home or living with another family.
Final thought about book. Life is all about what you learn, but there is a point where you can realize that it has been worth it. Taylor had to gone through many hardships that not many people may not experience in a lifetime. Once you see what she has experienced your life may seem like a breeze, so just sit back and relax and enjoy life to the fullest. As Forrest Gump put it best, "Life is a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get". The book makes the reader think what life would be like for Taylor if she stayed her hometown in Kentucky and had not become an adoptive mother. Although the story makes you feel better since we know that her journey turned out better than expected.
View of dominant culture in relation to narrative
Taylor's mother has somehow deviated her from the destiny that would await her if she stayed in her hometown. Taylor values working hard to earn money and learns the value of family through her mother and the people that surround in the town she settled in. She is so full of confidence yet, very naïve to the world since she had not been exposed to the world outside her town much. She does have of sort like fear of men because of what happened between her mother and father that she does not really mention any kind of attraction other than the fact that she finds Estevan sweet and intelligent. She often worries about Turtle and wonders if she is doing the right thing to better Turtle's well being. Lou Ann is going against the dominant culture by getting married to a Mexican who in her mother's mind they are almost like a wild animal that have many kids because it is their nature to do so. Mattie is part of the dominant culture yet, she helps Guatemalan political refugees and gives them a haven until they get on their feet. In dominant culture eyes the abandonment of Turtle would be considered as not wanting the responsibility of the child when instead, the mother was protecting her from the abuse she was enduring.
Thoughts on the novel
Some of my feeling, responses, and attitudes are written throughout the paper. Although, I do feel glad that things turned out for the best for both Taylor and Turtle. I also feel that Taylor did have the courage to leave her hometown because that is not something that everyone can do and know that from experience. I am one of five to leave my little hometown (outside of El Paso) who right now I am one of three that has not gone back home except to visit. Since the Native Americans families are so close knit just like the Hispanics, I know she and her mother would have been ridiculed because one, she was leaving the family, two, they probably said she did not care for her family, and third, what in the world is she going to do out there by herself. But, knowing this is said about you, you feel the need to prove yourself to everybody and prove them wrong. When you do you have succeeded. I can not imagine leaving in an old car and hoping it gets me where I need to go that would have been hard on a person especially, knowing you are on a tight budget and to top it off you are given this little person to take off when you can barely take care of yourself. But, I am glad she found people to surround her that were very helpful in her starting a new life. Everybody needs someone like that. It is amazing to see caring, willing, and intelligent she was made out to be. Though there was times were I thought Taylor was just a bit to naïve and caring that she did not notice things. I can also relate to Lou Ann in some odd way... I am going to get married outside my culture and eventhough I have not heard any bad comments about I can sometimes see when we clash culturally and it can make a world of difference. My fiancé is American and of course, I am Hispanic we both are close to our families yet, the way we were raised causes problems between us. We can say it does not cause problems but, it does and things can be uncomfortable. My parents worry that his family has a prejudice against Hispanic and vice versa but, I think it is only natural to have a bit of suspicion of each other. Mattie I like simply because she is fighting for what she believes in and in some weird kind of way she is advocating for the rights of others. I think she would have been a good social worker. In all the novel was good even though I got a bit bored with it at times. Implications for Social Work
We must have an understanding of the Native American cultures and their historical background in order to work effectively with the client to make sure their needs are met. The needs to be met are the culture, value system, communication style, education levels, family structure, rituals, and resources available for this particular group of people. A good starting point is to know how communicate and know what to communicate to the Native Americans. For example, do not talk about your accomplishments because it is considered to be rude. Their children are not raised to be competitive and only live on what is needed, they have no needs for a lot of material goods. Time is not an issue so they will come in late because they are in no hurry. Their religion is always with them, all aspects of life are touched by spirituality, and you must accept things the way they are. To treat the client you must become aware of the multigenerational disruption of positive development because there are not many Native American role models. Acknowledge there is oppression in their history and they may need to grieve over the lose of their tribe, language, and other things important to them by teaching them coping strategies.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Bean Trees.TXT
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Bean Trees
Have you ever been put into I situation in which you can stay
and never prosper or leave, with nothing but mere material
possessions? This is the dilemma that is brought forth to Marietta (Taylor) in the
novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. Marietta grew up in Pitman, a
small rural town in Kentucky. A town in which families "had kids just about
as fast as they could fall down the well and drown" needless to say not a
town where many people would want to live. Marietta was one of these people
not wanting to be one of the families mentioned above. So she decided to
leave, sounds like a simple solution, but the trials and tribulations along the
way created an opportunity for education that far exceeds anything that
can be learned in school. Not what is the square root of sixty-four but
problems that can cause a person to think that they are not capable of overcoming
the roadblocks of life. Strength in a time of suffering is a vital part of surviving
through out the many rough times of life. The suffering is a lot easier
to deal with when you have people around you that can relate to your
troubles and help teach you how to overcome them.
Money, money is a problem that many people can relate to.
Everybody has had those times where they need every penny that they have,
except for those luckily enough to be born into money. Marietta, now
officially known, as Taylor had to suffer threw the dilemma of being broke, flat
out broke. There is no way to educate yourself into having money, but you
can learn how to deal with the cards you are dealt. That is what Taylor does,
" 'wash your windows lady.... dollar for the whole car.' 'I got no
windows..... lucky me, because I got no dollar either.'" Taylor is broke, beyond
broke not even with a dollar to her name she strives to complete her destiny.
She wants to get as far as her car will take her, no matter how hard it is to
continue she will. Taylor has learned a lesson that most people have not
nor ever will learn. She has learned that money isn't everything to be
happy and content pushes money and material objects down to third or even
fourth place. Well it is safe to say that Taylor is struggling but at least she only
has to provide for herself.
In what takes any other woman nine months to do, Taylor
has one day. She had an instant birth, her role in life took a hundred and eighty
degree turn, she is no longer the student of life she is now the teacher of a
child, a teacher of life. To be able to take on the responsibility of a
child shows how willing to learn Taylor is, most people given the same
situation would not accept the child. "jumped in and popped the clutch,
jumped out and pushed some more. I could see the child's big eyes watching
me in the dark." After much contemplation she takes the baby that she later
names Turtle. Taylor has gone from living with her mother to being on the
road by her self and now is on the road with a child, it seems that the road is
containing many more bumps than it did when she started. After Taylor
finally gets settled and is off the road, she has learned that the troubles
caused by having an unexpected child end up being worth it as she has
someone to share her love.
Being able to share your problems and your love with those
that you are closely knitted with is a vital part of life. When Taylor was
on the road she was for the most part alone. Once she got settled in one
place and was in constant contact with Lou Anne and Mattie her problems
began to become less and less. This is not a coincidence when you are with
people who you share feelings with the same problems you faced before
don't get amplified to the level they once did. Over her journey the most important
lesson that Taylor did learn was how to love and how to use love as a
pad and a blanket from all the things that alone would be so hard. When Taylor
is on the brink of getting Turtle taken away by the child services there is no
doubt that she is facing a great problem, but with the help of her friends the
problem is dispersed and the weight of the problem is on a group not an
individual. In the end she keeps turtle but with out the help of Estevan and
Esperanza, Turtle might have had to go through another transfer of
parents.
Life is all about what you learn, but there is a point where
you can learn too much too fast. This is what Taylor had to go
through the problems expressed in the book where enough for a lifetime, but
Taylor has much more of a life to live. Once you have learned what she has learned
the rest of your life is a breeze, just sit back relax and let life come to
you. The book makes the reader think what would Taylor be like if
she had never left her rural town in Kentucky? Although it makes you wonder
there is also an assurance that her life is better now than it ever could have
been in a place she disliked so much.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Beauty and the Beauty in the Beast.TXT
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Beauty and the Beauty in the Beast
Once upon a time...
The classic opener for any fairy tale, which is no different in the case of Beauty and the Beast. Fairy tales were meant to teach our children life lessons that society, at the time, deems important to learn. They teach us the difference between right and wrong, black and white, good and bad, light and dark, and beauty and ugly. There are many different variations and names to Beauty and the Beast. This famous fable has been passed down and integrated into our culture time and time again, each time adding different lessons that were thought to be important in that day and age. What has changed over the years? How have the fairy tales of Beauty and the Beast affected the children of yesterday, today and tomorrow? I hope to show how fairy tales, more importantly Beauty and the Beast, is helpful to children in many ways, but mostly by teaching them the way that they should act in society. There are three very important lessons that Beauty and the Beast teaches us. First, and probably, the biggest one, is that beauty is only skin deep. It is what is on the inside that counts. Second, which ties in with the first lesson is, don't be too greedy because you will only be looking for the beauty on the out side. Finally, do unto others as you would have done to you, this will make you beautiful on the inside were it counts.
In this paper I am going to take a look at two versions of Beauty and the Beast. Although The Lady and the Lion and Beauty and the Beast are very different, the base story is there. True beauty is determined by what is on the inside and not on the outside. In addition vanity and riches will not make you happy. Finally, to be truly beautiful you must treat people how you would want to be treated.
Before I get into those versions of Beauty and the Beast, I want to talk about those who don't think this fairy tale should be seen or heard by children. One version of this tale is by none other than Disney. Kathi Maio said, "Disney's version features a beast who looks ugly and acts even uglier... What a heart-warming fable! Why it's a regular training film for the battered women of tomorrow!" (194). At first I thought, wow she has issues, but when I looked deeper I found what she meant. Not to say that I agree with her by any means. It is a fairy tale for a reason! These things can never and will never happen. Fairy tales are how children learn basic fundamentals of society. Children don't know how to read that deep into the movie and even if they do, as a parent, you should be there to show them the difference between right and wrong. In the Disney version there is singing. Every Disney movie has it. I think it is a good thing; it adds to the fact that this is just a fairy tale and that these things have not and will not ever happen (For those who take things too seriously *coughKathiMaiocough*). Madame Le Prince De Beaumont wrote one of the first versions of Beauty and the Beast in 1745. She was a teacher and her intent was to teach her students moral lessons. She felt so strongly in these lessons that she turned them into a fairy tale to help her students grasp them. The story starts off with a merchant who had three daughters and three sons. The two older girls were very arrogant because they were rich. The sisters would not marry because they wanted to be wed to someone who was very rich. Beauty was the youngest and she had many suitors, but she refused to marry because she felt she was too young and she wanted to stay with her father longer. The merchant loses his wealth and is forced to move to the country. The two older sisters were devastated and lost all of their suitors. Beauty on the other hand was so nice that her suitors still wanted to marry her. A while after their move to the country, the merchant got a note that said his stuff had arrived. This would make them rich again. "When the sisters got word of this they begged their father to bring them back dresses, furs, hats, and all sorts of trinkets" (217). Beauty asked for nothing but a rose. The father left and returned poorer than when he left and lost his daughter to the beast. Every night Beauty and the Beast would eat dinner and talk. Beauty became fond of the Beast. Her father grew ill and so she went and visited him. Her sisters were envious of her because they had both married men that were too vain and witty. Beauty on the other hand lived with a good person. She returned to the castle three days late because of her greedy sisters, and found the Beast dying because he thought that Beauty had left him. She had decided to marry him because she cared for him so much. When she told him this the dark castle turned bright. When Beauty looked back down at he Beast he was a prince. Her family was taken there too. The fairy that had turned the prince into the Beast turned the sisters into statues. The sisters were forced to stay that way until they learned their lesson about vanity and wit. Beauty and her Beast, now a prince live happily every after.
You can see that even though this was written in 1745, many of the lessons and morals are still useful in today's society. First of all this shows that beauty is only skin deep. What is on the inside is what really counts. "You are very generous," said Beauty. "I am well pleased with your kind heart; when I think of that, you no longer seem so ugly to me" (221). Beauty is falling in love with the person on the inside. She also said, "There are many men more monstrous than you, and I prefer your form to those men who hide a false, corrupt and ungrateful heart" (221). This really cuts to the quick. People that are bad are just plain ugly on the inside and in turn you don't want to be around them. As a child I would really began looking at the insides of my friends to see if they are beauty or the beast.
In this version though, Beauty also has two sisters and they are constantly looking for wit and fortune and are very greedy. "The two eldest said they would never marry unless they could find a duke, or at least a count" (216). Now if that isn't greedy, I don't know what is. At the end of this they are both turned into statues and will remain that way until they learn their lesson. Greed will get you no where.
The Lady and the Lion, was written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, it in 1812. The Grimm brothers had traveled around Germany and listened to the older women's tales. This was very different from the French version of Beauty and the Beast, as you will see. The Father takes a long journey. "The eldest sister wanted pearls, the second diamonds, but the third said, 'Dear father, I should like a singing, soaring lark'" (208). Beauty's father tries to get her a lark from a tree. The Beast in this story happens to be a lion. Beauty must go live with the Beast. Once she got there, she learned that the lion turned into a man at night. They fall in love and get married. The lion was then turned into a dove and must fly for seven-years and Beauty followed her love everywhere because he drops feathers and blood. After the seven-years are up, he is turned into a lion and forced to battle a dragon. Beauty saves the lion only to lose him to an evil princess. Then she must trade the treasures that the sun and the moon gave her to rescue the Beast. Then they live happily ever after. The same message is coming out in this version of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty goes and lives with the Beast. "On her arrival she was so kindly received.... Shortly after they were married" (209). Finding out that beauty is only skin deep, she falls in love with that man and not the Beast on the out side. This something that children need to learn. I my opinion isn't taught enough in today's world. One of the other big points was that material items will not make you as happy as love. In the story the evil princess wanted the dress given to Beauty by the sun, and the golden chickens, given to beauty by the moon, so bad that she was willing to do anything. When the evil princess asked whom she could buy these wonderful gifts from, Beauty, simply said, "Not with gold or goods, but with flesh and blood" (211). The princess was so greedy that she was willing to give up her husband for material things, which lead to the prince leaving the evil princess and following his true love to safety. So in the end, the princess lost her soon to be husband and all she had to show for it was a dress and some chickens. I don't know about you but I know I wouldn't be happy with that.
The most important thing I learned from both of these versions, don't piss off the fairy!! In both versions there is a fairy or a wizard involved and the man is always turned into the beast because he did something wrong. In the Beauty and the Beast, the fairy says, "come and receive the reward.... You shall become a great queen.... As for your sisters I know your hearts and the malice they contain. You will become two statues....you shall stand before the gate of your sisters castle, for I can see no greater punishment than for you to witness her happiness" (224). The point behind all of the magic is, do unto others as you would have done to you. The two sisters received what they had done to others, back to them. This motto is something that I have tried to live by my whole life. No, not just because of the fear that fairies will come after me and turn me into a beast or a statue. (Which if you think about it would be very scary, seeing a something with wings and a wand flying at you.) I just feel that if you want to be treated well, you should treat others well. This was most likely imbedded into me through fairy tales just like Beauty and the Beast.
As you can see from only two very short versions of this fairy tale that the values in it are virtues that we should all have. This fairy tale has been passed down for many generations and with each year it grows and adapts to society, but the bases for this story stay true. You can't judge a book by its cover. The truth is it is what is on the inside that counts, which leads to the next lesson; that being greedy will not make you happy. For everything you get that you think will make you happy, you will only find that you are unhappier than before. This flows nicely into the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have done to you, and this will bring you true happiness. I believe that this is a great fairy tale and the values it teaches are even better. My children will know the story of Beauty and the Beast well.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Beloved.TXT
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Beloved
Toni Morrison's Beloved is set in rural Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1873. The novel is centered on a woman named Sethe, who is the mother of four children, and an escapee from slavery in a Kentucky plantation 18 years ago. She lives with her daughter, Denver in a shabby house at 124 Bluestone, that they share with the ghost of a dead baby, which haunts Sethe by reminding her of past tragedies. Paul D, Sethe's new lover and a former Kentucky slave man whom Sethe takes in, helps shed light in Sethe's sad life. Also arriving at the doorstep is a mysterious, ill young woman who calls herself Beloved. Gradually, Beloved penetrates the lives of all who live in the haunted house, forcing Sethe to confront her nightmarish memories. Morrison's compelling scene in chapter 27 of when the thirty community women congregate in front of 124 Bluestone to battle the ghost haunting the house, is carefully constructed to contribute to the theme of healing and structure of the work. As Denver is awaiting transportation for her first day on the job as Bodwin's evening nurse, thirty neighborhood women pray and sing at the edge of the yard after hearing speculations from that the ghost of Sethe's dead daughter is causing the family to deteriorate. Sethe and Beloved intrigued by the music move to the porch. "Sethe was breaking a lump of ice into chunks.When the music entered the window she was wringing a cool cloth to put on Beloved's forehead.Sethe and she exchanged glances and started toward the window" (Morrison 261). As the Bodwin approaches in a cart with his horses to pick up Denver, Sethe is triggered by a flashback of when the schoolteacher and the slave catcher came to get her children 18 years ago. Racing towards the cart, Sethe releases the hand of Beloved and runs toward to crowd using the ice pick as an attachment of her hand to protect her Beloved. "He is coming into her yard and he is coming for her best thing..And if she thinks anything, it is no" (Morrison 262). The thirty community women whom Sethe was running toward stop her and Beloved neglected on the porch by herself disappears. "Sethe is running away from her, running, and she feels the emptiness in the hand Sethe has been holding. Now she is running into the faces of the people out there, joining them and leaving Beloved behind. Alone. Again. Then Denver, running too. Away from her to the pile of people out there" (Morrison 262). Morrison symbolically describes this scene to illustrate Sethe and Denver moving on in life and leaving the tragedies of the past behind. Morrison describes Beloved in this scene as having an expanding waist in order to illustrate Beloved as an expanding monster who is greedily consuming everything that belongs to the family and shattering the fragile infrastructure the family is tentatively gripping on to. In this scene, Sethe is presented as obsessively centering all of her attention and energy into pleasing Beloved, because she is penitent for her past tragedies 18 years ago when she killed Beloved in order to keep her from bondage. Morrison portrays Denver as a guard watching over the yard; the duty Denver has assumed since her mother's crime years ago. By allowing the flashback and violent attack to occur the vicious cycle that each character is miserably engulfed by is broken, which allows a new beginning to the individuals lives. This scene contributes to the structure of the work because it allows the novel to narrate itself in the presence tense. After Sethe's violent attack she is able to heal and no longer has to dig into the horrifying tragedies of her past. The rest of the novel from that scene when Sethe has a flashback and lashes in violence, takes place in present tense. Morrison narrates the rest of the novel in present tense in order to illustrate that the past no longer haunts Sethe as it once did years ago. Sethe can now start a new life without reminders of her shameful past experiences. Morrison works this scene into conveying her theme of healing and confronting past memories. After the thirty neighborhood women congregates in front 124 Bluestone singing and praying, and when Mr. Bodwin comes with a cart , the thirty women stop Sethe from committing the same act she did 18 years ago. Sometimes getting rid of, or not having a reminder of one's past tragedies will allow room to heal. When Beloved disappears Sethe is able to heal. Sethe and Denvers can conduct a life of peace and harmony without being disturbed by the ghost from Sethe's past. Morrison's deepest purpose for constructing this scene is to illustrate a time for healing, a theme that Morrison develops from this compelling scene. After this violent episode, and Beloved disappears, Sethe and Denver are finally able to resume their lives with peace and harmony, as Morrison symbolically represents when Sethe releases Beloved and run towards the crowd with Denver. Morrison illustrates the healing process to taking place in her conclusion when each characters seeks ways to better their lives and situations. Denver is working at the Bodwin's to help the family and may possibly attend Oberlin College while Sethe is restoring her self-esteem with the help of Paul D. Morrison is successful at combining elements of structure and theme in this scene to facilitate the course of the novel events to take place.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Beowulf.TXT
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Beowulf- an Epic Hero
The hero of an epic poem normally embodies the ideals
of conduct that are most
valued by the culture which the epic was composed. In
the epic poem "Beowulf"
Beowulf was the epic hero. He was an epic hero because
of his virtues. Three of his
virtues are true to his word, he made his father
proud, and he was brave.
Beowulf was true to his word by saying "I alone and
the help of my men, may
purge all evil from this hall." (260-261) Then later
on in the poem he "The infamous
killer fought for his freedom, wanting no flesh but
retreat, desiring nothing but escape; his claws had been caught,
he was trapped." (337-340)
In those lines it is saying that
Beowulf will go fight the evil, Grendel or "infamous
killer," and then did and killed him,
and had Grendel begging for mercy.
Beowulf was also brave. He was brave by saying "I
alone and the help of my
men, may purge all evil from this hall." (260-261) He
also was brave in a lot of other
ways, for example "When my danger is near, the warm
words we uttered, and if your
enemy should end my life then be," (451-453) that was
when he had to fight Grendel's
mother. When he fought her he was also brave by going
to fight her by himself, only
with swords and armor, "She carried him, armor and
sword and all." (479-480) Another
time when Beowulf was brave was when he was going to
fight a dragon, Beowulf says, "I
feel no shame, with shield and sword and armor,
against this monster: when he comes to
me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames,
stand till fate decides which one of
us wins." (635-639)
The third virtue Beowulf expressed was that he will
make his father proud. He
made his father proud by following in his fathers
footsteps. His father was very well
known, Beowulf says, "My father was a famous soldier,
known far and wide as a leader
of men. His name was Edegtho. His life lasted many
winters; wise men all over the
earth surely remember him still." (174-179) He is
following in his fathers footsteps by
becoming a very good leader, by those virtues
mentioned earlier, a good soldier, and a
good fighter.
Beowulf expresses many virtues. He expresses them in
the forms of bravery, true
to his word, and he will make his father proud. Thus
in the epic poem "Beowulf"
Beowulf is the epic hero.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Big Two Hearted River.TXT
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Big Two-Hearted River: Part II
Sudden, Unexpected Interjection "It is a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." At one point in his
short story, "Big Two-Hearted River: Part II", Hemingway's
character Nick speaks in the first person. Why he adopts,
for one line only, the first person voice is an interesting
question, without an easy answer. Sherwood Anderson
does the same thing in the introduction to his work,
Winesburg, Ohio. The first piece, called "The Book of the
Grotesque", is told from the first person point of view. But
after this introduction, Anderson chooses not to allow the
first person to narrate the work. Anderson and Hemingway
both wrote collections of short stories told in the third
person, and the intrusion of the first person narrator in these
two pieces is unsettling. In both instances, though, the reader
is left with a much more absorbing story; one in which the
reader is, in fact, a main character. With the exception of
"My Old Man", which is entirely in the first person , and "On
the Quai at Smyrna", which is only possibly in the first
person, there is just one instance in In Our Time in which a
character speaks in the first person. It occurs in "Big
Two-Hearted River: Part II", an intensely personal story
which completely immerses the reader in the actions and
thoughts of Nick Adams. Hemingway's utilization of the
omniscient third person narrator allows the reader to
visualize all of Nick's actions and surroundings, which would
have been much more difficult to accomplish using first
person narration. Nick is seen setting up his camp in "Big
Two-Hearted River: Part I" in intimate detail, from choosing
the perfect place to set his tent to boiling a pot of coffee
before going to sleep. The story is completely written the in
third person and is full of images, sounds, and smells. In "Big
Two-Hearted River: Part II" Hemingway exactly describes
Nick's actions as he fishes for trout. Details of his fishing trip
are told so clearly that the reader is almost an active
participant in the expedition instead of someone reading a
story. He carefully and expertly finds grasshoppers for bait,
goes about breakfast and lunch-making, and sets off into the
cold river. By being both inside and outside Nick's thoughts,
the reader can sense precisely the drama that Hemingway
wishes to bring to trout fishing. Nick catches one trout and
throws it back to the river because it is too small. When he
hooks a second one, it is an emotional battle between man
and fish. Nick tries as hard as he can, but the fish snaps the
line and escapes. Then, as Nick thinks about the fate of the
trout which got away, Hemingway writes, "He felt like a
rock, too, before he started off. By God, he was a big one.
By God, he was the biggest one I ever heard of." This
sudden switch to first-person narration is startling to the
reader. Until this point Hemingway had solely used third
person narration, but he did it so well that the reader feels as
one with Nick. It is not definite whether this is Nick or
Hemingway speaking. It could easily be either of the two.
Hemingway doesn't include, "he thought," or, "he said to
himself," and so it is unclear. The result is the same
regardless. Using first person narration at this point serves to
make the story more alive, more personal. It jolts the reader
into realizing the humanity of Nick; he is no longer the object
of a story but a real person. If Nick is making so much stir
over it that he speaks directly to the reader, he must feel
passionately about it. Or if Hemingway is so moved by the
size of the trout that he exclaims at its size, I can only accept
that Nick also feels this excitement. The sudden intrusion of
the first person narrator makes the story more complete and
its only character more life-like. It also brings the reader into
the story as a listener. Sherwood Anderson's collection of
short stories, Winesburg, Ohio, also has a moment of first
person narration. The introductory story, "The Book of the
Grotesque", is written in first person. The story begins as a
third person narration, a tale about an old writer. Using a
third person narration, Anderson writes about an old man
and his episode with a carpenter. Then the old man goes to
bed and the reader learns his thoughts. In the middle of
describing what he is thinking, Anderson switches to first
person narration. Suddenly there is a narrator speaking
directly to the reader. The narrator says, "And then, of
course, he had known people, many people, known them in
a peculiarly intimate way that was different from the way in
which you and I know people." At this point the story
becomes more than just a static piece, for the reader is
somehow now in it. There is an ambiguity, however,
because the reader does not know if the narrator is
Anderson himself or another completely distinct character.
As when Hemingway used this ploy, the result is the same
regardless. The reader is no longer merely a reader, but has
unexpectedly been transformed into an active participant in
the book. Throughout the rest of "The Book of the
Grotesque", the narrator is speaking to the reader. Not only
that, but the narrator is telling the reader about a book which
was never published, but is almost surely the one the reader
is in fact reading. In case the reader should forget, there is
one other instance, several stories later, in which Anderson
adopts first person narration. In "Respectability" he writes, "I
go to fast." Like Hemingway would do years later,
Anderson was forcing the reader to become a part of the
story. The entire book is a dialogue between narrator and
reader. The effect is that the reader becomes even more
involved in the stories. Both of these works are unlike others
from the same time period which are told completely using
first person narration. Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography
of Alice B. Toklas and Anita Loos' Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes are both written wholly in the first person. But both
of these read like diaries, of which the reader is just that - a
reader. Neither one has a point at which the reader is so
definitely brought into the story consciously by the author.
By jumping abruptly into first person instead of using it all
along, Hemingway and Anderson more effectively do this.
Anderson's and Hemingway's sudden switches to first
person narration of course could not have been mere
mistakes, and their reasons may have been even more
convoluted than imaginable to late twentieth century readers.
What is left are two collections of short stories in which the
reader plays an actual role. The intrusion of first person
narration makes these stories come alive in a way that a third
person narration cannot, a tribute to the skill of both of these
authors.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Billy Budd.TXT
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Billy Budd
Characters Billy Budd- He is a bright-eyed,
twenty-one year old forewoman of the British Fleet. An
orphan, he is tall, athletic, friendly, innocent, and helpful. He
is a loyal friend, and a fierce fighter. All the officers like him
except for Claggart. Claggart- The Master-at-Arms that is
envious and jealous of Billy Budd. He is out to make Billy's
life miserable and is the cause of Billy Budd's execution.
Captain Vere- The Honorable Edward Fairfax Vere is a
bachelor of about forty. He has a nickname of "Starry
Vere." Captain Vere is forced to execute Billy Budd though
he knew of his innocence. But nevertheless Dansker- A
veteran sailor who has taken a liking to Billy Budd. Tells
Billy that Claggart doesn't like him. He is also one of the
most important members of the crew. Chapter's 1-7 Page's
1-27 The book starts out with the author remembering
seeing a handsome man many years ago. He is reminded of
this by the Handsome Sailor, Billy Budd. Billy is twenty-
one, a foretopeman of the British fleet who impressed
Lieutenant Ratcliffe of the H.M.S. Indomitable. Billy leaves
his ship the Rights of Man, and joins the H.M.S.
Indomitable. He is received well by the crew and they like
him lots. An officer asks him about who his parents are and
he reply's that he doesn't know. He was found in a basket
hung on a man's door handle in Bristol. Billy seems to be
practically perfect, but he does have one weakness. When
he is strongly provoked, he is inclined to stutter, or may even
become speechless. The author tells us of the uprisings in the
British navy. It is later called the Great Mutiny. They sail for
the Mediterranean and have an uneasiness about them as
they watch for signs of trouble or discontent. Chapter's 8-15
Page's 28-55 Billy had seen the gangway punishment, and
was determined that he would always perform his duties
well, and that his actions would never cause him to get yelled
at. Though he had made that resolution, he was occasionally
getting into slight trouble. He is confused by this, and goes to
Dansker, who seems to have taken a liking to him. Billy asks
him for his opinion, and he says that it is because Claggart
doesn't like Billy. That with all evidence to the contrary, he
despises him. The day after the discussion with Dansker,
Billy spills soup on the freshly cleaned deck just as Claggart
passes by him. Claggart notices that it was Billy that spilled
the soup, and only taps him lightly with his rattan. The book
seems to say that Claggart has an inborn wickedness in him.
Claggart and the Captain seem to be the only two on the
ship that can see the unique innocence in Billy Budd. This
perception aggravates Claggart's jealously even more.
Squeak has sensed Claggart's envy of Billy Budd, and
makes up mean names for him, which he tells Claggart are
the sort of things that Billy is saying about him. A few days
after he spilled the soup, someone was trying to wake him
by whispering in his ear. They said to meet on a secluded
platform on the deck. He hinted to what it was about. It was
very vague. When Billy went to meet the mysterious man, he
wasn't able to see his face because it was in the shadows,
but he could tell that the person was one of the
afterguardsmen. The sailor said that there was a gang of men
that were impressed into service just as Billy had been, and
he wanted to know if Billy wanted to join them. The sailor
offered Billy what looked like gold coins. Billy was angered
greatly by this, and stutters and threatens to throw the sailor
overboard. The sailor is offended and runs away. Chapter's
16-23 Page's 56-94 After the incident with the
afterguardsman, Billy tells his friend, the Dansker, some of
the details of what happened. Billy doesn't tell the Dansker
that it was an afterguardsman, and the Dansker says that
Claggart is out to get him. It makes Billy wonder what
Claggart has to do with all of it. Billy disregards what the
Dansker has told him about Claggart, even though the
master-at-arms acts weird around him sometimes. He
doesn't realize that beneath Claggart's calm surface, there is
a jealous man that is out to get him. A few day later,
Claggart approaches Captain Vere and tells him that one of
the sailors is a dangerous man who is planning something
dangerous among the crew. The Captain becomes impatient
with Claggart and interrupts him, demanding to know who
this dangerous sailor is. Claggart says he is "William Budd."
The Captain is surprised with this accusation and wonders
what the best way to silence the matter as quickly as
possible. Captain Vere decides to bring Billy Budd and
Claggart together into his cabin so that they may close the
matter when Claggart's allegations are proved false. Claggart
waits in the captain's cabin while his personal attendant is
sent to fetch Billy. Billy enters the captain's cabin and notices
that Claggart is present. He is not alarmed, but rather
surprised. Captain Vere tells Claggart to tell Billy face to
face the accusations he had previously made. Claggart
repeats the story to Billy, and he is speechless. Vere orders
Billy to speak in his own defense, but Billy is still tongue-tied
and can't seem to be able to find his voice. After an instant
more of silence, Billy's arm lashes out and strikes Claggart
on the forehead. He falls to the ground dead. Billy and the
Captain try to revive Claggart, but he is definitely lifeless.
The Captain regains his official composure and orders Billy
to wait in the rear stateroom. He sends for the ship's surgeon
who confirms that Claggart is dead. Captain Vere tells the
surgeon that he will quickly call a drum-head court, and to
tell the ship's officers, but not anyone else. The surgeon
disapproves of the Captains order to call a drum-head
court, yet he can do nothing about it. Other lieutenants and
the marine captain share his amazement and dismay. The
drum-head court is put together, and Captain Vere is the
only witness. Billy admits to having killed the
master-at-arms, but says that Claggart was lying. He is very
sorry that he is dead, but never meant to kill the man.
Captain Vere urges the court to be compassionate with their
ruling. Billy is convicted and sentenced to be hanged at the
yardarm in the early morning. Chapters 24-31 Pages
95-116 The crew is summoned on deck, where the captain
tells them what has happened. The sailors are astonished by
what the hear. They can't believe it. Claggart's body is then
buried at sea according to the rituals of his naval rank. Billy
is put in irons and is visited by the chaplain. He doesn't seem
to see the chaplain so he goes, but returns again around
midnight. The chaplain tries to tell Billy about God, but he
just listens politely even though he does not know what the
chaplain is talking about. Everyone is called on deck to
watch the execution. The last words that Billy Budd says is
"God bless Captain Vere!" They return to the English fleet in
the Mediterranean, where the ship meets hostility. In the
battle, Captain Vere is hit and seriously wounded by a
musket ball. The senior lieutenant captures the enemy ship
and takes both ships into Gibraltar. Captain Vere is dying,
and on shore he is heard to murmur to his attendant, the
words- "Billy Budd, Billy Budd." A few weeks later, in a
Navy Chronicle, a passage said that there was a man named
Billy Budd that had stabbed Claggart. It also stated that Billy
Budd was not an Englishman, but an alien taking on an
English name. In the navy, anything that has to do with an
incident that happened in the service, is converted into a
monument. The spar from which Billy Budd was hung
became so important to some sailors, that a chip of it
became like a piece of the cross. Though they do not know
the whole story of the incident, they know subconsciously
that Billy could not be guilty of mutiny, or intentional
murderer. Thoughts on the book... I think that the author
was trying to tell us about how to accept an imperfect life.
That you should just accept things as they are, and to adjust
to things as is necessary. How you may be good in all kinds
of ways, but you may also have one flaw, and it may make
your life miserable. Billy Budd had one flaw, and that was
when he was under any kind of pressure, he would either
stutter or lose his ability to speak. He was nearly perfect in
every way, but the one flaw made him human. We should
accept life and live it to its fullest.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Black Boy Again.TXT
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Richard Wright and the Struggle to find an Identity 
In Black Boy, by Richard Wright, Wright is able to recollect the struggles of his life. Beginning at an early age, he was faced with the problems of hunger. His hunger starts off as a hunger for food, but later becomes a hunger for knowledge. This constant hunger puts him in a spot where he is dehumanized and alienated. Wright reflects on his hunger, at an older age, which allows himself to form his identity. He realizes that the hunger, dehumanization, and alienation of his life are the things that make his identity.
Wright develops his mind at a young age, along with the progression of his hunger. Wright is six years old when his father leaves the family. Not only does he leave his children without a father figure, but also he leaves his wife and children without a dime to buy food. "I would feel hunger nudging my ribs, twisting my empty guts until they ached." Although Wright had known hunger before his father had left, the hunger he knew was only momentarily. Wright hungered, but his hunger would be satisfied with food. "But this new hunger baffled me, scared me, made me angry and insistent." As his mind is beginning to develop, he is given a preview of the racial inequalities of the south at the turn of the century. "Watching the white people eat would make my empty stomach churn and I would grow vaguely angry. Why could I not eat when I was hungry? Why did I always have to wait until others were through? I could not understand why some people had enough food and others did not." Although his white neighbors were not purposely putting him down, they indirectly taught him a difficult lesson that would be impossible to avoid. He sees that white people have a family [with a father], food on the table. He sees how whites - even if they do not mean to make Blacks feel lesser of themselves - will hold superiority over them. This "preview" shows him a complicated concept as simply as possible.
Wright let his resentment towards his father grow, which causes his hunger to grow. Wright comes to the realization that he cannot allow his father to dominate him. He liberates himself from the feelings he once had about his father, and does not allow his father to consume his every thoughts and feelings about hunger. "I did not want my father to feed me; I was hungry, but my thoughts of food did not now center about him." Wright and his mother took his father to court, but his father exclaimed that he would not give money to Richard and his family because he did not have enough to support himself. When his mother could no longer support or feed Richard and his brother she put them in an orphanage. He escaped, but looked back at what he had done. He pondered to himself, "No; hunger was back there, and fear." Hunger now reflected the fear imposed on him at the orphanage.
Wright began going to school. His mind is being fed intellectually, but his physical hunger remains. Strangers try to vanquish his hunger, but he does not want charity from others.
"Granny" forces religion on him with a hope to reform him. Wright goes through a reform; although, it is not a religious one. "... I knew hunger ... that kept me on the edge, that made my temper flare, hunger that made hate leap out of my heart like the darts of a serpent's tongue, hunger that created in me odd cravings." Wright no longer hungers for food. He transitions his hunger of food and fear into that of knowledge. His grandmother does not allow his; instead, places him in setting where people are closed-minded. The church is compiled of people that limit his freedom. They, too, have been brainwashed by their white superiors. The white community has told the black community that they are good-for-nothings and should not dream of becoming anything important in life. Richard's church community and family express to him the same message.
In his struggle to conquer hunger, Wright is dehumanized in the process. Wright lives in an alien world devoid of love and understanding. He is a young boy when he experiences the racism of whites towards blacks for the first time. His age makes it more difficult for Wright to not only understand the things going on in his life, but also to accept them. At the age of six Wright becomes a drunkard. "The point of life became for me the times when I could beg for drinks." Young white children would never be caught in a saloon, much less drunk at a young age. Yet, white people would think this behavior typical of blacks. They believed that all blacks were ignorant, and didn't know any better. White would find pleasure in hearing young black boys say obscure things and act ridiculous. "For a penny or a nickel, I would repeat to anyone whatever was whispered to me." He became entertainment for whites, and they encouraged his alcoholism by giving him money to buy more drinks.
Richard has been dehumanized by whites all of his life, but when he is older he is dehumanized in a way that is more personal and taunting. Richard began to work for Mr. Crane - the owner of an optical company. He had co-workers, which were white, that were quiet and peaceful. The peacefulness in the office was diminished one day when Richard asked a man named Reynolds if he was going to teach Richard the trade. "Whites regarded Negroes as animals in sex matters..." A few days afterwards, Reynolds called Richards to his side and began asking him questions, like, "Richard, how long is your thing?" In addition to the mean previous question he said, "I hear that a nigger can stick his prick in the ground and spin around it like a top, I'd like to see you do that, I'd give you a dime, if you did it." Again, whites are offering to pay blacks to not only humiliate themselves, but also entertain whites. Richard felt "drenched" in shame and "naked" to his soul. He "felt violated." Richard thought about things people had told him in the past, which allowed him to realize that is was his "own fear that had helped to violate" him.
Richard is alienated in a house with rigid rules. His granny and Aunt Addie consider him a sinner, since he is more interested in worldly pleasures other than God. His schoolmates and teachers had all been bought into following white people rules of culture. Richard attends a local school, which happens to be where his Aunt Addie teaches. Richard's aunt had felt threaten by his presence at the school. She thought that if she went "easy" on Richard that the other students or parents would not take her seriously. One day she feels the need to punish Richard, although he was not the one to blame for having crumbs on the floor. At home she tries to beat Richard once again, for not letting her beat him at school. She tries to beat him up, but Richard fights back and does not allow him to be beaten without worthy cause. "Aunt Addie took her defeat hard, holding me in a cold and silent disdain." She is the first of the members in the household to alienate Richard. She does not talk to him, because of her feelings of resentment. Richard has a similar incident with Uncle Tom. His uncle walks into Richard's room one early morning and asks him for the time. Richard informs his uncle on the time he has. His uncle gets mad; eventually, leading into physical fighting with Richard. His Uncle Tom considers him a harmful companion and warns his daughter from talking to him. Richard, eventually, has the entire household turn against him. His brother returns from Detroit and looks down on him, Richard is regarded as a pest at home and isolated from other family members. His only solace is his sick mother. Richard finds little consolation in the outside world.
Richard Wright becomes a strong being, mentally. He is hungered for the rest of his life. He overcomes adversity and racism. He finds his inner self away from the people that alienate him and cause his hunger to grow. Although, he does find it difficult to stifle his individuality and become a shadow of the White majority. Richard establishes his identity in Memphis. Hunger is no longer a burden he must deal with everyday. He has enough money to provide for food, and he has been educated. He arrives to Memphis and finds a home, where not only is he welcomed he is asked to wed the daughter of the landlady. Richard learns to survive in a world dominated by Whites.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\black boy vs.TXT
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black boy vs. Catcher in the rye 
Black Boy is an autobiography of Richard Wright's early life in the south
before he reached Chicago. The Catcher in the Rye is a fictional book who's
main character, Holden Caulfield, finds maturity on a trip home. The main
characters in Black Boy, by Richard Wright, and The Catcher in the Rye, by
J.D. Salinger, share similar and different qualities.
Richard Wright and Holden Caulfield have many similarities. They
both have a passion for reading. Richard reads anything he can get his hands
on, including racist newspapers. Holden enjoys reading books by his
brother, D.B., and Ring Lardner. Neither gets along with teachers very well.
Aunt Addie and Richard Wright had several incidents in Sunday school.
Holden Caulfield had problems with all his teachers, resulting in his
expulsion. Both boys have had harmful, addictive habits. Richard was a
drunkard at the age of six. Holden was a heavy smoker. Mr.Wright and
Mr.Caulfield had many similar characteristics.
While Richard and Holden had many similarities, the differences are
many. Richard Wright is a black man. Holden Caulfield is white. Richard
has an intense urge to learn. Holden has a different opinion on learning; he
finds it dreadfully boring. Richard couldn't stay in school due to his
constant travel and shift of residence. Holden, on the other hand, was
constantly expelled from school because he failed most his classes. Richard
had only one parent growing up. Holden had both, whether they were there
for him or not. Richard and Holden had many different qualities.
Richard Wright had a rough childhood. Abandoned by his father at a
young age, Richard was left to fend with his mother and younger brother.
Richard had an abusive youth; he was almost beaten to death at age five.
His family moved frequently, to and from his Grandma's house. Grandma's
strict Christian way of life took it's toll on Richard, as he rebelled against
authority. Growing up Richard was tormented with the fact that he's black.
As Richard was quoted, '"This was the culture from which I sprang. This
was the terror from which I fled."' (Wright 257)
On the other hand, Holden doesn't like to talk about his family, but
we get the hint that it was strict. As Holden said, '"... my parents would
have two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.
They're nice and all, but touchy as hell."' (Salinger 1)
Richard had been moved from school to school over many years and
didn't get a full year of schooling until he was older. When he was younger,
Richard learned a number of obscenities from the older boys at school. He
learned to prove himself when he moved to Greenwood by fighting the
school bully. In middle and high school, Richard did very well in his
studies. He was elected valedictorian of his class. '"At the beginning of the
school term I read my civics and English and geography volumes through
and only referred to them when in class,"' remarked Richard. (Wright 133)
Whereas, Holden Caulfield wasn't a big fan of school, teachers, or
homework. He was expelled from his private school because he was failing
four out of five classes. "'If I'm not mistaken, I believe you had some
difficulty at the Whooton School and at Elkton Hills, too,"' said Holden's
teacher, Mr. Spencer. (Salinger 13)
Richard was partially brought up by his Grandma, who was an avid
Christian. He didn't really believe all the church stuff, though. '"You see,
Granny, if I ever saw an angel like Jacob did, then I'd believe."'(Wright
117). Richard was bored with Sunday school and played hooky from church
with his friends. He was baptized, but only because he didn't want to risk
embarrassing his mother in front of the whole neighborhood.
Similarly, Holden's religious beliefs were to the extent of his foul
vocabulary. He went to chapel at school, but didn't care too much. Holden
thought it was all very phony, and Holden didn't like phony things or
people. '"He told us we ought to think of Jesus as our buddy and all. That
killed me."'(Salinger 17)
Richard Wright and Holden Caulfield led very different lives, yet they
both suffered from the same discrimination. Richard was discriminated
because of the color of his skin; Holden because of his age. The two
characters were very complex. In conclusion, Richard and Holden were very
alike and very different.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\BLACK BOY.TXT
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1037
In the book Black Boy, we see many black people in the south dealing with many hardships. One of the most prominent problems for blacks seemed to be the "Jim Crow" laws. These laws withheld blacks from society, breaking them apart from whites and making it very hard for them to live an even close to normal life. Black people couldn't express their own ideas at all. They had to call all white men "sirs" and all white women "ma'am". They couldn't act the slightest bit superior to whites. It was almost impossible for black people to make a decent living in the south, and they also had to take the abuse dealt to them by he whites without even attempting ant resistance. Blacks in the south also had to deal with the separation aspects of the "Jim crow" laws. They had to sit in the back of the buses, they had to use separate water fountains and bathrooms, they were looked upon almost like they had some sort of disease. These are just a few of the "Jim Crow" laws that the black people had to deal with. Richard was not the only one in this book dealing with racism. All the people around him were also coping with it also, friends co-workers and family had to face the challenges of a racist environment. Throughout the book we see these other people dealing with the problems of an extremely racist society. We also see how each person in Richards life deals with it differently. There are a few people and insience that stick out in my mind especially. The first one would have to be an incident with Shorty. Shorty has dealt with racism his whole life, and he has learned to deal with it as he has grown. We see a great example of how Shorty deals on page 269Shorty is faced with the problem of no money, such as many other southern blacks were, and we see that he is willing to do anything for any amount of money. " You can kick me in the ass for a quarter" (269,wright) As this happens Richard witnesses the whole thing and we can see that he is very disappointed in the way Shorty dealt with the situation. He can't understand how he can put himself in that kind of degrading position, and Shorty simply answers. " But a quarter can't pay for what he did to you!" But we can see Shorty thinks differently. Another example of a person that dealt differently with the Racism around him was Uncle Hoskins. He was a man just trying to make his own in this world. Minding his own business, trying to run his own business so he could support his family. We see that he owes some money to some white people, it seems to play a part at the time of his killing, but if you look deeper you see that the most significant reason for him being lynched was that he was a somewhat successful black man, and the white people didn't like that. Uncle Hoskins is just a black man who tried hard to mind his own business, and that was his way of dealing with the hardships he was faced with, but we know that no matter how he dealt with it he was never going to be left alone because he was a somewhat successful black man, and that just wasn't acceptable. One final example is his family. Like his mother, and his grandmother. We don't really see many big incidences of them dealing with racism. We mostly just see how hard it is for them to get by in life. They don't have a lot of money, no medical care and at a few points we even see them having to neglect Richard and his brother. It wasn't totally their decision though because it was just to hard to raise children in that situation. They just had to deal with it by taking it one day at a time, and their really wasn't much they could do. Richard has had to deal with many racist situations. We see that he doesn't really deal well with being treated inferior to whites. One incident that Richard was treated racistly was when he was shopping in a convenience store in a white neighborhood, and as soon as he exited the store he was approached by the police. He was forced to the ground and cuffed. In the end we know he got off but he was told not to walk in white neighborhood at night. This was one situation where Richard was not treated to badly, but we still know he was not treated like a white person and he didn't like it at all. He didn't appreciate being called boy, and having to call the white men "sirs". He also didn't appreciate being blamed for a crime that he didn't commit. Another incident that Richard was treated racistly, was when Richard was working in the brick yard and he was bit by the owners dog. He was later fired because he complained to the boss, and though the boss didn't directly say he was firing him because he was black or complaining we knew it because he said to Richard that he was basically lying about the pain because dog bites don't hurt black skin. By this point in the book Richard learns to deal better with racism, but he still has attitude about being treated differently then the white kids or adults. One final incident the Richard had to deal with was when he was working at the hotel. This incident didn't completely have to deal with him but he got involved. When the door man at the hotel slapped his black girl friend in the ass as they were walking out of the hotel, Richard got pretty upset that he did that considering that the doorman was white. It was like he couldn't understand how white people didn't like blacks, but yet the would use such sexual connotations towards the black women, We see Richard react, as he stops and just looks at the doorman. After Richard decides not react violently, and got somewhat of a threat from the doorman when he just continued. This was Richards way of "scaring" the white man without starting something physical. We see Richards way of dealing with the racism change throughout the book. When he is younger we see how he can't help but get defensive, and as he gets older he learns to control himself better.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Black Rain.TXT
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1245
BLACK RAIN by Masuji Ibuse The main character in the novel is in some ways like myself. Mr. Shizuma is a person that is intrigued by many things and likes to see what reaction people have from any action. Throughout the novel he feels the need to go to different parts of the city and surrounding communities in order to see the effects of the unknown bomb. Mr. Shizuma was not only interested in what happened to the people of the community but he was also interested in finding out what the weapon used was called and made out of. There were different names given to the bomb throughout the book and he sums up the names in one paragraph, The name of the bomb had already undergone a number of changes, from the initial "new weapon" through "new-type bomb," "secret weapon," "special new-type bomb," to "special high-capacity bomb." That day, I learned for the first time to call it an "atomic bomb." (Black Rain 282) The importance of the name of the bomb may seem ineffectual, but he seems to dwell on finding out what caused this type of destruction. Something else that Mr. Shizuma wants to do is remember every little detail about what happens to everything from what angle the house was on after the bomb to what his wife cooked for dinner with the food rationing. He even likes to write how people cured themselves of radiation sickness and what the burns and other injuries look and act like. These things are like myself in the fact that he does not like to forget what things are like, wants to see first hand what the effects are, and is very interested in finding information about new things that he has never seen before. He also likes to help people greatly such as his constant wanderings looking for coal for his community. If you were depended on would you help your community? I think so. The theme that is very meaningful to me is that war hurts two different parts of a country. The first is the military, which was not really talked about, and then there is the civilians. The civilians must ration food so that the military can eat, and then they must also suffer because the bomb that was dropped was not meant for any military base but to destroy and kill a city. The theme is clear in meaning that it hurts the civilians much more than it hurts the military and that war is very, very cruel. The people that were rationing had very little to eat and that amount became smaller as the war continued. People were forced to grow carp in small, and search for mussels in ponds in order to get any type of meat. By the end of the war there were no mussels left in any of the many streams and there were also no fish in any of the ponds. The only thing that survived were the eels who were seen swimming up the river a day before the surrender was given. This was a sign of rebirth. It only took a year after the Hiroshima bombing for the surrender and during that time the government did not help any of the people that really were hurt by the war, the civilians. It was strange that the people felt any remorse at all for losing the war when the government that they were supposed to believe in left them homeless and without any food. Innocent, unarmed people killed and mangled by a weapon that could kill the entire planet. For what purpose was the bomb dropped? Mr. Shizuma made many remarks about how if the opposition would have only waited a while longer they would not have had to drop the bomb because the country was internally falling apart. This seems to me that the dropping of the bomb was nothing but a science experiment to the 'opposition'. That is the hidden theme to this novel. The only type of person that could possibly read this book is a person that is very open minded to other ideas. To most people from the United States the bomb was necessary in order to stop the war. In the eyes of the Japanese the bomb was not needed to stop the war. Which side is true? The answer is both sides. To have an open mind and to be able to accept new ideas is crucial when you look at people from a different type of background and way of thinking. To read this novel you must also have a pretty solid stomach because there are many detailed entries about wounds and the way that the skin starts to melt right off the living body. The whole story is told from the eyes and thoughts of the main character Mr. Shizuma is different than any first hand account that I have ever read and a reader must be willing to get into that character in order to get the message, feelings, and pictures that Mr. Shizuma is trying to put forth. The novel is written extremely clear but one of the problems is that it gets slow every once in a while if Mr. Shizuma gets something into his mind so he decides to get it done. The pond that his friend is growing carp in is traveled to what seems to be about a thousand times. What is good about the many travels to these same places is that each time the scene changes slightly with someone becoming sick or the carp growing. What a person needs to read this book is careful thought because of the slight changes and also a map seems to grow inside your head of the different places that he goes to. These places are described in so much detail that it does not take very much imagination to see what is going on and what he is seeing. The title has a lot to do with the book because the title is how the whole thing started, with Mr. Shizuma's daughter coming home with black spots on her skin where the black rain had hit her. It could not be washed off and it burnt through clothing. The ending to the novel was satisfactory because the end of the war was a good place to end the novel. The only problem that I can see with this type of ending is that the reader wants to know what has happened to the community after a few years but what the writer is trying to say is very clear and enforced with people crying because they lost the war. The crying was not only because the war was lost but also for the people that died, or are dyeing, in the community. Also the crying was also from fear of what was going to happen to them now that another country had control of them. The men mostly feared that they were going to be castrated but they knew that the country would never be the same but they would be able to eat. The eels that were viewed in the river were still in the larvae stage and they were swimming upriver. This gives the man in the story hope that things will be all right and that they have the power to build a new community and help his family deal with the sickness that his daughter has. The overall meaning of the novel is that war makes things hard for the people that have to stay at home and support their soldiers. The heart of any country is with the general population and when that general population was hit with something unknown it did not only shock the rest of the country but it made the country wonder if they were strong enough. People will pull through for themselves and family before they think about what is going to happen to the way that they live. This novel shows the power and curiosity of the human spirit. It does accomplish what it set out to do, show the effect on the losing side of war.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Bless Me Ultima Book Report.TXT
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2138
Book Report: Bless Me, Ultima Title of Work: Bless Me Ultima Author & Date Written: Rudolfo Anaya 1972 Country of Author: New Mexico, USA Characters: Ultima- An old Curandera who comes to spend her last days with Antonio and his family. She is Tony's mentor and helps him to find the right path for his life. Antonio Marez- A young boy who is torn between his parents: a Marez and a Luna. But with the help of Ultima, he discovers his own destiny. He thirsts for knowledge: he is a curios boy, an outstanding student, and a questioning worshiper. Maria Luna - Antonio's mother. A kind woman who's one dream is to see her youngest son become a priest. She is obsessed with his education and pushes him to learn about the culture of her family, the Lunas. Gabriel Marez- Antonio's father. A proud man, a carefree rancher on the plains who tends to push his son away from his mother's protective arms. He is often depressed because he gave up his lifestyle for his wife. His dream in to move to California. Lupito- A man turned mad by the happenings of the war who kills the sherriff of the town in cold blood. It is his blood that first defiles the river. The memory of his death stays with Tony throughout the novel and causes him to think about the difference between good and evil and forgiveness. Narciso- An honorable man who tries to protect Ultima from harm. Because of the loss of his young wife, Narciso begins to drink and is known as the town drunk. Through his garden, Narciso makes magic by growing beautiful flowers and plants. He is later killed by Tenorio in cold blood while trying to warn Ultima of harm and is buried as the town drunk instead of the hero that he is. Leon, Andrew, and Eugene- Tony's brothers. The giants in his dream. They go off to fight the War and come back grown men with their own dreams and beliefs. The inevitably break the heart of their proud father by going out on their own and not helping him fulfill his dream of moving to California. Tenorio Trementina- The villain of the novel. He seeks revenge on Ultima for the death of his daughters and stops at nothing to get it. He kills Narciso in cold blood. He is a true coward and he hides behind others instead of facing those who he seeks to fight. Abel, Bones, Ernie, Horse, Lloyd, Red, and the Vitamin Kid- Antonio's friends and a wild group of boys who curse and fight. Horse loves to wrestle, but everyone fears Bones more because he is reckless and maybe even crazy. Ernie loves to brag. He does not like Tony very much and teases him every chance he gets. The Vitamin Kid is the fastest runner in Guadalupe, and he races Tony across the bridge to school every morning until he takes an interest in girls. Red is a Protestant, so he faces teasing very often from the group. Like Tony, he is a good student. Lloyd enjoys reminding everyone that they can be sued for ever the most minor of offenses. Abel, the smallest boy in the group, likes to urinate in the most inappropriate palces. Florence- Florence is one of Atonio's friends. Although he does not believe in God, he attends catechism lessons with his friends. Florence's mother died when he was three. Afterwards, his father slowly killed himself with alcohol. His sisters are now prostitutes at Rosie's house. He asks Antonio insightful questions that point out the gaps in the Catholic Religion. When Antonio becomes worried about Florence's soul, Samuel suggests that the golden carp might be a better god Florence. Unfortunately, as Cico and Tony prepare to take Florence to see the golden carp, Florence dies in a swimming accident before they can do so. Cico- Cico is one of Tony's closest friends. Unlike most of his friends, he is quiet and gentle. Cico takes Antonio to see the golden carp, a pagan god to Antonio. Settings: The Llano- The land of the Marez, the vaqueros. A land of rolling hills and beautiful, dark plains and clusters of adobe huts. This land symbolizes freedom and the spirit of the vaqueros. It is the land of Tony's father and seeing it makes him homesick for the days when he used to wander it with his family. El Puerto De Las Lunas- This is the land of the Lunas, The land of Tony's mother. A place where calm, quiet farmers plant their crops in peace and in time with the moon. It is a flat valley that reveals adobe houses and a peaceful village. There is a dusty road that lead passes infront of the church and then Tenorio's bar and then straight into a cluster of mud houses with tin roofs. At the end of this road is the house of Tony's grandfather. The village is settled by the people of Tony's mother. It is peaceful and calm and the complete opposite of the town. The only evil which dwells there is Tenorio and his daughters. The Town- A busy place filled with both good and evil. Inside it is the church where Tony's takes this Cathechism lessons and his school where he works hard to fulfill his mother's dream. In this town there are many dangers. Here, Tenorio fights with Narciso over Ultima. This is also the place where Antonio's brother becomes distracted by the girls at Rosie's house, the local whore house. In the legend of the Golden Carp, it says the sins of the people will make this town sink into the earth and be covered by water. Plot Outline: Tony is the main character of the story. Throughout the coarse of the book he goes through several trial that will inevitably determine his destiny. With the help of Ultima, he begins to understand the cultures of both his mother and father and the significance of his surroundings. He learns the difference good and evil and religion and pagan worship. Ultimately, Tony realizes Ultima is the symbol of knowlegde and he chooses to follow in her path. In the beginning of the story, Ultima is called to the home of Tony's grandfather to cure his cursed uncle. She relieves him of his curse and also curses the three witches that wished him harm. Later on, one of the witches becomes ill and her father, Tenorio, swears to avenge the coming death of his daughter by killing Ultima, who he believes to be an evil witch. During this Narciso, the town drunk swears to protect Ultima until he is killed by Tenorio in cold blood. Tenorio then tries other ways to bring harm to Ultima but fails miserably. Then finally, he discovers the secret to her power: the owl. He then tries to kill Tony while telling him what he plans to do to Ultima. Tony runs to his home from El Puerto to warn Ultima of Tenorio's evil doing but is too late. Tenorio kills the owl. But he is then killed by Tony's Uncle Pedro. Sadly, Ultima dies along with her owl. Major Themes of Work: Religion and Superstition- Tony, through incidents that happen all through the novel, seems to always be confused on these matters, for he seemed to have three possible paths: Ultima, the Golden Carp, or Catholicism. He saw Ultima cure his cursed uncle. Why had not God been able to cure him? He gained knowledge through her instructional guidance-whether is was to respect the earth or to do well in school. He also witnessed her mysterious death. He heard about the Golden Carp and its legend. Tony almost believed in it- Florence had abandoned God because he though God could not be cruel enough to take away his parents. Tony and Florence could not honestly think of any reason why God would do this. But, his mother was deeply religious and strongly wanted him to be a priest. He loved the purity of the Virgin Mary. He later says that, "I did not think that I could live without God" (Page 196). Good Versus Evil- In the story the good and evil theme is well represented. Ultima, throughout the book, is always considered good-she was a healer and a teacher. However, there were several incidents involving evil. Tenorio is considered evil throughout the book. He swears revenge the death of his daughters by killing Ultima. He tries many different ways to defeat Ultima but fails. Which proves the saying that good conquers all. Even though Tenorio does kill the owl, and Ultima with it, he does not win because Ultima accomplishes everything she set out to and dies a peaceful death. Symbols in the Book: Water- All through the book water is used as a symbol of purity and innocence. It represents life and it surrounds the town. In the beginning of the novel the river is difiled by the blood of Lupito. The water of the river represents the sins and impurity of the town itself. In the novel, the Golden Carp, a pagan god, never swims in the river because of its impurity. The pond represents purity and innocence. Cico and Tony come here to see the Golden Carp. It is secluded and it contains none of the sins or blood of the people in town. The Owl- The owl is the spirit of Ultima. It was given to her by her teacher: "el homber volador" or "the flying man." The owl protects Ultima and the Marez family throughout the book. When the mob of Tenorio and his friends came to the home of the Marez to kill Ultima, the owl sounded an alarm and warned everyone of the oncoming danger. With the death of the owl came Ultima's death. Blood- In the novel, blood symbolizes several things. The blood of the Marez and the Luna symbolize Atonio's connection to the cultures of both his mother and father. This connection causes much confusion in Antonio's life because he does not know which culture he wants to be apart of. The blood that stained the river symbolized the sins and wrong doings of the people of the town. It was impure. In the death of Ultima and her owl, blood was never mentioned. Other significant imagery: In the novel Rudolfo Anaya uses imagery to give you a feel of the enivironment in which the story takes place. His ellaborate description of the llano shows you the beauty of Spanish America and helps you to understand the restless culture of the vaqueros who wander across it. Also, Anaya gives you a detailed description of El Puerto. The village in which the Lunas reside. The imagery in this description also helps you to understand the culture of the farmers, the calm and quiet people who plant their crops by the light of the moon and live in peace. Imagery plays and important role in this novel because without it, certain aspects such as the point of views of both the Lunas and the Marez faimy, would never be understood . Significance of Title of Work: The title of the novel: Bless Me, Ultima shows the power and knowledge of Ultima. At the end of the story, Antonio says, "Bless me, Ultima" (260). With these words you find the meaning of the title. Author's Techniques: Rudolfo Anaya uses many Spanish terms in this book. The reason for this is to show the culture of the characters in the novel. Also he uses imagery to explain the beauty of the llano the Spanish America. By using both these techniques in his writing, Anaya bring s the true culture of
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Blind And Invisible.TXT
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1104
Invisible Man After reading this book I wondered what it would be like to be blind then gain sight, but realize you cannot see yourself because you are invisible. It seems like a cruel joke that once you can see you realize that you still cannot see who you are. Even though this seems like a very depressing event Ellison makes it seem like a positive thing. While, at the end of the story, the narrator still does not know his place in the world he seems to be glad that he is no longer blindfolded. He even questions the reader's ability to see, "Who knows but that, on some lower frequencies, I speak for you?" What Ellison does well is the evolution of the narrator's blindness. The blindness motif seems to first show up at the battle royal. The blindfold scares the narrator. He was not used to darkness, and it put him in a "blind terror." This is the first time that the narrator admits his blindness, but at the same time he also shows the blindness of others. All of the men in the battle royal are blindfolded. Is this symbolic of the African-American's plight in society? The whites have blindfolded them and they have no idea who they are fighting against. So they end up beating each other rather than the real people they should be fighting. I think Ellison goes even deeper than mere race relations in this scene. I think he is showing the plight of the individual in society. I think Ellison is saying that we fight blindly amongst ourselves, and it is not until we take off the blindfolds that we can band together and fight the real enemy. When the narrator finally is allowed to remove his blindfold he is so preoccupied with what he believes he is there for that he can not really focus on his fight with Tatlock. Again Ellison is commenting on the plight of the individual. The narrator is also blind to Dr. Bledsoe's true nature. It is not until later in the story that he realizes that Bledsoe wears different masks in front of different people. The narrator cannot be completely held at fault here because others are also fooled by Bledsoe. Bledsoe also dupes Barbee. Ellison then lets the reader know that Barbee is physically blind. Why is that fact important? I believe that Ellison is saying that anyone who buys into Bledsoe or Bledsoe's way of thinking is also blind. There is a point in Barbee's speech where he is "turning toward Dr. Bledsoe as though he did not quite see him." But with the masks that Bledsoe wears whom really can see him? Now at this point the narrator is still blindfolded, and he seems to be moved by the speech and still have some faith in Bledsoe. I mean, he obviously trusts him with the letters. If he did not he would have opened them before he gave them to the prospective employers. One of the first times the narrator removes a blindfold (I say a blindfold because he wears many) is when he eats the yams in the street. Yes this act gives him a sense of freedom, but it gives him an even greater realization. He believes that he can judge a good yam by merely looking at it. "You don't have to convince me...I can look at it and see it's good." He is making a blind assumption at this point, and on top of that he is doing the very thing that others do to him. He is making a judgment on something based on its outward appearance. When he eats the frostbitten yam he realizes that he cannot make a clear judgment on things based on that appearance only. This can even be brought back to his original assessment of Dr. Bledsoe. The removal of the blindfolds help in the discovery of the narrator's own identity. However, when he joins the Brotherhood he is once again blinded. This is shown during the speeches in chapter sixteen. He is afraid that he will become someone else, and the spotlight then blinds him. The Brotherhood hinders his search for who he is. He is trying to find his place in history, but he believes that only through the Brotherhood, who places no value on the individual, can he achieve it. Does the Brotherhood hinder him, or is it through their actions that he is able to take off hiss blindfolds? Yes they squelch individualism, but it is through the narrator's working with them that he becomes truly individualistic. After he can see the Brotherhood's blindness, he can better see his own. The most important blindfold that is removed is removed when he is mistaken for Rinehart. He realizes that he is only what other people see him as being. In effect, he realizes that the city has allowed Rinehart to have no real identity. Rinehart was able to wear many diverse masks, and like an onion, when you peel away all of the layers you are left with nothing. At the center of Rinehart there is nothing, he has no identity, and it is through this realization the narrator realizes that he has no real identity either. He now realizes that he is invisible. The fact that he can be mistaken for Rinehart proves that Rinehart has no identity himself, but it also proves the same thing for the narrator. This seems to be why the narrator is never given a name. How do we identify people? By their names, and he has no identity so he is nameless. The Epilogue is as important as the Prologue. Here we learn that the narrator is ready to go out and search for his identity. However, now he seems to see himself as higher than others because of his experiences. He states that everyone has experienced the same thing he has, but on a "lower frequency." Is this conceit, or is he trying to relate to everyone? If it is conceit then I am less likely to trust the narrator and his point of view on all that happened to him. However, he speaks of his "social responsibility" so he seems to be a caring person, and it is because of this that I trust him. Questions: 1. Is Mr. Norton wrong in believing that the narrator is "his destiny"? 2. Who is the most "visible" person in the book? 3. Ellison seems to be speaking out against stereotyping, yet most of his characters are types rather than characters. Is he the very thing he is speaking out against?
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1607
This is a critique of the book, Blood and Belonging, by Michael Ignatieff. This paper will explain the subject of the book and its relevance, discuss Michael Ignatieff's methods and conclusions on the subject and finally include a personal critique of the book by the author of this paper. The author of the book travels on what he terms "the six journeys." On these "journeys" he encounters different cultures, as he travels to six different coinciding areas of the world. He examines the unique expression of nationalism that each populace displays by interviewing various members of that particular society. The six areas that he travels to are specifically chosen for the clarity which nationalism is expressed in society. Nationalism is a factor contributing toward both present possible future instability in these areas. These areas are former Yugoslavia (specifically Croatia and Serbia), Germany, Ukraine, Quebec, Kurdistan and Northern Ireland. According to Ignatieff, in Croatia and Serbia there is a desire for a separate identity between the two nations. The fear of losing one's national identity has caused ethnic hatred. A terror so strong and historically persistent, it has driven people to a desperate state to do anything. This is a large contributor to the reasons for the extreme violence present there today. The author states, "A Croat, thus, is someone who is not a Serb. A Serb is someone who is not a Croat." This quotation profoundly expresses the short-sighted mentality present in their conflict. In his travels in Germany, the author points out an important question. Does the nation make the state, or the state the nation? This question by far does not stop here, especially when Germany is the subject. The essence of the German people is seen by some as aggressive and offensive, thus the existence of the German problem. If the nation makes the state then Germany will always be a threat. If the state makes the nation, then the aggressive nature of the German nation, which lead the world into two global wars, can be harnessed and redirected. The question has its roots and answers in the recent reunification of Germany. The Ukraine is concerned with not being Russian. It is here Ignatieff receives a complete vision of what nationalism is. He states, "I understand what nationalism really is: the dream that a whole nation could be like a congregation; singing the same hymns, listening to the same gospel, sharing the same emotions, linked not only to each other but to the dead buried beneath their feet." Quebec is a model that presents a possible future of the state system. Ignatieff uses the example of Quebec to illustrate the relationship between nationalism and federalism. He implies that "if federalism fails in Canada it can fail anywhere." If the balance between "ethnic and civil principles" is not maintained in Canada, who is not an impoverished country and has a large, successful economy; then perhaps the modern world has not transcended the grasps of nationalism. The Kurds represent a nation without a state, who find themselves surrounded by other nations who are more aggressive nationalists. The term Kurdistan is a definition of the areas used by Ignatieff to explain the area of major Kurdish populace concentration. There is no real borders, no flag, no government and Kurds must acknowledge the state in which they reside (i.e., - Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq), of which, is not Kurdistan. Finally, the sixth journey ends in Northern Ireland. He makes the observation that this is the ideal place to conclude his project. Northern Ireland contains a recurrence of the themes that seemed so prevalent in the other journeys. In Ireland ethnicity, religion and politics are all bound into one expression or identity. These are also evident in the five previous studies. Is Michael Ignatieff's work relevant? The answer to this question is, yes it is. The issue is important. Nationalism presents itself as a phenomenon. The questions of why people need to retain a cultural identity and the way they go about preserving it is still unanswerable. Evermore unfathomable is the violence permeated through nationalistic expressions, which are "necessary" by the parties involved. The very existence of the enigma created by nationalism dictates the need to explore the subject in more depth. The situations in the book are not isolated events. Nationalism exists in every state all over the world. There is a dichotomy presented by Ignatieff between nationalism and federalism. He explains the political doctrine of nationalism by stating "(1)that the world's peoples are divided into nations, (2) that these nations should have the right of self-determination, and (3) that the full self-determination requires statehood." Federalism, though not a particular ideology, is a means of sharing political power among different peoples within a state. The various systems of government which fall under the definition of federalism are not problematic to the people; unless, of course, they are not completely legitimate. If the government is illegitimate, then ideally nationalism steps in to demand a completely self-determined government, which renders proper representation to its populace. Despite the diversity of a state's population, theoretically, harmony is maintained since the people are properly represented or controlled. This situation with variation is experienced throughout the world. States are dynamic, also their government and populace. If the dynamics of the government or the state do not keep up with the pace of change in the populace, then instability will rise in the name of nationalism and shake the very foundation of the state if left unchecked or not placated. The method used by the author of the book was personal interviews with both prominent people and the normal everyday person in the areas visited. He also uses descriptions on the surrounding areas to accent the point of discussion. His intent was to objectively take the reader on a stroll through the areas he visited. Through his style of writing, he allows the reader to sit in on his interview by highlighting specific questions and the responses that take place in his conversations. Finally, he creates visual images that he had viewed as ironic and analogical in support of his observations. Ignatieff comes to the conclusion that nationalism is not the problem of this world. Continuing, he goes on to say that when one loses their individuality to become a "patriot," that is where the danger lies. Being yourself is something that ethnic nationalism does not allow. Political ideologies can become blinding to its possessors. At the beginning of the book mentions that he is a liberal. The traveling and experiences did not change that at all. He notes the importance of "liberal virtues - tolerance, compromise, reason," but concludes in an observation about how these virtues are opposing human nature. Ignatieff addresses the violence factor that surrounds nationalism like a plague, concluding that, nationalist rhetoric is an excuse to commit acts of violence. He observed that most of the violence is performed by young men between the ages of 18 to 25. His explanation is that the liberal mind set forgets that not everyone hates violence. He also says that there exists in males a basic loathing of peace. Human nature is the reason for the violence or Ignatieff thinks that it is specifically male human nature. I personally enjoyed the book and found it to be interesting reading. It had the aspect of a novel without losing its academic nature. Michael Ignatieff's writing style was creative and supported his observations well. He portrayed the destruction that he found in his journeys in a way that allowed the reader to experience the same despair and hopelessness of seeing it first hand. Another interesting perspective that the author added to the book was his own identity. He traveled to places that he had either lived at or where his family originally came from. His family roots add a personal touch that would otherwise have been left out. Religion and its role in society are important concerning nationalism. It is in this author's opinion that religions not be viewed as a secondary facet to nationalism. The Islamic uprisings in France and the peace talks in southwest Asia between Israel and Syria are two different perspectives to the argument. Claude Barreau, advisor to the minister of interior in France says, "Foreigners arriving in France . . . now have a new fatherland. Islam has a place in France, provided it is willing to stay discreet as the other religions. But Islamist are coming as colonisers." This illustrates an underlying principal that splits Europe down the middle. France is a representation of Europe according to the late Charles De Gaulle. France has adopted internal policies to control the growth of Islam by limiting both social expressions of that faith and by specific immigration procedures. Are not the three million plus population of Moslems in France entitled to nationalistic expression of their identity as French Muslims? Where does that leave the Bosnian Muslims, the Turks or any other non Christian state located near or inside Europe? The second point deals with Israel and Syria. The two countries have been at odds with each other since 1947 when Israel was recognized as a state. The main reason for the clash is the difference of religion, not national identity. However, both countries have evolved since their beginnings and have strong nationalistic tendencies. Both countries are now leaning toward compromise rather than a holy war. As the talks continue for the return of the Golan Heights to Lebanon the Moslem Jew factor still remains tense. Of the recent peace talks is the strip of land called the Golan Heights in north of Israel. Avoiding an attempt to explain an extremely complex situation or to oversimplify the matter, it is a fact that many heads of state in the region are choosing political solutions to old religious problems. However, the foundations of their society are religions, to be specific Islam and Judism. This religious factor will never cease and always cause instability in the region because of fundmentalism present on both sides. In conclusion, the subject of the book, Blood and Belonging, has been discussed. The relevance of the book's theme was examined along with the authors methods and style of writing. This critique also addressed the conclusions drawn by Michael Ignatieff concerning nationalism and its expressions in the world. Perhaps the world will allways have to deal with the dichotomy dicussed in this paper, however one can only hope that a long lasting solution will be found. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Ignatieff, Michael Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993. 2. "It Depends on Rabin." The Economist, 24th-30th September, 1994, pp. 42-43. 3. "Secularity Defied." The Economist, 8th-14th October, 1994, p.53.
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1176
Toni Morisson's novel The Bluest Eye is about the life of the Breedlove family who resides in Lorain, Ohio, in the late 1930s. This family consists of the mother Pauline, the father Cholly, the son Sammy, and the daughter Pecola. The novel's focal point is the daughter, an eleven-year-old Black girl who is trying to conquer a bout with self-hatred. Everyday she encounters racism, not just from white people, but mostly from her own race. In their eyes she is much too dark, and the darkness of her skin somehow implies that she is inferior, and according to everyone else, her skin makes her even "uglier." She feels she can overcome this battle of self-hatred by obtaining blue eyes, but not just any blue. She wants the bluest eye. Morrison is able to use her critical eye to reveal to the reader the evil that is caused by a society that is indoctrinated by the inherent goodness and beauty of whiteness and the ugliness of blackness. She uses many different writing tools to depict how "white" beliefs have dominated American and African American culture. The narrative structure of The Bluest Eye is important in revealing just how pervasive and destructive social racism is. Narration in novel comes from several sources. Much of the narration comes from Claudia MacTeer as a nine year old child, but Morrison also gives the reader the insight of Claudia reflecting on the story as an adult, some first person narration from Pecola's mother, and narration by Morrison herself as an omniscient narrator. Pecola's experiences would have less meaning coming from Pecola herself because a total and complete victim would be an unreliable narrator, unwilling or unable to relate the actual circumstances of that year. Claudia, from her youthful innocence, is able to see and relate how the other characters, especially Pecola, idolize the "ideal" of beauty presented by white, blue-eyed movie stars like little Shirley Temple. In addition to narrative structure, the structure and composition of the novel itself help to illustrate how much and for how long white ideas of family and home have been forced into black culture. Instead of conventional chapters and sections, The Bluest Eye is broken up into seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer. This type of organization suggests that the events described in The Bluest Eye have occurred before, and will occur again. This kind of cycle suggests that there is notion that there is no escape from the cycle of life that Breedloves and MacTeer live in. Further, dividing the book are small excerpts from the "Dick and Jane" primer that is the archetype of the white upper-middle class lifestyle. Each excerpt has, in some way, to do with the section that follows. So the section that describes Pecola's mother is started with an excerpt describing Dick and Jane's mother, and so on. The excerpts from "Dick and Jane" that head each "chapter" are typeset without any spaces or punctuation marks. The "Dick and Jane" snippets show just how prevalent and important the images of white perfection are in Pecola's life; Morrison's strange typography illustrates how irrelevant and inappropriate these images actually are. Names play an important part in The Bluest Eye because they are often symbolic of conditions in society or in the context of the story. The name of the novel, "The Bluest Eye," is meant to get the reader thinking about how much value is placed on blue-eyed little girls. Pecola and her family are representative of the larger African-American community, and their name, "Breedlove," is ironic because they live in a society that does not "breed love." In fact, it breeds hate; hate of blackness, and thus hatred of oneself. The MacTeer girls are flattered when Mr. Henry said "Hello there. You must be Greta Garbo, and you must be Ginger Rogers", for the names ring of beauty that the girls feel they will never reach. Soaphead Church represents, as his name suggests, the role of the church in African-American life. "I, I have caused a miracle. I gave her the eyes. I gave her the blue, blue, two blue eyes," Soaphead says. The implication is that the church's promise that if you worship God and pray to Him that everything will be alright is no better than Soaphead's promise to Pecola that she will have blue eyes. Morrison reveals the significance of Pecola's name through the character of Maureen Peal. Maureen confuses Pecola's name with the name of a character in the movie Imitation of Life. By this allusion, Morrison illustrates that Pecola's life is an imitation of the real experiences of black women. Morrison also uses metaphors to describe the conditions under which African-Americans in general and Pecola in particular are forced to live. There are two major metaphors in The Bluest Eye, one of marigolds and one of dandelions. Claudia, looking back as an adult, says in the beginning of the novel, "there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941". She and her sister plant marigold seeds with the belief that if the marigolds would grow and survive, so would Pecola's baby. Morrison unpacks the metaphor throughout the book, and, through Claudia, finally explains it and broadens its scope to all African-Americans on the last page. "I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that year. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruits it will not bear . . ." The implication is that Pecola, like so many other African-Americans, never had a chance to grow and succeed because she lived in a society ("soil") that was inherently racist, and would not nurture her. The other flower, the dandelion, is important as a metaphor because it represents Pecola's image of herself. Pecola passes some dandelions going into Mr. Yacobowski's store. "Why, she wonders, do people call them weeds? She thought they were pretty". After Mr. Yacobowski humiliates her, she again passes the dandelions and thinks; "They are ugly. They are weeds". She has transferred society's dislike of her to the dandelions. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison tells the story of a little black girl who thinks that if she can live up to the image of the blue-eyed Shirley Temple and Dick and Jane that she will have the perfect life that they have. The importance of this book goes beyond its value as a work of literature. Morrison speaks to the masses, both white and black, showing how a racist social system wears down the minds and souls of people, how dominate images of white heroes and heroines with blue eyes and wonderful lives show young black children that to be white means to be successful and happy, and then they look around at their own lives of poverty and oppression and learn to hate their black heritage for keeping them from the Dick and Jane world. Morrison does not solve these problems, nor does she even try, but she does show a reflection of a world that cannot call itself right or moral.
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Biography of John Knowles
John Knowles was born in 1926 in Fairmont, West Virginia; at age 15, he became a student at Phillips Exeter Academy, a well-known boarding school in New Hampshire, not unlike Devon, the fictional school he writes about in A Separate Peace. He graduated from Exeter in 1945, but did not immediately proceed to college. Instead, he joined the war effort as part of the U.S. Army Air Force's Aviation Cadet Program, and became a student at Yale University after completing several months in the program. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Yale in 1949. 
After graduation, Knowles traveled to Europe and worked as a journalist until the mid 1950's; his work also consisted of various free-lance pieces and short stories. He returned to the United States from Europe in 1957, and took a position as an associate editor at Holiday magazine. With encouragement from Thornton Wilder, who took interest in Knowles' writing, he started working on A Separate Peace, which became his first published novel. When the novel became successful, Knowles was able to quit his job with the magazine, and devote himself to his writing. 
In addition to A Separate Peace, John Knowles has published eight other books; in addition, he wrote a travel book, and also published a collection of his short stories. Knowles was honored with the position of writer-in-residence at both Princeton University and the University of North Carolina, and has also given lectures at various schools across the country. 
Knowles' biggest success was his first, and none of his other novels have achieved the status that A Separate Peace has enjoyed; however, as in his first work, his main themes are greed, competitiveness, and corruption in the lives of wealthy American characters. John Knowles is currently living in Florida, and continues to write. 
Character List:
Gene: The narrator of the book, a student at Devon during World War II. His best friend at school was Phineas, a superior athlete, while Gene was better known for his academic skills. Phineas and Gene spend a lovely summer together at Devon, which is ended when Phineas fell from a tree, an accident which Gene, either consciously or unconsciously, caused. Gene has a definite dark side lurking beneath the surface, though he appears to be a good, honest person in his everyday life. The book is spawned by a later visit to Devon, and of his strong memories and lingering feelings about what happened in 1942 at Devon. 
Phineas: Gene's best friend and roommate, a remarkable athlete with a disregard for the rules and an innate ability to win people over. He gets Gene in quite a bit of trouble via his impulsive nature and instinctive disobedience, but he is very good at heart, and thinks the world of his best friend. After his accident, he is unable to play sports, which crushes him; but, he decides that Gene shall take over his old place, and become the wonderful athlete that he was before he shattered his leg. 
Brinker Hadley: One of Gene's friends, and his main rival for the top academic spot in the class. Brinker is rather strange‹he makes long-running jokes with rather sinister undertones, seems very independent and determined, and seems like he's his own person. He is the one who starts enlistment fever on campus, and then stops it dead by chickening out since Gene won't go with him. He's a bit of a paradoxical character, and a kind of foil to the rebellious, free-spirited Finny. 
Leper Lepellier: One of Gene and Finny's friends; he is a soft-spoken, nature-loving boy, with an old soul and ways that are quite idiosyncratic compared with the other boys. He is an avid skier and naturalist, but, rather uncharacteristically, he decides to enlist, and is the first boy from Devon to do so. He becomes, for a short while, the symbol of American victories abroad; but this is dashed when he deserts the service in a panic. 
Chet Douglass: Another of Gene and Finny's friends, and part of the Super Suicide Society. He is not quite as brave with Finny's little stunts, and is a good trumpet player too. He's also one of the top students at the school, though Gene outpaces him because Chet's genuine curiosity for everything keeps him a little behind in class. 
Bobby Zane: Another member of the Super Suicide Society, also not terribly adventurous. He likes to follow Finny around and go along with his inventions, but is a very minor character in the book. 
Mr. Prud'homme: Gene and Finny's substitute house master for the summer. He is usually rather stern, although Finny is able to get the better of him and get out of trouble for skipping various events. 
Mr. And Mrs. Patch-Withers: Other substitute masters for the summer, whom Gene describes as being especially stern and conventional. Nevertheless, Finny is able to weasel his way out of wearing the school tie as a belt during one of their teas, and also gets little moments of friendliness out of this otherwise rule-bent couple. 
Dr. Stanpole: The head of the school's infirmary. He is a friendly man who takes care of Finny when he breaks his leg, and Gene seems to know and like him. 
Quackenbush: The captain of the crew team, also a generally disliked figure on campus. He and Gene get into a fight, which means the end of Gene's days as assistant captain, though it is no loss. He is rather awkward and humorless, and no one seems to have special regard for him. 
Mr. Ludsbury: Gene and Finny's term-time house master, a very stern and straight-laced rule monger who berates Gene for taking advantage of the summer masters, which he really didn't. Not a pleasant sort of fellow, and also not susceptible to Finny's vast charm. 
Brownie Perkins: Brinker's roommate, a rather timid boy who is scared of Brinker and is easily bossed around by him. He tries to keep a low profile, and is not terribly involved at the school. 
Phil Latham: The school wrestling coach, also an expert in first aid. He helps Finny after his second fall, and stays with him until the doctor arrives. 
Captain Marvel: The buffoon-like, odd-looking captain of the football team
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\book report inf.TXT
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Biography of John Knowles
John Knowles was born in 1926 in Fairmont, West Virginia; at age 15, he became a student at Phillips Exeter Academy, a well-known boarding school in New Hampshire, not unlike Devon, the fictional school he writes about in A Separate Peace. He graduated from Exeter in 1945, but did not immediately proceed to college. Instead, he joined the war effort as part of the U.S. Army Air Force's Aviation Cadet Program, and became a student at Yale University after completing several months in the program. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Yale in 1949. 
After graduation, Knowles traveled to Europe and worked as a journalist until the mid 1950's; his work also consisted of various free-lance pieces and short stories. He returned to the United States from Europe in 1957, and took a position as an associate editor at Holiday magazine. With encouragement from Thornton Wilder, who took interest in Knowles' writing, he started working on A Separate Peace, which became his first published novel. When the novel became successful, Knowles was able to quit his job with the magazine, and devote himself to his writing. 
In addition to A Separate Peace, John Knowles has published eight other books; in addition, he wrote a travel book, and also published a collection of his short stories. Knowles was honored with the position of writer-in-residence at both Princeton University and the University of North Carolina, and has also given lectures at various schools across the country. 
Knowles' biggest success was his first, and none of his other novels have achieved the status that A Separate Peace has enjoyed; however, as in his first work, his main themes are greed, competitiveness, and corruption in the lives of wealthy American characters. John Knowles is currently living in Florida, and continues to write. 
Character List:
Gene: The narrator of the book, a student at Devon during World War II. His best friend at school was Phineas, a superior athlete, while Gene was better known for his academic skills. Phineas and Gene spend a lovely summer together at Devon, which is ended when Phineas fell from a tree, an accident which Gene, either consciously or unconsciously, caused. Gene has a definite dark side lurking beneath the surface, though he appears to be a good, honest person in his everyday life. The book is spawned by a later visit to Devon, and of his strong memories and lingering feelings about what happened in 1942 at Devon. 
Phineas: Gene's best friend and roommate, a remarkable athlete with a disregard for the rules and an innate ability to win people over. He gets Gene in quite a bit of trouble via his impulsive nature and instinctive disobedience, but he is very good at heart, and thinks the world of his best friend. After his accident, he is unable to play sports, which crushes him; but, he decides that Gene shall take over his old place, and become the wonderful athlete that he was before he shattered his leg. 
Brinker Hadley: One of Gene's friends, and his main rival for the top academic spot in the class. Brinker is rather strange‹he makes long-running jokes with rather sinister undertones, seems very independent and determined, and seems like he's his own person. He is the one who starts enlistment fever on campus, and then stops it dead by chickening out since Gene won't go with him. He's a bit of a paradoxical character, and a kind of foil to the rebellious, free-spirited Finny. 
Leper Lepellier: One of Gene and Finny's friends; he is a soft-spoken, nature-loving boy, with an old soul and ways that are quite idiosyncratic compared with the other boys. He is an avid skier and naturalist, but, rather uncharacteristically, he decides to enlist, and is the first boy from Devon to do so. He becomes, for a short while, the symbol of American victories abroad; but this is dashed when he deserts the service in a panic. 
Chet Douglass: Another of Gene and Finny's friends, and part of the Super Suicide Society. He is not quite as brave with Finny's little stunts, and is a good trumpet player too. He's also one of the top students at the school, though Gene outpaces him because Chet's genuine curiosity for everything keeps him a little behind in class. 
Bobby Zane: Another member of the Super Suicide Society, also not terribly adventurous. He likes to follow Finny around and go along with his inventions, but is a very minor character in the book. 
Mr. Prud'homme: Gene and Finny's substitute house master for the summer. He is usually rather stern, although Finny is able to get the better of him and get out of trouble for skipping various events. 
Mr. And Mrs. Patch-Withers: Other substitute masters for the summer, whom Gene describes as being especially stern and conventional. Nevertheless, Finny is able to weasel his way out of wearing the school tie as a belt during one of their teas, and also gets little moments of friendliness out of this otherwise rule-bent couple. 
Dr. Stanpole: The head of the school's infirmary. He is a friendly man who takes care of Finny when he breaks his leg, and Gene seems to know and like him. 
Quackenbush: The captain of the crew team, also a generally disliked figure on campus. He and Gene get into a fight, which means the end of Gene's days as assistant captain, though it is no loss. He is rather awkward and humorless, and no one seems to have special regard for him. 
Mr. Ludsbury: Gene and Finny's term-time house master, a very stern and straight-laced rule monger who berates Gene for taking advantage of the summer masters, which he really didn't. Not a pleasant sort of fellow, and also not susceptible to Finny's vast charm. 
Brownie Perkins: Brinker's roommate, a rather timid boy who is scared of Brinker and is easily bossed around by him. He tries to keep a low profile, and is not terribly involved at the school. 
Phil Latham: The school wrestling coach, also an expert in first aid. He helps Finny after his second fall, and stays with him until the doctor arrives. 
Captain Marvel: The buffoon-like, odd-looking captain of the football team
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AUTHOR
    Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660. After studying ministry for many years he decided that a religious life wasn't right for him, so he became a merchant. He traveled widely and built up a strong and successful business, and started raising a family. In 1692 his business failed, leaving, Daniel the 32 year old man in debt, with a wife, and 6 children to support. He  was always interested in politics. He tried to make his living by writing political articles for news papers. The articles criticized the King, and the ruling party. In 1719 he started writing fiction novels. He wrote one of the world's best known adventure stories, Robinson Crusoe. That book brought him to great success and helped pay back part of his debts. Some other novels he wrote were Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack and two other Robinson Crusoe stories. I would read another one of his books. 
  
     PLOT
Robinson Crusoe wanted to be sailor but his family wouldn't let him. When he got older he left and became a sailor. He went to south America and bought his own cotton farm. He had to make a voyage to africa to get some slaves. On the way the ship got caught in a storm, was destroyed. When Robinson woke up he was on a beach. All the men were dead except him. He went and got what supplies that were left on the boat. He lived on the island for 30 years. On certain times Cannibals came and he had to fight them off. 
  
  
          CHARACTERS
    The main character is Robinson Crusoe. He is the character right through the book. The minor characters are FRiday and the Captain. The minor character affect the plot by Friday is Robinson's friend and and the captain helps him get home. The relationship between the main and minor characters are they are friends. The conflicts that the characters face are Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, and Man vs Himself. 
  
  
SETTING
    This story takes place in England, Africa, South America, and islands in the Caribbean Sea. The story takes place in 1600's. The author used good language in this book. It was easy to read. The dialogue is realistic among the characters. I think the theme of this book is if you're stranded on an island, never give up hope. 
  
  
Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe. The novel was first published in 1719. It tells the story of a young explorer who becomes marooned on a deserted island. His experiences of the island change his outlook on life. Daniel Defoe was a short story writer that came from an poor family. Defoe was poor for most of his life and made his living as a butcher and a writer. Defoe mostly wrote short stories and political essays. Robinson Crusoe was a combination of two short stories. Many believe Defoe used Robinson Crusoe to portray himself in a certain ways. The description was almost identical to his own and after his wife left him, he felt as if he was marooned on a deserted island. The story takes place in the 1700s on a deserted island somewhere off the coast of Brazil. The island is fairly large in size and has a small shore. The interior of the island has many trees, wild pigs and other small animals and a small cave in which Crusoe stores food. I walked about the shore lifting up my hands. Look around, I see nothing but water, a forest, and the remains of my ship. At first, I was afraid of wild animals but after some exploration of the land, the only animals I had seen were wild pigs, squirrels, and some small birds. The only possessions that Crusoe retrieved from the remains of his ship were a small knife, a box of tabacco, a pipe, and a small book that would later become his journal. Robinson Crusoe was a young and stubborn explorer. He was extremely tall and strong. His stay on the island changed him from a mean, stubborn man to an open-minded protestant. Standing at six feet, two inches and having my long, thick brown hair back in a ponytail, I felt as if I was eight feet tall. Without the permission of my parents, I was still sailing away from the misery. I held the cargo box is my strong arms, waiting to board my beautiful ship. Crusoe became a skilled craftsman and was an extremely religious man due to his stay on the island. Being the only man on the entire island, he established a faith in God. He also became more articulate from writing in a journal daily. Overall, his stay on the island changed Crusoe's life greatly. As the story begins, Robinson Crusoe defies his parents and sets out to sea. Crusoe encounters a series of violent storms at sea and ends up in Africa. He sets out on another voyage and is captured by the Sallee, a group of pirates. Luckily, he manages to escape and board a Portuguese ship and sail to Brazil. While in Brazil, Crusoe purchases a large sugar plantation. After leaving Brazil, he encounters another storm in which his ship is destroyed and he is marooned on an island as the only survivor. On the island, Crusoe gathers food and builds a small shelter. He writes in a journal to keep account of his stay. Crusoe becomes a skilled craftsman and begins to feel a spiritual connection with God. He also builds a small boat that he uses to sail around the island. After living on the island for fifteen years, Crusoe discovers that savages had landed on the island and that they perform human sacrifices. Crusoe helps a prisoner escape from these savages. He names the prisoner Friday and teaches him english. Together, they build a new boat and attempt to leave the island. However, Friday learns his father is a prisoner of the savages. Crusoe and Friday return and rescue his father and a Spaniard. The four men board a passing boat and gain control of it. Crusoe sails back to his native land to learn his sugar plantation has made him rich. He sells the plantation and marries. As the novel closes, Crusoe is persuaded to take a final voyage, back to the island. Robinson Crusoe is written using an English dialect. The narration of the novel is simple, informal and extremely easy to understand. However, Defoe uses verbose descriptions for characters. He was a comely, handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with strong limbs, not too large, tall and well-shaped, and I reckon he was about twenty years of age. The color of his skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not of an ugly, yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Virginians, and other natives are; but of a bright kind of a dun olive color that had in it something agreeable, though not very easy to describe. This is a description of Friday. Defoe does an excellent job of introducing the character. This paragraph makes a clear picture of Friday to the reader. The theme of the novel is that nature can change the way a man thinks and his outlook on life. Crusoe was a nasty young man who hated his family and his life as the story began. After being stranded on an island for over fifteen years, nature changed his outlook on life. Crusoe became grateful for what he did have and wanted to make the best out of it. He developed a stronger will power and became more opened minded. He also thought more about the better aspects of his life and had faith in God. 
Robinson Crusoe -  
    The novel's protagonist and narrator. Crusoe begins the novel as a young middle-class man in York in search of a career. He father recommends the law, but Crusoe yearns for a life at sea, and his subsequent rebellion and decision to become a merchant is the starting point for the whole adventure that follows. His vague but recurring feelings of guilt over his disobedience color the first part of the first half of the story and show us how deep Crusoe's religious fear is. Crusoe is steady and plodding in everything he does, and his perseverance ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and a twenty-eight-year isolation on a desert island.
Plot Overview
    ROBINSON CRUSOE IS AN ENGLISHMAN from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest son of a merchant of German origin. Encouraged by his father to study law, Crusoe expresses his wish to go to sea instead. His family is against Crusoe going out to sea, and his father explains that it is better to seek a modest, secure life for oneself. Initially, Robinson is committed to obeying his father, but he eventually succumbs to temptation and embarks on a ship bound for London with a friend. When a storm causes the near deaths of Crusoe and his friend, the friend is dissuaded from sea travel, but Crusoe still goes on to set himself up as merchant on a ship leaving London. This trip is financially successful, and Crusoe plans another, leaving his early profits in the care of a friendly widow. The second voyage does not prove as fortunate: the ship is seized by Moorish pirates, and Crusoe is enslaved to a potentate in the North African town of Sallee. While on a fishing expedition, he and a slave boy break free and sail down the African coast. A kindly Portuguese captain picks them up, buys the slave boy from Crusoe, and takes Crusoe to Brazil. In Brazil, Crusoe establishes himself as a plantation owner and soon becomes successful. Eager for slave labor and its economic advantages, he embarks on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa but ends up shipwrecked off of the coast of Trinidad. 
    Crusoe soon learns he is the sole survivor of the expedition and seeks shelter and food for himself. He returns to the wreck's remains twelve times to salvage guns, powder, food, and other items. Onshore, he finds goats he can graze for meat and builds himself a shelter. He erects a cross that he inscribes with the date of his arrival, September 1, 1659, and makes a notch every day in order never to lose track of time. He also keeps a journal of his household activities, noting his attempts to make candles, his lucky discovery of sprouting grain, and his construction of a cellar, among other events. In June 1660, he falls ill and hallucinates that an angel visits, warning him to repent. Drinking tobacco-steeped rum, Crusoe experiences a religious illumination and realizes that God has delivered him from his earlier sins. After recovering, Crusoe makes a survey of the area and discovers he is on an island. He finds a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, where he builds a shady retreat. Crusoe begins to feel more optimistic about being on the island, describing himself as its "king." He trains a pet parrot, takes a goat as a pet, and develops skills in basket weaving, bread making, and pottery. He cuts down an enormous cedar tree and builds a huge canoe from its trunk, but he discovers that he cannot move it to the sea. After building a smaller boat, he rows around the island but nearly perishes when swept away by a powerful current. Reaching shore, he hears his parrot calling his name and is thankful for being saved once again. He spends several years in peace.
    One day Crusoe is shocked to discover a man's footprint on the beach. He first assumes the footprint is the devil's, then decides it must belong to one of the cannibals said to live in the region. Terrified, he arms himself and remains on the lookout for cannibals. He also builds an underground cellar in which to herd his goats at night and devises a way to cook underground. One evening he hears gunshots, and the next day he is able to see a ship wrecked on his coast. It is empty when he arrives on the scene to investigate. Crusoe once again thanks Providence for having been saved. Soon afterward, Crusoe discovers that the shore has been strewn with human carnage, apparently the remains of a cannibal feast. He is alarmed and continues to be vigilant. Later Crusoe catches sight of thirty cannibals heading for shore with their victims. One of the victims is killed. Another one, waiting to be slaughtered, suddenly breaks free and runs toward Crusoe's dwelling. Crusoe protects him, killing one of the pursuers and injuring the other, whom the victim finally kills. Well-armed, Crusoe defeats most of the cannibals onshore. The victim vows total submission to Crusoe in gratitude for his liberation. Crusoe names him Friday, to commemorate the day on which his life was saved, and takes him as his servant.
    Finding Friday cheerful and intelligent, Crusoe teaches him some English words and some elementary Christian concepts. Friday, in turn, explains that the cannibals are divided into distinct nations and that they only eat their enemies. Friday also informs Crusoe that the cannibals saved the men from the shipwreck Crusoe witnessed earlier, and that those men, Spaniards, are living nearby. Friday expresses a longing to return to his people, and Crusoe is upset at the prospect of losing Friday. Crusoe then entertains the idea of making contact with the Spaniards, and Friday admits that he would rather die than lose Crusoe. The two build a boat to visit the cannibals' land together. Before they have a chance to leave, they are surprised by the arrival of twenty-one cannibals in canoes. The cannibals are holding three victims, one of whom is in European dress. Friday and Crusoe kill most of the cannibals and release the European, a Spaniard. Friday is overjoyed to discover that another of the rescued victims is his father. The four men return to Crusoe's dwelling for food and rest. Crusoe prepares to welcome them into his community permanently. He sends Friday's father and the Spaniard out in a canoe to explore the nearby land.
    Eight days later, the sight of an approaching English ship alarms Friday. Crusoe is suspicious. Friday and Crusoe watch as eleven men take three captives onshore in a boat. Nine of the men explore the land, leaving two to guard the captives. Friday and Crusoe overpower these men and release the captives, one of whom is the captain of the ship, which has been taken in a mutiny. Shouting to the remaining mutineers from different points, Friday and Crusoe confuse and tire the men by making them run from place to place. Eventually they confront the mutineers, telling them that all may escape with their lives except the ringleader. The men surrender. Crusoe and the captain pretend that the island is an imperial territory and that the governor has spared their lives in order to send them all to England to face justice. Keeping five men as hostages, Crusoe sends the other men out to seize the ship. When the ship is brought in, Crusoe nearly faints.
    On December 19, 1686, Crusoe boards the ship to return to England. There, he finds his family is deceased except for two sisters. His widow friend has kept Crusoe's money safe, and after traveling to Lisbon, Crusoe learns from the Portuguese captain that his plantations in Brazil have been highly profitable. He arranges to sell his Brazilian lands. Wary of sea travel, Crusoe attempts to return to England by land but is threatened by bad weather and wild animals in northern Spain. Finally arriving back in England, Crusoe receives word that the sale of his plantations has been completed and that he has made a considerable fortune. After donating a portion to the widow and his sisters, Crusoe is restless and considers returning to Brazil, but he is dissuaded by the thought that he would have to become Catholic. He marries, and his wife dies. Crusoe finally departs for the East Indies as a trader in 1694. He revisits his island, finding that the Spaniards are governing it well and that it has become a prosperous colony.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\book report ingles.TXT
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AUTHOR
    Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660. After studying ministry for many years he decided that a religious life wasn't right for him, so he became a merchant. He traveled widely and built up a strong and successful business, and started raising a family. In 1692 his business failed, leaving, Daniel the 32 year old man in debt, with a wife, and 6 children to support. He  was always interested in politics. He tried to make his living by writing political articles for news papers. The articles criticized the King, and the ruling party. In 1719 he started writing fiction novels. He wrote one of the world's best known adventure stories, Robinson Crusoe. That book brought him to great success and helped pay back part of his debts. Some other novels he wrote were Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack and two other Robinson Crusoe stories. I would read another one of his books. 
  
     PLOT
Robinson Crusoe wanted to be sailor but his family wouldn't let him. When he got older he left and became a sailor. He went to south America and bought his own cotton farm. He had to make a voyage to africa to get some slaves. On the way the ship got caught in a storm, was destroyed. When Robinson woke up he was on a beach. All the men were dead except him. He went and got what supplies that were left on the boat. He lived on the island for 30 years. On certain times Cannibals came and he had to fight them off. 
  
  
          CHARACTERS
    The main character is Robinson Crusoe. He is the character right through the book. The minor characters are FRiday and the Captain. The minor character affect the plot by Friday is Robinson's friend and and the captain helps him get home. The relationship between the main and minor characters are they are friends. The conflicts that the characters face are Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, and Man vs Himself. 
  
  
SETTING
    This story takes place in England, Africa, South America, and islands in the Caribbean Sea. The story takes place in 1600's. The author used good language in this book. It was easy to read. The dialogue is realistic among the characters. I think the theme of this book is if you're stranded on an island, never give up hope. 
  
  
Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe. The novel was first published in 1719. It tells the story of a young explorer who becomes marooned on a deserted island. His experiences of the island change his outlook on life. Daniel Defoe was a short story writer that came from an poor family. Defoe was poor for most of his life and made his living as a butcher and a writer. Defoe mostly wrote short stories and political essays. Robinson Crusoe was a combination of two short stories. Many believe Defoe used Robinson Crusoe to portray himself in a certain ways. The description was almost identical to his own and after his wife left him, he felt as if he was marooned on a deserted island. The story takes place in the 1700s on a deserted island somewhere off the coast of Brazil. The island is fairly large in size and has a small shore. The interior of the island has many trees, wild pigs and other small animals and a small cave in which Crusoe stores food. I walked about the shore lifting up my hands. Look around, I see nothing but water, a forest, and the remains of my ship. At first, I was afraid of wild animals but after some exploration of the land, the only animals I had seen were wild pigs, squirrels, and some small birds. The only possessions that Crusoe retrieved from the remains of his ship were a small knife, a box of tabacco, a pipe, and a small book that would later become his journal. Robinson Crusoe was a young and stubborn explorer. He was extremely tall and strong. His stay on the island changed him from a mean, stubborn man to an open-minded protestant. Standing at six feet, two inches and having my long, thick brown hair back in a ponytail, I felt as if I was eight feet tall. Without the permission of my parents, I was still sailing away from the misery. I held the cargo box is my strong arms, waiting to board my beautiful ship. Crusoe became a skilled craftsman and was an extremely religious man due to his stay on the island. Being the only man on the entire island, he established a faith in God. He also became more articulate from writing in a journal daily. Overall, his stay on the island changed Crusoe's life greatly. As the story begins, Robinson Crusoe defies his parents and sets out to sea. Crusoe encounters a series of violent storms at sea and ends up in Africa. He sets out on another voyage and is captured by the Sallee, a group of pirates. Luckily, he manages to escape and board a Portuguese ship and sail to Brazil. While in Brazil, Crusoe purchases a large sugar plantation. After leaving Brazil, he encounters another storm in which his ship is destroyed and he is marooned on an island as the only survivor. On the island, Crusoe gathers food and builds a small shelter. He writes in a journal to keep account of his stay. Crusoe becomes a skilled craftsman and begins to feel a spiritual connection with God. He also builds a small boat that he uses to sail around the island. After living on the island for fifteen years, Crusoe discovers that savages had landed on the island and that they perform human sacrifices. Crusoe helps a prisoner escape from these savages. He names the prisoner Friday and teaches him english. Together, they build a new boat and attempt to leave the island. However, Friday learns his father is a prisoner of the savages. Crusoe and Friday return and rescue his father and a Spaniard. The four men board a passing boat and gain control of it. Crusoe sails back to his native land to learn his sugar plantation has made him rich. He sells the plantation and marries. As the novel closes, Crusoe is persuaded to take a final voyage, back to the island. Robinson Crusoe is written using an English dialect. The narration of the novel is simple, informal and extremely easy to understand. However, Defoe uses verbose descriptions for characters. He was a comely, handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with strong limbs, not too large, tall and well-shaped, and I reckon he was about twenty years of age. The color of his skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not of an ugly, yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Virginians, and other natives are; but of a bright kind of a dun olive color that had in it something agreeable, though not very easy to describe. This is a description of Friday. Defoe does an excellent job of introducing the character. This paragraph makes a clear picture of Friday to the reader. The theme of the novel is that nature can change the way a man thinks and his outlook on life. Crusoe was a nasty young man who hated his family and his life as the story began. After being stranded on an island for over fifteen years, nature changed his outlook on life. Crusoe became grateful for what he did have and wanted to make the best out of it. He developed a stronger will power and became more opened minded. He also thought more about the better aspects of his life and had faith in God. 
Robinson Crusoe -  
    The novel's protagonist and narrator. Crusoe begins the novel as a young middle-class man in York in search of a career. He father recommends the law, but Crusoe yearns for a life at sea, and his subsequent rebellion and decision to become a merchant is the starting point for the whole adventure that follows. His vague but recurring feelings of guilt over his disobedience color the first part of the first half of the story and show us how deep Crusoe's religious fear is. Crusoe is steady and plodding in everything he does, and his perseverance ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and a twenty-eight-year isolation on a desert island.
Plot Overview
    ROBINSON CRUSOE IS AN ENGLISHMAN from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest son of a merchant of German origin. Encouraged by his father to study law, Crusoe expresses his wish to go to sea instead. His family is against Crusoe going out to sea, and his father explains that it is better to seek a modest, secure life for oneself. Initially, Robinson is committed to obeying his father, but he eventually succumbs to temptation and embarks on a ship bound for London with a friend. When a storm causes the near deaths of Crusoe and his friend, the friend is dissuaded from sea travel, but Crusoe still goes on to set himself up as merchant on a ship leaving London. This trip is financially successful, and Crusoe plans another, leaving his early profits in the care of a friendly widow. The second voyage does not prove as fortunate: the ship is seized by Moorish pirates, and Crusoe is enslaved to a potentate in the North African town of Sallee. While on a fishing expedition, he and a slave boy break free and sail down the African coast. A kindly Portuguese captain picks them up, buys the slave boy from Crusoe, and takes Crusoe to Brazil. In Brazil, Crusoe establishes himself as a plantation owner and soon becomes successful. Eager for slave labor and its economic advantages, he embarks on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa but ends up shipwrecked off of the coast of Trinidad. 
    Crusoe soon learns he is the sole survivor of the expedition and seeks shelter and food for himself. He returns to the wreck's remains twelve times to salvage guns, powder, food, and other items. Onshore, he finds goats he can graze for meat and builds himself a shelter. He erects a cross that he inscribes with the date of his arrival, September 1, 1659, and makes a notch every day in order never to lose track of time. He also keeps a journal of his household activities, noting his attempts to make candles, his lucky discovery of sprouting grain, and his construction of a cellar, among other events. In June 1660, he falls ill and hallucinates that an angel visits, warning him to repent. Drinking tobacco-steeped rum, Crusoe experiences a religious illumination and realizes that God has delivered him from his earlier sins. After recovering, Crusoe makes a survey of the area and discovers he is on an island. He finds a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, where he builds a shady retreat. Crusoe begins to feel more optimistic about being on the island, describing himself as its "king." He trains a pet parrot, takes a goat as a pet, and develops skills in basket weaving, bread making, and pottery. He cuts down an enormous cedar tree and builds a huge canoe from its trunk, but he discovers that he cannot move it to the sea. After building a smaller boat, he rows around the island but nearly perishes when swept away by a powerful current. Reaching shore, he hears his parrot calling his name and is thankful for being saved once again. He spends several years in peace.
    One day Crusoe is shocked to discover a man's footprint on the beach. He first assumes the footprint is the devil's, then decides it must belong to one of the cannibals said to live in the region. Terrified, he arms himself and remains on the lookout for cannibals. He also builds an underground cellar in which to herd his goats at night and devises a way to cook underground. One evening he hears gunshots, and the next day he is able to see a ship wrecked on his coast. It is empty when he arrives on the scene to investigate. Crusoe once again thanks Providence for having been saved. Soon afterward, Crusoe discovers that the shore has been strewn with human carnage, apparently the remains of a cannibal feast. He is alarmed and continues to be vigilant. Later Crusoe catches sight of thirty cannibals heading for shore with their victims. One of the victims is killed. Another one, waiting to be slaughtered, suddenly breaks free and runs toward Crusoe's dwelling. Crusoe protects him, killing one of the pursuers and injuring the other, whom the victim finally kills. Well-armed, Crusoe defeats most of the cannibals onshore. The victim vows total submission to Crusoe in gratitude for his liberation. Crusoe names him Friday, to commemorate the day on which his life was saved, and takes him as his servant.
    Finding Friday cheerful and intelligent, Crusoe teaches him some English words and some elementary Christian concepts. Friday, in turn, explains that the cannibals are divided into distinct nations and that they only eat their enemies. Friday also informs Crusoe that the cannibals saved the men from the shipwreck Crusoe witnessed earlier, and that those men, Spaniards, are living nearby. Friday expresses a longing to return to his people, and Crusoe is upset at the prospect of losing Friday. Crusoe then entertains the idea of making contact with the Spaniards, and Friday admits that he would rather die than lose Crusoe. The two build a boat to visit the cannibals' land together. Before they have a chance to leave, they are surprised by the arrival of twenty-one cannibals in canoes. The cannibals are holding three victims, one of whom is in European dress. Friday and Crusoe kill most of the cannibals and release the European, a Spaniard. Friday is overjoyed to discover that another of the rescued victims is his father. The four men return to Crusoe's dwelling for food and rest. Crusoe prepares to welcome them into his community permanently. He sends Friday's father and the Spaniard out in a canoe to explore the nearby land.
    Eight days later, the sight of an approaching English ship alarms Friday. Crusoe is suspicious. Friday and Crusoe watch as eleven men take three captives onshore in a boat. Nine of the men explore the land, leaving two to guard the captives. Friday and Crusoe overpower these men and release the captives, one of whom is the captain of the ship, which has been taken in a mutiny. Shouting to the remaining mutineers from different points, Friday and Crusoe confuse and tire the men by making them run from place to place. Eventually they confront the mutineers, telling them that all may escape with their lives except the ringleader. The men surrender. Crusoe and the captain pretend that the island is an imperial territory and that the governor has spared their lives in order to send them all to England to face justice. Keeping five men as hostages, Crusoe sends the other men out to seize the ship. When the ship is brought in, Crusoe nearly faints.
    On December 19, 1686, Crusoe boards the ship to return to England. There, he finds his family is deceased except for two sisters. His widow friend has kept Crusoe's money safe, and after traveling to Lisbon, Crusoe learns from the Portuguese captain that his plantations in Brazil have been highly profitable. He arranges to sell his Brazilian lands. Wary of sea travel, Crusoe attempts to return to England by land but is threatened by bad weather and wild animals in northern Spain. Finally arriving back in England, Crusoe receives word that the sale of his plantations has been completed and that he has made a considerable fortune. After donating a portion to the widow and his sisters, Crusoe is restless and considers returning to Brazil, but he is dissuaded by the thought that he would have to become Catholic. He marries, and his wife dies. Crusoe finally departs for the East Indies as a trader in 1694. He revisits his island, finding that the Spaniards are governing it well and that it has become a prosperous colony.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Brave New World.TXT
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1604
- "Brave New World" - By: Aldous Huxley Author: Aldous Huxley was born in 1894, and died in 1963. He first went to Eton, and then to Oxford. He was a brilliant man, and became a succesful writer of short stories in the twenties and thirties. He also wrote essays and novels, like 'Brave New World'. The first novels he wrote were comments on the young generation, with no goal whatsoever, that lived after WW I. Before he became the writer as we know him, he worked as a journalist and a critic of drama. In his books, especially the later ones, he sometimes presents himself as a teacher or a philosopher, to literate us as readers. Next to novels, essays and short stories he also wrote poems, biographies, plays, political/sci-fi books, travel books and even a record of his experiments with drugs. 'Brave New World' was first published in 1932, and has been reprinted many times after that. Main Characters: Bernard Marx Lenina Crowne John Savage (Son of Tomakin, Bernard's boss) Helmholtz Watson Huxley tries to make a statement with this book, he tries to make something clear to the reader. To do this he uses characters, but they're insignificant to what his real intentions are, he merely uses them to express his ideas, therefor their characteristics and ideas are not important in the whole picture. There is hardly any charaterisation in the book to illustrate the individuals. Theme: In the foreword Huxley states: "The theme of 'Brave New World' is not the advancement of science as such; it is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals." The picture of the world given in the book describes the condition of the human individual in a western civilization in a 'near' future. The society has turned into a well oiled machine, in which everything is controlled, even the future profession of the individual is determined before birth. It's a society in which the human being only serves a sociological and scientifical purpose, the individual thought is overruled by one big totalitarian state, likewise emotion and initiative are ruled out. Giving birth is forbidden, sex is the most normal thing on earth, and even drugs is taken with the routine and amount of normal meals. Only a small group of the real man exists, be it's far outside the 'civilized' world. John Savage is one of them, representitive of individual freedom and thought, torn between two societies. Huxley warns for material and technical dependence, that will eventually bring destruction upon mankind. Characteristics: The story is set in our world, in the future (some 600 years from now). It is in the year 632 after Ford. Society has turned into a controlled state, individual thought is bannished, and the human being is only on this earth to serve a sociological and scientifical purpose. There's no space for free speech, emotion or even literature that reminds of the free spirit. The narrator is omniscient, as said before, Huxley expresses his political and scientifical ideas through the characters, therefor he sometimes 'steps' in to their heads, but mostly tells the story as he was telling their history. There is symbolism in the book, once again Huxley warns us as readers not to grow to dependent of material wealth and science, there's a moral to the stroy, "watch out or you'll end up like this...". The genre of the book is that of alternative realism, but as it spreads certain ideas, it's also called a 'novel of ideas'. The title is quite easy to explain: it comes from a work by Shakespreare, 'The Tempest'. John once quotes it when he still thinks that this new world is only wonder and beauty... The book is written in an easy readable way, no real difficult words, and not much hard philosofical, mind twisting passages to overcome. The climax of the story is when Bernard has picked up John and his mother, and suddenly has a certain grip on his boss, who was about to fire him (John is the unlawful son of his boss). After that he also gets the idea that his earlier urge to something individual has it's roots in true freedom, and thus he wants to be free. But instead he uses John to get attention and 'respect' from his fellow Alphas. Summary: In the year 632 after Ford, the new Director of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre explains the functionality of his plant to a group of students. He tells them with pride that what they're watching is the process of becoming a human being, he shows them the different stages of growth: First the eggs are taken from the female body and fertilized in bottles (In Vitro Fertilization). The bottles contain a special blood surrogate with nutritive solutions for each of the (later) social classes, from Alpha-plus to Epsilon-minus. Here the future men and women's social status is determined. Thanks to Bokanovsky each egg could produce as many as 96 exactly identical human beings, therefor suited for standard tasks in society. Mass production is the key word that ensures everybody of material welfare (developed by the great Ford). A drug called 'soma' solves all the mental troubles man could encounter, it induceses forgetfulness. No individuality whatsoever has remained, 'Community, Identity, Stability' has become the slogan of the new world. When the babies are decantated (=born), they are trained in their predestined place in the community. The students become very impressed by the well oiled machine society stands for these days. Their great admiration goes out to Mustapha Mond, one of the ten controllers. He tells them the gruesome story of the once, long ago, so called family, with the father and mother, and that sex was something intimate, not shared as a social obligation with the whole world like nowadays... Few people are not quite happy with the new society, they long for individuality and so on. Bernard is one of those people, Hhe is actually somewhat similar to the pre-Ford man, be it that he was created in a bottle, in which, according to the gossip, by mistake too much alcohol had been put, therefor he showed a slight difference to the other people in his class. He adores Lenina Crowne, a female worker on the same plant, in an old fashioned way, and wanted her for himself, and not shared with various other men. Bernard and Lenina go on a rocket trip to the Savage Reservation in New Mexico, on their holiday. In this region of the new world primitive society and the old fasioned lifestyle were preserved in the interest of science. They meet John, one of the few white men among the indians. John tells them that he is the son of a man called Tomakin, he had visited the Reservation too, accompanied by a girl, many years ago. Tomakin had returned to civilization without the girl. Without birth control she gave birth to a son, John, who grew up among the indians. John taught himself to read and the only learning he had was what he had picked up from reading Shakespeare. Bernard guesses that John was thus the unlawful son of his boss, the director of the Hatcheries, who once had been to New Mexico, a long time ago, and returned without his female companion. Bernard invites John and his abominable mother Linda to come to the civilized world with him, he wonderes what effect that might have upon the savage (and his own personal life). John is eager to see the wonderful world of which he had been told by his mother, and he is interested in Lenina. Bernard faces disgrace, back in London, for the director publicly accused him of unorthodox behaviour, a great crime. Bernard introduces Linda and John as a counteract, and a happy family reunion it is... not! The director has to resign and disappear, this was an embarrassement too great. John has become an attraction, with which Bernard lures popular people to meet him, John is his discovery. The people come eagerly, although they didn't exactly come to meet Bernard, who they still consider a strange 'mistake'. The ideas John had about civilization are shattered by the lack of culture and humanity, all of which Shakespeare had taught him the value. His love for Lenina mostly disappeares when she rudely just offered herself to him, he wanted her for himself, and he wanted to conquer her as a lover (courtly love and stuff...). He had gotten his ideas of love from reading 'Romeo and Julliet' and flees from her in terror when she throws herself onto him. Linda, John's mother, is glad to be back and enjoyes the renewed comforts and luxury to the maxx, sometimes she is gone for days on her 'soma-trips'. Later she takes an overdosis and dies, right in John's presence. In the hospital John is enraged by the lack of humanity, for they show 'their children' the dead, to prepare them for their own death, that it wasn't a bad thing... John shows that day's visitors otherwise. John starts a mutiny among the workers about their weekly amount of soma, but the crowd cools down when becomes clear that they won't get any if they don't stop. He is arrested and led before the great Mustapha Mond, who explaineds to John, in the presence of Bernard and Helmholtz Watson (Bernard's friend and the only one who understood John), on which basis society rests. Stability is the pillar, and all threats (as arts, beauty and religion) have to be abolished. The communal happiness has to carefully be preserved, even science is a threat... John doesn't agree and sais he has the right to grow ugly, old and become ill. Mustapha lets him go. John leaves London, to pick up his old way of life again, outside London in the country. But people come to visit him, to view him and talk about him as a weird specimen. Reporters and sensation seekers don't leave hime alone and keep pestering him. To forget about his beloved Lenina he whips himself with a strong twig, but when she comes to visit him too, he gets so enraged that he whips HER to death. After that he hangs himself... - The End -
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Bread Givers.TXT
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Bread Givers 
Bread Givers shows the life of a Jewish family in modernizing America during
the early 1900's, but it focuses in on a young girl who's father is a Rabbi that does
nothing but teach the Holy Torah all day and does no work to earn money. During
this time period it was hard on almost all Jewish families and this family was seeing
this now, the inability of getting a decent job, and most of all, the need to find a
suitable husband.
 
All of the family works hard except for the father, he is always out preaching the
Torah while his daughters earn the only income the family gets. He was a 'religious
freak' that did nothing else to help his family through their hardships. And the thing
that bothered me, the reader, the most was the fact that the daughters had to do all
the work for the family and their father still had total control over them in just about
every aspect if not all. The biggest part was controlling who they marry to.
 
The first showing of this power was apparant when his oldest daughter, Bessie,
brought home a nice young man that she liked a great deal and vice-versa. But the
young man was not in the upper-class that the father wanted and though that he would
be a burden so he drove his daughter's love away over money.
 
The youngest dauaghter though figured that she would not be controlled by her
father and decided to run away with only a few dollars and start a somewhat new life.
After finding a small room that she could live in, she got a very tough job
considering the pay was so little. But with this little pay she was able to survive and
keep the rent going long enough to get into school. After long, brutal, endless days
and nights of studying she finally got into a college in the suburbs of New York but
she didn't fit in with anyone.
 
After finally getting out of college she got a job at a small elementary school and
made good money especially compared to what he had made in her previous jobs.
But she soon recieved word that her mother was dying and this meant that there
would be no one to take care of her father. But unbeknownced to her, father had
already been looking around the neighborhood and had already found a widow that
would take care of him. But this new wife wanted money and a very good life so the
father had to go and work.
 
Even after all of the hardships placed on the three daughters by their father they
felt the need to support him so they sent money to him and ended his need to work.
This just shows the true love that the daughters had towards their father.
 
I feel that Bread Givers is a very good book. At first I did not want to read it
because it was another U.S. History, "you have to read it," book. But after i read the
First Chapter I couldn't put the book down.
 
It is an excellent book and I feel that it should be required reading for any high
schooler going through U.S. History. It, in very good detail, portrays life of an
immigrant during these early times in our growing American nation. I learned a
great deal of what they had to go through especially after asking my grandmother if
she had to go through any of this when she moved here. Midway through the book I
called her and found that this life was no different for Polish immigrants and that it
was a very hard life indeed, that I am glad I did not have to go through. I also feel
very sorry for anyone that had to go through this because of all the hardships
involved. All of this was inspired by me reading this one book. And I feel that just
about any literate person would enjoy this book immensly.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Breakfast at Tiffanys.TXT
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797
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote is about the thought that friendship can make a person take drastic measures in helping a friend. The setting is New York City. The point of view is first person limited. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, called "Fred" ( the main character ), who is a starting writer. I enjoyed the story because it was very interesting to learn and experience life in old New York. The story starts out, probably in the present time, when "Fred", who had now been living in New York for a great deal of time, goes into his friend Joe Bell's bar for a drink. There he learns the his long time friend, Holly Golightly, is still alive by the use of a photograph from an explorer which shows a wood carving made by a tribesman which bears the uncanny resemblance to Holly. After this encounter, "Fred" begins to reminisce about his past with Holly and all of their wild adventures. "Fred's" first meeting with Holly was through his apartment window. Holly Golightly is a nineteen year-old self-sufficient woman. Some of her personality traits are admirable, affectionate, while cold hearted. She is motivated in life by striving for her purpose in life, which is to be rich and famous while keeping her ego. She believes that love is not sexual. Holly, trying to escape a horrible date, decides to visit her new downstairs neighbor. There she practically tells "Fred" everything about her life. Fred was a name Holly chose for "Fred" because he looked like her brother Fred, but since the point of view is first person, the narrator refers to himself throughout the story as "I", but Holly generally refers to him as "Fred". In "Fred's" apartment, Holly tells "Fred" about her involvement with a imprisoned drug runner name Sally Tomato, a stock mobster character who pays Holly to visit him. "Fred" learns more about Holly's friends when he attends a party hosted by Holly. There he meets Rusty Trawler, Holly's current boyfriend, Mag Wildwood, a cunning southern bell from Arkansas who would eventually steal away Holly's boyfriend. "Fred" realizes that Holly's friends are not the usual type of people that attend parties. Which is described when Mag first enters the party and says in her southern accent, " You b-b-boys not vexed at me for butting in on your p-p-party." Mag says this even though everybody knows she was attending. The tone of the story is funny and sarcastic. The action then abruptly changes when Holly, Mag, Rusty, and Mag's boyfriend, Jose` Ybarra-Jaegar, an eccentric Brazilian politician, went on a trip to Brazil. There Mag steals Holly's boyfriend, Rusty, and Holly does the same with Mag's boyfriend, Jose`. When they get back, Holly is detected by her former husband. "Fred" then learns that Holly's real name was Lulamae Barnes before she was married as a child bride to a southerner named Doc Golightly. Also, over this period of time, Holly's involvement with Mag's ex-boyfriend drives Mag away. This is a very rough time for Holly. In order to ease the pain and pass the time, Holly spend more and more time with "Fred" drinking in Joe Bell's bar. Joe Bell is a shy bar owner who conceals his feeling about the rambunctious Holly. Even though he is in love with her, Joe keeps his feelings hidden. Everything is fine till one day after horse-back riding. After "Fred" has a sever accident, involving a horse and an abrupt trip downtown, Holly is suddenly arrested for being involved in a drug triangle with Sally Tomato. Apparently, Sally was using Holly to relay information from him to his drug empire outside the prison walls. At this same moment "Fred" finds out that Jose` is leaving Holly and he has to tell her the news. The theme is reinforced in these chapters by the way the narrator goes out of his way to do things for his friend, Holly. They go horse back riding, even though "Fred" is uneasy about riding. They also decide to steal masks from a costume store. After all of these horrible things happen to Holly, she decides to break out of jail and move to Brazil. Even though "Fred" knows she is probably never coming back, he still has hope for Holly's return. And he shares that hope with Joe Bell at his bar. "Fred" knows that he would have done anything to keep his and Holly's relationship strong. Which is the theme of the story: friendship can make a person take drastic measures in helping a friend. Holly Golightly was just a lost romantic. A surreal person living in a real word. Dealing with real people and problems in an unorthodox way. So, if you're ever in Brazil and you happen to see Holly, tell her that "Fred" is doing fine.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Breath eyes and memory.TXT
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Breath, Eyes, Memory Class Discussion Question 
 
Thinking about our class discussions on Breath eyes memory I noticed that we covered a lot on the culture portrayed in the book and the injustices done. But I think that we neglected to look at certain parallels between our culture and the way that I think that it affects our lives to read and discuss a book of this nature. I think a good discussion question for our class would have to do something about how you directly compare the book to your own life or to the lives of the people around you that you know and talk to every day. I think that it would be important to go over all the dimensions in which this book is a direct parallel to our own lives. It would also be important to expand on the discussion and maybe go into how the culture has changed (or not changed) since it has moved to our country. In other words do these things in fact still take place and if so to what extent and in what way? We might look at the effect it has on the individual living in a country with people who were raised differently and trying to decide for themselves how they will raise there own children and how they will in fact shape their own morals. I know that many people in our class have ethnic backgrounds and probably have some sort of opinion or experience for this topic of discussion. I would probably start the discussion by telling them about the parallels that I found in the way that my own families traditions and morals were maintained. (Kind of like the other memo I wrote about my own family) I would talk about how it became an issue of almost family pride and structure and to break the rules would almost be like to break apart the family and loose the respect of it. To use specific examples from the book I would use the example of how all the girls didn't argue with being tested and didn't complain about it either they just went along with it because it was "common family practice". I think it would also be important to show how it was passed down through the generations, and even though Sophies mom may have not liked what she was doing she almost was brain washed with it's importance.
Thinking about the assignment at hand I thought that maybe you wanted to get a little bit more specific and look at the book and it's characters in specific chapters and leave our own lives out of the picture. In this case I thought a worth while topic of discussion would be to focus on the hard ships of the main character when she was taken from her home as a child. We could discuss the separation anxiety that she went through at breakfast as she was forced to leave the only mother that she ever knew in order to return her to a person that was a stranger to her. We could even use this book and topic to discuss something as basic as what makes someone your mother, and this could be a topic for the subject of adoption. (I thought there was someone in our class who was, I'm not sure though).
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Candide by Voltaire 2.TXT
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988
My book report is on Candide by Voltaire and consists of 326 pages. Voltaire's Candide is the story of an innocent man's experiences in a mad and evil world, and his struggle to achieve happiness without having to work and taking the easy way out of all situations. Everyone has to work and eventually they will achieve happiness and joy but in Candide's case, after a long and difficult struggle in which Candide is forced to overcome misfortune to find happiness, he concludes that all is not that easy and that he must work in order to find even a small amount of pleasure in life. Candide grows up in the Castle of Westphalia and is taught by the learned philosopher, Dr. Pangloss. Candide is abruptly exiled from the castle when found kissing the Baron's daughter, Cunegonde. Devastated by the separation from Cunegonde, his true love, Candide sets out to different places in the hope of finding her and achieving total happiness. On his journey, he faces a number of misfortunes, among them being tortured during army training, yet he continues to believe that there is a "cause and effect" for everything. Candide is reunited with Cunegonde, and regains a life of prosperity, but soon all is taken away, including his beloved Cunegonde. He travels on, and years later he finds her again, but she is now fat and ugly. His wealth is all gone and so is his love for the Baron's daughter. Throughout Candide, we see how accepting situations and not trying to change or overcome obstacles can be damaging. Life is full of struggles, but it would be nonproductive if people passively accepted whatever fate had in store for them, shrugging off their personal responsibility. Voltaire believes that people should not allow themselves to be victims. He sneers at naive, accepting types, informing us that people must work to reach their utopia (Bottiglia 93). In Candide, reality and "the real world" are portrayed as being disappointing. Within the Baron's castle, Candide is able to lead a Utopian life. After his banishment, though, he recognizes the evil of the world, seeing man's sufferings. The only thing that keeps Candide alive is his hope that things will get better. Even though the world is filled with disaster, Candide has an optimistic attitude that he adopted from Dr. Pangloss' teachings. In spite of his many trials, Candide believes that all is well and everything is for the best. Only once, in frustration, does he admit that he sometimes feels that optimism is "the mania of maintaining that all is well when we are miserable" (Voltaire 41). Candide's enthusiastic view of life is contrasted with, and challenged by the suffering which he endures throughout the book. Voltaire wrote this book in a mocking and satirical manner in order to express his opinion that passive optimism is foolish (Richter 134). Candide eventually learns how to achieve happiness in the face of misadventure. He learns that in order to attain a state of contentment, one must be part of society where there is collective effort and work. Labor, Candide learns, eliminates the three curses of mankind: want, boredom, and vice. In order to create such a society, man must do the following: love his fellow man, be just, be vigilant, know how to make the best of a bad situation and keep from theorizing. Martin expresses this last requirement for such a society succinctly when he says, "Let's work without speculating; it's the only way of rendering life bearable" (Voltaire 77). One of the last people that Candide meets in his travels is an old, poor Turkish farmer who teaches Candide a lesson which allows him to come to terms with the world and to settle down happily. The revelation occurs when Candide and his friends hear of the killing of two intimate advisors of the sultan, and they ask the Turkish farmer if he could give them more details about the situation. Upon learning that this man did not own "an enormous and splendid property" (Voltaire 76), but rather a mere twenty acres that he cultivates with his children, Candide is startled. He sees that the man is happy with his life, and at that point Candide decides to build his own life around the principal of being productive. He decides that all he needs to be happy is a garden to cultivate so that he, too, can keep from the three great evils. Candide's garden symbolizes his surrender to the world and his acceptance of it. He eventually realizes that his former ambitions of finding and achieving a perfect state of happiness were fulfilled, though his successes were not as great as he had wished. Instead, he has found happiness in a simple way of life. He also learns that everything in life is not evil, which he perceived to be the case while undergoing misfortunes. He also concludes that Dr. Pangloss was right all along, "everything is for the best." Throughout the entire book, we observe Candide searching for happiness, sustained by his dream of achieving that happiness. He believes, in his optimistic way, that he will find Cunegonde, his true love, and Dr. Pangloss, his mentor, and all will be well. When Candide is reunited with both he realizes that he was right not to lose hope. In essence, it was Candide's optimism that keeps him from a state of total dejection, maintaining his sanity during troubled times. Candide eventually achieves happiness with his friends in their simple, yet full, lives. The book's ending affirms Voltaire's moral that one must work to attain satisfaction. Work helps Candide overcome his tragedies and enables him to live peacefully and in contentment. The message of Candide is: "Don't rationalize, but work; Don't utopianize, but improve. We must cultivate our own garden, for no one is going to do it for us" (Richter 161).
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Candide by Voltaire.TXT
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Candide, by Voltaire 
Voltaire's Candide is a novel which contains conceptual ideas and at the
same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers sad themes disguised by
jokes and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook
on life. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas
as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality as viewed by
the rest of the world.
The main theme which is presented throughout the novel is optimism.
Out of every unfortunate situation in the story, Candide, the main
character, has been advised by his philosopher-teacher that everything
in the world happens for the better, because "Private misfortunes
contribute to the general good, so that the more private misfortunes
there are, the more we find that all is well" (Voltaire, p. 31).
Pangloss, the philosopher, tries to defend his theories by determining
the positive from the negative situations and by showing that
misfortunes bring some privileges. As Candide grows up, whenever
something unfortunate happens, Pangloss would turn the situation around,
bringing out the good in it. Candide learns that optimism is "The
passion for maintaining that all is right when all goes wrong "
(Voltaire, p.86).
According to Rene Pomeau, "Voltaire-Candide...have made him [Candide]
acquainted with the bad and the good side of human existence. The moral
of Candide is born out of its style; it is the art of extracting
happiness from the desolate hopping-about of the human insect" (Adams;
Pomeau p.137). Pomeau explains that Candide shows both sides of
humanity; how both great and terrible events are standard in a human
life. Also according to Pomeau, the whole point of the story is to
debate between good and bad; for example, as Candide becomes more
independent, he starts to doubt that only good comes out of life.
Pangloss is a very hopeful character in the story because he refuses to
accept bad. He is also somewhat naive and believes that he could make
the world a better place by spreading his theories on optimism. When
Candide had met up with Pangloss after a long period of time, Pangloss
said that he was almost hanged, then dissected, then beaten. Candide
asked the philosopher if he still thought that everything was for the
better, and Pangloss replied that he still held his original views. No
matter how little Pangloss believed in the fact that somehow everything
would turn out well, he still maintained his original views. Voltaire
exaggerates his point on optimism; there is nobody in reality who is
positive about everything all the time, especially about something so
horrible. One could conclude that Pangloss is an irrational and inane
figure, and Voltaire tries to expose how incomprehensible his beliefs
are which do not measure up to reality.
According to Linguet, "Candide offers us the saddest of themes
disguised under the merriest of jokes" (Adams; Wade p. 144). It seems
as if Candide was written as a comedy; not because of humor, but because
every time something bad occurs, a quick turn of events happens which
bring everything back to normal. One moment Candide murders the brother
of the woman he loves, the next moment he travels to a land where he
sees women mating with monkeys. In instances like these, it doesn't
seem like Voltaire is serious about tragic events.
During the course of Candide's journey, an earthquake strikes,
murdering thirty thousand men, women, and children. In reality, this is
a horrible predicament to be involved with. In Pangloss' world, " It is
impossible for things not to be where they are, because everything is
for the best" (Voltaire, p. 35), meaning that the earthquake was
necessary in the course of nature, and so there was definitely a
rationale for the situation.
To show contrast in the story, Voltaire introduces a character whose
beliefs are completely opposite than the beliefs of Pangloss. This
character is Martin, a friend and advisor of Candide who he meets on his
journey. Martin is also a scholar, and a spokesman for pessimism.
Martin continuously tries to prove to Candide that there is little
virtue, morality, and happiness in the world. When a cheerful couple
are seen walking and singing, Candide tells Martin "At least you must
admit that these people are happy. Until now, I have not found in the
whole inhabited earth...anything but miserable people. But this girl
and this monk, I'd be willing to bet, are very happy creatures"
(Voltaire, p. 58). "I'll bet they aren't" (Voltaire p. 58), replies
Martin, and he bets Candide that the couple are, in fact, depressed,
and are disguising their unhappiness. Upon talking to the couple,
Martin, ironically, proved correct, strengthening his pessimistic
views. Martin claims to be a pessimist because he "knows what life is "
(Voltaire, p. 117) which is why Martin concludes that man was born to
suffer.
Candide becomes affected by optimism in different ways throughout his
life. The name Candide comes from the Latin word candidus, which means
white, and symbolizes innocence. Perhaps Candide very readily believed
in optimism at first because of his innocence. Candide grew up as a
naive and vulnerable child in his own Eden and was only exposed to the
brighter side of life and the idea that everything in the world happens
for the better. He did not know what to expect in the real world and
why things happened. As Candide progressed in life, though, his eyes
opened and he became exposed to bad without goodness coming out of it,
like when the people he cared for were harmed. Candide became more
independent and learned to form his own opinions. He would look at the
world and say exactly what he saw, and in every situation where Pangloss
is absent, Candide would refer to Pangloss' spirit: "What would Pangloss
think?" Over time Candide realized that "Pangloss cruelly deceived
[him] when he told [him] that all is for the best in this world "
(Voltaire p.43).
For a long time throughout Candide's life, he believed strongly in
optimism, not because he was forced to, but because he was raised in
that manner. It is possible, however, that all along, deep down inside,
Candide doubted the philosophies of his teacher because of his exposure
to immorality in the real world. For example, Candide witnessed the
public hanging of two Portuguese Jews simply because they refused to eat
bacon for dinner. It was occurrences like these which demonstrated the
inhumanity that one person can do to another, leading Candide to
disbelieve Pangloss' philosophies.
Voltaire himself does not necessarily agree with the views of the
philosopher Pangloss, that optimism is always the best way of looking
at life. Many people in the story who were presumed to be dead were
found to be alive and well. Cunegonde, the object of Candide's
affections, was thought dead by Candide but she had really been raped
and sold into slavery. Pangloss was also presumed dead but he
reappeared in Candide's life. Although it is good that these people did
not die, this is not an example of good coming from bad, since bad
(their deaths) never even happened in the first place. This does not at
all prove Pangloss' ideas.
It is debatable whether Candide is a novel whose purpose is to teach a
moral and be analyzed, or if it was written for entertainment purposes
only. According to I.O. Wade, in the Journal Encyclopedique, the story
was written for entertainment purposes and the author should have dealt
more with important matters such as religion instead of focusing on
story line. Most of the story is about the journeys of Candide, and
Voltaire did not include significant morals upon writing the novel. In
Grimm's review, it is also thought that Candide was not meant to be a
high quality piece of work, but rather as something enjoyable. It is
written in bad taste, yet filled with gaiety, and the amusing parts make
it entertaining.
According to Georges Ascoli, "Nothing could be more lively, more witty,
or more instructive than this story...Too often Voltaire, delighted with
his own artistic flair...gives us amusing stories...Let us take them for
what they are, not giving too much historical credit...but tasting
freely of the delights of well told stories" (Adams; Ascoli p.129).
Ascoli takes Candide to be a witty and lively story despite the
misfortune in the characters' lives. He, too, thinks the story was
written for entertainment in which Voltaire did a good job. The readers
should accept the story for its zest, and not try to find a deep hidden
meaning.
Candide's learnings and the events that happened to him affected his
character in many ways. He had learned to become his own person, to
accept life for what it had to offer, and that not everything had to be
analyzed to decide whether it was good or bad. In this way Candide can
be an example for all those who read his story.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Canterbury Tales.TXT
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711
In the book Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, gives us a stunning tale about a rooster named Chaunticleer. Chaunticleer, who is the King of his domain in his farmland kingdom. Like a King, he quotes passages from intellectuals, dreams vivid dreams, has a libido that runs like a bat out of hell, and is described as a very elegant looking Rooster. He has every characteristic of a person belonging to the upper class. Chaucer's hidden meanings and ideas make us think that the story is about roosters and farm animals, but in reality he is making the Aristocracy of his time period the subject of his mockery by making the reader realize how clueless the Aristocracy can be to the way things are in the real World. Chaucer describes Chaunticleer in many different ways. One of them is his language. Chaunticleer's language is that of a scholar. He quotes many different scriptures in a conversation with Pertelote, such as, Saint Kenelm, Daniel and Joseph (from the bible), and Croesus. From each author he tells a story about an individual who had a vision in a dream and the dream came true. He may have been making all the stories up in order to win the argument with Pertelote, but, this seems unlikely because he does not take heed to his own advice and stay away from the fox that encounters him later. He is educated enough to know these supposed quotations but not intelligent enough to understand the real meaning of them. It is if he simply brings because they help him win the argument with his spouse and not because he actually believes what they say. Chaucer is using the idea that the Aristocracy has schooling throughout their childhood, but it is only done to have seemingly important but empty conversations. His physical appearance is also described with such beautiful passion that it makes us think Chaunticleer is heaven on earth. "His comb was redder than fine coral, and crenellated like a castle wall; his bill was black and shone like jet; his legs and toes were like azure; his nails whiter than lily; and his color like the burnished gold." Chaucer describes Chaunticleer as the quintessential Cock, so perfect that his description is no longer believable when we realize he is describing a Rooster. Chaucer is setting up Chaunticleer to be as regal and grandiose as a King. Even though he looks like a million dollars he is still very shallow inside. He lies to his spouse just to keep her happy and his every thought is of fornication. Like the Aristocracy he takes many pleasures of the flesh with no real commitment to his duty as a rooster. Chaunticleer's character appears to be that of a shallow used car salesman. He lies to his spouse about his opinion of women just so he can ride her later in the morning. "Mulier est hominis confusio; Madame, the meaning of this Latin is, 'Woman is man's joy and all his bliss.'" The real meaning is " Woman is man's ruin". He tells her a lie to ensure he gets what he wants from her later. He seems like the type of person who would say anything to get what they want no matter the truth or whom it hurts. He also falls victim to his own hubris, something that is not uncommon to most rich arrogant people. Chaucer's creation of Chaunticleer is done solely to imitate and mock the upper class. Chaunticleer is educated, like people in the upper class; looks good, as people with money can afford to do; and revolves around the pleasures of the flesh like a pre-pubescent child. Had he not been "riding" Pertelote all morning he might have seen the fox coming and been able to avoid becoming captured. His attitude was that of the upper class, that he is too good to worry about life's little trivial matters and that he loves to have pleasure. The fox is able to dupe him simply by flattering his voice. "... the reason I came was only to hear how you sing.". He is so consumed with living in his own grandiose twisted reality, where nothing bad happens, that he does not realize that a fox is about to gobble him up! He does have an epiphany at the end, however, "No more through your flattery get me to close my eyes and sing. For he who knowingly blinks when he should see, God let him never thrive." Chaucer uses the character Chaunticleer to poke fun at the Aristocracy and all their tendencies towards living life in the name of "consummate pleasure seekers," and not in the name of "reality driven people".
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Captain Swing.TXT
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897
Hobsbawm, E. J. and Rude, George (1975) Captain Swing. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 384 pp. Captain Swing is an enjoyable collaboration between E. J. Hobsbawm and George Rude that depicts the social history of the English agricultural wage-laborers' uprising of 1830. According to Hobsbawm and Rude, historiography of the laborers' rising of 1830 is negligible. Most of what is known by the general public comes from J. L. And Barbara Hammond's The Village Laborer published in 1911. They consider this an exceedingly valuable work, but state that the Hammonds oversimplified events in order to dramatize them. They placed too much emphasis on enclosure, oversimplified both the nature and prevalence of the "Speenhamland System" of poor relief, and neglected the range and scope of the uprising. Hobsbawm and Rude do not claim to present any new data, and believe that the Hammonds will still be read for enjoyment, but believe that by asking different questions, they can shed new light on the social history of the movement. Therefore, this book tries to "describe and analyze the most impressive episode in the English farm-labourers' long and doomed struggle against poverty and degradation." In the nineteenth century, England had no peasantry to speak of in the sense that other nations did. Where families who owned or occupied their own small plot of land and cultivated it themselves, apart from work on their lord's farms, farmed most of Europe, England's "peasants" were agricultural wage-laborers. As such, both tithes and taxes hit them hard. Lords and farmers were also against tithes and taxes and tolerated or even welcomed some outcry against them. Most county leaders in 1830 agreed with the laborers, but the government in London did not. Further, enclosure eliminated the common lands whose use had helped the very poor to live. As a result, the relationship between farmers and laborers changed to a "purely market relationship between employer and proletarian." At the same time, work once done by annual servants was given over to wage labor. Farmers were driven by income rather than social concerns and it was cheaper to pay a small wage for all positions and let laborers pay their own living out of it than to provide them room and board, however minimal. The laborers were not revolutionary, however. They did not wish to overturn the traditional social order. They merely demanded the restoration of their meager rights within it. Unfortunately, they only had five forms of protest or self-defense available to them. They occasionally protested against wage cuts or demanded higher wages, grasped ever tighter to parish poor relief, resorted to crimes such as stealing food or poaching game, performed acts of terrorism such as incendiarism, and destroyed the machines which created or intensified unemployment. Threshing machines took away the standard winter labor, creating high unemployment at the worst time of year and generating an almost universal hatred of them among laborers. Of these, the most ambitious was the destruction of threshing machines, but poaching was most indicative of increasing social tensions in the villages. Theoretically, political devices such as petitions and delegations were available tools as well, but agricultural wage-laborers had neither political rights nor the experience to put them to use. Local correspondents almost universally attributed the riots of 1830 to unemployment and harsh treatment of laborers. The winter of 1829 had been particularly hard. The unemployed, tired and hungry, knew that they would not likely survive another winter as hard. Aware of the French revolution and Britain's own upcoming elections, which offered the promise of a Whig overthrow of the Tories, English laborers rebelled against the cause of their hunger. Laborers destroyed their first threshing machine on the night of August 28, 1830. This became the characteristic feature of their uprising of 1830, although it was only one of many. Other forms of revolt included arson, threatening letters (signed by "Captain Swing"), inflammatory handbills and posters, robbery, wages meetings, and assaults on overseers, parsons, and landlords. Spreading from county to county, the universal demand was for a living wage and an end to rural unemployment. In spite of the severe living conditions suffered by the laborers and their informal support from many of those against whom they rebelled, the rioters were punished severely. Of 1,976 prisoners, 252 were sentenced to death and nineteen were actually executed. 505 were sentenced to transportation to penal colonies and 644 were imprisoned. Less than half (800) were acquitted or bound over. The defeat of the 1830 rising did not end the laborers' efforts, however. While some might claim that the failure of the revolt plunged the laboring class into dumb acquiescence, Hobsbawm and Rude argue that it woke the farmers and nobility to the inner strength of their hitherto silent workers. Hobsbawm and Rude, in this collaborative effort, made use of an enormous amount of primary and secondary source material yet managed to produce an eminently readable work which looks at the rebellion from a social, rather than purely economic, point of view. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who desires and in-depth description of the social causes of a rebellion by men who many believed did not have it in them to rebel.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Catch 22.TXT
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612
Catch-What?? Catch-22 is one of the most poorly constructed, and distasteful books I've ever read. It's order of events, or lack of order, becomes clear after the very first chapter. In fact "It doesn't even seem to have been written; instead it gives the impression of having been shouted onto paper" (Stern 50). By the middle of the book it seems every character in the book has lost any sense of morality they may have seemed to have. The novel "gasps for want of craft and sensibility" (Stern 50). It seems to me that the only way to keep track of the order of events throughout the book is to pay attention to how many missions Colonel Cathcart has assigned. Immediately, even after the first chapter, chronological order is not followed. According to "The Structure of Joseph Heller's Catch-22" by Jan Solomon the order of events seemed to follow two different time lines. The first, of course, was that of Yossarian. Yossarian's time line follows his "psychological perception of events" (Potts 20). The other time line that appears in the book, according to Solomon, is that of Milo Minderbinder. Even this interpretation of the book having an order of events has a couple flaws in it. The biggest is that Milo and Yossarian are mentioned together in the book before they are introduced later in the book. The most apparent event that came to mind, was that they appeared together at Snowden's funeral in the tree before they were introduced later in the book, which is actually earlier in time. The book shows how personal morals are destroyed when faced with the thought of not being there the next day. "Many early reviewers... complained that the novel had no moral center" (Potts 67). The women in the book take the hardest hit. The names Heller gives to the women, if he gives them a name at all, clearly states how they are portrayed, such as; Nately's Whore, Nurse Duckett, and Dori Duz. Although Scheisskopf's wife and Luciana don't have suggestive names, they are portrayed like the other women as well. An example of how offensive the women were in the book would be when Scheisskopf's wife and Dori Duz slept with all the men stationed in the United States under Lieutenant Scheisskopf. The men in the book, however, are just as bad as the women. Colonel Cathcart shows how he is driven with greed and selfish-ambition. He lives in the hills to start rumors of orgies, in order to help get himself promoted to general. However, he was doing nothing of the sort and "the colonel was certainly not going to waste his time and energy making love to beautiful women unless there was something in it for him" (Heller 208). This clearly shows how Heller makes high ranking military personnel the most corrupt of all characters in the book. Colonel Cathcart also raised missions and has the chaplain lead prayers before missions for the sole purpose of getting recognition from commanding officers in hopes of becoming a general. Catch-22 is written with poor structure, in very poor taste, and has no moral value towards women, military officials, or conduct of war. It suggests all virtue and order of conduct is lost in war. The book seemed to be a free-for-all of selfishness and greed. Bibliography Heller, Catch-22 208 Potts, Antiheroic Antinovel 67,20 Solomon, "Structure of Heller's Catch-22" 123 Stern, New York Times Book Review, 22 October 1961, 50. Whitney Balliet, New Yorker, 9 December 1961, 247
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Catcher in the Ry1.TXT
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Catcher in the Rye 
J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, should long be remembered as
an American classic. Although some may not consider it one of the most
eloquently written stories of its time, it certainly captures the reader's
attention. Salinger is able to incorporate philosophical views throughout the
story in terms of Holden's ethical code; at the same time, he keeps the reader
entranced with radical turns of events and Holden's character.
As far as ethics is concerned, Holden has his fair share of bad moral
judgments. He demonstrates a very negative principle when he decides, "...
I'd get the hell out of Pency-right that same night and all. I mean not wait till
Wednesday or anything. I just didn't want to hang around any more" (51).
In this simple action, Holden gives himself away as a man of little reasoning.
He shows that he has no desire to have his life run by authority, so he packs
up his belongings and leaves at will. A second show of disagreeable morals
is presented in the form of Holden's drinking habit, "I ordered a Scotch and
soda, which is my favorite drink, next to frozen Daiquiris" (85). Drinking in
itself does not constitute moral corruption, yet drinking at Holden's young
age, does. Holden turns to liquor as a scapegoat, and has failed to see the
error in his ways. Although the prior two offenses are large, perhaps the most
obvious flaw in character for Holden was his intention to entertain a
prostitute, "I kept hoping she'd be good-looking. I didn't care too much,
though. I sort of wanted to get it over with" (93). Whereas drinking is
considered deviant only because of Holden's young age, the purchase of a
prostitute at any age cannot be condoned. For whatever reason, Holden did
not use sound judgment in deciding to engage in the company of a harlot.
Obviously, Holden needs some ethical guidance, but perhaps not all is lost
with him.
Throughout the novel, Holden finds a way to redeem his own
understanding of right and wrong. Though his intentions might have leaned
toward corruption, his final decision reveals a basis for good principles; "I'll
pay you and all, but do you mind very much if we don't do it" (96)? By
rebuking Sunny, the call girl, Holden shows that he can distinguish right from
wrong. He was able to fall back on his ideals and make a sound judgment.
Once again Holden presents virtuous ethics when he encounters two nuns, "
'I thought if you were taking up a collection, I could make a small
contribution' " (109). Seemingly out of nowhere Holden shows a sign of
good heart. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Holden dishes out ten
dollars and another act of moral good. Though throughout the story, he
seemed to have been well on his way out of New York, Holden makes a very
rational decision in saying " 'I'm not going away anywhere. I changed my
mind' " (207). Holden could ultimately be counted on to make the right
choice. Discerning right from wrong must have taken a great deal out of him,
but Holden was able to do it. Salinger brought together all forms of reasoning
ethical thought to create a philosophical view for the reader to dwell into.
Another way Salinger grabbed the readers attention's was by keeping
them absorbed in the plot, as well as, Holden's character. An example of
Holden's crazy actions that was demonstrated well was his attempt to hit
Stradlater, "All I know is I got up form the bed, ... and then I tried to sock
him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his
goddam throat open" (43). Although it may seem cynical, this type of action
keeps readers entertained and interested in the story. Knowing how crazy
Holden can become urges readers to want to follow his progress. Another
character trait that attracts the reader is Holden's capability to lie, "Then I
really started chucking the old crap around" (56). Salinger's attempt to add
humor to the plot with Holden's frequent lying worked to perfection. Holden
contributes so much more to the story outline by intertwining lie after lie. To
compliment Holden's character, are the radical twists and turns or the novel
itself, " 'Here's my idea... we could drive up to Massachusetts and
Vermont...' " (132). If only Holden acted out half of what he thought up, the
story would be an adventure series. The twists that the story takes because of
Holden's ideas capture the reader, and subdues them into submission of their
mind to the author. Without Holden as the main character, or Salinger as the
author, the story would not be the success it is.
To say that Salinger was successful in writing a story would be
disrespecting him. Only by acknowledging how he was able to bring together
both philosophical views as well as entertain can justice truly be done.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Catcher in the Rye Essay.TXT
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Catcher in the Rye Essay 
It is often hard for a person to comprehend another person's point of view. Too often a bias prevents this person from really listening and understanding the argument another person is trying to make. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a classic and infamous novel. This novel's infamy is due, in large part, to its protagonist's use of slang and profanity throughout the book. The slang and the profanity are not without reason though. To better understand Holden, as a person, the reader to know him in a more personal way. Holden must use the slang and the rather foul language that he does for the novel to succeed as a powerful and truthful testimonial to all of the phoniness in the world.
The only true personal glimpse that the reader has of Holden is when he uses slang and cursing. Readers sense that he is laid back with his casual, sarcastic "very big deal" (3), and passionate about his emotions "I wouldn't visit that sunuvabitch Morrow for all the dough in the world, even if I was desperate" (58). The readers, although they may object to Holden's use of slang, such as corny, phony, and dopey, tend to relate better when they have a narrator and a protaginst that can speak to everyone as though he is a real person, and not just a character in a book.
Holden has such strong emotions that it would not be appropriate for him to try and shove them all into simple phrases. Holden needs to yell his ideas out with the feeling that he has, so that he can show all the readers know how he feels inside. To Holden, goddamn is not just profanity; it represents all of the frustration and anger that he is feeling for the world today. "Guys that talk about how many miles to the gallon they get in their goddamn cars, the same guys that get sore and childish as hell if you beat them at golf" (122). Swell, to Holden, is the pinaccle of his compliments; as when he says, "The kid was swell, he was walking in the street, instead of the sidewalk, but right next to the curb" (115). This little boy is a rebel, just like Holden, and Holden admires him. The whole novel is based on what Holden thinks about the world. His damns, goddamns, and craps allow readers to be brought into a world of different thoughts. This time the opinion will be carefully thought about and not dismissed.
As a novel, The Catcher in the Rye is supposed to stir up people and make them think. It would hardly be right to leave the reader not shaken up and wondering a bit about his position as a phony. "I can just see the big phony bastard telling us what a swell guy he was, what a hot shot he was and all" (17). Holden Caulfield is here to tell everyone that he can be himself, and it is not necessary for anyone to conform to the phony world today. "I didn't care, I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, I was damn near bawling, no one else was that happy" (213). He does not care that no other guy in the world would show such emotion, he is happy, and there is no way he is going to hide it. And if he needs to become a bit inappropriate, although for the novel, it is very appropriate, then so be it. The boy has a point and every reader should hear it.
Writing is supposed to evoke the deepest, most hidden emotions from its readers. Without the sense of Holden's real struggles and real, not phony, antidote on life, the novel would fail miserably. Holden grabs the reader's attention with his way of talking and his attitude of life. The reader becomes so engrossed with Holden and his comments on people, and the world in general, that it is hard for one not to see exactly what Holden is trying to say.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Catcher in the Rye.TXT
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947
The book Catcher in the Rye tells of Holden Caulfield's insight about life and the world around him. Holden shares many of his opinions about people and leads the reader on a 5 day visit into his mind. Holden, throughout the book, made other people feel inferior to his own. I can relate to this because although I do not view people inferior to myself, I do judge others unequally. Holden and I both have similar judgements of people from the way they act and behave. We also share feelings about motivation as well as lack of it. After reading this book, I came to the conclusion that Holden and I are much more similar than I initially believed. Holden portrayed others to be inferior to his own kind all throughout the book. He made several references as to how people aren't as perfect as he was. "The reason he [Stradlater] fixed himself up to look good was because he was madly in love with himself." (pg. 27) Holden had an inferiority complex. He was afraid of not having any special talents or abilities and used other methods to make him out to be a rough tough boy. "Boy, I sat at that goddam bar till around one o'clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard. I could hardly see straight." (pg. 150) Holden tried all he could to fit in. He drank, cursed and criticized life in general to make it seem he was very knowing of these habits. I myself have found me doing this at times, also. I, at times, feel the need to fit in to a group and do things similar to what others do in order to gain acceptance by them. I smoked a cigar once with two friends of mine because they kept going on and on about how great cigars were, but that was only once. Holden and I both place people on levels other than our own for amount of knowledge and likeness to ourselves. Holden used the term 'phonies' to describe more than a few people in this book. He used the term to be what a person is if they don't act naturally and follow other people's manners and grace. Holden didn't like phonies, he thought of them as if they were trying to show off. He didn't like it when they showed off because it seemed so fake and unnatural every time they would do so. "At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette. What a deal that was. You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear how sharp they were." (pg. 126) I know many people like this as well. I do not like phonies either. I have many friends who talk using full vocabulary just to try to impress you, and others who make note of everything they see to show you how perceptible they are. People do this when they have a fear of their own individuality and feel that they need to ace different to get people to like them. Holden and I both dislike phonies. We do not like people who take on roles of others to seem more likeable because they are insecure. Throughout the book Holden displays a lack of motivation for many things in which he should do. Holden couldn't even call up an old girlfriend whom he knew a long time ago. "But when I got inside this phone booth, I wasn't much in the mood any more to give old Jane a buzz." (Pg. 150) Holden also had a problem getting his motivation together in order to complete schoolwork and succeed in his prep school. I have similar problems with my motivation and find at times I must be in the mood to do something in order for me to accomplish it. This stems from our experience in the past being that we can get through life, or the part we've been through already, with minimal effort. Holden has had this opportunity to notice this as his parents have been shuffling him around to different schools every time he flunks. He feels his parents will be there to move him somewhere else and take care of him every time something goes wrong. I found out in eighth grade that the schoolwork I had was far less than the schoolwork I did and I began to slack off, this caused me to believe that I could get away with minimal true effort in my schoolwork and it has also followed me into other courses of my daily routine. I find my forgetting to do things and having my parents doing them for me. I find I am basically pampered to my every will and need at home. This is a bad habit though and I am trying to get out of this lifestyle because I realize I won't always have someone to fall back on. Holden and I both have similar motivational problems stemming from our childhood. Holden Caulfield and I are very similar in many ways. We tend to judge different people similar ways. We both dislike people who act phony because of insecurity. We also both lack motivation because of previous childhood experiences which have shaped our lives. Holden Caulfield and I have began our great journey through life with similar ideas to each other.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Cervantes Don Quixote.TXT
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1005
Cervantes' greatest work, Don Quixote, is a unique book of multiple dimensions. From the moment of its appearance it has amused readers or caused them to think, and its influence has extended in literature not only to works of secondary value but also to those which have universal importance. Don Quixote is a country gentleman, an enthusiastic visionary crazed by his reading of romances of chivalry, who rides forth to defend the oppressed and to right wrongs; so vividly was he presented by Cervantes that many languages have borrowed the name of the hero as the common term to designate a person inspired by lofty and impractical ideals. The theme of the book, in brief, concerns Hidalgo Alonso Quijano, who, because of his reading in books about chivalry, comes to believe that everything they say is true and decides to become a knight-errant himself. He assumes the name of Don Quixote de la Mancha and, accompanied by a peasant, Sancho Panza, who serves him as a squire, sets forth in search of adventures. Don Quixote interprets all that he encounters in accordance with his readings and thus imagines himself to be living in a world quite different from the one familiar to the ordinary men he meets. Windmills are thus transformed into giants, and this illusion, together with many others, is the basis for the beatings and misadventures suffered by the intrepid hero. After the knight's second sally in search of adventure, friends and neighbors in his village decide to force him to forget his wild fancy and to reintegrate himself into his former life. The "knight" insists upon following his calling, but at the end of the first part of the book they make him return to his home by means of a sly stratagem. In the second part the hidalgo leaves for the third time and alternately gives indication of folly and of wisdom in a dazzling array of artistic inventions. But now even his enemies force him to abandon his endeavors. Don Quixote finally recognizes that romances of chivalry are mere lying inventions, but upon recovering the clarity of his mind, he loses his life. The idea that Don Quixote is a symbol of the noblest generosity, dedicated to the purpose of doing good disinterestedly, suggests the moral common denominator to be found in Cervantes' creation. But in addition to furnishing a moral type capable of being recognized and accepted as a symbol of values in any time or place, Don Quixote is a work of art with as many aspects and reflections as it has readers to seek them. Considerations of general morality thus become intermingled with the psychological and aesthetic experience of each individual reader in a way that vastly stimulated the development of the literary genre later known as the novel, and Fielding, Dickens, Flaubert, Stendhal, Dostoyevsky, and many others have thus been inspired by Cervantes. In Madame Bovary, is Gustave Flaubert, for example, the heroine changes the orientation of her life because she, like Don Quixote, has read her romances of chivalry, the romantic novels of the nineteenth century. Cervantes demonstrated to the Western world how poetry and fantasy could coexist with the experience of reality which is perceptible to the senses. He did this by presenting poetic reality, which previously had been confined to the ideal region of dream, as something experienced by a real person, and the dream thus became the reality of any man living his dream. Therefore, the trivial fact that a poor hidalgo loses his reason for one cause or another is of little importance. The innovation is that Don Quixote's madness is converted into the theme of his life and into a theme for the life of other people, who are affected as much by the madness of the hidalgo as is he himself. Some want him to revert to his condition of a peaceful and sedentary hidalgo; others would like him to keep on amusing or stupefying people with his deeds, insane and wise at the same time. Before Cervantes, literature was, as occasion offered, fantastic, idealistic, naturalistic, moralistic, or didactic. After his time, literature continued to exploit all these types, but with them it was inclined to incorporate, as well, some readers' experience of them. Romances of chivalry could now attain a significance beyond that of mere books and could become what people felt or thought about them, thus growing to be the very dynamic functioning of living persons. In Don Quixote, for example, the hero takes them for the gospel; the priest believes them to be false; the innkeeper admires the tremendous blows delivered by the knights; his daughter is taken by the sentimental aspect of the love affairs which they describe; and so on. But the reality of the literary work is the ideal integration of all possible experience which all of the possible readers undergo. This point can be further illustrated by taking proverbs as an example. Before Don Quixote, many collections of sayings and proverbs had been published, but when Sancho interspersed these proverbs helter-skelter in his conversation and thus brought his master to despair, the proverbs became the living experiences which Sancho and Don Quixote derived from them. In this manner, everything in Don Quixote can be either real or ideal, either fantastic or possible, according to the manner in which it affects the variety of readers, whether they be creators of beautiful and comforting illusions or dispassionate demolishers of dreams. To live, for Cervantes, is to let loose the extensive capacity of all that is human; it may also be to remain deaf and inert before the attractions of love, faith, and enthusiasm. All who live in the human universe of the greatest book of Spanish literature succeed or destroy themselves, according to one of these opposing trends. When compared with such a prodigious book, all of Cervantes' works which have not previously been mentioned, no matter what their value, must be relegated to a lower level. Among his dramatic works, La Numancia, a description of the heroic defense of that Iberian city during the Roman conquest of Spain in the second century b.c., and the amusing Interludes, such as El Juez de los divorcios ("The Judge of Divorces") and El Retablo de las maravillas ("The Picture of Marvels"), are outstanding. Also worth mentioning is the verse Voyage to Parnassus (1614), in which almost all of the Spanish writers of the period are lauded, and Persiles y Sigismunda, published posthumously in 1617. In this last-named work the author returns to the theme of the Byzantine novel and relates the ideal love and unbelievable vicissitudes of a couple who, starting from the Arctic regions, arrive in Rome, where they find a happy ending for their complicated adventures.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Chap 7 State Of The World.TXT
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563
Joe Crosariol 613-07-4881 12:30-Interdisciplinary 3/7/00 Critical Analysis on Chapter 7, State of the World 1999 Feeding Nine Billion While reading chapter 7 of State of the World I was very interested in the changing course because it made me think about the things that our world can do that can drastically benefit the future of our agricultural production and food prospect. We must be able to solve the two major food issues currently facing our world, which are malnutrition and price stability. All governments need to establish a population policy so that their country does not exceed the limitations of its carrying capacity. It is important that we can produce enough food for our country, which is estimated to increase by 74 million in the next fifty years. A quote from the book, "The worst mistake political leaders can make entering the new millennium is to underestimate the dimensions of the food challenge". I certainly agree with this because most of the future food growth in the world is going to be croplands and we need to understand that we are going to need to be able to produce as much crop as possible for the land. I also agree with the fact that the governments that are experiencing rapid population growth must figure out their future population carrying capacity by calculating how much land is available for crops and how much water is available for irrigation. It is estimated that 3.3 billion more people will be living on this world in the first half of the next century and unfortunately many of those people will be born into already over populated countries. For example, India with some of the highest poverty rates in the world will have an additional 600 million people inhabiting the country by the year 2050. It was interesting to learn that educating young females would be a good way to control future population growth because "the more education that women have, the fewer children that women have". Another way to ensure food supply in the future according to the book is to eat food in moderation to keeping a healthy diet, which helps conserve food, and at the same time keeps you healthy. I definitely do not agree with this approach because even though it would work with everyone's cooperation, you are not going to get everyone's cooperation because there are still all those people who love to eat and they don't care if they are overweight or obese. Water is also a scarcity we are going to have to pay attention to because it is not a resource that can be increased in supply, it can only be increased in efficiency. By doing this, the book says we must use more efficient water irrigation technology and I agree that this is one of the only things that we can really do in order to grow the most crops with the minimum waste of water. The main Idea is to use water in every way as efficient as possible. In order to ensure our future as the dominant species we must prove that we are the dominant, prove that we can take responsibility for ourselves by keeping families small and conserving in every possible way that we can think. If we really put our minds to it we can make for a good future with plenty of food and resources.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Character Analysis of Kino from The Pearl.TXT
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520
Kino, a character from the story "The Pearl," is a prime example of a developing character. From the start through to the end, he develops drastically. At the beginning, he was thought out to be a good loyal husband but as time went on he became a selfish, greedy person who would do anything for money. When the story began Kino seemed to be a good husband who wanted nothing more than to be able to support his family. After a scorpion had stung Coyotito, Kino prayed that he would find a pearl not to become a rich man but so that he could pay the doctor to heal the baby, as he would not work free. After Kino had spent long hard hours searching the ocean floor, he finally found the pearl he had worked for. At first when he found it, he only wanted to pay the doctor to cure Coyotito. However as time passed he began to think of all the things that he could acquire with the money form the pearl and began to develop greed and selfishness. When people asked him what he would buy now that he was a rich man, he was quick to list several items that came to his mind. One of these items was a rifle. Kino wanted a rifle because he wanted to show power over the rest of his village. When Kino took the pearl to the pearl buyers to sell, he was offered one thousand pesos. Kino declined that offer claiming that his pearl was "The Pearl of the World." By reacting in such a manner he yet again demonstrates his greed. It is not about saving Coyotito anymore, for he is already feeling well, it is now about the money. Although one thousand pesos was more money than Kino had ever seen he demanded that he would get fifty thousand pesos. Later in the text, Kino discovers Juana trying to destroy the pearl, causing Kino to become very angry, and resulted in him beating her. Although Juana was in very much pain she accepted the beating as if it were a punishment and stayed with Kino. A while later Kino was attacked by another man who wanted the pearl for himself and defended his pearl by killing the man. It is around this point in the story where Kino displays his greatest point of greed and selfishness. When Kino gets ready to attack the trackers Coyotito lets out a cry awakening one of the sleeping trackers. The tracker on watch described the cry as being the cry of a baby, however, the tracker who had just awaked described it as being a coyote. The tracker on guard then lifted his rifle and shot in the direction of the sound. This sparked the deadliest of fuses in Kino, which turned him from a normal man into a fearsome, uncontrollable, machinelike man killing everything in it's path. When Kino returned to the village he looked at the pearl and began to realize the effect it had on him, his family, and his village, and decided to throw it back into the ocean where it came from. Kino has paid a large price to learn such a valuable lesson, that we should not let greed and our want for something to overcome us and let us lose sight of the important things in life such as family, health, and life itself.
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      Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England on February 7, 1812 and died June 9,1870.  He is now regarded as one of the greatest English writers. His novels combine vast social perspective and deep compassion for the lower class.  His works are still widely read, taught, and performed in modern dramatizations.
      Dickens was born into a poor family.  When he was 12 his father was imprisoned for debt.  Dickens was removed from school and put to work in a blacking factory.  He lived alone in a lodging house in North London.  His father received inheritance after a few months and Charles finally returned to school, but his money troubles were not over.  When he was 15 he went to work as a clerk in a law firm and later became a reporter. He was also a quick stenographer.
      In  (1837-1839) OLIVER TWIST was being serialized in a monthly magazine called Bently's Miscellany.  In 1836 Charles married Catherine Hogarth and they had 10 children. They seperated in 1858. In  March 1840, Dickens started a weekly periodical called Master Humphrey's Clock in which he published The Old Curiosity Shop , Barnaby Rudge , and a Christmas Carol.
      When Dickens died he was an angry man but he is still remembered as one of the greatest authors.  His works range from HARD TIMES (1854), a satire of Victorian education and a portrayal of of the ugliness of factory life, through A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1859), which portrays the chaos of revolutions. Dickens remains a master storyteller  whose works are laced with humor and social satire.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Charles Dickens 5.TXT
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INTRODUCTION 
This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his
early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature.
In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life.
EARLY LIFE
Charles Dickens was born at Landport, in Portsea, on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk
in the Navy Pay-Office, and was temporarily on duty in the neighborhood when Charles was
born. His name was John Dickens. He spent time in prison for debts. But, even when he was free
he lacked the money to support his family. Then, when Charles was two they moved to London.
1 
Just before he started to toddle, he stepped into the glare of footlights. He never stepped out of it
until he died. He was a good man, as men go in the bewildering world of ours, brave, transparent,
tender-hearted, and honorable. Dickens was always a little too irritable because he was a little too
happy. Like the over-wrought child in society, he was splendidly sociable, and in and yet
sometimes quarrelsome. In all the practical relations of his life he was what the child is at a party,
genuinely delighted, delightful, affectionate and happy, and in some strange way fundamentally sad
and dangerously close to tears. 2 
At the age of 12 Charles worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He
held the job only for a few months, but the misery of the experience remain with him all his life. 3 
Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good. He enjoyed reading
and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. He was influenced by such
earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding. However,
most of the knowledge he later used as an author came from his environment around him. 4
MIDDLE LIFE
Dickens became a newspaper writer and reporter in the late 1820's. He specialized in covering
debates in Parliament, and also wrote feature articles. His work as a reporter sharpened his
naturally keen ear for conversation and helped develop his skill in portraying his characters speach
realistically. It also increased his ability to observe and to write swiftly and clearly. Dickens' first
book, Sketches by Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the Monthly Magazine and the
London Evening Chronicles.5 
On April 2, 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth. This was just a few days before the anoucement
that on the 31st he would have his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick
Club. And this was the beginning of his career. 6 
Then, at 24, Dickens became famous and was so until he died. He won his first literary fame with
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Published in monthly parts in 1836 and 1837 the
book describes the humorous adventure and misadventures of the English Countryside. After a
slow start, The Pickwick Papers as the book was usually called gained a popularity seldom
matched in the history of literature. 7 
Then in 1837, Catherine's sister Mary, died. Because of her death Dickens' suffered a lot of grief.
This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Catherine was a
good woman but she lacked intelligence. Dickens and Catherine had 10 children. Then later in
1858, the couple seperated. 8 
LATER LIFE
His later years was basically consisting of two main additions to his previous activites. 
The first was a series of public readings and lectures which he began giving it systematically. And
second, he was a successive editor. Dickens had been many things in his life; he was a reporter ,
an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and a editor and he enjoyed all of those things. 9 
Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. He recorded all his activites in thousands
of letter, many of which made delightful readings. He spent much of his later life with crowded
social friends from arts and literature. He also went to the theater as often as he could, cause he
loved drama. Dickens also produced and acted in small theaters to give public readings of his
work.10 
Besides doing all this after his retirement he got involved in various charities . These charities
included schools for poor children and a loan society to enable the poor to prove to Australia. 11 
Then about 1865 his health started to decline and he died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. 12
Dicken's Work 
The Great Expectations 
This story talks about a guy who is in love with a girl. It is the theme of a youths discovery of the
realities of life. An unknown person provides the young hero, Pip, with money so that he can live
as a gentleman. Pip's pride is shattered when he learns that he loses Estella forever, the source of
his "great expectation". Only by painfully revising his values does Pip reestablish his life on a
foundation of sympathy, rather than on vanity, possesions, and social position.
Conclusion 
His work of Great Expectation is very related with his life. It deals with the same problems he
faced when he lost Catherine and how his life was before he became rich and famous. He also
created scenes and descriptions of places that have longed delighted readers. Dickens was a keen
observer of life and had a great understanding of humanity, especially of young people. The
warmth and humor of his personality appeared in all of his works. Perhaps in no other large body
of fiction does the reader receive so strong and agreeable impression of the person behind the
story.
Endnotes
1. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of The Great 
Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg.19
2. Ibid, pg. 21-22 
3. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. 
Viking, 1977, pg. 20
4. Ibid, pg. 27
5. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193
6. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great 
Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 50
7. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193
8. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. 
Viking, 1977, pg. 53
9. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great 
Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 167
10. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg.195
11. Ibid
12. Ibid
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chesterton, G.K., "The Last of the Great Men" American 
Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942.
Johnson, Edgar, "His Tragedy and Triumph" Rev. ed. 
Viking, 1977.
World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Charles Dickens again.TXT
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1013
INTRODUCTION This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature. In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life. EARLY LIFE Charles Dickens was born at Landport, in Portsea, on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay-Office, and was temporarily on duty in the neighborhood when Charles was born. His name was John Dickens. He spent time in prison for debts. But, even when he was free he lacked the money to support his family. Then, when Charles was two they moved to London. 1 Just before he started to toddle, he stepped into the glare of footlights. He never stepped out of it until he died. He was a good man, as men go in the bewildering world of ours, brave, transparent, tender-hearted, and honorable. Dickens was always a little too irritable because he was a little too happy. Like the over-wrought child in society, he was splendidly sociable, and in and yet sometimes quarrelsome. In all the practical relations of his life he was what the child is at a party, genuinely delighted, delightful, affectionate and happy, and in some strange way fundamentally sad and dangerously close to tears. 2 At the age of 12 Charles worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He held the job only for a few months, but the misery of the experience remain with him all his life. 3 Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good. He enjoyed reading and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. He was influenced by such earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding. However, most of the knowledge he later used as an author came from his environment around him. 4 MIDDLE LIFE Dickens became a newspaper writer and reporter in the late 1820's. He specialized in covering debates in Parliament, and also wrote feature articles. His work as a reporter sharpened his naturally keen ear for conversation and helped develop his skill in portraying his characters speach realistically. It also increased his ability to observe and to write swiftly and clearly. Dickens' first book, Sketches by Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the Monthly Magazine and the London Evening Chronicles.5 On April 2, 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth. This was just a few days before the anoucement that on the 31st he would have his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. And this was the beginning of his career. 6 Then, at 24, Dickens became famous and was so until he died. He won his first literary fame with The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Published in monthly parts in 1836 and 1837 the book describes the humorous adventure and misadventures of the English Countryside. After a slow start, The Pickwick Papers as the book was usually called gained a popularity seldom matched in the history of literature. 7 Then in 1837, Catherine's sister Mary, died. Because of her death Dickens' suffered a lot of grief. This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Catherine was a good woman but she lacked intelligence. Dickens and Catherine had 10 children. Then later in 1858, the couple seperated. 8 LATER LIFE His later years was basically consisting of two main additions to his previous activites. The first was a series of public readings and lectures which he began giving it systematically. And second, he was a successive editor. Dickens had been many things in his life; he was a reporter , an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and a editor and he enjoyed all of those things. 9 Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. He recorded all his activites in thousands of letter, many of which made delightful readings. He spent much of his later life with crowded social friends from arts and literature. He also went to the theater as often as he could, cause he loved drama. Dickens also produced and acted in small theaters to give public readings of his work.10 Besides doing all this after his retirement he got involved in various charities . These charities included schools for poor children and a loan society to enable the poor to prove to Australia. 11 Then about 1865 his health started to decline and he died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. 12 Dicken's Work The Great Expectations This story talks about a guy who is in love with a girl. It is the theme of a youths discovery of the realities of life. An unknown person provides the young hero, Pip, with money so that he can live as a gentleman. Pip's pride is shattered when he learns that he loses Estella forever, the source of his "great expectation". Only by painfully revising his values does Pip reestablish his life on a foundation of sympathy, rather than on vanity, possesions, and social position. Conclusion His work of Great Expectation is very related with his life. It deals with the same problems he faced when he lost Catherine and how his life was before he became rich and famous. He also created scenes and descriptions of places that have longed delighted readers. Dickens was a keen observer of life and had a great understanding of humanity, especially of young people. The warmth and humor of his personality appeared in all of his works. Perhaps in no other large body of fiction does the reader receive so strong and agreeable impression of the person behind the story. Endnotes 1. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of The Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg.19 2. Ibid, pg. 21-22 3. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. Viking, 1977, pg. 20 4. Ibid, pg. 27 5. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193 6. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 50 7. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193 8. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. Viking, 1977, pg. 53 9. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 167 10. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg.195 11. Ibid 12. Ibid BIBLIOGRAPHY Chesterton, G.K., "The Last of the Great Men" American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942. Johnson, Edgar, "His Tragedy and Triumph" Rev. ed. Viking, 1977. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990
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Agnes And Dora; A Study In Character
	Charles Dickens', David Copperfield recorded the journey of a human being from before birth to a happily prosperous marriage.  In the way he suffered tortures from his stepfather and one of his closer friends.  He obtained comfort, however from his aunt, his nurse and her family, and the Micawbers.  David had two marriages.  One to the beautiful yet immature Dora Spenlow, and to Agnes Wickfield, his perennial confidante.  These two women both contributed to fulfilling Davids' different needs. 
	Many people would say that Dora was a very sensitive, fragile, child-wife.  She was unable to keep up a house-even with the help of her husband-because she just did not understand how to do simple chores.  When David came home one day, Dora came up to him and asked to be taught what she had to know o be able to do housekeeping.  David sat down and started explaining everything to her, but after a few minutes she broke down crying, because she could not comprehend.  The attraction that David had for Dora was to her beauty, which misled him into thinking that she would be a good spouse for him.  Although, Dora seemed like a girl who did not have much insight, towards the end of her life she realized that her marriage to David was a mistake, and her immaturity would eventually make David lose his love for her. 
			I was very happy, very.  But, as years went on,
		 	my dear boy would have wearied of his child-
			wife.  She would have been less and less a 
			companion for him.  He would have been more 
			and more sensible of what was wanting in his 
			home.  She wouldn't have improved. (p, 711)
	
	On the other hand, we have Agnes.  She was a very intelligent woman, who had also been very close with David.  We see in the book David considered her a sister because at a point in his life he lived in her house and came to like her very much.  "The spirit of Agnes so pervaded all we thought, and said, and did, in that time of sorrow, that I assume I may refer the project to her influence." (P, 713) Agnes was a very special woman, who had a loving feeling toward David, but she tried to hide it.  While David was married to Dora, Agnes still behaved like a very close friend to both of them.  After Dora died, David finally went to ask Agnes to marry him.  Agnes broke down and told David how much she had always loved him.  "I have loved you all my life" (p, 801)
	Dickens creates two wives to fulfill David's needs.  Dora fulfilled David's desire to have a wife who was beautiful and would act like his mother had acted.  David's mother was very immature and was unable to do housekeeping.  Agnes fulfilled his desire to have a wife that would keep a house, and be his confidante.  He no longer had to bring home instruction books on housekeeping as he had done with Dora.
	According to G. K. Chesterton, by giving David these two totally opposite wives, Dickens was trying to show us that it is not possible to have one wife who can be all.  Therefore, Dora filled one aspect of David's needs and Agnes filled the other.  I disagree with this; I feel that every person is different. Every person has different needs.  When David married Dora that was what he needed then:  somebody to remind him of his mother.  Then, when Dora died, he married Agnes because he needed somebody who would comfort him, not somebody who could not do anything on her own.
	
	
	Chesterton goes on to say that he feels that Davids marriage to Dora was a real marriage; and that his marriage to Agnes was a nothing.  I disagree with this analogy, because I feel that the only reason David married Dora was because of her beauty.  This is  not a good basis for marriage.  This kind of marriage does not last very long.  On the other hand, Davids marriage with Agnes was a good marriage that I feel could last forever.
	With Dora, David was reliving  his past with his mother. Even though he loved Dora dearly, he was under constant psychological stress.  Dora was totally inept as a helpmate.  Davids mother was also totally inept  and that is why he was sent away, his mother was unable o control her own son in her own house.  Part of David and his tempestuous past died with Dora.  Davids marriage to Agnes starts his rebirth, she helps David remember his past painlessly.  This allows David to go on into a new horizon.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Charles Dickens David Copperfield.TXT
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Agnes And Dora; A Study In Character
	Charles Dickens', David Copperfield recorded the journey of a human being from before birth to a happily prosperous marriage.  In the way he suffered tortures from his stepfather and one of his closer friends.  He obtained comfort, however from his aunt, his nurse and her family, and the Micawbers.  David had two marriages.  One to the beautiful yet immature Dora Spenlow, and to Agnes Wickfield, his perennial confidante.  These two women both contributed to fulfilling Davids' different needs. 
	Many people would say that Dora was a very sensitive, fragile, child-wife.  She was unable to keep up a house-even with the help of her husband-because she just did not understand how to do simple chores.  When David came home one day, Dora came up to him and asked to be taught what she had to know o be able to do housekeeping.  David sat down and started explaining everything to her, but after a few minutes she broke down crying, because she could not comprehend.  The attraction that David had for Dora was to her beauty, which misled him into thinking that she would be a good spouse for him.  Although, Dora seemed like a girl who did not have much insight, towards the end of her life she realized that her marriage to David was a mistake, and her immaturity would eventually make David lose his love for her. 
			I was very happy, very.  But, as years went on,
		 	my dear boy would have wearied of his child-
			wife.  She would have been less and less a 
			companion for him.  He would have been more 
			and more sensible of what was wanting in his 
			home.  She wouldn't have improved. (p, 711)
	
	On the other hand, we have Agnes.  She was a very intelligent woman, who had also been very close with David.  We see in the book David considered her a sister because at a point in his life he lived in her house and came to like her very much.  "The spirit of Agnes so pervaded all we thought, and said, and did, in that time of sorrow, that I assume I may refer the project to her influence." (P, 713) Agnes was a very special woman, who had a loving feeling toward David, but she tried to hide it.  While David was married to Dora, Agnes still behaved like a very close friend to both of them.  After Dora died, David finally went to ask Agnes to marry him.  Agnes broke down and told David how much she had always loved him.  "I have loved you all my life" (p, 801)
	Dickens creates two wives to fulfill David's needs.  Dora fulfilled David's desire to have a wife who was beautiful and would act like his mother had acted.  David's mother was very immature and was unable to do housekeeping.  Agnes fulfilled his desire to have a wife that would keep a house, and be his confidante.  He no longer had to bring home instruction books on housekeeping as he had done with Dora.
	According to G. K. Chesterton, by giving David these two totally opposite wives, Dickens was trying to show us that it is not possible to have one wife who can be all.  Therefore, Dora filled one aspect of David's needs and Agnes filled the other.  I disagree with this; I feel that every person is different. Every person has different needs.  When David married Dora that was what he needed then:  somebody to remind him of his mother.  Then, when Dora died, he married Agnes because he needed somebody who would comfort him, not somebody who could not do anything on her own.
	
	
	Chesterton goes on to say that he feels that Davids marriage to Dora was a real marriage; and that his marriage to Agnes was a nothing.  I disagree with this analogy, because I feel that the only reason David married Dora was because of her beauty.  This is  not a good basis for marriage.  This kind of marriage does not last very long.  On the other hand, Davids marriage with Agnes was a good marriage that I feel could last forever.
	With Dora, David was reliving  his past with his mother. Even though he loved Dora dearly, he was under constant psychological stress.  Dora was totally inept as a helpmate.  Davids mother was also totally inept  and that is why he was sent away, his mother was unable o control her own son in her own house.  Part of David and his tempestuous past died with Dora.  Davids marriage to Agnes starts his rebirth, she helps David remember his past painlessly.  This allows David to go on into a new horizon.
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Charles Dickens.TXT
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INTRODUCTION 
This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his
early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature.
In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life.
EARLY LIFE
Charles Dickens was born at Landport, in Portsea, on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk
in the Navy Pay-Office, and was temporarily on duty in the neighborhood when Charles was
born. His name was John Dickens. He spent time in prison for debts. But, even when he was free
he lacked the money to support his family. Then, when Charles was two they moved to London.
1 
Just before he started to toddle, he stepped into the glare of footlights. He never stepped out of it
until he died. He was a good man, as men go in the bewildering world of ours, brave, transparent,
tender-hearted, and honorable. Dickens was always a little too irritable because he was a little too
happy. Like the over-wrought child in society, he was splendidly sociable, and in and yet
sometimes quarrelsome. In all the practical relations of his life he was what the child is at a party,
genuinely delighted, delightful, affectionate and happy, and in some strange way fundamentally sad
and dangerously close to tears. 2 
At the age of 12 Charles worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He
held the job only for a few months, but the misery of the experience remain with him all his life. 3 
Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good. He enjoyed reading
and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. He was influenced by such
earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding. However,
most of the knowledge he later used as an author came from his environment around him. 4
MIDDLE LIFE
Dickens became a newspaper writer and reporter in the late 1820's. He specialized in covering
debates in Parliament, and also wrote feature articles. His work as a reporter sharpened his
naturally keen ear for conversation and helped develop his skill in portraying his characters speach
realistically. It also increased his ability to observe and to write swiftly and clearly. Dickens' first
book, Sketches by Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the Monthly Magazine and the
London Evening Chronicles.5 
On April 2, 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth. This was just a few days before the anoucement
that on the 31st he would have his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick
Club. And this was the beginning of his career. 6 
Then, at 24, Dickens became famous and was so until he died. He won his first literary fame with
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Published in monthly parts in 1836 and 1837 the
book describes the humorous adventure and misadventures of the English Countryside. After a
slow start, The Pickwick Papers as the book was usually called gained a popularity seldom
matched in the history of literature. 7 
Then in 1837, Catherine's sister Mary, died. Because of her death Dickens' suffered a lot of grief.
This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Catherine was a
good woman but she lacked intelligence. Dickens and Catherine had 10 children. Then later in
1858, the couple seperated. 8 
LATER LIFE
His later years was basically consisting of two main additions to his previous activites. 
The first was a series of public readings and lectures which he began giving it systematically. And
second, he was a successive editor. Dickens had been many things in his life; he was a reporter ,
an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and a editor and he enjoyed all of those things. 9 
Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. He recorded all his activites in thousands
of letter, many of which made delightful readings. He spent much of his later life with crowded
social friends from arts and literature. He also went to the theater as often as he could, cause he
loved drama. Dickens also produced and acted in small theaters to give public readings of his
work.10 
Besides doing all this after his retirement he got involved in various charities . These charities
included schools for poor children and a loan society to enable the poor to prove to Australia. 11 
Then about 1865 his health started to decline and he died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. 12
Dicken's Work 
The Great Expectations 
This story talks about a guy who is in love with a girl. It is the theme of a youths discovery of the
realities of life. An unknown person provides the young hero, Pip, with money so that he can live
as a gentleman. Pip's pride is shattered when he learns that he loses Estella forever, the source of
his "great expectation". Only by painfully revising his values does Pip reestablish his life on a
foundation of sympathy, rather than on vanity, possesions, and social position.
Conclusion 
His work of Great Expectation is very related with his life. It deals with the same problems he
faced when he lost Catherine and how his life was before he became rich and famous. He also
created scenes and descriptions of places that have longed delighted readers. Dickens was a keen
observer of life and had a great understanding of humanity, especially of young people. The
warmth and humor of his personality appeared in all of his works. Perhaps in no other large body
of fiction does the reader receive so strong and agreeable impression of the person behind the
story.
Endnotes
1. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of The Great 
Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg.19
2. Ibid, pg. 21-22 
3. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. 
Viking, 1977, pg. 20
4. Ibid, pg. 27
5. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193
6. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great 
Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 50
7. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193
8. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. 
Viking, 1977, pg. 53
9. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great 
Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 167
10. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg.195
11. Ibid
12. Ibid
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chesterton, G.K., "The Last of the Great Men" American 
Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942.
Johnson, Edgar, "His Tragedy and Triumph" Rev. ed. 
Viking, 1977.
World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Coming of Age in Somoa.TXT
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Coming of Age in Somoa 
Margaret Mead's "Coming of Age in Samoa", which was actually her doctoral
dissertation, was compiled in a period of six months starting in 1925. Through it, people
were given a look at a society not affected by the problems of 20th century industrial
America. She illustrated a picture of a society where love was available for the asking and
crime was dealt with by exchanging a few mats. This book helps one to realize the large
role played by social environment.
One of Mead's biggest challenges was probably the fact that her fieldwork was
done entirely in the Samoan language. In Samoa, few, if any natives spoke English.
To get information, Mead spent her time talking to approximately 25 Samoan women.
However, she spent much of her focus on two young Samoan women, Fa'apua'a Fa'amu
and Fofoa. It is said that one Samoan woman's life is very much like the next. At the
time of her visit to Samoa, Mead, a graduate student was only 23 years old. She was
barely older than the girls she interviewed and lovingly called her "merry companions".
The vision recieved while reading "Coming of Age in Samoa" is that it is a place of
nearly stress free living. The children pass through adolescence without the many
pressures put upon teenagers in an industrial America:
 
...adolescence represented no period of crisis or stress,
but was instead an orderly developing of a set of slowly
maturing interests and activities (95).
According to Mead, families are large, taboos and restrictions are few, and disagreements
are settled by the giving of mats. The stresses encountered by American teenagers are
unknown to their Samoan counterparts. Mead refers to premarital sex as the "pastime par
excellence" for Samoan youth. She writes that Samoa is a virtual paradise of free love, as
the young people from 14 years of age until they are married have nothing on their minds
except sex. Of Samoan girls Mead says:
 
She thrusts virtuosity away from her as she thrusts away
from her every other sort of responsibility with the invariable
comment, "Laitit a'u" ("I am but young"). All of her interest
is expanded on clandestine sex adventures (33).
She explains that growing up can be free, easy and uncomplicated. Romantic love in
Samoa is not bound with ideas of monogamy, exclusiveness, jealousy and fidelity as it is in
America.
 
Evidently, due to the lack of privacy in the homes, young lovers are forced to meet
in the trees. Even married people have trouble finding privacy:
 
But the lack of privacy within the houses where a mosquito
netting marks off purely formal walls about the married
couples and the custom of young lovers to use the palm
groves for the rendezvous (84).
 
As far as the act of sex, much pressure is put on the man to perform:
 
The Samoan puts the burden of amatory success upon the
man and believes that woman need more initiating, more time
for maturing of sexual feeling. A man who fails to satisfy a
woman is looked upon as clumsy, inept blunderer....(91)
The day in Samoa begins at dawn, and you can hear the shouts of young men. Most of
the time, the people go to sleep around midnight and after that you only hear the whispers
of lovers.
Mead tells of how birthdays are not of importance, but the day of birth is,
especially with highly ranked babies. On this day there is a great feast and property is
given away. The first baby must always be born in the village of the mother. For months
before the birth, the family of the father brings food while the family of the mother makes
clothes. At the birth, the fathers mother or sister must be present to take care of the
newborn. There is no privacy and the woman is not allowed to cry out in pain. It is not
uncommon for 20 to 30 people to be present at the birth, and to stay all night if necessary.
Once the cord is cut by the midwife the feast begins. If the baby is a girl, the cord is
buried under a mulberry tree to ensure that she will be good at household tasks. If the
child is a boy it is thrown into the sea so that he will be a skilled fisherman, or planted
under a plant to make him a good farmer. Unless a woman gets pregnant again, she will
nurse her child until it is two or three years old.
Once the baby starts growing into a toddler, there are many strict rules they are
expected to follow. The first is that they must only learn to crawl and sit within the house.
Once they can stand, they are never to stand while addressing an adult. All children must
know to stay out of the sun, and to never tangle the strands of a weaver. It is also not
acceptable for a child, no matter how young, to scatter the cut up coconut which is spread
out to dry. The last rule that she speaks of is that the children must make sure that their
loin clothes are attached at all times. The girls principle task while growing up is to learn
to weave. In fact, a girls chances of marriage are badly damaged if the village hears that
she is lazy in domestic tasks.
The Samoan village is made up of 30 to 40 households and the master is called the
matai. Any older relative has a right to demand personal service or to criticize the
conduct and interfere with the affairs of a younger relative. The most important
relationship within a Samoan household is that between brother and sister. This does not
even necessarily mean by blood. This relationship is of the most importance in influencing
the lives of young people. The word aiga is used to cover all relationships by blood,
marriage and adoption. The family cooking is taken are of by both sexes, but the majority
of the work falls upon the boys and young men. The agricultural work is done by the
women. This includes the weeding, transplanting, gathering, transportation of the food
and the gathering of mulberry wands. Mead also speaks about the social network in
Samoa, especially in reference to the chiefs role. While speaking to a chief he explains:
 
I have been a chief only four years and look my hair is grey...I
must always act as if I were old. I must walk gravely and with
measured step. I may not dance except upon most solemn
occasions, neither may I play games with the young men...
Thirty-one people live in my household. For them I must plan,
I must find them food and clothing, settle their disputes, arrange
their marriages...It is hard to be so young and yet to be a chief
(Mead 36).
Boys in Samoa are circumcised in pairs and make the arrangements to do so
themselves. They do this by seeking out an older man who has a reputation for skill. The
boys in the pair are considered to be very close, and it is even all right for them to have
casual sexual relationships. Boys do not start to go after girls until two or three years
after puberty, and when they do they have their friends speak to her.
When they get older, the women are dependent on their husbands for social status.
The village princess is not actually what we could consider a princess. She takes on the
job of the village servant. She waits on strangers, spreads their beds and makes kava. Her
marriage, however, is a village event, planned by talking chiefs and their wives. In Samoa
there are not the taboos about women that are present in other cultures. The only taboos
that they have about women is that she cannot touch the fishing canoes or fishing tackle.
If she were too it would allegedly ruin the fishing. When a man dies, it is the job of his
maternal aunt or his sister to prepare the body by rubbing it with oil. Than she sits there
by the dead body to fan away the flies it may attract. A man who commits adultery with a
chief wife is beaten and banished a possibly even drowned. The wife of the chief will only
be cast out.
A similar tradition is that is the taupo, who is the village ceremonial hostess, was
found not to be a virgin she is beaten by her female relatives. This beating includes
disfiguring and even fatally injuring her. It is actual considered illegal for her to have sex
before marriage. At her wedding in front everyone her virginity is to be taken by the
talking chief. This custom is slowly dying out, but was in full force at the time of Mead's
visit.
An important part of Mead's dissertation was her study of the casual sex relations.
After a girl is eight or nine years old she has learned not to approach a group of older
boys. However, when it comes to younger boys, they are taught to antagonize them. The
boys are considered "older" after they have been circumcised. When a girl is looking for
her first lover, she looks to an older man, most often a widower or a divorcee. There are
two types of sexual relations other than marriage that are recognized by Samoans. These
include love affairs between unmarried young people, and also adultery. Although
virginity is not expected in girls, Mead claims that it defiantly adds to their attractiveness.
Essentially, having sex with a virgin is much more of a feat for a man than sex with a girl
who is not. Marriage in Samoa is regarded as a social and economic arrangement in which
relative wealth, rank and the skill of both husband and wife must be considered.
In conclusion, Margaret Mead's dissertation on Samoa is still interesting after 75
years. The customs of Samoans, especially those regarding sex are very interesting to
people of other cultures. This society rests most of their regard on love and happiness and
seem to have been successful in achieving that.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Commentary on Bartleby the scrivner.TXT
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Commentary on "Bartleby, the Scrivener" 
The character of the narrator might be identified as a rather self-centered man who would rather 'prefer not to' undergo a confrontation with any of his employees. This is evident in his decriptions of the employees and his so-called good intentions when he sets himself as a tolerant, conducive man. It is obvious that his intentions and actions are only for his own self interest and his wanting to be thought of as helping those who are not as fortunate as he. All along what he hopes to achieve with his charity is to help sooth his own vision by improving the physical state of others. His avoidance of confrontation is quite evident when he actually moves out of his office instead of having Bartleby physically removed by the authorities. His character is tested with Bartleby's passive-aggressive attitude though I can not agree totally that he is "softened" by his acquaintance with Bartleby because in some regards he was already soft. Bartleby is definetly cut from a stronger cloth although he certainly has his own mode of communication. He does not give into the Wall Street hardness and does not do anything that does not suit him. He takes life for what it is worth...nothing more and nothing less. Even though he literally does not ask for anything, he sends his message loud and clear: I will do what I feel necessary to survive and everything else, " I would prefer not to." It is somewhat comical that in the strong corporate atmosphere of the business world, you have a boss that would 'prefer to' no sooner pack it up and get away from an employee than to have to deal with him. All in all, the narrator is not cold and does end up with a conscience which is evident by his checking on Bartleby both at the old office and the jail. I think Barlteby challenged him in a way that he had never been challenged before and quite honestly he did not know exactly what to do with him. Jamie Finkelman
 
I find the relationship between the author and Bartleby to be a very strange, unrealistic one, at least in today's society. Bartleby, an employee of the author, is under the command of the author, and is getting paid to do what the author says to do. Although Bartleby is very polite and unconfrontational when refusing to do a job the author requests, Bartleby IS refusing. If he's not doing what his boss says as pertaining to his job, he shouldn't get paid. The job is not getting done. If there was a situation like this that happened today in most any workplace, I would think that the uncompliant employee would be terminated from his/her position that day. The author however, just allows Bartleby to act in whatever way he chooses even when Bartleby is doing absolutely no work whatsoever. An employer today would view this behavior as a damage to his wallet and would therefore waste no time firing the employee. I, personally, would have fired Bartleby because he would not even give a reason as to why he would not do anything.
 
Jennifer, I think the strange relationship between
Bartleby and the employer is supposed to seem
unrealistic. it makes the reader, especially modern
ones, think exactly the way you did in your post. The
fact that employers would not or should not put up with
this kind of insubordination is exactly true. It makes
you wonder what is it about Bartleby that makes the
employer sympathetic to his "needs". The boss seems to
understand that there is something intrinsically wrong
with Bartleby, an underlying sadness that he cannot
determine the cause of, and I think he cares for him a
great deal and also pities him as well. This is why he
does not fire him or take extreme measures until he
absolutely has to.
 
Jen, I see what you mean about Bartleby's relationship with the author. It does seem very strange. I got the same feeling. I also found it weird that Bartleby was refusing to do the jobs that the author asked him to do. You're right though he really is pretty considerate and respectful when denying the fact that he has a job to do for his employer. This is the way that this procedure goes the employer tells the employee what to do and when to do it. The weirdness in the matter is that Bartleby is refusing to do so. Your very right Jen, today this type of treatment towards your employer would get you terminated. I would have to say that Bartleby has no real respect for his employer, but only maybe an act. Someone who would do this to their boss would be lacking manners.
The narrator seems to have a problem in the story, he is sympathetic with Bartleby passed a reasonable point. The narrator allows Bartleby to just refuse orders and still say employed, taking pity on him it seems. The narrator also seems to avoid confrontation with many others too, to the point of moving out of his office. Now he comes off as both a hard and easy man, he does what is required of him mostly, except when it comes to Bartleby. In Bartleby's case, the narrator is like a wet noodle, bending to Bartleby's whims, even though he should be fired. I think the narrator perhpas was a cold man, but that Bartleby let him see a side of humanity he had previously, missed, and shows him the value of people, and of emotion. The narrator follows up on Bartleby at the old office and jail, showing that he did indeed have more than just a passing interest.
 
 
For the clients of these businessmen, I think that much
good is accomplished by their work. Whether we like them
or not, lawyers are essential members of society.
However, the story is told from the point of view of a
businessman, so more important is what the workers
themselves think of the business world. Indeed, by the
end of the story, the narrator realizes just what a
bleak existence he leads and how he has disconnected
himself with life outside of the business realm.
Unfortunately, after witnessing the downfall of
Bartleby, I think that the narrator reaches the point in
his life where he asks himself what the meaning of his
existence is.
I actually found the story to be one of the most
enjoyable works that we have read so far. I had no idea
that Melville could be so comical. For whatever reason,
the insistence of Bartleby in using the word "prefer"
and his fellow employees then using the word without
knowing it, I found to be extremely humorous. In my
view, the story has become popular for reasons other
than just being an entertaining read and providing a
unique perspective on the business world. I think that
many readers can identify with the struggles of the
characters in the story. In this information-driven
society, many of us are consumed with our work, meeting
deadlines, and being as productive as possible. Much
like the characters in the story, often times we feel
that our lives have been taken over by work.
 
 
 
This narrator is very reserved. He was selectful in choosing his jobs due to his character. He wishes to not be put in a position which may become confrontational. That is why he chose to never address the jury. He wants to remain discreet and by doing so, he chooses to deal with mortgages, deeds and bonds. I believe his association with Bartleby has changed this narrator. Previously, he would have never permitted such conduct in his employee when asked to due a particular task. He is a cautious individual whose method is to think things out thoroughly before getting involved. Normally, he would not have gotten involved with assisting Bartleby as he had attempted to do numerously. Yet, he has grown respectful of Bartleby's steadfast ways and continued his attempts. The significance of the setting of the story is a mysterious one. The names of the employees are not revealed nor is the number of the location. This leads me to believe that perhaps this situation actually occurred and being as discreet as this narrator is, he doesn't reveal too much. This is a satire in the business world because such conduct would not be tolerated. If employees were to incessively "rather not" complete a task assigned by their supervisor, they would be terminated. Moreover, it is not permissable for employees to reside in their place of employment.
The narrator does well describing himself in the story. If you follow closely he gives you many details which give you an upright description of self. He calls himself, "an umambitious lawyer... ...with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best." Others consider him an "eminently safe man" who seldom loses his temper. He is a conveyor and title hunter with an office on Wall Street. He has a lot of compassion (perhaps not for society as a whole) for Bartleby. I do not feel that the narrator truly "changed" by his association with Bartleby, but rather he changed only when he was around Bartleby. It is difficult to say, considering the narrator does not offer any experiences other than those which Bartleby is associated, but I will say that the narrator has made no permanent change in his life. The setting of the story is significant because Wall Street is comprised of all businesses, which means that "every night of everyday it is in emptiness." Bartleby is content with being secluded there. The setting is also significant considering the satirical connotation of the business world. Bartleby is an intruder there, not because he will not leave, but because he is rejects all aspects of business. And the fact that he is content on being there, staring out the window, without lending the slightest of his hands to work, shows how much he dislikes it.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Compare and contrast the personalities of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.TXT
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250
Question 1: Compare and contrast the personalities of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are two friends with very different personalities, each bringing their own unique characteristics into this comical relationship. Tom and Huck are two adventurous souls but in very opposing ways. Huck's idea of adventure is to escape from society, their beliefs and all of their conformities, but he does it in a way that is level-headed and sensible. Tom, on the other hand, is more likely to make up an adventure based on something he had read in a book and not really trying to escape anything. All of his ideas and schemes come from books, unlike Huck, who has actually lived the fantasies Tom has imagined. The two are alike in one way though. They both have a very strong sense of adventure. I think this one trait along with their similar ages is what makes them friends. Huck seems to be the kind of person that Tom would want to be friends with because of his willingness to make other people happy. Tom lives out his escapades with no regard for the pain and suffering it causes others. Huck, on the other hand, just wants things done and done right but he gives into Tom's wild ideas and extravagant plans, which Tom loves. Tom and Huck are two interesting yet different characters. It is for these reasons that they have become an American literary classic.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Comparing Catcher in the Rye and Pygmalion.TXT
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1884
Comparing Catcher in the Rye and Pygmalion and the Themes They Represent In J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, muses at one point on the possibility of escaping from the world of confusion and "phonies" while George Bernard Shaw's main character of Pygmalion, Eliza Dolittle, struggles to become a phony. The possible reason for this is that they both come from opposite backgrounds. Holden is a young, affluent teenager in 1950's America who resents materialism and Eliza Dolittle is a young, indigent woman who is living in Britain during the late 1800's trying to meet her material needs and wants. These two seemingly opposite characters do in fact have something in common: they, like every other person, are in a constant pursuit of happiness. This commonality is the basis for the themes these two stories present. Some of these themes go unconsidered and this leads to many misunderstandings in the world. This is why Pygmalion and Catcher in the Rye are not just stories but, in fact, lessons that are presented in their themes. These themes teach that being middle or upper class does not guarantee happiness, treating others with good manners and equality are important, and pronunciation and terminology can "put you in your place" in terms of class. Throughout the world's history, pronunciation and the way a language is spoken indicates one's place in society. This is quite apparent in Pygmalion. Eliza is a classic victim of being "put into her place" based on the way she speaks. She goes to Professor Higgins in hope that he will give her lessons on how to speak in a more refined. She says she wants "to be a lady in a flower shop stead of sellin at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. But they won't take me unless I can talk more genteel" (23). This is precisely why she comes to Henry Higgins. He knows quite a bit about the study of speech. In fact, he is a professor of phonetics. He can "pronounce one hundred thirty vowel sounds" and "place any man within six miles" of their homes (15). Sometimes he can even place them within two streets of their homes. When Eliza hears this, she decides to take advantage of Higgins' ability and take lessons from him. She learns a new form of speech and this newfound way of speaking helps to pass her off as a duchess at an opera. Holden's speech also manages to categorize him: not class-wise, but rather age-wise and personality-wise. He captures the informal speech of an average intelligent adolescent. This speech includes both simple description and cursing. For example, in the introduction, Holden says, "They're nice and all," as well as, "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything" (1). The term "nice" is an extremely broad term Holden uses to characterize his parents. He does not want to disrespect them yet he does not feel right praising them either. This opening to Holden's story shows Holden's unwillingness to share his views. However, this gradually changes and he opens up. He uses the terms "and all" and "or anything" regularly throughout the novel and because not everyone speaks like this, these terms make Holden's speech unique. Holden also feels he has to confirm what he is saying because he does not quite believe himself. For example, he says, "I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth" (26). When Holden is particularly angry, he swears more often. He says "That guy Morrow is about as sensitive as a god dam toilet seat" (55). His inability to properly communicate without have to rely on profanity to express himself shows Holden as a boy suffering from what some might call "teenage angst." Holden, however, rarely shows his angst publicly. For the most part, he is composed in front of people; especially adults and strangers. If annoyed about something, he manages to say what he thinks in such a polite, disguised way, the people he talks to do not even notice. Holden believes in manners and treating everyone equally. Before Holden leaves for Christmas Break, Mr. Spencer invites him to his house and asks about what the headmaster, Dr. Thurmer, said to him. Holden replies that Dr. Thurmer spoke of life being a game, and that one should play it according to the rules (8). Holden shows no animosity about Dr. Thurmer's speech. He accepts it as part of the educator's duty even though he knows that life is only a game if you are on the right side, where all the "hot-shots" are. Mr. Spencer also lectures and proceeds to go through Holden's history exam with him. Holden did poorly both in class and on the exam and feels guilty because Mr. Spencer is infatuated with history. Holden tells his teacher that he enjoys listening to his lectures in class but he didn't care much for history because he "doesn't want to hurt his feelings" (11). Robert Ackley, the boy living in the room next to Holden and Ward Stradlater, Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep, are seemingly exact opposites of each other. Ackley is a boring, homely loner while Stradlater is an exiting, handsome athlete. However, Holden sees them as being quite similar. Primarily, they are both slobs. Ackley is a blatant slob: "He has lousy teeth [...] they always looked mossy and awful" and "he had a lot of pimples (19) while Stradlater is a "secret slob. He always looked all right, but you should've seen the razor he shaved himself with [....] rusty as hell and full of lather and hairs" (27). They are also uncaring and self-absorbed. For example, Stradlater does not care about Holden's feelings for Jane Gallagher. After the two fight about her, Holden goes to Ackley's room to talk. Ackley keeps telling Holden to be quiet and go to sleep even though Holden always listens to his problems. Holden also condemns a former headmaster who is especially courteous to well-dressed, well-to-do parents and less courteous, to less sophisticated and powerful parents. This disgusts Holden and he resents that someone he is supposed to respect is such a prime example of the materialistic society he lives in. Eliza also believes that all people should be treated equally. Including herself, she greatly dislikes the patronizing way people of low-class society are treated by people of high-class society. In an attempt to equal herself with others in society, Eliza wants to take lessons on how to "talk more genteel" (23). Even though she has virtually no money, she insists to Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering that she has "come to have lessons, I am. And pay for em too: make no mistakes" (23). She does not believe that she should be given any special considerations just because she cannot as readily afford the lessons as others. These lessons, she believes, will change her life and she will then be a happier person. In the beginning of Pygmalion, Eliza is a young low-class woman selling flowers on the street corner so that she can make enough money to survive. Even though this is the only way of living she knows, Eliza sees that there is more out there and she does not have to be a low-class woman forever. She wants more out of life and will not allow herself to be stomped on by others. She is a very proud person and when Henry Higgins orders his maid, Mrs. Pearce, to "take all of her clothes off and burn them," Eliza replies angrily, "you're no gentleman, you're not, to talk of such things. I'm a good girl, I am" (27). The burning of her old clothes marks the beginning of a series of changes for Eliza. In the hopes of achieving a "better" life in high-class society, she must say good-bye to everything she knows and this she does with mixed emotions. After her transformation, though, she discovers that life is not as wonderful as she thought it would be. Eliza realizes that so-called "proper" people have problems as well. Now that she has achieved her goal, she does not know what she is going to do with her life. She does have secret hopes of marrying Henry Higgins, however, but these hopes are destroyed during a fight in which he reveals to her that he has no intentions of marrying her. He tells her she "might marry, you know. You see Eliza, all men are, not confirmed old bachelors like me and the Colonel. Most men are the marrying sort (poor devils)" (77). After this realization hits, Eliza leaves Professor Higgins' home. Soon after, she gets involved with Freddy Eynford Hill, a poor but classy, intelligent gentleman. He is clearly in love with Eliza and they marry. From this point on, they live a simple life, working in their own flower shop. Throughout her transformation, Eliza loses sight of her original goal which is to own a flower shop. She begins to think she needs more to b happy. Ironically, however, at the point in her life when she has the most materially, is the point she is unhappiest. This is not to say that she resents all that she has learned because now she realizes that achieving her original goal is all she needs. Holden presents this theme in a different way than Eliza. At the beginning of the novel, he states that he does not want to explain "where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield king of crap (1). Even though he comes from an affluent family from NYC, he has problems of his own. He does not live a free and easy lifestyle, as some would expect. In fact, the life he leads could typically be expected by society to be that of someone of a lower class. For example, he is repeatedly expelled from schools for poor achievement. In an attempt to deal with his latest expulsion, he leaves school a few days prior to the end of term, and goes to New York to "take a vacation" before returning home to deal with his parents. Throughout his journey home, he describes bouts of deep depression, impulsive spending and erratic behaviour prior to his nervous breakdown. Despite his material wealth, Holden does not appreciate what he has; he feels guilty. For example, his roommate at Elkton Hills, Dick Slagee had very inexpensive suitcases. "He used to keep them under the bed, instead of on the rack, so that nobody would see them standing next to mine. It depressed holy hell out of me, and I kept wanting to throw mine out or something, or even trade with him" (108). Holden is a prime example that all people are human beings; one is not any better than another based on which position in society they hold. He is not pretentious because of his wealth, but actually, if a comparison of the two is going to be made, Holden is of a higher class than Eliza but he leads a more melancholy life than she. Therefore, wealth does not create happiness. These two authors, J .D. Salinger and George Bernard Shaw have created two stories that are effective in many different ways. They are not only great literary pieces of work written with great intelligence but they are also geared toward the average reader. This method of creating a story that virtually anyone can read and find interest in is a great way to attract readers. When readers are attracted, the authors' messages get across much more clearly and to a larger number of people. When Catcher in the Rye and Pygmalion were written, the authors had the same themes in mind. These themes provoke thought and when thought is provoked, many good things can happen. For example, people can realize what they are doing wrong and change their ways. As these stories show, being middle or upper class does not guarantee happiness, being well mannered and treating people equally is important, and people should not always be judged based on the way they speak. If people read these stories and realize that they are not just great literary works but also important messages, much more can be learned than the mechanics of writing. If people begin to take these themes and apply them to everyday life, these stories could be considered more than just literature
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Comparison of Macbeth and Lord of the Flies.TXT
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Comparison of Macbeth and Lord of the Flies 
     Macbeth is one of the protagonist in a Shakespeare play "Macbeth".Jack is also a protagonist in the novel "Lord of the Flies".  The following essay will outline the differences and similarities of these two
characters.
     There are five similarities between Jack and Macbeth. Firstly, they were both leader of some kind.  Jack was a leader of a choir group while Macbeth was a co-leader of Duncan"s army.  Secondly, they were brave.  Jack was brave, he went up to the top of the hill by himself and searched for the beast.  Macbeth was brave too, he won the battle in the beginning of the story.  Thirdly, they were both ambitious. Jack was the leader of the hunting party in the beginning of the story, but he wanted to become the leader of the entire group on the island.  Macbeth wanted to become the king of Scotland after having the conversation with the three witches.
Fourthly, they both became more cruel as they gained more power.  After Jack formed his own group and set up a camp on Castle Rock, he became more cruel than before.  For Macbeth, he hesitated six times before killing Duncan.  But when he planned to kill Banquo and Macduff"s family, he didn"t hesitated and killed them without regret.  Lastly, they were both superstitious.  Jack was superstitious, he worshipped the Lord of the Flies and held a ritual dance around the camp fire after sacrificing the pig.
For Macbeth, he believed in the fortune telling of the three witches. (Quote: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.  All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.  All hail Macbeth, that should become king here after.)
     There are five differences between Jack and Macbeth. Firstly, their ages were different. Jack was a teenager while Macbeth was an adult with a wife.  Secondly, they have different endings.  Macbeth was killed in the end of the story while Jack was rescued.  Thirdly, Jack kills to consolidate his power while Macbeth kills to success his goal.  Jack"s goal was achieved in the middle of the story, he had to maintain his power over others.  For Macbeth, he had to kill other people in order to have a chance to become king of Scotland.  Fourthly, Macbeth was evil in the beginning of the story while Jack was innocent, but he became more evil as the story progress.  Macbeth used his evil mind to plan all the murders while Jack tried to help the group out by forming the hunting party in the beginning, but he wanted to kill Ralph later.  Lastly, no one can harm Jack while somebody had the power to harm Macbeth.  Macduff killed Macbeth in the battle of Dunsinane while Ralph had no power to harm Jack.  Ralph had to hide when Jack became the leader of the island.
     In conclusion, Jack was good in origin while Macbeth was evil and cruel.  They both had a common goal, it was to get more power in order to become a leader.  Greed for power will results in cruelty, killings and finally revenge.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Comparisons between the movie and play Hamlet.TXT
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Comparisons between the movie and play Hamlet 
Ben Evans
Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet was originally written as a play, but as time has passed it has been produced, on many different occasions, as a motion picture. The two forms share many similar scenes throughout the work. Three of these scenes are Hamlet's encounter with his father's ghost, Hamlet's killing of Polonius, and Hamlet's final battle with Laretes.
The first major similarity between the play and the movie comes when Hamlet sees and talks with the ghost of his recently murdered father. In lines ten through thirteen the ghost exclaims to Hamlet, "Doomed for a certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires till the foul crimes done in my days of nature are burnt and purged away." Likewise in the movie, this emotion fills Hamlet's mind with both sorrow and hatred for his uncle. "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." (lines 30-33) The ghost makes an emotional plea for Hamlet to revenge against Claudius. Hamlet replies with a promise to his father's ghost, "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge."
Another major comparison between the movie and the play comes when Hamlet goes to confront his mother about her involvement in his father's death and ends up killing Polonius. Gertrude, feeling Hamlet's disgust for her actions, fears that he might murder her. As seen in lines 22-33 of Act III scene IV she calls for the help of the hidden Polonius. "What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me? Help, ho!" In the movie Gertrude has an extremely worried expression on her face and as she calls for help there is motion behind a giant tapestry. This enrages Hamlet even more because someone has overheard his suspicions. "How now? A rat? Dead for ducat, dead!" (line 25) Hamlet angrily walks to the tapestry and surges his sword into a precise spot fatally wounding Polonius. "O, I am slain." (line 26) Similar to the play, in the movie the death of Polonius is shown as Hamlet removes his sword from the tapestry and loud crash is heard as his body crumbles to the floor.
The final major comparison between the movie and the play comes at the end. A contest has been scheduled between Laretes and Hamlet, but Claudius and Laretes both have ulterior motives. The two are conspiring to kill Hamlet without his knowledge. "Come for the third battle, you do but dally. I pray you, pass your best violence." (Lines 300-301) In both the movie and the play Hamlet wins the first two rounds and in the movie he shows a cocky attitude towards Laretes when beckoning him for the third round. " Say you so? Come on." (line 303) Also in the movie Laretes is confidant and eager to begin. Claudius and Laretes's plans backfire and end up causing their own deaths. Tragically Hamlet has also been dealt a mortal blow. "O, I die, Horatio! The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit." (Line 354)
Many comparisons can be made between the play and movie versions of Hamlet. Three of these scenes are Hamlet's encounter with his father's ghost, Hamlet's killing of Polonius, and Hamlet's final battle with Laretes. All of these scenes are prime examples of the relationship between the play and the movie.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\COMPASSION FOR THE SOULS WHO INHABIT HELL.TXT
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"COMPASSION FOR THE SOULS WHO INHABIT HELL"
Dante's Inferno is a 14th- century poem that seems calculated to cause the greatest possible pain to a 20th-century humanist, or to anyone who is attracted to Christianity because of its compassion and belief in the possibility of redemption. The God of the Inferno has precious little compassion and no forgiveness. He was the God who not only turned a blind eye to Belsen, but also exercised great ingenuity in constructing His own blood-chilling concentration camp, where sinners should suffer, not only during their brief lives, but for all eternity. What is particular about Dante's God is that He consigns sinners to their particular circle in Hell according to an immutable tariff of offences. No attention is paid to mitigating circumstances, or the idea of doing justice to the individual soul before the Divine Court. Hell, in short, was made on exactly the lines that the present Home Secretary would wish to impose on our present sentencing system. How do we reconcile the enjoyment of a great poem with what must seem, to many of us today, a repellent theology? Ulysses may best capture our own views in his speech to his sailors. He celebrates the dignity of man and says: "You were not bornto live as a mere brute does/ But for the pursuit of knowledge and the good". But such sensible humanism is, apparently, no better than the excuses of the gluttons and the adulterers. Ulysses is condemned as a thief and must suffer in Hell. In an admirable Preface to Robert Pinsky's translation, John Freccero deals with past attempts to enjoy the poem without revulsion. Coleridge advised us to "suspend disbelief" and enjoy the poetry without accepting the theology. Erich Auerbach suggested we separate "Dante's didactic intent from his power of representation", and held that the reality of the condemned characters overwhelmed their allegorical meaning. Perhaps we should simply remember how Dante suffered from the ruthless power-seeking and political intrigue in Florence and take Hell as an accurate picture of politics today. George Steiner, the distinguished critic and polymath, has suggested in his book In Bluebeard's Castle that the Holocaust is the Christian idea of hell made real and that the most knowledgeable guide to the camps is actually Dante. Robert Pinsky, the recently appointed poet laureate of the United States, was asked to comment on this notion in an interview in The Forward that marked the publication of the poet's acclaimed translation of Dante's Inferno. "In magnitude, in challenge to the imagination, in
degree of horror, in terrifying questions it raises, that's an appropriate
analogy. But we must never forget the defect of the analogy. Souls are
assigned in the Inferno according to a system of justice; souls were
assigned in the camps according to a system of injustice."
Of all the concentration camps in the Nazis' vast empire, the one that perhaps most clearly resembled Dante's Hell was Dora, the underground camp composed of a series of massive tunnels actually built into the side of a mountain, where the V-1 and V-2 rockets were manufactured through the most horrific use of slave labor in all of the Reich. There were many Jews among them, but the prisoners represented a cross- section of all the nationalities and religions in Europe. In these camps sadism exercised without constraint. The prisoners were exposed to extremes of suffering, constant physical misery and sickness, all of it aggravated by a starvation diet. There was a conspicuous gallows where inmates were hanged, usually for suspected sabotaging of the missile parts, but often just for the sport of the SS men. The other inmates were forced to watch these especially brutal executions. If an inmate managed to survive the starvation diet, the accidents with machinery or the hangman's noose, there were still sadistic SS men waiting in the shadows. "Ironface" was one of the most dreaded of these murderers, an individual said to be able to kill even a healthy man with a single well-placed blow of his club. More people were killed making rockets than by the rockets themselves. This was established in London. Less than 5,000 people were killed and 4,000 were injured. More than 20,000 died in Dora. Dante' inferno poem is the passive agitation against the Nazism and the way it made people life------------ HELL
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Congo.TXT
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1015
The book Congo is about a group of people who go to the African Congo to return a gorilla to her homeland and to find type IIb blue diamonds. On their journey they discover the lost city of Zinj and a new species of killer gorillas, which they must overcome to survive. The story takes place in June of 1979. The three main characters are: Dr. Karen Ross, supervisor of Earth Resources Technology Services (ERTS), Dr. Peter Elliot, a primatologist who trained a gorilla named Amy to speak by the use of sign language, and Charles Munro, the guide who leads the expedition through the Congo. ERTS has already sent an expedition of eight into the Congo to retrieve type IIb blue diamonds. They are contacting them back at the base in Houston. The camera in the expedition's camp turns on revealing a destroyed camp site: torn tents, supplies and clothing scattered everywhere, and dead bodies. As the camera moves around scanning the area a big gray object runs by the camera and destroys it. Every at ERTS is in shock. They replay the footage and freeze it on the big gray object. It looks like a gray gorilla, but gorillas don't kill people. Karen Ross decides to take another expedition into the Congo to get the blue diamonds. Because of the bewilderment over this incident she contacts Dr. Elliot to find out what this gorilla is. She tells him that their going to the Congo and he wants to come and bring Amy, his gorilla. Amy has been experiencing bad dreams because of her past which is unknown to Dr. Ross. She begins finger painting which helps her sleep at ease because tries to banish the dreams onto paper. Elliot realizes she wants to go to the jungle because all the her paintings are of it. The expedition leaves quickly because there is a competing company that is also making its way to the Congo to get the blue diamonds, which are an amazing source of energy. The expedition is set to meet Charles Munro, the best guide there is, to guide them through the Congo. They discussed business matters and quickly headed to Nairobi. From Nairobi they took their final plane to go to the Congo. At that time a civil war had started in Africa and both sides were shooting everything, including the expedition's plane. Every one had to take a parachute and jump out of the plane. This was a major delay in the time the expedition had to beat the competition to the diamond site. The expedition: Ross, Elliot, Munro, Amy, and some African men; have to walk the rest of the way to the diamond site. On their way they encounter many dangers like: cannibalistic tribes, angry hippos, crocodiles, and a volcano ready to burst. As they are walking through the jungle Ross is informed on her computer that the competition has already reached the site and there is no point to continue. Later on they find the competitions camp site destroyed and all the people are dead. During their journey they have an encounter with mountain gorillas. Amy runs of with them because she thinks the group is mad at her. After all the troubles and danger they finally arrive at a place to make camp, which turns out to be the lost city of Zinj which contains the blue diamonds. They are very excited to have made such a great archeological discovery and go exploring the city for the rest of the day. At night they set up and electric fence, sensor guns, and sensor lasers. This is their first encounter with the gray killer gorillas. The gorillas showed signs of intelligence by attacking different parts of the electric fence to get in, they also wheezed to one another and used hand signals, which served as a language. The next day while studying paintings in one of the houses of the city they discovered the story behind the city. The city has diamond mines under it and they trained gorillas to be like watch dogs to guard the mines. These "watch dogs" turned on their masters and these killer apes rule the city. The team dug a moat around the camp because it is known that no gorilla will cross even the smallest body of water. That night the gorillas came and the same wheezing noises where heard used a tree trunk as a bridge over the moat and some of them made a distraction while others used a stick to lift open the fence and kill some of the African people. Later the team studied the body of one of the dead animals. It was a little smaller than a gorilla and weighed less and it's fur color was gray. The next night the same thing happened: more gorillas slipped in unnoticed, killed some of the African people, and made a clean exit. The next day Amy returned to the camp site and told Elliot that these gray gorillas are bad creatures and that she could understand them a little. Elliot thought of a plan, he and Amy went to the lair of these gorillas and focused on one. Amy would explain to Elliot what each noise meant. By the end of the day they had down the meaning of a few words. Elliot made a tape with the words: GO AWAY, NO COME, and BAD HERE. As the gorillas attacked that night he played the message and they all left. The plan had worked. The next day the volcano was ready to blow which meant they had to leave quickly. On their way a cannibal tribe attacked them. They managed to escape in a hot air balloon and Amy was set free and lived with a gorilla troop. Ross got her blue diamonds and went home happy. I liked the book because of all the adventure. All the danger they had to go through was very exciting and suspenseful. I was always waiting to see what would happen next. It was also fun reading about how surprisingly intelligent the gray gorillas are. In each attack they do something smarter and waiting to find out how the team would overcome them was very exciting. I recommend this book to adventure loving people who also want to learn a lot while reading. The book has a lot of "on the edge of your seat" adventure and suspense and a lot of educational material about primates, the history of training animals to talk, and computers among many other things. In conclusion Congo is a great book that doesn't let you become bored and teaches you a lot of interesting facts.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Conrad is a Sexist.TXT
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559
In Joseph Conrad's novelette Heart of Darkness, Marlow's view of women embodies the typical 19th century view of women as the inferior sex. There are only three relatively minor female characters in Heart of Darkness: Marlow's aunt, Kurtz's mistress, and Kurtz's "Intended." Marlow mentions these female characters in order to give the literal aspect of his tale more substance. While they definitely play specific roles in the story, they do not relate with the primary theme of the story. The primary theme focuses more on how Marlow's journey into the heart of darkness contrasts the "white" souls of the black people and the "black" souls of the whites who exploit them, and how it led to Marlow's self-discovery. In the beginning of Marlow's story he tells how he, "Charlie Marlow, set the women to work--to get a job." He tells this in the context that he was so desperate to travel in the trade industry that he did what was unthinkable in those times: he asked a woman for financial assistance. The woman, his aunt, also transcended the traditional role of women in those times by telling Marlow that she would be delighted to help him and to ask her for help whenever he needed it. This incident did not have much to do with the symbolic theme of the story; it simply served to tell the reader how Marlow managed to be able to travel to the Congo. On a higher level, it was intended by Conrad to illustrate Marlow's opinion of women's inferior role in society, which embodied traditional 19th century society. The two other female characters are not mentioned until much later in the story, after Marlow has arrived at the Inner Station. When Marlow reaches this point in his tale, he jumps ahead and tells a little bit about The Intended, Kurtz's fianceé who was to marry Kurtz when he returned. The Intended woman does not appear until the very end of the novelette, in which Marlow visits her and lies to her about Kurtz's dying words. The Intended had a more significant role in the story than Marlow's aunt; however, her role as a whole was somewhat limited and did not affect the main theme of the story. The third female character, Kurtz's African mistress, is briefly mentioned two times near the end of the novella. She appears while Marlow is talking to the Russian, and the Russian growls at her and says she makes mischief. She appears a bit later on when Marlow and Kurtz depart on the steamboat, and is not scared off when Marlow blows the whistle. She stretches her arms out towards the steamer, and that is the last time she is seen. The limited depiction of female characters in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and the way in which the three female characters are referred to by Marlow reflect Marlows view of women as inferior. Marlow's opinion of women manifests the typical 19th century views of women. While the women do play key roles in the plot of the story, they do not influence the main theme of the story, which is of Marlow's exploration of the darkness which is inherent in the human soul. This darkness is evident in the savage blacks, but more so in the savage treatment of blacks by whites who call themselves civilized.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Creative Management.TXT
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1231
Creative Management gives creative ideas of how a manger should present himself and how to approach different situations. Creative Management written by Shiegru Kobanashi, focuses mainly on the importance of teamwork, and on group management. How can we transform our present methods of production, under which we become slaves to machines, and regulations for the temporary increase in productivity, into one in which we are the masters of our work? How can we establish a system, which will make people work voluntarily and feel good about doing it. The book starts with waking up make sure you have proper hygiene. Wear simple clothes. Not close that stand out. A fussy dresser doesn't impress people, but it gives a false impression of the person wearing the clothes you should wear clean, pleasing clothes that match your personality. A manager should always meet someone with a smile. It will lighten the mood and there is no better way to show your personality them by your smile. "Face every day with a smile, and you will lead a pleasant life everyday."(Page 86) It expresses the importance of saying the simple words good morning and good night. When talking to employees you should speaking sincerely and low toned which will make others understand your thinking or feeling. Speaking forcefully and loud with raw emotion can affect other people as well as yourself. The book also emphasizes the importance of a manager to use empathy when dealing with fellow employees. Always put yourself in other people's position. If you base all decisions and give information to workers solely on how you feel chances are the advice you give will not be what the person coming to you needed. Everyone is different and everyone's lives are different. A good manager should get to know his employees as best as possible. Giving the manager a little incite into each of their lives. The more you know about your fellow workers the easier it will be to put yourself in there shoes and give the correct advice. . The world is filled with all types of temptations, and sometimes a manager is put into a situation where he has the opportunity to make some extra cash or maybe get something from some one for doing a not so legal favor. When these situations occur you should stop think things through. You have a mind and are used to doing your own thinking, but you are surrounded by devils of temptation, who disguises their voices and their faces and try to convince you to buy unnecessary things or do things that are wrong. A manager should aim at responsible conduct that will cause others no trouble. Managers have to deal with all kinds of problems all day. They deal with all the problems of a business. If managers keep the problems of the business to themselves the problems may never be solved. When managers are having problems with their personnel they should stop and think whether it is something in their own conduct or attitude, which is causing the problem. It is hard not to bring a person's personal life into the business world but sometimes it happens. If out side of the job you are having problems and are very down because of it chances are you a portraying a negative vibe through out the work place. If this is the case you have to get a grip and put you personal life on hold and help the business by lightening up the atmosphere. If you are not the problem and other employees are having problems a manager should use empathy to help resolve the problem. If the problem takes on a larger scale a meeting should be held to discuss the problem or problems and come up with a well thought out resolution. Industrial organizations are not fully independent bodies, they do not exist solely for the employees of whom they consist. The managers are selected by people other than the workers, and have to report directly to managers at higher levels. However, that authority denies a worker, freedom to express their personality, and creates a dry atmosphere causing the employees to be actively unhappy as human being. It holds back productivity and results in the misuse of authority, and leads naturally to the self-destruction of the company itself. It's hardly likely that top management will always make the right decision. Therefore, one-sided democratic exercise of its power and leaders of company may create and bring about policies that are not right for the company. The development of any organization requires all of voices of the business to listen openly and selflessly. The voices of the individuals will bring about the right policy for a given situation. This form of management were all the voices of the business are heard based on information that managers and their subordinates alike listen to the voices humbly and back up the decision with confidence. Teamwork the most important part of the business it is the backbone for a stable well planned business policy or resolution. Meetings between managers and personnel are one creative management idea. The role of the leader in this kind of meeting is, to the organizing the available information and conducting of the meeting in such a way that each member will be able to speak out freely and the team as a hole will arrive at the right conclusions. If the team fails to produce a unanimous decision the decision will be based on a majority vote. There are two different team meetings. One meeting is held for the purpose of clearly indicating the goals that should be kept in mind by particular group. The group modifies and revises goals, exchanges information, disuses methods to be used establishing contracts the they once again review the final results this type of meeting is held ever month. The second teem meeting focuses on long-range goals, and methods of implementing them. Here performance, productivity, and plans for future growth are discussed. This type of meeting takes place every six months. Each department manager or team leader becomes familiar with other functions and groups, learns from hearing their work revised, and participates in policymaking. They learn the significance of his department's activities in relation to the whole company. They discuss policy making ideas, review appraisals, and set goals. Teams don't function on order from above, rather it functions on it's own ideas. The same thing can be said about the individuals who make team, and revise goals that are also handled by team. In other words they work as a unit. A manager should hold himself as a person of power who is still an equal of his work force. The job of the manager is not to order people around and push his ideas. A manager's job is to keep the work force unified and keep it working as a team. Most people in today's society are power hungry and are only in it for them selves. They don't realize that if everyone is successful you will be successful they will be to. So remember . there is no "I" in team. Working to getter and putting minds together is much more efficient then one person how thinks they know everything
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Cyrano De Bergerac.TXT
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Cyrano De Bergerac
Every generation has its own heroes that display, what they believe to be, ideal characteristics. While each is different in their own way, many of these role models share similar qualities. Most tend to have courage, strength, compassion, or another respected trait, but this is not necessarily why they win the adoration of their followers. Cyrano De Bergerac is a perfect example of how many protagonists win our allegiance because his sensibilities will not be denied, because he lives life to the hilt, and because he is a victim of his surroundings. If there was ever a figure who would not be denied his sensibilities, it is Cyrano. When lovers admit, "I'd die for you," it is usually only a figure of speech. Cyrano actually crossed over enemy lines every day simply to mail love letters. He also confessed to her, "My mother made it clear that she didn't find me pleasant to look at. I had no sister. Later, I dreaded the thought of seeing mockery in the eyes of a mistress. Thanks to you I've at least had a woman's friendship, a gracious presence to soften the harsh loneliness of my life. " When Cyrano admits, "My heart always timidly hides its self behind my mind," the reader can instantly relate to this dilemma but it is the fact that Cyrano is able to overcome it that makes him a hero. Not only is Cyrano filled with emotion, but he also goes out of his way to live life to the fullest. Cyrano's introduction to the reader definitely leaves a lasting impression. Not only does he banish an actor from the theater for performing poorly, but he proceeds to recite poetry while dueling with another member of the audience. Every moment of Cyrano's life is filled with action like this. When he was informed that one hundred men were going to kill his friend, Ligniére, he was thrilled with the idea of fighting all these men at once, and, of course, he succeeded. How could anyone not love this man who takes Carpe Diem to its most extreme form? Also, Cyrano is a victim of his surroundings. This may be the one characteristic that completely wins over the reader. Cyrano's most obvious flaw is his grotesque nose, but this would not be so awful if the people around him didn't care. Knowing that he is the victim of a problem beyond his control, the reader can do nothing but sympathize with him. The epitome of this is his death. His only wish in life was to dye noble . . . by the sword, but he again he is hurt by an outside force that he had no influence over. When he says, "Fate is a great jester! I've been struck down, but from behind, in an ambush, by a lackey wielding a log! I've been consistent to the end, I've failed in everything, even in my death," the reader is completely won over. Perhaps the most impressive thing about those we follow is that they're human. Again, Cyrano De Bergerac is the perfect example of how a hero wins the adoration of his followers. By showing his intense feelings, living life to the fullest, and still remaining human, he is able to win the heart of almost any reader. Heroes have changed a lot over the years. When one looks at napoleon they are hardly reminded of John Lennon. While different generations find different qualities to be noble, there are some heroes, like Cyrano, who will be loved for all time.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dave Barrys Complete Guide To Guys.TXT
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Dave Barry's Complete Guide To Guys
Wait, are you telling me that Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys addresses women's issues? If "women's issues" include understanding why guys spit, scratch themselves, and give each other noogies, well then this book certainly addresses them! As for addressing the whole bit about a patriarchal world history, the subjugation of women, and accused responsibility for the Fall of Man, well, you might as well forget it. Dave Barry might not make you feel better about the stature of women in today's world or the future of the human species, but hopefully you can say this: you're not a guy. Dave Barry's book reminds me a lot of an episode of Seinfield: it's all about nothing. It tells the reader what guys are thinking(nothing) and what their "deal" is(nothing). While it does pretty much, well, nothing to help understand women or help women understand, the one thing it does do is hold true to the manufacturer's guarantee: you WILL laugh. You will not only laugh, but you will laugh hard. You will laugh hysterically, obnoxiously hard. You will want to share Dave Barry's insight on the male species with everyone you know and every stranger you meet, particularly so if they are women. Barry's book speaks little about the real reasons as to why males do the things they do and more about the fact that they are just scumbags and idiots. According to Barry, people "make being male sound like a very important activity, as opposed to what it primarily consists of, namely, possessing a set of minor and frequently unreliable organs"(xi). You will become convinced that the title should not be "Complete Guide to Guys," but "More Reasons Why Women Are The Better Sex." In fact, Barry himself seems to support the latter idea through his discussion of "the Punch Reflex," "the Noogie Gene," scientific reasons as to why guys act like jerks, the hidden truth of the Space Shuttle program, and standards. Yes, guys are just mindless idiots who like things that go, "Brrrrrrmmmmmmmmm!" I suppose he would know, though: he is a guy. It is a well-known fact that our world history is dominated by a tyrannical patriarchy in which the majority of women have been forgotten. Somehow, according to Barry, it is the men who have been forgotten. "Guys have played an important role in history, but this role has not been given the attention it deserves, because nobody wrote it down"(9). Yet, in Barry's fifteen-page chapter recounting the entire history of the world, the male role in the subjugation, victimization, and abuse of women was entirely forgotten. In truth, women- period- were forgotten. What Barry did tell us, however, were actually little known facts about women in history. Prehistoric women actually took care of the children and gathered roots, only to throw them away later(the roots, that is). Women didn't exist in Ancient Egypt. Women in the Middle Ages only complained that their kids kept getting the Plague. The only women in the Renaissance were statues. God only knows what happened with the women during the Protestant Reformation; the guys were out fishing when that happened. The only participation women had in the Age of Exploration was telling their husbands that they should stop and ask for directions, as well as almost being victims of head-on collisions with Christopher Columbus. Women in colonial America were actually men dressed up as French milkmaids who threw cows into the Boston Harbor. Women disappeared, again, during the Industrial Revolution. The only woman in the Modern Era- or, at least, Dave Barry's Modern Era- was Sherryl Gingrich, a reader who sent him a newspaper article about family men in their forties who decided to hurl themselves off a ski-jump in a canoe. Yes, I do believe Dave Barry is right: it is the men who have been forgotten in history. In all seriousness, while Barry is intending to only to make a mockery of men's history, he is also making a mockery of women's history by disregarding her very presence. Barry's recounting of history is reflective of the world today, as well as history itself. Barry forgot women in his telling of history, just as so many actual history books have. He deals with the issue of a forgotten sex by mirroring our patriarchal world history: he simply forgets it. While his efforts as a historian are in vain, Barry is quite successful as a teacher of sociology. While he writes fairly little on women's socialization techniques, he speaks at great length of the methods of male socialization. They are a hot topic for Barry and, surprisingly enough, he actually offers some very valid information and possible reasons behind male behavior. His explanations of male socialization should be considered in conjunction with his explanations of the male biology, seeing as much of male socialization is directly affected- and primarily caused- by his biological nature. "There are powerful underlying biological reasons why guys act the way they do, as opposed to acting like human beings"(43). By and large, Barry accredits male behavior to hormonal influences(i.e. sexual hormones). "I'm not saying that women don't think about sex also. I'm saying that women are capable, for at least brief periods of time, of not thinking about sex, and that most guys are not"(31). As well as their ability to be non-sexual, Barry also accredits women with the ability to be logical and sensible through his discussion of the effects of testosterone on male behavior. Barry uses this male biology in combination with gender-focused media ploys, namely, toys and machinery. Both male and female socialization, according to Barry, are influenced by stereotypical gender-focused toys, which imply a certain type of gender behavior. Males are introduced to the ideas of power and dominance at a very young age through toys and the media, whereas these same things teach females a stereotypical duty to be caretakers and gentle. It is He-Man versus Bake-A-Cake. Barry exemplified the effects of the gender-based commercial marketing on male and female socialization through an incident at Burger King with his son. "I'd see a table of little girls, and they'd be eating and talking, just like miniature humans. Whereas my son and his friends seemed to have some kind of nervous-system linkage between their mouths and their hands, so that they could not chew without punching...I'd look over at the table of little girls, who'd be chatting and thoughtfully passing each other the napkins, and I would wonder how we ever permitted my gender to get control of, for example, the government"(52-53). Barry uses a very humorous situation to show the honest validity of the effects that society has on the interaction styles of both sexes. Socialization is greatly affected by impressions made by society. It must be acknowledged, however, that these impressions are made by adults who themselves are victims of gender-behavior generalizations that have been passed down through history. There is little else of Dave Barry's book that can be compared to the variety of women's issues broached during this semester. While his book is undoubtedly hysterical, it is not a viable resource that would show the issues that women have dealt with and continue to deal with in today's world. He quite rarely mentions the trials, tribulations, and successes of the female sex, making the only argument that their greatest problem has been male idiocy. He makes a mockery of the male sex, offering the blanket statement that women are smarter, more reasonable, and all-around better human beings. He makes this statement by dealing only with "stupid human tricks" that males have engaged in(such as the previously mentioned canoe-skiing). It is a book that is entirely worth reading, but it cannot- and should not- be considered a serious source from which to gain actual evidence of women's issues. It is a book that sheds a very humorous, and sometimes honest, light on the male species, but only on the male species. It is the type of book that one would read after having a fight with their significant other or in the company of women. It is the type of book that makes you highly appreciate being a woman. It is the type of book that makes you happy to laugh and say: at least I'm not a guy.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\David Copperfield 2 again.TXT
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	The many differences between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles
In the novel, David Copperfield, Charles Dickens contrasts many different characters.  The main two characters that he contrasts are Tommy Traddles and James Steerforth.  He displays the contrast between these two characters in many different ways.  The only common thing that they share is their close friendship with David.  Dickens shows these differences through their looks, personalities, and the final results of their lives.    
	For one thing, Charles Dickens contrasts these two characters through their looks.  He tells the readers that James Steerforth is an extremely handsome young person whom everyone seems to adore.  In every instance in the book when someone sees him for the first time, they recognize him as being very attractive.  He was described as being tall and thin character.  On the other hand, Traddles was pictured as being somewhat on the heavy side. He reminds the reader of the fat clumsy kid in their own school. Dickens portrays this when he says, "Poor Traddles!  In a tight sky-blue suit that made his arms and legs like German sausages, or roly-poly puddings," (143).  
	Besides being different in appearance, Charles Dickens contrasts these two characters through their personalities. From the beginning, James Steerforth leads people to believe that he is a good person. There are many instances in which he shows off his true colors.  The first sign of his deceitful manner occurs when David allows Steerforth to keep his money. Steerforth uses this money to buy food for many of the students.  Steerforth displays his selfishness when he insults his schoolmaster, Mr. Mell, and gets him fired. Again, Steerforth shows his stern personality again when David arrives in London, and he is given a very small room over a stable.  Steerforth confronts the hotel employee, and David is given a much better room.  The greatest example of Steerforth's brute personality is when he runs off with little Em'ly.  Dickens tells us that Steerforth and Em'ly fought a lot and finally Steerforth leaves her, and suggests she marries Littimer.  On the other hand, Tommy Traddles is a very nice person.  Trad
dles shows his kindness by introducing  David to the boys at the Salem House. Charles Dickens shows Traddles' personality when he says of him, "He was very honourable, Traddles was, and held it as a solemn duty in the boys to stand by one another" (143).  Traddles is a strong-willed person.  Even though he receives more punishment than anyone else at the school, he maintains his honor.  Traddles is a very reserved person.  He keeps many of his feelings hidden, revealing them only as skeletons drawn on paper.  
	The biggest difference between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles is final results of their lives when the book ends.  James Steerforth dies a tragic and horrible death.  Steerforth spent most of his boisterous life looking down on the people.  In the end, it is nature that pays him back by drowning him in the ocean.  In contrast, Tommy Traddles becomes a very successful magistrate.  He is happily married to the love of his life, Sophy.  She and Traddles have two boys and they are living a happy family life.
	In this novel, Charles Dickens shows contrast between several of the main characters.  He shows these characters to be different in many ways. He especially shows this between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles.  He does this by contrasting their looks, personalities, and the final results of their lives.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\David Copperfield 2.TXT
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	The many differences between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles
In the novel, David Copperfield, Charles Dickens contrasts many different characters.  The main two characters that he contrasts are Tommy Traddles and James Steerforth.  He displays the contrast between these two characters in many different ways.  The only common thing that they share is their close friendship with David.  Dickens shows these differences through their looks, personalities, and the final results of their lives.    
	For one thing, Charles Dickens contrasts these two characters through their looks.  He tells the readers that James Steerforth is an extremely handsome young person whom everyone seems to adore.  In every instance in the book when someone sees him for the first time, they recognize him as being very attractive.  He was described as being tall and thin character.  On the other hand, Traddles was pictured as being somewhat on the heavy side. He reminds the reader of the fat clumsy kid in their own school. Dickens portrays this when he says, "Poor Traddles!  In a tight sky-blue suit that made his arms and legs like German sausages, or roly-poly puddings," (143).  
	Besides being different in appearance, Charles Dickens contrasts these two characters through their personalities. From the beginning, James Steerforth leads people to believe that he is a good person. There are many instances in which he shows off his true colors.  The first sign of his deceitful manner occurs when David allows Steerforth to keep his money. Steerforth uses this money to buy food for many of the students.  Steerforth displays his selfishness when he insults his schoolmaster, Mr. Mell, and gets him fired. Again, Steerforth shows his stern personality again when David arrives in London, and he is given a very small room over a stable.  Steerforth confronts the hotel employee, and David is given a much better room.  The greatest example of Steerforth's brute personality is when he runs off with little Em'ly.  Dickens tells us that Steerforth and Em'ly fought a lot and finally Steerforth leaves her, and suggests she marries Littimer.  On the other hand, Tommy Traddles is a very nice person.  Trad
dles shows his kindness by introducing  David to the boys at the Salem House. Charles Dickens shows Traddles' personality when he says of him, "He was very honourable, Traddles was, and held it as a solemn duty in the boys to stand by one another" (143).  Traddles is a strong-willed person.  Even though he receives more punishment than anyone else at the school, he maintains his honor.  Traddles is a very reserved person.  He keeps many of his feelings hidden, revealing them only as skeletons drawn on paper.  
	The biggest difference between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles is final results of their lives when the book ends.  James Steerforth dies a tragic and horrible death.  Steerforth spent most of his boisterous life looking down on the people.  In the end, it is nature that pays him back by drowning him in the ocean.  In contrast, Tommy Traddles becomes a very successful magistrate.  He is happily married to the love of his life, Sophy.  She and Traddles have two boys and they are living a happy family life.
	In this novel, Charles Dickens shows contrast between several of the main characters.  He shows these characters to be different in many ways. He especially shows this between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles.  He does this by contrasting their looks, personalities, and the final results of their lives.
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\David Copperfield again.TXT
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'David Copperfield' is a novel of  "Passionate jealousy
sniveling hypocrisy cold hearted fraud, sexual degradation, selfish 
exploitation and much more; but the final impression is one of joy 
tempered and mellowed wisdom" Discuss.
	David Copperfield is probably one of the most successful novels of all time. I believe it has inspired many readers to a full life with great success. The novel itself is so real that it has even been said to be 'more real than life' I am one of those who agree and I will try and explain why in the following essay . The terms used to describe David Copperfield in the question are all very true in their own respect. This is basically because Dickens chose to write about life and in life all these terms apply.
	By the time that Dickens began writing David Copperfield he was already a profound author with great popularity. I believe he wanted to portray life as best he could, he wanted to show what life was to him: and what better way than a biography closely related to Dickens himself. We could call it a 'Novel of personal memory' but we have to keep in mind the full original title: 'The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield, the Younger, of Bluderstone Rookery. (Which he never meant to published on any account.) This complete title strongly suggests that this is one man's story written for himself. It was also supposed to 'never have been published on any account.' Later in chap 42 this condition is repeated: 'this manuscript is intended for no eyes but mine.' Of course this is part of the fiction, after all we are reading David's story ourselves when we reach this sentence. What is David Copperfield about? I pose myself this question to help illustrate how much of an autobi
ography this book really is, the simplest answer is of course that it is about David Copperfield himself and his development as a man. Although after having read several biography's done on the author Charles Dickens, I was led to believe that this book is very near Dickens own life, for example his father, John Dickens does seem to have been a warm and pleasant father, but his lack of responsibility, especially with money, later led his family into serious difficulties. This is very much like Mr.Micawber. Infact his unhappy loves in life were portrayed also, similarly he wanted to become a journalist and later as David Copperfield a well-known author.
	Referring back to the discussion title I'd like to give a few examples that show how the terms applied actually relate to the novel. 'Passionate jealousy,' this can be seen majorly in Uriah Heep who throughout the entire novel displays a strong jealousy towards David. Hidden behind his 'umbleness he despises society and is very disagreeable therefore he applies to most negative words used in the discussion title. One example of his jealousy was when he thought that David was trying to steal the love he dreamed of: Agnes. So Heep forced his own mother to spy on David. Another character who came across as having passionate jealousy was Ms.Dartle who loved Steerforth dearly all her life even though he had been cruel to her and even ruined her beautiful face by breaking her nose when he was younger. When Steerforth fled with lill'Emily, Ms.Dartle took it to heart that Em'ly had stolen her Steerforth.  There  was a lot of jealousy from Rosa Dartle's part.
	'Sniveling hypocrisy,' again we see Heep classified under this category but more so there are two other very evil characters which are very hypocritical: Mr.Creakle, the cruel headmaster of Salem house school. Initially he is the cruelest most disrespectful headmaster alive but towards the end of the novel he has turned into a very nice, polite warden at a jailhouse who has respect even for the greatest criminals such as Heep and Littimer, Steerforth's despicable servant. Similarly Mr. Murdstone seems at the beginning to be very polite and a great gentleman; until he gets what he wants! He marries rich young widowed women whom he slowly destroys with his odious 'firmness'
	'Cold-hearted fraud' this is probably the most serious offense that is committed in David Copperfield because it actually means: trickery or scheme to deceive. In other words it is a crime, there were only a few occasions where this occurred and mostly they were to do with Heep: firstly the way the evil and slimy character deceived Mr. Wickfield accounts on several occasions with the faking of his signature to transfer documents, once he even managed to take all of Aunt Betsey's money that was supposed to have been her life savings and 'all' she had. Also under serious offense we see Littimer's name appearing once again for his robbery to the bank of England, it is even suggested that both Heep and Littimer were in on things together. But luckily, with the help of Mr. Dick and the spiritous Miss. Mowcher they are both caught and put into Mr. Creakle's prison.
	'Sexual degradation' is also portrayed and again I'd like to step back and point out how important it is that we understand that these describing terms apply to real life, and therefore if they come up in Dickens biographical novel, he has been successful in describing how 'real' life is like. Mainly the characters who acted with sexual degradation are: Steerforth towards Emily by lying to her and basically tearing her away from her home, and Murdstone towards David's mother.
	'Selfish exploitation' is done by quite a lot of characters mainly: Steerforth-thinks he's at the top, Heep-disguised beneath his 'umbleness he's actually very conceited, Jack Maldon-the way he thinks only of himself and takes full advantage of Doctor Strong's caring heart, the Old Soldier (Annie's mother)-again taking selfish advantage of Doctor Strong, and lastly Mr. Murdstone-thinking only for what's best for him; he even abandoned David to his Aunt Betsey whom was a complete stranger for him, just because he wanted to get poor David out of his life. Would an unselfish step-father do that?
	The initial title also says that: 'the final impression is one of joy tempered and mellowed with wisdom.' This is very true and it is what has given this book the success that it has: when we begin to read David Copperfield we start to feel as if the bad luck is all happening to him, his mother re-marries a cruel man, he goes to an awful school, his mother, he has to work unfairly ect...  Steerforth's servant Littimer once calls David 'young innocence' (chapter 32). This name is appropriate. David is sensitive, honest and loving as a child, and remains so all his life. He is intelligent and observant, but he learns the harder facts of life very slowly. That is why we can say all those describing terms about this novel are correct and that is why we can say it ends marvellously with great expected achievment from david. In fact, also because it was written as a series rather than a novel, Dickens manages to settle everything left hanging between characters, in the last chapter. So in conclusion I can say that 
I profoundly agree with the initial statement because it properly describes this masterpiece of life.
							Romeo Romeo '96
 
     
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\David Copperfield.TXT
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'David Copperfield' is a novel of  "Passionate jealousy
sniveling hypocrisy cold hearted fraud, sexual degradation, selfish 
exploitation and much more; but the final impression is one of joy 
tempered and mellowed wisdom" Discuss.
	David Copperfield is probably one of the most successful novels of all time. I believe it has inspired many readers to a full life with great success. The novel itself is so real that it has even been said to be 'more real than life' I am one of those who agree and I will try and explain why in the following essay . The terms used to describe David Copperfield in the question are all very true in their own respect. This is basically because Dickens chose to write about life and in life all these terms apply.
	By the time that Dickens began writing David Copperfield he was already a profound author with great popularity. I believe he wanted to portray life as best he could, he wanted to show what life was to him: and what better way than a biography closely related to Dickens himself. We could call it a 'Novel of personal memory' but we have to keep in mind the full original title: 'The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield, the Younger, of Bluderstone Rookery. (Which he never meant to published on any account.) This complete title strongly suggests that this is one man's story written for himself. It was also supposed to 'never have been published on any account.' Later in chap 42 this condition is repeated: 'this manuscript is intended for no eyes but mine.' Of course this is part of the fiction, after all we are reading David's story ourselves when we reach this sentence. What is David Copperfield about? I pose myself this question to help illustrate how much of an autobi
ography this book really is, the simplest answer is of course that it is about David Copperfield himself and his development as a man. Although after having read several biography's done on the author Charles Dickens, I was led to believe that this book is very near Dickens own life, for example his father, John Dickens does seem to have been a warm and pleasant father, but his lack of responsibility, especially with money, later led his family into serious difficulties. This is very much like Mr.Micawber. Infact his unhappy loves in life were portrayed also, similarly he wanted to become a journalist and later as David Copperfield a well-known author.
	Referring back to the discussion title I'd like to give a few examples that show how the terms applied actually relate to the novel. 'Passionate jealousy,' this can be seen majorly in Uriah Heep who throughout the entire novel displays a strong jealousy towards David. Hidden behind his 'umbleness he despises society and is very disagreeable therefore he applies to most negative words used in the discussion title. One example of his jealousy was when he thought that David was trying to steal the love he dreamed of: Agnes. So Heep forced his own mother to spy on David. Another character who came across as having passionate jealousy was Ms.Dartle who loved Steerforth dearly all her life even though he had been cruel to her and even ruined her beautiful face by breaking her nose when he was younger. When Steerforth fled with lill'Emily, Ms.Dartle took it to heart that Em'ly had stolen her Steerforth.  There  was a lot of jealousy from Rosa Dartle's part.
	'Sniveling hypocrisy,' again we see Heep classified under this category but more so there are two other very evil characters which are very hypocritical: Mr.Creakle, the cruel headmaster of Salem house school. Initially he is the cruelest most disrespectful headmaster alive but towards the end of the novel he has turned into a very nice, polite warden at a jailhouse who has respect even for the greatest criminals such as Heep and Littimer, Steerforth's despicable servant. Similarly Mr. Murdstone seems at the beginning to be very polite and a great gentleman; until he gets what he wants! He marries rich young widowed women whom he slowly destroys with his odious 'firmness'
	'Cold-hearted fraud' this is probably the most serious offense that is committed in David Copperfield because it actually means: trickery or scheme to deceive. In other words it is a crime, there were only a few occasions where this occurred and mostly they were to do with Heep: firstly the way the evil and slimy character deceived Mr. Wickfield accounts on several occasions with the faking of his signature to transfer documents, once he even managed to take all of Aunt Betsey's money that was supposed to have been her life savings and 'all' she had. Also under serious offense we see Littimer's name appearing once again for his robbery to the bank of England, it is even suggested that both Heep and Littimer were in on things together. But luckily, with the help of Mr. Dick and the spiritous Miss. Mowcher they are both caught and put into Mr. Creakle's prison.
	'Sexual degradation' is also portrayed and again I'd like to step back and point out how important it is that we understand that these describing terms apply to real life, and therefore if they come up in Dickens biographical novel, he has been successful in describing how 'real' life is like. Mainly the characters who acted with sexual degradation are: Steerforth towards Emily by lying to her and basically tearing her away from her home, and Murdstone towards David's mother.
	'Selfish exploitation' is done by quite a lot of characters mainly: Steerforth-thinks he's at the top, Heep-disguised beneath his 'umbleness he's actually very conceited, Jack Maldon-the way he thinks only of himself and takes full advantage of Doctor Strong's caring heart, the Old Soldier (Annie's mother)-again taking selfish advantage of Doctor Strong, and lastly Mr. Murdstone-thinking only for what's best for him; he even abandoned David to his Aunt Betsey whom was a complete stranger for him, just because he wanted to get poor David out of his life. Would an unselfish step-father do that?
	The initial title also says that: 'the final impression is one of joy tempered and mellowed with wisdom.' This is very true and it is what has given this book the success that it has: when we begin to read David Copperfield we start to feel as if the bad luck is all happening to him, his mother re-marries a cruel man, he goes to an awful school, his mother, he has to work unfairly ect...  Steerforth's servant Littimer once calls David 'young innocence' (chapter 32). This name is appropriate. David is sensitive, honest and loving as a child, and remains so all his life. He is intelligent and observant, but he learns the harder facts of life very slowly. That is why we can say all those describing terms about this novel are correct and that is why we can say it ends marvellously with great expected achievment from david. In fact, also because it was written as a series rather than a novel, Dickens manages to settle everything left hanging between characters, in the last chapter. So in conclusion I can say that 
I profoundly agree with the initial statement because it properly describes this masterpiece of life.
							Romeo Romeo '96
 
     
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dawn.TXT
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Dawn
Dawn by Elie Wiesel Chapter 1 Takes place in Palestine. The narrator knows that he has to kill a man tomorrow. He doesn't know who it is but he knows what he has to do. The man that was going to die was an Englishman. The reason that he had to kill was because there is a war. Beggar. A man that taught the narrator the difference between night and day. Narrator met him while he was at the synagogue. The man wears black clothes. The narrator met the man when he was 12 years old. The narrator, as a child admitted to the beggar that he was definitely afraid of the beggar. "Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming." (4) The man wants to teach the narrator to distinguish between night and day. The beggar taught the narrator to look into the dusk and there would be a face that would appear. Night has a face and day does not. The face that appears is of a dead person. The night before the narrator does what he has to do, he looks into the night and sees his own face. There is going to be an execution at dawn. All of the executions happened at dawn. The "Movement" always kept their word. A month earlier there was one of their fighters that had been on a terrorist operation. He was hauled in by the police and they found weapons on him. They hung the man. By law this is what they were supposed to do. This was the tenth death sentence by the mandatory power in Palestine. The "Old Man" decided that things had gone far enough and now he was not going to allow the English to rule any longer. The Old Man ordered that a military officer be kidnapped. They kidnapped Captain John Dawson who walked alone at night. (6) This made the country very tense. The English ordered a 24 hour curfew. They searched every house, and also arrested hundreds of suspects. Tanks were stationed at the crossroads, barbed wire barricades at street corners. They did not find the hostage. The High Commissioner of Palestine said that the whole country would be held responsible for the murder of the Captain, if he was in fact murdered. A few people got in touch with the Old Man and told him not to go too far. They wanted the man that was supposed to die, to live. If he died than the Captain would die. The mother of the Captain demanded that the English give up the young Jew so that she could have her son back. The men told her that "The Jews will never do it." (8) The Palestinians would not give up the Captain because it would show a sign of weakness. The English would not agree to the pardon because it would show a sign of weakness. It was announced over radio that the Jew was to be executed the next day. They said nothing about the Captain but everyone knew that he would die also. The narrator asked Gad who was going to kill the Captain who was going to kill the Captain. He replied "You are." It was an order from the Old Man. To Gad it was not a big deal. The narrator was amazed by the whole thing. Definite connection to Night. Foreshadow of events. Not wanting to Kill. But being ordered. Chapter 2 The narrator's name is Elisha. Age 18. "Gad had recruited me for the Movement and brought me to Palestine. He had made me into a terrorist." (11) The narrator was held in Buchenwald, a prison camp during the World War. The Americans liberated it and then they offered to send him home. He rejected it because he knew that his parents were dead and that his house and lands were under the control of foreign hands. He went to Paris and that is where he met Gad. He was offered asylum in France. He wanted to learn the language and go to school. but Gad came into his life. "The study of philosophy attracted me because I wanted to understand the meaning of the events of which I had been the victim." (12) "In the concentration camp I had cried out in sorrow and anger against God and also against man, who seemed to have inherited only the cruelty of his creator." (12) Gad, one night, knocked on the narrators door and walked in. The narrator did not have any acquaintances in Paris. The person at the door said that he knew everything about him. The narrator compares Gad to God. "He said "I am Gad" in the same way the Jehovah said "I am that I am."" (14) Also compared him to Meshulah, the mysterious messenger of fate to whom nothing is impossible. (15) "In the Hassidic legends the messenger is always portrayed standing..." (16) the man would not sit down. The struggle of the group was to make their homeland free from outside intervention. "This was the first story I had ever heard in which the Jews were not the ones to be afraid." (17) Gad "Here is the dawn. In our land it is very different. Here the Dawn is gray; in Palestine it is red like fire." (19) "You are listening to the voice of freedom . . ." (20) Was said by a girl every night on the Movements own radio station. There were only about 5 people who knew who this woman was. The narrator and Gad were 2 of them. Gad and the woman were lovers. The English wanted to get hold of her identity just as bad as they wanted to know the Old Man. John and David. People from the bible. The narrator walks over to look in the mirror. He only sees eyes. He was told "Death . . . is a being without arms or legs or mouth or head; it is all eyes. If you ever meet a creature with eyes everywhere. You can be sure that it is death." (22-23) The story started with a child crying and now as the narrator begins to sob because of what he has to do, the child stops crying. Same age group as in Night. Terrorist by choice. Jews fighting the group of people who helped save them during the war. Held in prison camp during the war. Parents died in camps. Stranger comes to door and walks right in. Both stories have Jews fighting for freedom. Chapter 3 The narrator believes that he has killed before in raids on camps and convoys but he did not feel bad about planning the raids. They were at night. The movements plan was to kill as many English as possible. That was all. The Captain was being held at a Professor of Language's house. This is where they held prisoners and people wanted by the police. There was a dungeon built in the basement. When the dogs searched the house they smelled him and came within inches of him but there was a wall between them. For the first 6 weeks that the narrator was in Palestine, he was taught how to use a variety of weapons and how to kill people effectively with bare hands. And how to escape from any prison. On the last day of training a masked man came to talk to them. The narrator believes that it was the old man. The first time that the narrator killed, he and 4 others raided a camp where they surrounded a group of soldiers and then began firing on them. He says that he will never forget that night. (28) The second time that he killed, he and a group of men went and set mines on a corner of a road. When 3 trucks came around the corner one of them hit a mine. The other trucks stopped and the men got out of the back. They were all killed. When he goes out to kill he calls it 'putting on the gray colors of the SS.' The woman came home and she stated the Old Man had been crying. (30) One night they had an operation where they went onto an army base with false documents that stated that they were supposed to pick up Tommy guns and ammunition. They almost got away but the man at the gate received a message that the order was not in proper authority. They already had everything loaded and they clubbed the gate guard over the head. The guard woke up and started firing at the group. David got shot and that is when he was captured. The narrator was not there but Gad was the organizer of the operation and takes blame for the capture. The narrator is used to losing friends every day. "This is war." is used frequently. Like they are trying to justify what they are doing. Escape from any prison. Training came a little late. Losing lots of friends to war. Chapter 4 One man was reported on by a neighbor and he went into an asylum where a friend worked. The police finally found him and the doctor said that the man thought that he was dead. They gave him 24 hours of interrogation and then they took him back to the asylum. They slapped him, and got no reaction, they also tried to make him eat, and he would not. Playing dead had changed the mans hair colour from brown to white. Gideon was called the Saint. Because he looked like a Jewish saint and because he always remained inconspicuous. His father was a rabbi. The woman was saved by a head cold. The police brought a group of women in and had an analyst listen to their voices. The voices were compared to the voice on the radio. The woman had a cold that day and her voice was not the same. She was quickly eliminated from the suspects. (40) The narrator was once saved by laughter. During his stay at a prison camp, he was supposed to go outside in very cold weather in his rags. The cell block was getting cleaned. He thought that the exposure would kill him because he had a cold. When the cleaning crew found him the leader grabbed him by the throat. The narrators head swelled up and he looked funny. The leader let him go and started to laugh uncontrollably. The man forgot his intention to kill. Catherine was a 26-27 year old that spoke little German and while the narrator was at a summer camp in Normandy after the war. She was the only person that could talk to him. He did not know French and none of the other kids except Catherine could speak German.(48) Catherine taught him what women did to men. LOVE? They just happened to meet back up at Palestine. On a walk one night Catherine told him that some of the other girls spoke German. The narrator expressed that he had nothing to say to them. She replied. "You don't have to say anything, . . . all you have to do is love them." (50) She taught him about women and how and what love is. They went under a tree every night and she taught him how to do many things. She liked to make love to little boys who were going to die. This is why she was there that night. Death playing tricks. Chapter 5 The narrator has a dream where all of the people in the room are people that he had known or killed. He kept on asking people why they were all there but no one would answer. The only person that answered was the beggar who said "This is a night of many faces." (56) The beggar told the narrator to go and talk to a child. The child looked like himself at that age. The boy said that all of the people were there to witness him, the narrator, become a murderer. They are there to help with the execution because they know the narrator cannot do it himself. The narrators mother could only say "Poor boy, poor boy." They told the man in the dungeon that he was going to die at dawn and the man said that he was hungry. The narrator thought that it was impossible for the man to be hungry. The stomach tells a man when he is about to die and that same stomach told the man that he was going to die. But he was also hungry. The little boy wants the narrator to give the prisoner the food. The narrator states that he does not want to be alone with the prisoner. The boy states that all of the people that are with him will go also. The little boy told the narrator that the ghosts do not go to the synagogue at midnight to pray, they go to eat. Gad ended up taking the food down to the prisoner. The narrator admits to his friends that he is afraid. (65) He said that he was afraid to laugh at the man. The narrator tells how his mother said that there will always be a golden goat beside him no matter how old or rich he gets. The narrator is extremely worried. He says that the goat has returned to him. He lost it just as he was going into the prison camp. Ilana, the radio girl, sounds like the narrators mother. "He who has killed one man alone is a killer." (69) There were two different kinds of light in the room. White, around the living. And black, around the ghosts. The narrator approaches the ghost of his father and asks him not to judge. He went to the ghost of his mother and he starts to cry. He tells her that she did not give birth to a murderer but to a soldier. (73) The narrator sees people that were his friends that he did not know were dead. The boy finally speaks and says that they are not there to judge. They are there because the narrator is there. They have been, and always will be with him. The beggar brushed against the narrator and he realized that the beggar was the prophet Elijah. Gad came from watching the Captain eat and he said that the man was not hungry but he ate with good appetite. Dawn is at 5 o'clock and it is now 4 o'clock. Gad handed the narrator a revolver. The narrator asked if the prisoner had laughed. Gad replied "no" The stories that the prisoner told were funny but Gad said that he did not laugh. The narrator feels that David, the prisoner of the English, will come to the rescue. The narrator wants to go down and get to know who he is murdering. He wants to do this because war is shooting into the night and hoping that the enemy has been hit and is dead. You never know them though.(80) "I had never seen a hostage before." (80) The narrator does not want anyone, including the ghosts to go with him to the dungeon. The Beggar states that the narrator has regained his identity. The gun is symbolized as alive. (82) Trying to convince himself that what he is about to do is the right thing. Foreshadowing? Chapter 6 The cell was less stuffy than the room that everyone was in. The hour is moving extremely slow. "Under other circumstances he might have been my friend." (85) The Captain knew that it was his killer. In the bible Elisha, The name of the narrator, is the deciple of Elijah, who has been the beggar. The Captain was about 40 and the executioner is 18. The Captain has a son about the same age. The son does not look unhappy, but the Cap. says that the narrator looks unhappy and has anxiety. To block his feelings the narrator starts thinking about David. The Captain asks for some paper for a letter that will be sent to his son after the execution. The nazis referred to. (90) The narrator knew an artist who had his right hand cut off by the Nazis. The Captain had hands like the artist. The narrator cannot hate the Captain, even though hate is needed for murder. The narrator is going over what is going to happen to David.(96) The Captain asks "Why must you try to hate me ...." (97) The narrator thinks that this is a good question and says "In order to give my action a meaning which may somehow transcent it." (98) It is now ten to 5. From this point on every min. is talked about. Feelings etc. Three minutes to five and the narrator promises that he will mail the letter the same day. The Captain does not want a blindfold. All of the ghosts enter the room with one minute to go. The boy ghost says that this is the first time that he has seen an execution. (100) The Captain is smiling. The narrator asks why and the Captain says. "I'm smiling . . . because all of a sudden it has occurred to me that I don't know why I am dying." (101) The captain's last word was the name of the narrator. The ghosts started to leave the cell and the Captain walked beside the little boy. A child began to cry again. For the first time the narrator saw a face in the darkness. It was his own. Elisha restored breath to a boy, by laying on him, who stopped breathing.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Death Of A Salesman.TXT
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Death Of A Salesman
In the first B.C dramatist known as Aristotle started to write a series of plays called the tragedies. They were as follows: the play revolved around a great man, such as a king or war hero, who had a tragic flaw. This flaw would eventually become his downfall and he would fall from his glory. In the case of obvious it was his hubris; and Oedipus, his pride and curiosity. Through out the play the hero has many opportunities to overcome his mistakes. On the other side, the reason that his nature he sarcomas to it and deals with a sever punishment. Even though these types of plays are still written today most authors have varied their loom of writing a tragedy. An example is Author Miller. He attempts to illustrate the misfortune in the common man; he shows this in "Death to a Salesman." According to Arthur Miller, "the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who ready to put his life aside, if necessary, to secure one thing - his sense of personal dignity." (Tragedy and the Common Man p.1) He is saying in this quotation is that even that the common man can even be tragic because occasionally the one thing that she prizes the most, his sense of self-dignity, can be so jaded that he will sacrifice his own life to secure this dignity. In "Death to a Salesman", Arthur Miller successfully shows that you do not have to be someone important or king to show that. The classical model of a tragedy is that of someone of a high position contains superior qualities such as leadership for instance a king. However the hero always has a flaw, which may be an excess of one of these qualities such as hubris. This hero while trying to accomplish a goal such as a quest will eventually be dealt punishment, which is usually death. One could argue that not only Aristotle's definition of tragedy is true but that there can be many different kinds of tragedies. From the tragedy of a common man to that of a family or group of people. In opposition to Aristotle's view one could argue that any type of man could show tragic qualities, no matter what social environment the man comes from. The hero could range from a highly intellectual and educated man with great potential but whose flaw is lack of motivation, to a crack addict living on the street who refuses to enter rehab. The fate of people such as this might not be as appalling as death; however may be economic failure or social rejection. It the play "Death to a Salesman"there is elements to a tragic man by his way of commonness. Willy Loman is in the low social position but it seems to act like he is king of the world. Family believes that he is the heron in the world and they would be nothing with out him. But he is only an agitated sales man. "In the greatest country of the world a young man with such attractiveness, gets lost." (Page 16 Death to a Salesman) He also shows qualities of a tragic hero. Arthur Miller a tragic man would rather die than to face losing his dignity. "I think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life." (Para. 4, Arthur Miller) Willy was ready to throw his life away to be a well-liked man and successful being. His weakness was he was not able to be as successful as he wanted to so he faked it. He mad him self-out to be top dog but in the end his fate was that he was a nobody or an average Joe. He pictures as he prepares for suicide that lots of salesman are coming to his funeral but it's false. Willy might maybe a common man who is nothing more than a visionary and a liar, but he is still pictured a tragic hero. He even thought manual labor manual labor wasn't civilized enough for people yet he was proud of the ceiling he put in the dinning room, which was manual labor. He shows there that he is a hypocrite. He makes his family believe that if you are well liked in life you will go far with out working hard. "They look at him through his own eyes because he has blinded their own." (B.K.M) He wants to be a well-known man at home around the world in other countries, which is impossible. Because of Willy's view and action he could be used as the perfect tragic hero. "But there among is today, as there always have been, those who act against the scheme of things that degrades them, and in the process of action everything we have excepted out of fear or intensity or ignorance is shaken before us and examined..." (1st paragraph Arthur Miller) Many people may put "Death to a Salesman" as a boring and non-tragic piece, but Arthur Miller disagrees and says it is one of the best tragic examples written. It is about the common man who in his own eyes and his family's is the one of the greatest being in the world. Yet the great Aristotle disagrees and says that tragic pieces most conclude of a serious story with a great man. In the story Willy was serious in his own ways with his on ways. So according to both these men Aristotle and Arthur Miller the play "Death to a Salesman" was a tragedy.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Delieverance.TXT
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Delieverance: Disorientation Leads to Knowledge
James Dickey's novel Deliverance is an action packed journey of four city men into the unknown. While on the journey, the men are faced with many life-changing obstacles. Each of the men takes on these obstacles differently and each comes out with different results. How they chose to take on these obstacles depended on the mindset of the individual. Even though the four men attacked the obstacles in a different way, the four men all embarked on the same journey of education. Throughout the journey, the four mean learn their strengths and weaknesses, and the risks and rewards of nature.
Before the four journeymen set off, they all seem self confident and self satisfied. Once they begin the journey they learn their limitations. Lewis was the ideal leader, always prepared and in tiptop shape. With all of this, Lewis believed he was invincible and could overcome any challenge he faced. He soon learned that his beliefs were untrue after breaking his leg when his canoe overturned on a set of rapids. With a broken leg, Lewis was unable to perform as the leader thus becoming a failure to his morals. As the journey began, Bobby was an arrogant middle aged male. After he was raped and bewildered by the hillbilly, he would never be the same. He was afraid that the other members of the group would tell people about the attack and ruin everything he had. Bobby would never forget about the rape and the chance of others finding out thus showing his true weakness. Bobby and Lewis both went into the journey believing in their strengths and left knowing their weaknesses.
The men set out on the journey hoping for a break from city life, and to have a chance at a little excitement. What they did not know was that there are two sides to being in the nature. There are the risks and rewards. A cliff was the risk that Ed had to overcome to get to the reward. While climbing the steep rock wall, Ed wanted to quit, but never gave up. When Ed reached the top, and he had conquered the cliff, nature rewarded him with the most spectacular view Ed had ever witnessed. Drew's risk was the entire idea of the journey. Drew was a moral man, who did not like to take risks. Even though Drew took on the risks of the nature, he never received his reward. When a risk is taken, there is always the chance of failure, and this was an example with Drew. Ed and Drew both found that nature has many rewards to offer but risks must be taken to view them.
All four of the journeymen learned something from nature. After Lewis broke his leg, he learned that nature was always in control, not him. Before the journey, Lewis always believed he was in control. Bobby only knew the ways of the city. After the attack from the hillbillies, he knew the ways of nature. Even though Drew died and never actually learned from nature, the other men learned from him. From the other men's perspectives, they learned that Drew was the best of them, and they should strive to be more like him. Ed had the most encounters with nature so he learned many different skills. The most important skill was to always respect nature and its power. The skills that the men learned from the nature will always be remembered.
The novels adventure takes the four journeymen through a journey of education. Each of the men learned new strengths and weaknesses about themselves. They also learned that nature is always in control. Some of the men took on the challenges and succeeded and others failed. There was much to be learned on the men's journey into the unknown.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Demian.TXT
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Demian - Herman Hesse
Herman Hesse's novel Demian tells of a young boy named Emil Sinclair and his childhood growing up during pre-World War I. Emil struggles to find his new self-knowledge in the immoral world and is caught between good and evil, which is represented as the light and dark realms. Hesse uses much symbolic diction in his novel to give a more puissant presentation of Emil Sinclair and the conflict between right and wrong. The symbolism gives direction, foreshadow, and significance towards every aspect of the novel. Emil Sinclair's home as a young child is a very important symbol in the novel. As Emil attends school he is shown a world immoral value. The confusion of which is right or wrong creates the need for a safe haven for Emil. Emil refers to his home as a realm of light and states that he and his family all belong to that realm. The house itself was once a monastery, giving it a more powerful representation of the light realm. This symbolic asylum represents Emil's innocence within himself and casts him apart from the real world. Another safe haven Emil retreats to is after he finds himself as a member of the mark of Cain. Eva's garden symbolizes the Garden of Eden (a religious setting therefore of the light realm) and Emil separates himself there as one with the mark of Cain apart from the rest of the corrupt world. Both settings symbolize Emil's importance in the world as well as his destiny. The Garden of Eden presents itself as another symbolic location. The event that Emil told the story of stealing the apples from the garden was a very symbolic point of the novel in which Emil breaks away from his light realm. The garden that Emil stole the apples from represented the Garden of Eden and the apples, or forbidden fruit, symbolized Emil's first sin. This event foreshadows what is next to come in the conflict of good and evil. Emil's first step out of the light realm gives way to more symbolic events where he becomes more submerged into the dark realm. At the beginning of the novel, Emil notices that there is a coat of arms above his house representing the Cain religion. The coat of arms contained a sparrow hawk bird on it. Hesse uses this symbolic approach to give the sparrow hawk purpose in the rest of the story, as a symbol of the mark of Cain. Emil discovered that the bird represents the god Abraxas. From this point, Emil is determined to find the meaning of the bird and Abraxas. After the rain washed away a painting of Beatrice that Emil painted, Emil could see Demian and himself in the canvas. Emil then painted a picture of the sparrow hawk on the same canvas. Hesse used this event to symbolize the connection between Emil, Demian, and Abraxas. After bringing these characters together as one, Hesse was able to conclude Emil's transformation into the New World. Emil sees the bird again above the hallway of Frau Eva's home. The bird in Eva's hallway symbolized her home as a house of Cain. Now Emil has found himself and knows he belongs there. Emil sees the bird once again outside in the form of clouds in the raining sky. This clearly shows that the rest of the Old World is ready for the transformation into the New World. In the last scenes of the novel, Emil is on the battlefields of World War I. One night Emil looks up into the sky and sees an image of a vast village of people being engulfed into a god-like figure which resembles Eva. The figure then crouches over and gives birth to the people that are now bright shining stars. This is the most important symbolic event in Hesse's novel. The god-like figure symbolizes Eva, being the leader of the Cain people. The people that where engulfed by the god-like figure symbolize the people of the Old World. The god-like figure now represents the Virgin Mary and gives birth to the New World, which are the people transformed into stars. This event concludes the passing of the Old World to the New World. Each character has now fulfilled their destiny. Hesse uses the last scene in his novel to illustrate a clearer presentation of the transformation. The hospital where Demian and Emil last speak symbolized the stable in which baby Jesus was born. Hesse creates the setting of the barn and surrounding hay to enhance his representation. The irony of this symbolic setting helps conclude not only the characters destiny, but the Old World's also. The symbolic elements lead Emil to find himself as an individual with the mark of Cain. Herman Hesse used many symbolic items and events throughout his novel to present Emil Sinclair's new self-knowledge. The utilization of Hesse's symbolic strategy shows his complexity as a writer as well as in his characters. Combining each of these symbolic elements created Emil Sinclair's character, purpose, and destiny towards his new self-knowledge.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Desirees Baby.TXT
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Desirees Baby
SIGNIFICANCES OF A LETTER "Désirée's Baby" is a story of love, prejudice and rejection, a story with noble beginnings that slowly turns to reveal an uglier side of human relations. Armand, a wealthy landowner of the plantation L'Abri in the ante-bellum south of Louisiana, is confronted by a family secret that has been hidden from him, even into adulthood. The secret is scandalous for its day, and its consequences run deep into the fabric of society. No one told Armand of this secret. He discovers it by chance at the end of the story, when he finds the remnants of an old letter written by his mother to his father, the significance of which, and its revelations, makes us focus on the many tragic and ironic decisions made by him during this story. In the old south, bloodlines are very important to the status of a family and their social placement, so the "purity" of the family must be kept. This "purity" does not accommodate marriages of mixed race. Knowing this, Armand marries an old friend who he had known since he was eight when he moved to Louisiana from France with his father after his mother had died. She was a girl of no distinction, who had no history or reputation of family name like that of Armand, but despite this he fell in love "as if struck by a pistol shot".(317). Others had warned Armand against marrying her, but he did not care for he was so swept away by her beauty. "He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana." (316). Tragedy comes early in the marriage with the birth of their first child. Although no one seemed to notice at first, by the time the child was three months old, neighbors and Armand hims! elf noticed a change in the child. "When the baby was about three months old, Désirée awoke one day to the conviction that there was something in the air menacing her peace."(317). It turns out the baby is of mixed blood and because of this, he shuns his wife and the child he was so proud of only days before. "He absented himself from home and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse."(317). Armand was "the proudest father in the parish...it is a boy to bear his name."(317). Additionally, he accuses Désirée of not being white (a crime against his family's "purity") which she adamantly denies. "It is a lie it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown and my eyes are gray, Armand you know they are gray. And my skin is fair," "Look at my hand whiter than yours, Armand,"(318). She writes to her adopted mother and tells her of what is happening. Her mother tells her to return home with the child where they will both be loved, bu! t Désirée is so shocked and disheartened she sets off towards a local bayou with the child never to be seen again. Armand has made the decision to lose his family in order to save his name and it's too late to bring Désirée back. The irony is that the letter read by Armand from his mother reveals to him that it is he who is of mixed blood and not Désirée. Placing blame on outside forces can also be a tragic and misguided reaction to events that people encounter. Armand makes this mistake when he can see no other cause for his anguish and blames God for what he sees as a cruel injustice placed upon him. "He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him and felt, somehow that he was paying him back in kind when he stabbed thus into his wife's soul (319). Ironically, in the letter Armand finds from his mother, she is praising God for having "arranged" their lives so as to be married in a racist world and to have a beautiful child such as Armand. "But above all, night and day, I thank the good lord for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery"(319). Paradoxically, it is also this arrangement that is the root of his present day problems. Had he known of his "heritage" before hand, chances are! he would have approached life differently, but we have to assume this was hidden from him to protect him from the society in which he lived. Armand's shunning of Désirée was not only an attempt to pay back God, but by somehow payback the others he felt were responsible for his personal tragedy. He thought it necessary to cleanse himself and his family name of this regretful misfortune. At the end of the story Armand has ordered his slaves to build a large bonfire on the grounds of the estate where he is to throw all of Désirée's and the baby's affects. It is during this highly emotionally and rash moment that Armand learns his family secret, when he finds the letter from his mother. Here the story ends, and its tragic irony comes to light. Lying before him was proof that it was not Désirée who had colored blood but him. The wife and child he loved and so easily discarded to protect his family name, were innocent of his animosity and accusations. We can only imagine the heart wrenching turmoil he must have felt at that moment. Too, was the undeniable fact that his father had overcome similar odds and accepted the love of his mother even though she was black. Armand's father had escaped from tradition and its shackles to stay with the woman he loved and yet still kept the family's good name, where Armand had failed to do so. The finding of this letter reveals to the reader the deeper consequences of decisions made based on prejudice and what others may think. All that Armand had done, giving up his marriage and condemning their child, burning all that reminded him of her and the baby, cursing God for his misfortune, had all come crashing in upon him! by finding a simple letter with tragic "significance
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\DH Lawrences.TXT
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522
The Rainbow is one of DH Lawrence's most controversial works. It was banned in Great Britain when it was first published. The Rainbow introduced sexual life into a family-based novel, portraying a visionary quest for love by three generations of English men and women. Ursula Brangwen is the main character of the novel, and her goal in the book is to achieve a good and peaceful relationship with her lover Skrebensky. When they first met, Ursula had found him to be very beautiful. "He was a young man of twenty-one, with a slender figure and soft brown hair brushed up in the German fashion straight from his brow" (p. 268). For many years they had a lively and active relationship. When Skrebensky asked Ursula to marry him, she replied saying that she never wanted to be married. He made groping movements to get out of his chair. But he was crying uncontrollably, noiselessly, with his face twisted like a mask, contorted and the tears running down the amazing grooves in his cheeks. (p.433) This quote shows the mental torment that he felt when she told him that she did not wish to marry him. He left her after this. She was subjected to a deep feeling of remorse and regret. Ursula's awakening comes very near to the end of the book. She is thinking about Skrebensky and why she feels so empty and lifeless. She realizes that she is pregnant. Suddenly a shock ran through her, so violent that she thought she was struck down. Was she with child? She had been so stricken under the pain of herself and of him, this had never occurred to her. Now like a flame it took hold of her limbs and body. Was she with child? (p. 449) She realized that she had been wrong in not wanting to marry Skrebensky. She had imagined that she could not have her freedom with him, but she realized that she could have more. She had been wrong, she had been arrogant and wicked, wanting that other thing, that fantastic freedom, that illusory, conceited fulfillment which she had imagined she could not have with Skrebensky. (p. 449) The Rainbow appeared and she realized that she could have love and a family, and that would make her happier than simply freedom. She immediately sat down to write him and tell him that she loved him. Ursula decided that she would not only marry for her sake, but for her child also. This is a recurrence of the beginning of the book, which although not very relevant to the story of Ursula and Skrebensky, still has the same motive. Tom Brangwen (Father of Ursula Brangwen) marries a Polish widow because he loved her and she had a child who needed a father. The Rainbow is one of Lawrence's best works. The characters are real people living out their lives, and Lawrence invites you to become a member of the Brangwen Family. This is definitely one of my favorite novels.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dianas Role in Dunstables Life.TXT
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Diana's Role in Dunstables Life 
In the novel Fifth Business, the theme of rebirth is apparent. Diana Marfleet, a volunteer nurse, is responsible for tending to the injured. One of the injured she aids is Dunstable Ramsay, the narrator of the novel. Dunstables involvements in World War II, causes him severe physical damage. Diana plays an integral part in the rebirth of Dunstable, by taking the role of a friend, mother and lover in his life.
A person with whom one enjoys mutual affection and regard is identified as a friend. Diana's displays the act of friendship when Dunstable acknowledges,
"We were on tremendous terms in no time, for she had been nursing me since I had come to the hospital ...and such nourishment as I had taken had been spooned and poured into me by her; she had also washed me and attended to the bedpan and the urinal, and continued to do so; a girl who can do that without being facetious or making a man feel acknowledges is no ordinary creature. Diana was a wonderful girl, and I am sure I gained strength and made physical progress at an unusual rate because of her." (p. 80)
Dunstable recognizes all of Diana's efforts and affection in taking the time to assist with his injuries from the war, being comfortable around each other, in almost any given situation and helping him in the everyday tasks, that he could no longer do on his own; just as any true friend would. Dunstable believes that, if it were not for their friendship, he would not have healed so quickly. Dunstable is reborn in the sense, that even after all the hardship he gone through he still has someone to look upon as a true friend who treats and respects him no differently, then any other.
A women in relation to a child or children to whom she has given continuous care and birth is known as a mother. Diana's demonstrates this quality of motherhood when Dunstable says, "She regarded me as her own creation...she fed me...washed me...and lured me back into this world when I was far away. Didn't she teach me to walk...showing the greatest patience when I was most clumsy? Was she not anxious to retrain me about my habits of eating and behavior?...she was too much of a mother to me..."
(p. 88) The figure of the mother play's an integral part of the rebirth portrayed in Dunstables life, after the war. Diana teaches and provides the early life lessons and nurturing love to Dubstable. Clearly, Dunstable tells us that Diana portrays all the behavioral qualities, which define a mother.
 
By simple definition, one who feels sexual love for another is described as a lover. Dunstable proclaims his the sexual love towards Diana, when he say's, "Thus we became lovers in the fullest sense, and for me the experience was an important step towards manhood, which had been thrust upon me so one -sidedly in the trenches." (p. 85) Dunstable makes love for the first time with Diana Marfleet. He acknowledges this experience of sexual intercourse as an maturing factor and an important step towards his manhood.
Clearly, one can perceive that Diana plays a fundamental part in the rebirth of Dunstable, by taking the role of a friend, mother and lover in his life. Friendship, family and love are all essential aspects of life that must be experienced, in order to reach self-fulfillment.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Doctor Dolittle.TXT
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371
My book report is on Doctor Dolittle. The author of this book is Hugh Lofting. Doctor Dolittle talks to the animals and is also kind of like a veterinarian. He knows most of the animal languages. He really calls himself a naturalist which studies plants and animals. He lives in Puddleby, England. He has an assistant named Stubbins. Doctor Dolittle wants to learn the language of the shellfish because they are one of the oldest animals on earth. He thinks that they can tell him secrets of the past. Doctor Dolittle decided to give up on the shellfish language for a while. Stubbins and the Doctor play a game that you close your eyes and flip the pages of an atlas and put a pencil down on the page. The place that he picked was Spidermonkey Island. The purple bird of paradise tells him that the greatest naturalist is Long Arrow and that he lives at Spidermonkey Island. Doctor Dolittle goes on a voyage to Spidermonkey Island. The Doctor goes and he saves Long Arrow and 9 other Indians from a cave that a rock had covered the entrance. Doctor Dolittle found a way to dig under the rock and make it fall. Another tribe on the other side of the island wanted to go to war with the peaceful indians. They were going to fight because they were to lazy to do work because the island was floating South and getting cold. The Doctor, Long Arrow, and another man basically won the war for the tribe. They swung clubs and knocked everyone out of the way. Then Polynesia(a talking parrot) brought millions of black parrots from South America. Most of the other tribe got their ears bit off. Doctor Dolittle was made king of the tribe. They changed his name to Jong Thinkalot because they didn't think Dolittle fit him. Doctor wanted to go but he had to stay and teach the tribe to do things more modern. When he was crowned a rock fell into a dead volcano and it made the island sink. The Doctor decided to leave Spidermonkey Island and go back to Puddleby. They rode back in a giant snail with a glass shell. He taught Doctor Dolittle the shellfish language. This was a good and interesting book. I wish that it never would have ended. I recommend this book to everyone who likes reading about people talking to animals and long books.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Donald Trump book report again.TXT
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      Donald Trump, a well-known New York City business entrepreneur, has written several biographies that explain the business world and how it has changed his life during his career. I read one of his biographies called The Art Of The Comeback, which is mostly about his business life and not about his personal life. The book tells about the times in the eighties and early nineties when he was struggling financially. Each chapter tells a story about failure, his return to the top and how he did it.
	 What does the author have to say?
	In this biography Donald talks all about his successes and failures in the business world that's all its about. He has really good views on how to be a part of something that you want to be a part of. He talks about the physical and mental aspects as well as the way you converse. I liked that because it will be beneficial to me in the future.
 	What is unique about the author's perspective?
	The unique aspect about this book is how much Donald has been through in his life and that it's all business. There are so many stories and they lead into others and others. In each one he analyzes what happened, tells what went wrong and how he fixed it. This is unique because it's simple and stylish.
      What appeals to you about the book?
	This book appeals to me because if I'm going to be an entrepreneur I might as well take advice from a multibillionaire. I like the book because it's simple and fast reading. He is a great businessman that can tell some great stories in writing. I like the way he looks at situations because it's different from the way I look at situations and helps me also understand a lot about the business processes.
      What do you find that is disagreeable?
	This is a hard one, and I don't disagree with anything that I can think of its more of a 'take what you want' type of book.
      What does the book have to offer to someone about to graduate from high school in Durango, Colorado?
	This book has a lot to offer for a graduate from DHS. One thing is the power, money, and respect gained by one man who grew up in a blue-collar family. He wasn't a trust fund baby and he made it to be one of the wealthiest people in the world. It offers a lot on the aspect of failure, if you fail it will only make you stronger. Don't give up and never loose sight. Another good part is love, it tells about Donald's love life but his true love is business. If you love something you can make it happen. The book is a good motivator for someone who has failed or thinks they might some time. 
    	How might you use the ideas in this book in your life after high school?
	After High School I want to own and sell real estate and own a restaurant or maybe two. If I'm selling real estate and I happen to fail hopefully, I'll learn from my mistakes. I could literally use this book to look back and reread what Donald did in a similar situation.
	Discuss why you would or would not recommend this book to other high school students.
	I would recommend this book to you if you like biographies and business types of books. There is a lot of great information in it and if you enjoy the learning about business then I would recommend it to you.
	    
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Donald Trump book report.TXT
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      Donald Trump, a well-known New York City business entrepreneur, has written several biographies that explain the business world and how it has changed his life during his career. I read one of his biographies called The Art Of The Comeback, which is mostly about his business life and not about his personal life. The book tells about the times in the eighties and early nineties when he was struggling financially. Each chapter tells a story about failure, his return to the top and how he did it.
	 What does the author have to say?
	In this biography Donald talks all about his successes and failures in the business world that's all its about. He has really good views on how to be a part of something that you want to be a part of. He talks about the physical and mental aspects as well as the way you converse. I liked that because it will be beneficial to me in the future.
 	What is unique about the author's perspective?
	The unique aspect about this book is how much Donald has been through in his life and that it's all business. There are so many stories and they lead into others and others. In each one he analyzes what happened, tells what went wrong and how he fixed it. This is unique because it's simple and stylish.
      What appeals to you about the book?
	This book appeals to me because if I'm going to be an entrepreneur I might as well take advice from a multibillionaire. I like the book because it's simple and fast reading. He is a great businessman that can tell some great stories in writing. I like the way he looks at situations because it's different from the way I look at situations and helps me also understand a lot about the business processes.
      What do you find that is disagreeable?
	This is a hard one, and I don't disagree with anything that I can think of its more of a 'take what you want' type of book.
      What does the book have to offer to someone about to graduate from high school in Durango, Colorado?
	This book has a lot to offer for a graduate from DHS. One thing is the power, money, and respect gained by one man who grew up in a blue-collar family. He wasn't a trust fund baby and he made it to be one of the wealthiest people in the world. It offers a lot on the aspect of failure, if you fail it will only make you stronger. Don't give up and never loose sight. Another good part is love, it tells about Donald's love life but his true love is business. If you love something you can make it happen. The book is a good motivator for someone who has failed or thinks they might some time. 
    	How might you use the ideas in this book in your life after high school?
	After High School I want to own and sell real estate and own a restaurant or maybe two. If I'm selling real estate and I happen to fail hopefully, I'll learn from my mistakes. I could literally use this book to look back and reread what Donald did in a similar situation.
	Discuss why you would or would not recommend this book to other high school students.
	I would recommend this book to you if you like biographies and business types of books. There is a lot of great information in it and if you enjoy the learning about business then I would recommend it to you.
	    
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Donkey Flip.TXT
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1492
Analysis of the Holocaust Of all the examples of injustice against humanity in history, the Jewish Holocaust has to be one of the most prominent. In the period of 1933 to 1945, the Nazis waged a vicious war against Jews and other "lesser races". This war came to a head with the "Final Solution" in 1938. One of the end results of the Final Solution was the horrible concentration and death camps of Germany, Poland, and other parts of Nazi-controlled Europe. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, people around the world were shocked by final tallies of human losses, and the people responsible were punished for their inhuman acts. The Holocaust was a dark time in the history of the 20th century. One can trace the beginnings of the Holocaust as far back as 1933, when the Nazi party of Germany, lead by Adolf Hitler, came to power. Hitler's anti-Jew campaign began soon afterward, with the "Nuremberg Laws", which defined the meaning of being Jewish based on ancestry. These laws also forced segregation between Jews and the rest of the public. It was only a dim indication of what the future held for European Jews. Anti-Jewish aggression continued for years after the passing of the Nuremberg Laws. One of these was the "Aryanization" of Jewish property and business. Jews were progressively forced out of the economy of Germany, their assets turned over to the government and the German public. Other forms of degradation were pogroms, or organized demonstrations against Jews. The first, and most infamous, of these pogroms was Krystallnacht, or "The night of broken glass". This pogrom was prompted by the assassination of Ernst von Rath, a German diplomat, by Herschel Grymozpan in Paris on November 7th, 1938. Two days later, an act of retaliation was organized by Joseph Gobbels to attack Jews in Germany. On the nights of November 9th and 10th, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed, 175 synagogues demolished, nearly 100 Jews had been killed, and thousands more had been injured, all for the assassination of one official by a Jew ("Holocaust, the." Microsoft Encarta 96). In many ways, this was the first major act of violence to Jews made by the Nazis. Their intentions were now clear. The Nazi's plans for the Jews of Europe were outlined in the "Final Solution to the Jewish question" in 1938. In a meeting of some of Hitler's top officials, the idea of the complete annihilation of Jews in Europe was hatched. By the time the meeting was over, the Final Solution had been created. The plans included in the Final Solution included the deportation, exploitation, and eventual extermination of European Jews. In September 1939, Germany invaded western Poland. Most, if not all Jews in German-occupied lands were rounded up and taken to ghettos or concentration camps. The ghettos were located inside cities, and were a sort of city/prison to segregate Jews from the rest of the public. Conditions in the ghettos included overcrowding, lack of food, and lack of sanitation, as well as brutality by Nazi guards. Quality of life in a ghetto was probably not much above that in a concentration camp. In June 1941, Germany continued it's invasion of Europe by attacking and capturing some of the western U.S.S.R. By this time, most of the Jews in Europe now lived in lands controlled by Nazi Germany. The SS deployed 3000 death squads, or "Einstagruppen", to dispatch Jews in large numbers ("Holocaust, the." Microsoft Encarta 1996). In September 1941, all Jews were forced to wear yellow Stars of David on their arms or coats. A Jew could be killed with little repercussions for not displaying the Star of David in public. Some of the first Jewish resistance to the Final Solution came in 1943, when the process of deportation to concentration and death camps was in full swing. The Warsaw ghetto in Poland, once numbering over 365,000, had been reduced to only 65,000 by the continuing removal of Jews to camps in other lands ("Holocaust, the." Microsoft Encarta 1996). When the Nazis came to round up the remaining inhabitants of the ghetto, they were met with resistance from the small force of armed Jews. The revolt lasted for almost three weeks before being subdued. Between the years of 1941 to 1945, the main destination for Jews to be transported was a concentration camp or death camp somewhere in Poland or Germany. In these camps, innocent Jews, along with Gypsies, Slavs, Jehova's Witnesses, Communists, and P.O.W.s, were brutally beaten and abused, fed meager rations of poor food, worked to death, or simply shot. The first of these camps were established in the mid 1930s and were originally designed for prisoners. But, numbers of concentration and death camps grew steadily for years until nearing the end of the World War II. Quality of life in a concentration camp was substandard, to say the absolute least. Jews and other deportees were transported via railroad boxcars similar to those used for cattle. Some of these cars were so crowded that people actually died standing up, there being no place for them to fall. Once at the camps, the prisoners were unloaded and stripped of everything of value. Clothing, jewelry, eyeglasses, shoes, and even gold teeth were confiscated from the arriving captives. After unloading, the people were separated into two groups. One of these groups would be lead to firing squads or, in some camps, gas chambers, to be dispatched as soon as possible. These people were usually women, children, and the elderly. The second group would be lead to the barracks or used for slave labor. This group was usually comprised of able-bodied men. The prisoners were given little food and forced to live and sleep in filthy, overcrowded bunks where disease ran rampant. Thousands of prisoners in concentration camps died simply of exposure, starvation, or disease. As the war progressed, more and more concentration camps were transformed into extermination or death camps, some of which were equipped with gas vans or gas chambers and crematoria for quick and easy extermination and disposal of the bodies of the captives. Some of these camps also had facilities for scientific research, where men like Josef Mengle, also known as "The Angel of Death", preformed barbaric medical experiments on twins, dwarves, and other genetically different subjects in hopes of advancing and breeding the so-called "Aryan" race of perfect Germans for Hitler. Some of the most notorious of the death camps were located in Poland. Some of these include Auschwitz (1 million Jews killed), Treblinka (700,000-800,000 Jews gassed), Belzec (600,000 Jews gassed), and Sobibor (250,000 Jews gassed). These camps were the major centers for the slaughter of Jews and other groups (The Holocaust: An Historical Summary. Article on the Internet). In 1945, the great World War in Europe came to an end, with the Axis powers surrendering before the Allied invasion of Europe. When the concentration camps were liberated and the body counts tallied, the resulting numbers appalled people the world over. Millions of people lay dead, and dozens of top Nazis faced punishment for unspeakable war crimes. When the allied powers liberated the concentration camps in Germany, Poland, and other areas of Europe, what they found there was beyond belief. Piles of bodies lay rotting in pits and sheds. The gaunt, sickly prisoners wandered about, barely alive after the ordeal they had faced. Some of the camps had few prisoners remaining, the majority of the others led on a final death march to Germany ("Concentration Camps." Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 1996). Those who remained at the camps were rescued and taken to hospitals or to shelters to recuperate from their terrifying experience at the hands of the Nazis. All told, the toll that the Holocaust took on the people of Europe, especially Jews, was staggering. By the time it was all over, an estimated 12 million people lay dead, nearly 6 million of which were Jews ("Jewish Holocaust." Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 1996). It is believed that 3 million of these Jews died in concentration and death camps, such as Auschwitz, alone ("Holocaust, the." Microsoft Encarta 1996). An additional 1.5 million died by the bullets of the mobile death squads, and over 600,000 died in the ghettos of the cities ("Holocaust, the." Microsoft Encarta 1996). I find it incredible that such a loss of human life could have occurred in a period of just 12 years. For the vicious atrocities carried out by some of the top men in Hitler's Nazi regime, dozens were killed or imprisoned. In the trials at Nuremberg, Germany in 1946-47, a multinational allied commission called 22 of Hitler's highest ranking Nazis. The end result of these trials were eleven men being sentenced to hang, one of which committed suicide in his cell, seven men were imprisoned for life, and only three were acquitted of the crimes they were accused with. Other trials were held in subsequent years that successfully convicted hundreds of Nazis for atrocities carried out in wartime.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dover Beach.TXT
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595
How can life or anything be so wonderful, but at times seem so unbearable? This is a question that Matthew Arnold may have asked himself one day, while writing "Dover Beach". This is a poem about a sea and a beach that is truly beautiful, but hold much deeper meaning than what meets the eye. The poem is written in free verse with no particular meter or rhyme scheme, although some of the words do rhyme. Arnold is the speaker speaking to someone he loves. As the poem progresses, the reader sees why Arnold poses the question stated above, and why life seems to be the way it is. During the first part of the poem Arnold states, "The Sea is calm tonight" and in line 7, "Only, from the long line of spray". In this way, Arnold is setting the mood or scene so the reader can understand the point he is trying to portray. In lines 1-6 he is talking about a very peaceful night on the ever so calm sea, with the moonlight shining so intensely on the land. Then he states how the moonlight "gleams and is gone" because the "cliffs of England" are standing at their highest peaks, which are blocking the light of the moon. Next, the waves come roaring into the picture, as they "draw back and fling the pebbles" onto the shore and back out to sea again. Arnold also mentions that the shore brings "the eternal note of sadness in", maybe representing the cycles of life and repetition. Arnold then starts describing the history of Sophocle's idea of the "Aegean's turbid ebb and flow". The sea is starting to become rougher and all agitated. Also the mention of "human misery" implies that life begins and ends, but it can still be full of happiness, and unfortunately, at the same time, sadness. "The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore." The key word in that stanza is once, because it implies that he (Arnold) used to look at the sea in a different way than he does now. Throughout the whole poem, Arnold uses a metaphor to describe his views and opinions. Now he only hears its "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar." It seems as though Arnold is questioning his own faith. The whole poem is based on a metaphor - Sea to Faith. When the sea retreats, so does faith, and leaves us with nothing. In the last nine lines, Arnold wants his love and himself to be true to one another. The land, which he thought was so beautiful and new, is actually nothing - "neither joy, nor love, nor light". In reality, Arnold is expressing that nothing is certain, because where there is light there is dark and where there is happiness there is sadness. "We are here though as on a darkling plain, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash at night". Arnold uses much alliteration in the poem. For example, in line 31, "To lie before us like a land of dreams", repeating the letter L at the beginning of three words. Also, in line 4, "Gleams and is gone...", repeating the letter G. The usage of assonance and consonance is not widespread in "Dover Beach". In line 3 - "...on the French coast the light" - the repetition of the letter T is shown, as an example of consonance. Other literary techniques, such as onomatopoeia and hyperbole, are not used in the poem, besides the metaphor for "Faith" being the Sea. The diction Arnold uses creates a sense of peacefulness and calmness. It is fairly easily understood vocabulary, with the exception of a few words, such as cadence and darkling. From reading Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach", one realizes that there is no certainty in life. When everything is going perfectly, something unfortunate may happen at any given time, with no forewarning.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dr Alexandre Manette again.TXT
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                             A Tale Of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
                                    Dr. Alexandre Manette
	Dr. Alexandre Manette the great survivor of the Bastille and father to Lucie Manette.
Dr.Manette is the most important character in the book. Throughout the book he is the stories
backbone. Few subplots ignore Manette.
	Dr. Manette loves his daughter. She is the world to him, without her he would still be a
crazed old man. Dr. Manette's love for his daughter is clear throughout the story he expresses
his thought verbally. When his daughter Lucie is married he tells her "Consider how natural
and how plain it is, my dear, that it should be so. You, devoted and young, cannot fully
appreciate the anxiety I have felt that your life should not be wasted."1 Dr.Manette is a very
caring man. Caring, that is the one adjective I would use to describe Dr.Manette.
	As I said before Dr.Manette loves his daughter. Lucie Manette is his driving force.
Dr.Manette wants little except for his daughter to live a full and happy life and himself to be
a part of it. His desire to be a part of Lucie life makes it hard for him to give her up to
Charles Darnay. After the wedding Dr.Manette says "Take her, Charles. She is yours."2 He
does so with a quite sadness.
	A huge portion of the story revolves about Dr.Manette's past suffering in the Bastille.
The Doctors Bastille time is pure hell. Ever after being freed he still mumbles crazy things
such as "It is a lady's shoe. It is a young lady's walking-shoe. It is in the present mode. I have
had a pattern in my hand."3 Outbursts such as that show that he is not nor may he ever heal
his scars. Though the book starts after his imprisonment, his Bastille time contains his
actions that effects the stories plot the most. The action that truly stands out is his writing
and hiding of the letter that later convicts Charles Darnay. The exposure of the letter during
the trail is in my opinion the most interesting twist in A Tale Of Two Cities.
	Dr.Manette has few contacts with the Defarges however in my opinion the doctors main
conflict is with them. In the Defarge's quest for vengeance against the Evermondes they
come upon apposing paths with the doctor. The Defarges want Darnay dead. The doctor can
not let Darnay die for he has become a large part of his daughters life. The death of Darnay
would bare heavily on Lucie's shoulders. We see this when Lucie pleas with Madam Defarge
commanding "You will be good to my poor husband. You will do him no harm. You will
help me to see him if you can?"4
	I did not really like the character Dr.Manette. Not because he was a bad person, I just
didn't think he was that interesting. I found him dull. I think the fact that I have grown up
seeing characters like the Doctor on TV and in movies may have caused my feelings. I need
characters that are more original (Dr.Manette of course is one of the originals). I think the
books opening line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."5 sums up my feelings
about reading this book.
	1Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.188
	2Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.194
	3Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.49
	4Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.265
	5Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.13
                           Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. A Tale Of Two Cities. Signet Classic, 1859. 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dr Alexandre Manette.TXT
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                             A Tale Of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
                                    Dr. Alexandre Manette
	Dr. Alexandre Manette the great survivor of the Bastille and father to Lucie Manette.
Dr.Manette is the most important character in the book. Throughout the book he is the stories
backbone. Few subplots ignore Manette.
	Dr. Manette loves his daughter. She is the world to him, without her he would still be a
crazed old man. Dr. Manette's love for his daughter is clear throughout the story he expresses
his thought verbally. When his daughter Lucie is married he tells her "Consider how natural
and how plain it is, my dear, that it should be so. You, devoted and young, cannot fully
appreciate the anxiety I have felt that your life should not be wasted."1 Dr.Manette is a very
caring man. Caring, that is the one adjective I would use to describe Dr.Manette.
	As I said before Dr.Manette loves his daughter. Lucie Manette is his driving force.
Dr.Manette wants little except for his daughter to live a full and happy life and himself to be
a part of it. His desire to be a part of Lucie life makes it hard for him to give her up to
Charles Darnay. After the wedding Dr.Manette says "Take her, Charles. She is yours."2 He
does so with a quite sadness.
	A huge portion of the story revolves about Dr.Manette's past suffering in the Bastille.
The Doctors Bastille time is pure hell. Ever after being freed he still mumbles crazy things
such as "It is a lady's shoe. It is a young lady's walking-shoe. It is in the present mode. I have
had a pattern in my hand."3 Outbursts such as that show that he is not nor may he ever heal
his scars. Though the book starts after his imprisonment, his Bastille time contains his
actions that effects the stories plot the most. The action that truly stands out is his writing
and hiding of the letter that later convicts Charles Darnay. The exposure of the letter during
the trail is in my opinion the most interesting twist in A Tale Of Two Cities.
	Dr.Manette has few contacts with the Defarges however in my opinion the doctors main
conflict is with them. In the Defarge's quest for vengeance against the Evermondes they
come upon apposing paths with the doctor. The Defarges want Darnay dead. The doctor can
not let Darnay die for he has become a large part of his daughters life. The death of Darnay
would bare heavily on Lucie's shoulders. We see this when Lucie pleas with Madam Defarge
commanding "You will be good to my poor husband. You will do him no harm. You will
help me to see him if you can?"4
	I did not really like the character Dr.Manette. Not because he was a bad person, I just
didn't think he was that interesting. I found him dull. I think the fact that I have grown up
seeing characters like the Doctor on TV and in movies may have caused my feelings. I need
characters that are more original (Dr.Manette of course is one of the originals). I think the
books opening line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."5 sums up my feelings
about reading this book.
	1Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.188
	2Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.194
	3Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.49
	4Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.265
	5Charles Dickens, A Tale Of  Two Cities, 1859, p.13
                           Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. A Tale Of Two Cities. Signet Classic, 1859. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dragonsbane.TXT
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424
Author-Barbara Hambly Publisher-Balentine Books Date of Publication-1987 The setting for Dragonsbane was in about the 1400¹s in a place called Wyr. Jenny John and Gareth are the main characters. Jenny is a wizard women who is always trying to advance her skills but still isn¹t very good. John is Jenny¹s husband and is also a dragon¹s bane, which means that he has slayed a dragon. Gareth is a prince who¹s hero is John. And final Zyerne, she is also a wizard women whom is the most powerful in the land. Gareth comes up from the South to ask of John¹s assistance in slaying a dragon that is threatening the King¹s lands. John decides to go with him and talk to the king. When they get there they find out that Zyerne is holding the king under some sort of spell and using him for her bidding. John talks to the king and gets ready to slay the dragon. He asks Jenny to make the most powerful poisons she can and then dips his harpoons in it. John then rides off to slay the dragon. When the battle his over Jenny goes out to were the battle happened and finds the dragon and John lying in bloody pools and realizes that john is still alive. She takes him back to camp and puts healing spells on him. She then goes back to the dragon and sees that he is still alive to. The dragon told her that if she healed him that he would tell her where the books of healing were in the caves called the deep so she could heal John. She agrees and the dragon through telepathy shows her the way in the maze of tunnels. It is always said to save a dragon is to slave a dragon for life. So Jenny saved the dragon and John. Zyerne was waiting for them to kill the dragon so she could take over the deep because of the huge amounts of gold in them. So Zyerne came and tried to kill the dragon and Jenny but failed and she was killed. The dragon through all of this fell in love with Jenny and asked her to turn into a dragon and return with him to were the dragons lived. She decided that she would turn into a dragon and return with him. On her way back to were the dragons live she realized how much she missed her husband and kids so she changed back into a human and went home. I thought the book was very interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. I thought it described how each individual in the story felt very good, like when Jenny was trying to decide weather to become a dragon or to say a human.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Duke Ellington.TXT
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Duke Ellington 
By Frank Gray
By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world's greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his fifty-year career, he had played over 20,000 performances worldwide. He was the Duke,
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born into the world on April 28, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Duke's parents Daisy Kennedy Ellington and James Edward Ellington served as ideal role models for young Duke and taught him everything from proper table manners to an understanding of the emotional power of music. Duke's first piano lessons came around the age of seven or eight and appeared to not have that much lasting effect upon him. It seemed as if young Duke was more inclined to baseball at a young age. Duke got his first job selling peanuts at Washington Senator's baseball games. This was the first time Duke was placed as a "performer" for a crowd and had to first get over his stage fright. At the age of fourteen, Duke began sneaking into Frank Holliday's poolroom.
His experiences from the poolroom taught him to appreciate the value in mixing with a wide range of people. As Duke's piano lessons faded into the past, Duke began to show a flare for the artistic. Duke attended Armstrong Manual Training School to study commercial art instead of an academically-oriented school. Duke began to seek out and listen to ragtime pianists in Washington and during the summers, where he and his mother vacationed in Philadelphia or Atlantic City. While vacationing in Asbury Park, Duke heard of a hot pianist named Harvey Brooks. At the end of his vacation Duke sought Harvey out in Philadelphia where Harvey showed Duke some pianistic tricks and shortcuts. Duke later recounted that, "When I got home I had a real yearning to play. I hadn't been able to get off the ground before, but after hearing him I said to myself, 'Man you're going to have to do it.'" Thus the music career of Duke Ellington was born.
Duke was taken under the wings of Oliver "Doc" Perry and Louis Brown who taught Duke how to read music and helped improve his overall piano playing skills. Duke found piano playing jobs at clubs and cafes throughout the Washington area. Three months shy of graduation, Duke dropped out of school and began his professional music career.
In late 1917, Duke formed his first group: The Duke's Serenaders. Between 1918 and 1919, Duke made three significant steps towards independence. First, he moved out of his parents' home and into a home he bought for himself. Second, Duke became his own booking agent for his band. By doing so, Ellington's band was able to play throughout the Washington area and into Virginia for private society balls and embassy parties. Finally, Duke married Edna Thompson and on March 11, 1919, Mercer Kennedy Ellington was born.
In 1923, Duke left the security that Washington offered him and moved to New York. Through the power of radio, listeners throughout New York had heard of Duke Ellington, making him quite a popular musician. It is also in that year that Duke made his first recording. Ellington and his renamed band, The Washingtonians, established themselves during the prohibition era by playing at places like the Exclusive Club, Connie's Inn, the Hollywood Club (Club Kentucky), Ciro's, the Plantation Club, and most importantly the Cotton Club. Thanks to the rise in radio receivers and the industry itself, Duke's band was broadcast across the nation live on "From the Cotton Club." The band's music along with their popularity spread rapidly.
In 1928, Ellington and Irving Mills signed an agreement in which Mills produced and published Ellington's music. Recording companies like Brunswick, Columbia, and Victor came calling. Duke's band became the most sought after band in the United States and even throughout the world.
Some of Ellington's greatest works include, Rockin' in Rhythm, Satin Doll, New Orleans, A Drum is a Women, Take the "A" Train, Happy-Go-Lucky Local, The Mooche, and Crescendo in Blue.
Duke Ellington and his band went on to play everywhere from New York to New Deli, Chicago to Cairo, and Los Angeles to London. Ellington and his band played with such greats as Miles Davis, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, and Louis Armstrong. They entertained everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to President Nixon. Before passing away in 1974, Duke Ellington wrote and recorded hundreds of musical compositions, all of which continue to have a lasting effect upon people worldwide for a long time to come.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dumpster.TXT
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309
Lars Eighner writes about his life as a homless person and his struggles to make a decent living at it. This consists in what he so properly calls "Dumpster diving". His essay depicts the variety of useful objects one can find in a dumpster as well as helpful hints on carefully selecting edibles. He goes on to also warn the reader on the potential health hazards that can be encountered while being a professional Dumpster diver. As far as his ideas are concerned...I cannot say I am in complete accord with this form of lifestyle, but then again, who chooses to be homless? Although I must admit that living off the waste of others is possible and not completely intangible to everyone in this world. His form of writting seems quite calm, simple and surprisingly well expressed for a person who one may unjustfully label as uneducated. The vocabulary used is common enough for almost anybody to understand without the aid of a dictionary. From reading this, it seems that anyone can be homeless and live from the mercy of other people's trash. Reading other people's writting is always an experience, sometimes enjoyable and sometimes not so enjoyable. It always depends on the manner the author maintains you interested in the topic, be it either the tone, vocabulary or plot of the story. Eighner's choice of tone and vocabulary certainly made reading his essay enjoyable. There were no secret meanings or symbolism to decipher or difficult words which could make a reader stumble. I wouldn't say that I would use Eighner's essay as a guide for my own writting, but I did learn that a simple essay is always easier and more entertaining to read than a more complicated and elaborate one. I am certainly interested in reading more of Lars Eighner's work.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Dust in The Great Gatsby.TXT
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Dust in The Great Gatsby 
In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald incorporates many different themes, but the most prevalent message is that of the impossibility of the American Dream. Fitzgerald writes of two types of people: those who appear to have the ideal life and those who are still trying to achieve their dreams. Tom and Daisy are two characters who seem to have it all: a nice house, a loving spouse, a beautiful child, and plenty of money (Fitzgerald 6; ch. 1). However, neither of them is happy, and both end up having affairs. Their lovers, Gatsby and Mrs. Wilson, are two examples of characters who are still trying to attain the perfect life. By the end of the novel, the hopes of both Gatsby and Mrs. Wilson have been dashed and they have passed away. While discussing the lost dreams of these two people, the image of dust is used several times. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald used dust to symbolize the destruction of the dreams of the common man.
For instance, Mrs. Wilson was an ordinary woman who had high hopes for creating a new and better life. She couldn't wait to escape her life as the wife of a poor car repairman (35; ch. 2). Her husband had settled for this life, but Myrtle still hoped for better things. "A white ashen dust veiled his [Mr. Wilson] dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity - except his wife, who moved close to Tom" (26; ch. 2). Fitzgerald uses dust to emphasize that Mr. Wilson had no dreams, and that Mrs. Wilson still had aspirations of living the perfect life. Myrtle's dreams are destroyed along with her life when she was hit by Tom's car, and Fitzgerald uses dust in her death scene to symbolize what she had lost. "The other car, the one going toward New York, came to a rest a hundred yards beyond, and its driver hurried back to where Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her dark thick blood with the dust" (138; ch. 7). Dust is again used, this time to insinuate the lost dreams of a common woman.
Fitzgerald also uses this symbol when he writes of Gatsby's vanquished hopes. Gatsby was a man who had fulfilled most of his dreams. He had a large house, lots of money, and he mingled with the rich and famous, but he still had one thing that he needed to make him happy (50; ch. 3). Gatsby had achieved all that he had for one purpose: to win the woman that he loved, Daisy (79; ch. 4). Gatsby finally had realized his dreams for a short while, when Daisy told him that she loved him (116; ch. 7). However, this perfection didn't last very long. Daisy soon went back to Tom, and Gatsby's visions of his ideal life were destroyed. When Nick visits Gatsby's house after Daisy had gone back to Tom, he noticed that "there was an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere" (147, ch. 8). This dust was what remained of Gatsby's obliterated fantasies.
Fitzgerald foreshadows the end of Gatsby's hopes in the very beginning of the novel also by talking about dust. "It is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men" (2; ch. 1).
This reference to the conclusion of the book shows Fitzgerald's view that happiness is only available for a short period of time. Dust again portrays the image of the tiny fragments of hope left in the trail of dashed dreams.
In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald writes of many themes and uses many symbols in The Great Gatsby, but none is more obvious than the theme of the impossibility of the perfect life. By the end of the novel, none of the characters has achieved happiness through their dreams or actions, and Fitzgerald often refers to dust in order to symbolize lost hopes and aspirations of the common-born characters that try to move up in society. Myrtle Wilson was an ordinary, poor woman who dreams of a better life, and dust is used in her death scene to signify the destruction of her attempts to rise in social class. Gatsby was another common person, but he had already attained many of his dreams. However, he still needed one thing to complete his vision, and this was Daisy. Gatsby's ambition was rewarded with a small glimpse of happiness when Daisy told him that she loved him, but she soon went back to Tom. After this had happened, dust covered everything in Gatsby's home, representing what remained of his dreams. Therefore, Fitzgerald uses dust in the novel The Great Gatsby to symbolize the lost hopes and dreams of the common man.
 
 
Work Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Collier Books, 1925.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ear eye arm book report again.TXT
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An adventure Book report by Masha Mitkov on:
The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm
By Nancy Farmer
This book takes place in Zimbabwe around the year 2194
      In this book, there are many main characters. The point of view switches off between children who sneak off from their home and detectives who are hired to find them. Three children- Tendai, Rita, and Kuda are overprotected by their parents. But their parents have a pretty good reason for that. Their father is General Matsika, a great man who stopped most of the gangs in Zimbabwe and is greatly respected by many people. If someone were to kidnap or hurt these children, the whole country would be affected. So these children have their lessons instructed by their teachers through the holoscreen (a telephone with a three dimensional with a three dimensional viewing screen). Then they did their homework, which was sent to the teachers by the computer. Once a week a martial arts instructor would come to teach the children about combat and some martial arts skills.
1.Tendai, the oldest child is probably the protagonist, since the book is from his point of view a lot. Tendai is really spacey, and is always "dwaaling" (which means to daydream in African). His martial arts instructor is always telling Tendai to stop dwaaling. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Tendai could become a spirit medium (in African culture they communicate with the spirit world). 
      Tendai has a very active imagination. He is always wondering about things outside of the activity he is doing right at the moment. Things like "I wonder what would happen if this was in ancient times..."
       Tendai also has a big heart. When he was practicing throwing spears into bags of sand, he thought "what does it feel like to drive a spear into a person?" and he felt didn't feel very good. He feels the other person's pain, but that is a bad trait for a soldier. But the best trait Tendai has is leadership. When the children are out walking around on the streets of Zimbabwe for the first time, he takes care of his younger siblings, and makes sure they don't get hurt.
2. This book is very interesting. The characters develop and change as the plot thickens. The author does this very smoothly, you barely notice that the characters changed that much until you compare what they were like at the beginning. Compare the text on page 13, a conversation between the martial arts instructor and General Matsika (Tendai's father) about Tendai:
      "Believe me, I've tried it. He thinks too much. Thinking has its place, but not during battle"
	"what are you telling me?"
	"that he isn't cut out for a military career," said the instructor. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear this. Your other son has the right spirit. He's a real little lion"
	"are you"- Tendai could hear Father looming out of his chair- "are you saying my son's a coward?"
Compare that to the text on page 285, where the mhondoro (the spirit of the land) has entered Tendai's body. Tendai is about to be painfully sacrificed to the Gondwannan gods, and the mhondoro is talking to him inside his head.
	"I have to act through humans, as spirits always do, so both of us will have to look for a weak spot in the Gondwannan defenses. If the worst happens, you're going to die. You do know that."
	Tendai swallowed. Yes, he knew it, but that was what warriors sometimes had to do. The important thing was to die for the right thing, with dignity.
	"That's right, little lion. I can see I made the right choice."
3. An incident in the book that I like is towards the begging of their adventure, after they sneak out of the house. The children aren't in the city for long; two men who work for a woman named "She Elephant" kidnap them. The two men (named fist and knife) take Tendai, Rita, and Kuda to dead man's vlie, a dump in the middle of the city. It had been contaminated with toxic chemicals more than 100 years ago. The She Elephant makes them change into rags (so she can sell their good clothes and other items they had), and then she has them work for her doing jobs like mining for plastic. The children tried to run away, but the vlie people (there are probably thousands of them) who work for the She Elephant enclose around them and get them back to the She Elephant.
	One day Tendai is stuck doing a job that he hates, but one plus is that he isn't chained to a block of cement like the other jobs. This is because he is in an underground chamber that is pretty close to the surface, but it only is connected to two tunnels: one leading down to a pool of water and another going up to the air (the She Elephant sat in a chair blocking the second exit). 
	The She Elephant starts to get drunk like she usually does (from some fiery alcoholic drink she makes called kachasu) and she asks Tendai to fetch her some water. He takes his time, and sits down to rest. He knew that if he took too long, the She Elephant would beat him, but she might fall asleep. And then a rage for freedom struck him. He rubbed his hands against the walls of the chamber to quiet his nerves. Then he feels something hard under the soil. He almost thought it was a rock, but then a patch of white caught his attention.
	He dug it out of the dirt and washed it in the pool. To his astonishment, it was an ndoro. Ndoros were worn by spirit mediums. Modern Spirit mediums wore ones made of porcelain. But there were really old ones that were made from the shell of a sea mollusk, which had always been extremely rare. This one was formed of a heavy spiral of white shell and had a hole bored at the center to allow it to be hung around the neck.
	For the rest of the book, when Tendai is in a tough situation, he prays or asks the ancient ndoro what he should do. And it always helps him. A long time ago, it belonged to an ancestor, and Tendai always thanks and prays to the unknown ancestor for helping him.
	I really like this part of the book because it is always with Tendai from that moment on, and he feels a lot more confident with it. 
      Soon after he finds the ndoro, he finds out that the She Elephant is planning to Sell Tendai and his siblings to the Masks, the only gang left in Zimbabwe after General Matsika took over. He stood there in the chamber holding the ndoro not knowing what to do. Then, a light shines over the water, and reveals a flat stone under the deep water. Tendai could get up onto the stone and then climb up the shaft above the water (it probably used to be a well). It was very coincidental because the sun probably only shines at the right angle to get into the well once a year. It takes a lot of hard work, but Tendai eventually climbs up the well and goes to inform Rita and Kuda of what he heard their fate might be. Eventually this leads to the three children running away from the She Elephant, and they succeed. But their adventures aren't over yet.
4. I almost expected the story to end when the children successfully escaped from the She Elephant. Just because it would have made sense- there was a beginning, middle, and end. Also, the part about Tendai finding the ndoro and the miracle that the light shone through and showed him where the rock under the water was. Other clues the author gave to mislead me was that it mentioned how Tendai had toughened through all the labor the She Elephant made the children go through because it said that he wouldn't have been able to climb the well at the begging of their time spent in Dead Man's Vlie; And that the book also said that the children were in Dead Man's Vlie for several weeks, which I thought was a very long time for the children to be apart from their parents and that they would be united soon.
5. 
Dear Nancy Farmer,
      I really enjoyed The Ear, The Eye and the Arm, which you wrote in 1994. I loved all the characters' unique personalities. 
      I did some research and found out that this book doesn't have any sequels. I think that many readers would enthusiastically read about what happens to their favorite characters.
      I have two suggestions of books that could be written for this purpose. One is a prequel, Which could be called Lion of Zimbabwe The story of Amadeus Matsika. This book could talk about how the father of Tendai, Rita, and Kuda comes to be one of the greatest generals of all time. It could contain facts about his early life, how he met his wife, and about how he broke up almost all the gangs in Zimbabwe.
      Another book could be a sequel. I would call it Sekai Sequel to The Ear, The Eye, And the Arm. It would be from Sekai's point of view. (Sekai is a baby that Arm adopts while tracking down the children from Resthaven. Resthaven is a place where modern technology isn't allowed, and it is just like what Zimbabwe was like 300 years ago. The people who live there have ancient customs and almost killed Sekai because they thought she was an evil twin.) Sekai would probably be a teenager, and have adventures, maybe even get into Resthaven somehow and see what her place of birth was like.
I hope you take my suggestions into consideration.
Sincerely,
Masha Mitkov
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ear eye arm book report.TXT
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An adventure Book report by Masha Mitkov on:
The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm
By Nancy Farmer
This book takes place in Zimbabwe around the year 2194
      In this book, there are many main characters. The point of view switches off between children who sneak off from their home and detectives who are hired to find them. Three children- Tendai, Rita, and Kuda are overprotected by their parents. But their parents have a pretty good reason for that. Their father is General Matsika, a great man who stopped most of the gangs in Zimbabwe and is greatly respected by many people. If someone were to kidnap or hurt these children, the whole country would be affected. So these children have their lessons instructed by their teachers through the holoscreen (a telephone with a three dimensional with a three dimensional viewing screen). Then they did their homework, which was sent to the teachers by the computer. Once a week a martial arts instructor would come to teach the children about combat and some martial arts skills.
1.Tendai, the oldest child is probably the protagonist, since the book is from his point of view a lot. Tendai is really spacey, and is always "dwaaling" (which means to daydream in African). His martial arts instructor is always telling Tendai to stop dwaaling. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Tendai could become a spirit medium (in African culture they communicate with the spirit world). 
      Tendai has a very active imagination. He is always wondering about things outside of the activity he is doing right at the moment. Things like "I wonder what would happen if this was in ancient times..."
       Tendai also has a big heart. When he was practicing throwing spears into bags of sand, he thought "what does it feel like to drive a spear into a person?" and he felt didn't feel very good. He feels the other person's pain, but that is a bad trait for a soldier. But the best trait Tendai has is leadership. When the children are out walking around on the streets of Zimbabwe for the first time, he takes care of his younger siblings, and makes sure they don't get hurt.
2. This book is very interesting. The characters develop and change as the plot thickens. The author does this very smoothly, you barely notice that the characters changed that much until you compare what they were like at the beginning. Compare the text on page 13, a conversation between the martial arts instructor and General Matsika (Tendai's father) about Tendai:
      "Believe me, I've tried it. He thinks too much. Thinking has its place, but not during battle"
	"what are you telling me?"
	"that he isn't cut out for a military career," said the instructor. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear this. Your other son has the right spirit. He's a real little lion"
	"are you"- Tendai could hear Father looming out of his chair- "are you saying my son's a coward?"
Compare that to the text on page 285, where the mhondoro (the spirit of the land) has entered Tendai's body. Tendai is about to be painfully sacrificed to the Gondwannan gods, and the mhondoro is talking to him inside his head.
	"I have to act through humans, as spirits always do, so both of us will have to look for a weak spot in the Gondwannan defenses. If the worst happens, you're going to die. You do know that."
	Tendai swallowed. Yes, he knew it, but that was what warriors sometimes had to do. The important thing was to die for the right thing, with dignity.
	"That's right, little lion. I can see I made the right choice."
3. An incident in the book that I like is towards the begging of their adventure, after they sneak out of the house. The children aren't in the city for long; two men who work for a woman named "She Elephant" kidnap them. The two men (named fist and knife) take Tendai, Rita, and Kuda to dead man's vlie, a dump in the middle of the city. It had been contaminated with toxic chemicals more than 100 years ago. The She Elephant makes them change into rags (so she can sell their good clothes and other items they had), and then she has them work for her doing jobs like mining for plastic. The children tried to run away, but the vlie people (there are probably thousands of them) who work for the She Elephant enclose around them and get them back to the She Elephant.
	One day Tendai is stuck doing a job that he hates, but one plus is that he isn't chained to a block of cement like the other jobs. This is because he is in an underground chamber that is pretty close to the surface, but it only is connected to two tunnels: one leading down to a pool of water and another going up to the air (the She Elephant sat in a chair blocking the second exit). 
	The She Elephant starts to get drunk like she usually does (from some fiery alcoholic drink she makes called kachasu) and she asks Tendai to fetch her some water. He takes his time, and sits down to rest. He knew that if he took too long, the She Elephant would beat him, but she might fall asleep. And then a rage for freedom struck him. He rubbed his hands against the walls of the chamber to quiet his nerves. Then he feels something hard under the soil. He almost thought it was a rock, but then a patch of white caught his attention.
	He dug it out of the dirt and washed it in the pool. To his astonishment, it was an ndoro. Ndoros were worn by spirit mediums. Modern Spirit mediums wore ones made of porcelain. But there were really old ones that were made from the shell of a sea mollusk, which had always been extremely rare. This one was formed of a heavy spiral of white shell and had a hole bored at the center to allow it to be hung around the neck.
	For the rest of the book, when Tendai is in a tough situation, he prays or asks the ancient ndoro what he should do. And it always helps him. A long time ago, it belonged to an ancestor, and Tendai always thanks and prays to the unknown ancestor for helping him.
	I really like this part of the book because it is always with Tendai from that moment on, and he feels a lot more confident with it. 
      Soon after he finds the ndoro, he finds out that the She Elephant is planning to Sell Tendai and his siblings to the Masks, the only gang left in Zimbabwe after General Matsika took over. He stood there in the chamber holding the ndoro not knowing what to do. Then, a light shines over the water, and reveals a flat stone under the deep water. Tendai could get up onto the stone and then climb up the shaft above the water (it probably used to be a well). It was very coincidental because the sun probably only shines at the right angle to get into the well once a year. It takes a lot of hard work, but Tendai eventually climbs up the well and goes to inform Rita and Kuda of what he heard their fate might be. Eventually this leads to the three children running away from the She Elephant, and they succeed. But their adventures aren't over yet.
4. I almost expected the story to end when the children successfully escaped from the She Elephant. Just because it would have made sense- there was a beginning, middle, and end. Also, the part about Tendai finding the ndoro and the miracle that the light shone through and showed him where the rock under the water was. Other clues the author gave to mislead me was that it mentioned how Tendai had toughened through all the labor the She Elephant made the children go through because it said that he wouldn't have been able to climb the well at the begging of their time spent in Dead Man's Vlie; And that the book also said that the children were in Dead Man's Vlie for several weeks, which I thought was a very long time for the children to be apart from their parents and that they would be united soon.
5. 
Dear Nancy Farmer,
      I really enjoyed The Ear, The Eye and the Arm, which you wrote in 1994. I loved all the characters' unique personalities. 
      I did some research and found out that this book doesn't have any sequels. I think that many readers would enthusiastically read about what happens to their favorite characters.
      I have two suggestions of books that could be written for this purpose. One is a prequel, Which could be called Lion of Zimbabwe The story of Amadeus Matsika. This book could talk about how the father of Tendai, Rita, and Kuda comes to be one of the greatest generals of all time. It could contain facts about his early life, how he met his wife, and about how he broke up almost all the gangs in Zimbabwe.
      Another book could be a sequel. I would call it Sekai Sequel to The Ear, The Eye, And the Arm. It would be from Sekai's point of view. (Sekai is a baby that Arm adopts while tracking down the children from Resthaven. Resthaven is a place where modern technology isn't allowed, and it is just like what Zimbabwe was like 300 years ago. The people who live there have ancient customs and almost killed Sekai because they thought she was an evil twin.) Sekai would probably be a teenager, and have adventures, maybe even get into Resthaven somehow and see what her place of birth was like.
I hope you take my suggestions into consideration.
Sincerely,
Masha Mitkov
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Earth 2 puzzle.TXT
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673
A. The main idea of this story is for the colonists that landed on the new earth to get out of the terrian's (an alien life that lives on the planet) underground city, that was thought to be built a long time ago. 1. One event that is really important to the plot of the story was, the colonists were wondering in the dessert for days. They were running out of water, their best bet was to follow their tracers to the nearest body of water. An underground city was the closest thing to having water. Another important event that led up to the plot of the story was, It was migration time for the buffalo like creatures on the planet. As the colonists were making there way through the desert, the creatures broke one of there primary water tanks which is what made them head toward the sacred city. 2. The problem that the main character must sole by the end of the story is, Devon Adair must find a way out of the terrian tunnels. The colonists and her were trapped in them by a puzzle that was misinterpreted by Devon. 3. The climax of the story is when one of the colonists got part of the tunnel buried on him and everyone had to dig to get him out. This is the high point in the story because earlier in the story he had a dream that that would happen to him. 4. The story ends when the colonists get out of the tunnel alive. They pop up in a part of the sacred city they have never seen before, but manage to unlock the puzzle of trying to get out of that part of the city. They meet up with the colonists that were not trapped inside the tunnel. a. I think the ending was respectable. It had its good and bad points. One good point is no one died. One bad point is they just leave you hanging to wait till the next book comes out. b. At the end of the book I felt happy because their mission did not end and there is a possibility for a new book to come. c. The ending was very logical in terms of events because it took the group to figure out all different kinds of puzzles and traps. At the end of the book they had to figure out another puzzle to get out of the underground city. Theme - A. I believe the direct them of the story were, If you put your mind to it you can conquer any problem or situation. Not just when you are in situation where it is a life or death situation, but when it is just a problem you can solve it yourself. 1. The author comment on life was pretty good. He described the wildlife on other planets the way he wanted and also had a very god point to what kind of disease are going to come out in the 21st century. B. The least implied theme about the characters was the way they looked. The author expected you to know what the characters looked like and expected you to know what the show was about because he thought that the only people reading the book watched the show when it was on TV. Conflict - A. The conflict was a clash of actions. These ideas were always to solve mysteries about the unknown and questions about what is yet to be discovered. Questions like "what is it" and "Where did it come from" popped up often. B. The conflict took place between the character as well as with in the character. The conflict took place between the character because the character had to do physical things to get out of the problem. The conflict took place within the character because the character had to think things out to find the answers to the problems. Characters - Devon Adair- The leader for the colonists to be safe, and get there way to what is called New Pacifica on the New World John Danzegar- Colonist that crash-landed with the rest of the crew, Fixes all things that need maintenance. True Danzegar- John danzegar's daughter, smart and helps her father out with the maintenance Alanzo- Captain of the ship before it crash-landed on the planet. Julie- Doctor of the colonists, helps out with medical needs.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\East of Eden.TXT
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1658
East of Eden Some of the most aspiring and influential authors show to be American novelists. American novelists brought about a new style of writing, which became very popular. John Steinbeck shows this style of writing in his novel, East of Eden. This makes Steinbeck one of the most significant American novelists in the twentieth century. East of Eden contains many parts, which add detail and interest to the novel. Many of Steinbeck's novels and other works remain and continue to be nationally acclaimed. Many elements exist in East of Eden that bring about the meaning and concept of the novel. The study of John Steinbeck and his book, East of Eden, will help the reader better understand the element of fiction and interpret the meaning of the work. John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. Between 1919 and 1925 Steinbeck was acknowledged as a special student at Stanford University. According to Peter Lisac, "Variously employed as a had-carrier, fruit-picker, apprentice printer, laboratory assistant, caretaker, surveyor, reporter, writer, and foreign correspondent let him acquire knowledge in many areas." (1) Even in his youth, Steinbeck developed a love of the natural world and diverse cultures. Steinbeck produced two children from his second wife, Elaine Scott. The early 1930's became a struggle for Steinbeck, both in his Long 2 attempts to improve his writing and his day-to-day existence. Yet, in the 1940's he turned his main interest from sociology and biology to individual ethics. Steinbeck was honored in 1962 with the Nobel Prize in Literature. He regarded East of Eden as the accumulation of his career. Steinbeck died of heart disease in New York on November 20, 1968. In addition to East of Eden, Steinbeck produced many other novels and several volumes of short fiction in his early career. Most of Steinbeck's novels and stories are set in the Salinas Valley in California where he spent most of his life. Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, Grapes of Wrath which makes him best known. According to John Timmerman, "Grapes of Wrath studies the problems migrant workers encountered while traveling from Oklahoma to California." (1) Steinbeck wrote eighteen books through his life span. Some of his novels included Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, Tortilla Flat, The Moon is Down, The Red Pony, and many others. Of Mice and Men gained Steinbeck national recognition. Saint Katy the Virgin, Nothing So Monstrous, The Long Valley, How Edith McGillcuddy, and The Crapshooter are Steinbeck's volumes of short stories. The book's main theme of good versus evil gets tangled up with Steinbeck's account of his material family, the Hamiltons. Some of the writings about the Hamilton's do not seem to contribute to the story. According to Peter Lisca, "The author switches back and forth from the Hamilton's to the fictional Trask family with no apparent purpose." (2) Steinbeck interjects himself into the Long 3 novel using "I" randomly, which confuses the readers. Although the author relied on the good versus evil theme, he seems to struggle with the question of free will. Steinbeck does succeed with this theme in the character of Cal, who fights a moral inner battle. East of Eden contains a very basic and well-known theme of good and evil. Steinbeck's story is based on the Cain and Abel and the word Timshel. "Adam looked up with sick weariness. His lips parted and failed and tried again. Then his lungs filled. He expelled the air and his lips combed the rushing sigh. His whispered word seemed to hang in the air: Timshel!." (602; ch. 55) Cain and Abel being Cal and Aron bring about the theme with their own actions. In the novel, Cathy Ames is shown with having no good only evil. But she shows some goodness at the end of the novel when she goes to the church to see her abandoned son. People are responsible for their own actions. A person chooses to be good or evil. The theme discuses Heaven and Hell, right and wrong, and truth and lie. The protagonist of the novel is Cal Trask. Cal Trask is the son of Adam Trask and the brother of Aron. Cal holds a manipulative nature to him. He feels very guilty when he hurts people intentionally or unintentionally. Cal represents Cain in the bible. In the novel, Cal feels bitter towards him brother Aron. "From his first memory Cal had craved warmth and affection, just as everyone does. If he had been an only child or if Aron had been a Long 4 different kind of boy, Cal might have achieved his relationship normally or easily. (444; ch. 38) Their father seems to favor Aron throughout the novel. This makes Cal want to seek revenge against his own brother, Aron. The antagonist in the novel, East of Eden is Cathy Ames. Cathy Ames is full of evilness. She is though of as being a monster. "I believe there are monsters born in the world... It is my belief that Cathy Ames was born with the tendencies, or lack of them, which drove and forced her all of her life." (96 ch.9.) Cathy kills her parents by burning their house down with them inside. She then tries to kill Adam and Mr. Edwards. The reader never knows what she is thinking or about to do; this creating the novel's expense. The only normal thing about Cathy appears to be her looks. Since the only love she knows is hatred. Many minor characters exist throughout the novel. Adam Trask is the father of Cal and Aron Trask. He was an army veteran and used to be married to Cathy Ames. "Adam was discharged in 1885 and started to beat his way home. There was no military carriage for him." (47; ch. 6) Aron Trask is Cal's brother. He lives in a fantasy world by thinking that everything is holy. Lee is Adam's Chinese housekeeper. He practically raised Cal and Aron for their first year. Samuel Hamilton helped out Adam Trask after Cathy left him. The exposition of East of Eden takes place in the Salinas Valley in Northern California. Long 5 "It is a long swale between two ranges on mountains, and the Salinas River winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into the Monterey Bay." (3; ch. 1) The entire novel takes place in the Salinas Valley. The setting was very realistic and detailed. This is because Steinbeck grew up and spent most of his life in the Salinas Valley. Two families are introduced into the story the Hamilton's and the Trask's. The members of the families are introduced and the reader gets an idea the character's life style and personality. The rising action brings about the suspense and curiosity of the novel. All of Cal and Aron's lives they were told and thought that their mother, Cathy was dead. So in the beginning of the novel the subject of their mother is not a major. Cathy had changed her name to Kate and was living a few towns down from the Trask's. Cal found out that his mother was alive and was an owner of a whore house. Then one day he went to encounter her about the whole situation. The climax occurs when Adam Trask loses most of his money in an unsuccessful cabbage business. Cal decides he wants to make it up to him by making money in the bean industry and giving the profit to his father. On his father's birthday he surprises him with the $15,000 dollars he made off the bean industry. Aron on the same day tells his father of his engagement. Adam only rejected the money saying that the pride that Aron gave him was better than the money. This makes Cal very bitter with Aron and wanting to seek revenge he takes him to his mother; which he does not know about. Long 6 The falling action takes place right after Aron discovers the existence of his mother. Aron becomes very shocked to find out about his mother and the whorehouse he disappears. His father receives a letter later saying he joined the army. Aron is killed in the war. Cal feels guilty and blames himself for the death of Cal. Adam was so upset by Aron's death that he went into shock and died. On Adam's death bed Cal asks him for forgiveness and all he says is "Timshel." The novel, East of Eden has a biological approach. A biological approach deals with the author and his life style shown in the novel. Steinbeck shows many of his characteristics of his life in East of Eden. His family and where he lived are seen vividly in the novel. The Salinas Valley is the setting of the novel and also where Steinbeck grew up. Steinbecks images are depicted throughout the novel, East of Eden. I thought East of Eden was a very good novel. At items it may have been a little hard to follow but other than that it was great. Steinbeck switched from family to family a little too much. The characters were described in detail. This made the reader feel like they knew the characters. The novel's plot was excellent. I never excepted what would happen to happen. I would recommend this novel for anyone to read.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Easter Wings.TXT
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1576
The poem "Easter Wings" by George Herbert is a poem full of deep imagery not only in its words but also in the visual structure of the stanzas. In Herbert's poem why does he use a shape poem? Because he wanted this poem to have many different levels and meanings. Herbert also used huge amounts of mental imagery so that the reader can find new truths and meanings each time he or she reads it. The poem tells of the poets desire to fly with Christ as a result of Jesus' sacrifice, death and resurrection. The argument as to the proper presentation of this poem is easily explained with the help of the poet's address to the "Lord" in the opening line of the first page in the original text. Because this poem is actually a work within a work with many hidden meanings and suggestions. To fully understand it all, one must examine the poem as a whole in greater detail. The poet is the obvious speaker in the poem due to the common use of "I" and "me" through out the poem. The audience is also revealed in the first line of the 1634 edition of the poem with the use of the word "Lord"; meaning the Christian Savior, Jesus Christ who rose from the dead. But there is question as to where the poem truly begins. This is due to the splitting of the poem onto two separate pages, and then turned ninety degrees so it must be read sideways. This is done on purpose to invoke the vision of wings on both pages. This fact must be considered when evaluating where it begins and whether it is in fact two poems instead of one larger one. "Lord, who createth man in wealth and store" is the beginning of this poem, helping to immediately establish the audience in the first word. As well, this fact help to reveal that this poem is also a prayer of Herbert's. The appropriate layout of the poem is still the "winged" look necessary for the full impact of the imagery. It is the imagery in this poem that deserves special notice as it gives a much deeper understanding of what Herbert is saying. The first stanza shows the fall of man from the "wealth" that is in God's holiness into the "decaying" life of a sinful nature: "Lord, who createst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more Till he became Most poor:" As the stanza's lines "decays" in length, the imagery goes from good to bleak finally ending with the eventual poorness of mankind. In the first line where it shows how man was born into abundance with full potential. Yet somehow managed to abuse this potential in habitual sin and so abuse the gift that God had bestowed upon us. As one reads the first stanza, one feels it dwindle and wither away into nothingness; this verse does, indeed, decrease both in emotion and context. At first reading this poem you may not see the complex correlation between the shape and the actual meaning of the poem. Herbert intended this in his poem probably to attach a reader to his poem to find the true meaning as to why this poem was in this shape and has lines large in size and then they decline. But then the emotion in the poem picks up steam again in the next stanza and gains the size and exact structure the first stanza but in opposite order, from small to large. The second stanza of the poem is turning in emotion and finishing with the poet taking "flight" and completing the second wing: "With thee O let me rise As larks, harmoniously, And sing this day thy victories: Then shall the fall further the flight in me." This stanza is rich in imagery. It seems like this stanza "beats its wing" against the decline of the first stanza, showing how the "fall" of man "furthered the flight" in Herbert as it paved the way for the crucifixion of Jesus. It was this action which redeemed man so they could have fellowship with God again. While in the first stanza you see Herbert using he and the word man, where as in the second stanza the poem becomes more personal to Herbert when he uses me. This part of the poem could be meant as the personal prayer to god thanking him for the death of his son and our salvation . Also of note is the use of "larks, harmoniously" to give a beautiful, resonate feel to the poem; opposite to that of words like "decaying" and "most poor" used in the first stanza. The first three lines of the second stanza, "With thee/ O let me rise/ As larks, harmoniously" tells us Herbert wants to be with Jesus in the air during the resurrection. the word harmoniously suggests there is more than one voice singing. Since harmonies are known to work in three's, this would support the Christian view of the Trinity, saying that Herbert would like to rise "as larks"; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The second page of the poem is very much the same as the first. Some would suggest that it is a separate poem all together, but when noticing that the voice and audience carry over from the first page it is easier to understand that the poem is just continuing. As the first stanza spoke of the "fall" of man into sin, the third stanza becomes more personal to the poet as the turn was made back in the overall attitude in the second stanza: "My tender age in sorrow did beginne: And still with sicknesses and shame Though didst so punish sinne, That I became Most thinne." Once again, this stanza decreases every line like that of the first. The first line tells of Herbert's sorrowful beginning and the continues with giving the reader the understanding that Herbert was not free of the punishment of sin as he became "most thinne". It is this ending that gives the reader the sense of a partial end; a loss of purity. Herbert illustrates this depletion in human character visually. Ideally, our virtues and wisdom should grow with age; Herbert is somber in exclaiming that this is not necessarily the case. With the passage of time, the poet expresses that his only gain was that of guilt and compounded sin. To witness sin, perchance, is a sin in itself, thereby making it impossible to live a life of isolated purity. again the poet picks up from where he left off and begins the next stanza with words of rejuvenation. However, this stanza adds an element of connection: With thee Let me combine, And feel this day thy victorie; For, if I imp my wing on thine, Affliction shall advance the flight in me." Again, Herbert turns to his Lord so he can be a part of the victory. This time though, Herbert wants to "combine" with Jesus, to be grafted on His wing. This, unlike the third stanza, moves Herbert even closer to Jesus. This would suggest he doesn't want to be only "with" Jesus but grafted "onto" Jesus, thus a much closer relationship would result between the two. One will notice that the first and third stanzas seem to resist or go against that of the second and fourth stanzas. I think Herbert did this appropriately to show how the course of man's action (and not excluding Herbert himself), led to the affliction and fall of man. It is this affliction and fall which furthers Herbert's flight as it is the reason why Jesus suffered, died and resurrected; to free man of the chains of sin and death. This is where the resistance is seen. It is difficult for one to see how negatives such as "affliction" and "fall" could lead to glory but it is this resistance, much like that of a wing beating against the resistance of gravity and air, that furthers not only the flight of the poet but also that of mankind. In other words, without man's falling into sin there would have been no reason for Jesus to have suffered and died on the cross. After careful examination of Herbert's poem, one can see the winged imagery throughout, and understand why Herbert used such shape and imagery. Herbert wanted to show people of his time and from then on many truths in one poem. Not only does the shape and imagery have a great effect on the reader, but the emotional swings and shifting play many "tricks" on the reader as we go through Herbert's poem. Also Herbert's original presentation is most unusual and confronts the reader with an awkward dilemma. In order to access the words of his poem the book must be turned ninety degrees. This turning of the book could be Herbert's way of changing our point of view. If God's resurrection truly changed the world, as Herbert believed, then he wanted even our reading habits to reflect that difference. Furthermore, this physical act of turning requires a decision. Since, biblically speaking, God does not enter unless invited, our act of turning the book reflects our freedom of choice and God's response is initiated. that how man's decline because of sin was defeated by the actions of the cross. So the point of Herbert's work "Easter Wings" May not actually be obtainable just with one reading, or for that case many readings. But Herbert did show us that using shape and imagery throughout his poem that many different meanings and points can be made within one poem. He also helped us to understand what he viewed as right and wrong, he used imagery throughout his poem to give us a sense into his life and his value system. In doing so he gave the readers of his poems a chance to find all of the truths and meanings in his poem. Lastly in Herbert's poem he wants us to be grateful of the gift that God has given to us, by allowing his only son to die for the salvation of our sins to make us washed clean with grace, it is this action which allows all of mankind, and not just Herbert, to be grafted into Jesus' wing to "further the flight" in us all.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Elephant Man.TXT
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Elephant Man
In literature, as in life, we encounter persons who have faults
as well as virtues. In the novel The Elephant Man by Christine Sparks a
man has faults. The character that has faults in this novel is Bytes who
is a greedy man and a circus owner.
Often people have a fault of virtue of another person. Bytes made
Merrick, the Elephant Man, live in the basement. Merrick lived in Bytes'
basement for more than two decades. The basement was cold and all
Merrick had an old dirty brown blanket to keep warm. Bytes whipped the
wall so that Merrick would obey.
When people have a bad character they often show it by what they
say. When Bytes put Merrick in the freak show he was trying to get
money. That proves he is greedy. He was getting people's attention by
saying "' A wicked birth...monstrous...evil...'" (Sparks 1). Bytes was cruel
to Merrick. In the circus Merrick received his named the Elephant Man. 
People who have fault take it out on other people less fortunate
then they are to make themselves feel superior. Bytes did exactly this to
Merrick. He treated the Elephant Man inhumanly. He showed this by
giving Merrick a dirty blanket, potatoes and water for food supply.
Merrick was beaten by Bytes.
Bytes had a lot of faults in this novel. He put the Elephant Man in
a cold basement for more than two decades with barely any warmth and
food supply. Bytes also put Merrick in the freak show to make more
money. Merrick was treated inhumanly. The author's tone is that she
condemns mistreatment to any human being. The purpose is to
entertain or to inform. The intended effect is a feeling of sadness to
people who are treated poorly. The basic theme or assertion of this
book is don't judge a book by it's cover.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Eleven.TXT
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Eleven
"Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros, uses many literary devices to
characterize a complex eleven-year-old. Rachel, the
ingenuous 1st person narrator, relates the details of her
humiliating eleventh birthday. Although her diction reflects
her age, Rachel conveys the difficulty of growing up with
adult precision. She is embarrassed and feels helpless, but
knows she will soon be home with her parents, and her
terrible day will drift away. Rachel's age is given away not
only by the title, but by her word choice. She employs
numerous similes, describing crying like uncontrollable
hiccups, drinking milk to fast, and little animal noises. Her
confidence rattles like "pennies in a tin Band-Aid Box," and
she is always on the edge of lapsing into another session of
tears. However, Rachel's diction does not simple betray her
age. Descriptions like "smells like cottage cheese" are
insights into her true personality. She is passionate and
curious, almost to a fault. Because she describes things like
runaway balloons, she is a believable eleven-year-old. First
person narration reveals though Rachel's thoughts are those
of a typical eleven-year-old her descriptive ability is more
mature. Rachel has an uncanny ability to convey her feelings.
However, because she is an ingenuous narrator, she
sometimes misses the deeper significance of her feelings.
Although she twice mentions she is looking forward to cake,
her birthday song, and normal birthday things, she does not
mention she also needs the comfort of her parents. On the
other hand, unlike most older, or mature, people, she
understands enough about life experience to know she does
not have enough. Twice she mentions she would like to have
the experience of someone who is one hundred and two. At
eleven Rachel realizes that with experience comes
confidence, personal strength, and most important to her,
knowing what to do in hostile situations. As amazing as those
thoughts are, Rachel's most impressive thought is about age.
She understands that people display the characteristics of the
ages they have passed. She understands that although she is
eleven, she can still be scared like she is five, or cry like she
is three. What she does not grasp is that people can display
characteristics beyond their years. Rachel displays that
advanced maturity in her thoughts. The only dialogue in the
story is between Rachel and her teacher, Mrs. Price. Every
conversation is the same, Mrs. Price does not listen to
Rachel and dominates their conversations. Rachel associates
being right with being older, so she lets Mrs. Price have her
way. Mrs. Price is so dominating Rachel can respond with
what she calls her four- year-old voice. She stumbles for a
reply, eventually saying only, "Not mine, not mine." Rachel is
helpless and feels sick inside as she is forced to wear that
sweater. So much emphasis is given to what Rachel is
thinking, but the dialogue can show her outward personality.
Rachel is non-confrontational, timid, and shy. Rachel
desperately wants her terrible day to be over. She wants to
be one-hundred and two, because then days like this one
would be far behind. After she is brought to tears and
reluctantly she puts on the sweater and even though she did
not have to wear the sweater long, she is changed. She
realizes facing challenges is at the foundation of experience.
Her old self floats away like a balloon. Sandra Cisneros's
"Eleven" uses point of view, diction, dialogue, and symbolism
to characterize an eleven year old's coming of age. The
unique characteristics of an eleven- year-old have allowed
her to make important discoveries about growing up. Rachel
survives her humiliation, and becomes smart eleven. She
feels smart eleven, and a almost a year sooner than usual.
Rachel realizes that people are the sum of their experience.
She desperately wants to be one hundred and two, but
realizes that her experience adds up to eleven.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Elisa Takes On Herself.TXT
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Elisa Takes On Herself
"The Chrysanthemums" is a short story in The Long Valley, a collection of short stories by
John Steinbeck. This story dramatizes the efforts made by a housewife, Elisa Allen, to compensate for
the disappointments which she has encountered in her life. Steinbeck makes it clear that Elisa yearns for
something more in her life then the everyday routines of farm life. While Elisa is portrayed as strong, in
the end, her strength serves to be insufficient in having the courage to effect any real change in her life
since her fragile self-esteem proves to be too susceptible to outside forces. From the beginning of the 
short story, Steinbeck emphasizes that Elisa is a strong, competent
woman who finds her considerable energy channeled into things, such as her garden, which never give
her the sort of recognition or satisfaction that she craves. For a brief moment, she senses that she is
capable of much more and feels her own strength only to, once again, have a man bring down her
efforts, and her self-esteem.
The story opens with Elisa working in her garden. Steinbeck makes a point of telling the
reader that she is thirty-five. Her age at once implies a woman almost at her middle-age who may be
reexamining the dreams of her youth as she contemplates the second half of her life. Steinbeck
emphasizes Elisa's strength as he writes, "Her face was eager and mature and handsome" (Steinbeck
279). Her husband, Henry, comes back to the house having just completed the sell of some cattle. He
is complimentary towards her gardening and comments on her talent. He suggests that she put her
talent to work in the orchard growing apples, and Elisa considers his offhand comment seriously,
"Maybe I could do it, too" (280).
Steinbeck has set the stage. Elisa clearly is feeling good about herself and her
accomplishments in the garden when an itinerate tinker pulls up in his wagon asking directions. The
tinker has gotten off the main road and is looking for work. He repairs pots and pans and sharpens
kitchen utensils. At first Elisa is aloof and says she has no work for him, but warms to the man when he
admires her garden. He mentions that a customer of his wanted to grow chrysanthemums and asked
him to bring her seeds if he ever got the chance. Elisa is thrilled to have someone who has shown an
interest in her expertise. She informs the tinker that chrysanthemums are best grown from seedlings,
after which she arranges some seedlings in a pot of sand for him to take to his customer.
This changes Elisa whole orientation toward the tinker. She finds him some of her pots which
need repair and engages him in conversation as she digs up the seedlings. At this point, Steinbeck's
narrative takes on sexual overtones as Elisa describes her feelings when she prunes the chrysanthemum
buds with sure, quick fingers. "They never make a mistake. They're with the plant. Do you see? Your
fingers and the plant. You can feel that, right up your arm" (283-284). It is clear in this passage that 
Elisa is identifying heavily with the tinker and that she images
that they share the same feelings toward their individual realms of expertise. The tinker starts to
comment on what she has just described, but Elisa cuts him off. She is so certain of what he was going
to say, she feels that she can finish the sentence for him. She describes his solitary life living in a wagon
in a very fantasized, romantic way that, here again, has sexual overtones. "Every pointed star gets
driven into your body. It's like that. Hot and sharp and-lovely" (284). Kneeling there beside the tinker
in the dirt, Elisa almost reaches out to touch him, but then decides against it. Steinbeck writes that she
was crouched like a "fawning dog" (284).
This is a very telling line in regards to the characterization of Elisa, especially since the reader
has not seen a great deal of her relationship with her husband, and what we have seen has been
remarkably civil, if passionless. Elisa obviously yearns to connect with someone who can appreciate
where she comes from in an aesthetic sense. She romanticizes the life of the tinker who earns his trade
based solely on his own talents and images that she would love being able to earn a living based on her
own skills. For a moment, she feels an intimate connection with the tinker while she images that they
have shared feelings. The fact that she withdraws from this connection like a whipped dog indicates
that she has experienced pain from trying to establish such a bond in the past.
As the tinker prepares to leave, Elisa jokes that he might have some competition in the future,
that she could show him, "what a woman might do" (284). At this point, Elisa is feeling strong and
confident in her abilities. After the tinker departs, Elisa prepares to go out for the evening with her
husband, Henry. Steinbeck makes it clear that the ritual of changing her clothes also produces a change
in Elisa. For one thing, Elisa's bath takes on the ramifications of a ritual purification ceremony. "She
scrubs herself with a little block of pumice, legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was
scratched and red" (285). Although the obvious implication is that she is punishing herself for unclean
sexual thoughts, there is an added layer of meaning in that she, for a moment, considered stepping
outside the role prescribed by society, because she quickly steps back into this role. She puts on
makeup and a dress which is the "symbol of her prettiness" (285). Through this ritual, Elisa has discarded 
the sensible, practical clothing of, what is really, hercalling, for the traditional dress of women in a
society which places a reward on youth and sexual attractiveness. By also mentally stepping back into the
passive role that places a value of the opinions of men, she makes herself vulnerable to those opinions.
Her increased vulnerability shows in her conversation with Henry when he compliments her on
her appearance. She asks him exactly what he means, "Nice? You think I look nice? What do you mean
by 'nice' ?" (286). Poor, confused Henry isn't sure what to answer. He blunders on by saying "I don't
know. I mean you look different, strong and happy" (286). As they drive into town, Elisa sees where the 
tinker has carelessly thrown her wonderful
chrysanthemum seedlings, which she so careful dug, into the road. She notices, "he had to keep the pot. 
That's why he couldn't get them off the road" (286). The tinker's interest in her garden was all a
pretense to incline her more favorably toward him so he could obtain work. Her imaged sharing of
feelings was strictly in her own imagination and had no basis in reality. Elisa sees all this quite plainly
and is hurt by it. She makes one more stab at independence and showing her strength. For a moment, she
shows an interest in going to the fights instead of the movies where she can watch men punish each
other till the gloves become "soggy with blood" (287). However, she quickly drops this plan for the
more mundane thrill having wine with their dinner. "It will be enough if we can have wine" (287). With
this comment, she pulls up her coat collar and begins to cry "weakly-like an old woman" (287).
To have her illusions crushed so quickly and thoroughly has robbed Elisa of her feelings of
strength and independence. Although she obviously longs for more control of her life, for meaningful
work that uses her talents and capabilities, it is obvious that Elisa will never assert herself enough to
obtain these things. Elisa would love to go against the restrictions imposed against women during this time
in the 1930s. Although there is nothing wrong with Henry, he obviously doesn't connect with her on the sort
of intimate level that would fulfill Elisa's longings. The garden seems to also symbolize an aesthetic
side to Elisa's nature which yearns for expression. For a moment, she feels she touched on such a shared
intimacy with the tinker and it is easy to
see why she could have been so easily mistaken because the tinker does imply that he also has that sort
of aesthetic sensibility when he describes the chrysanthemums which will bloom later in the summer,
"Kind of a long-stemmed flower? Looks like a quick puff of colored smoke?" (282). When the tinker casts
her plants aside, it is almost as if he cast aside Elisa's dreams as well. It's not just this brief episode
that makes Elisa's cry, but what is really upsetting her is the thought of a future where she feels unfulfilled
and unchallenged.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\EMERSON.TXT
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EMERSON
"Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it
gains on the other." Although written long ago these words
by, Ralph Waldo Emerson still hold true today. Everyday in
society people are making improvements, however, but
these improvements also have equal drawbacks. Today we
are using cutting edge technology to improve every aspect of
our daily lives. For instance in today's society the fields of
Communication and Medicine are constantly advancing yet
they both create significant losses. Technology has helped
increase the speed of communication and decrease its cost.
However, at the same time it has caused people to become
more impersonal with each other. In earlier times the major
form of communication was for people to visit each other
and go to public meeting places. One of the next major
advances was the telephone. Due to the telephone people
no longer went to the public meeting places as often as they
used to. As time goes on, new advances still allow people to
contact and communicate with each other more easily.
These advances such as faxes, beepers, and electronic mail,
although seemingly making life easier, each help to decrease
the earlier forms of communication. The field of medicine,
like the field communication, also displays what Emerson
was trying to say. This field too, which had many advances,
has also caused many difficulties. As scientists and doctors
try to come up with cures for the many diseases we have
today, they are also making new ones. For example, when
scientists went to Africa in search of a cure for a disease,
they came back with monkeys that were contaminated with
the Emboli virus. Today in Russia there are military bases
where Russian scientists are creating thousands of germs and
viruses to use in germ warfare. These germs and viruses are
capable of killing thousands of people instantly. As
technology continues to advance and society moves
"forward", people continue to use the less personal forms of
communication, and create new problems in the field of
medicine. The fear of becoming a society, which
communicates only through machines, and creates new
disease, is becoming greater with time. For all of society
gains there are equal drawbacks. So as in Ralph Waldo
Emerson words "society never advances."
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Emily Dickinson.TXT
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Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts. She had a younger sister named Lavina and an older brother named Austin. Her mother Emily Norcross Dickinson, was largely dependent on her family and was seen by Emily as a poor mother. Her father was lawyer, Congressman, and the Treasurer for Amherst College. Unlike her mother, Emily loved and admired her father. Since the family was not emotional, they lived a quiet secure life. They rarely shared their problems with one another so Emily had plenty of privacy for writing. During her childhood, Emily and her family attended The First Congregational Church on a regular basis. Emily did not like going to church because she didn't think of herself as being very religious. She refused to believe that Heaven was a better place than Earth and eventually rebelled from the church. Emily saw herself as a woman who had her own way of thinking, a way of thinking shaped neither by the church or society. By the time she was twelve, her family moved to a house on Pleasant Street where they lived from 1840 to 1855. Emily was already writing letters, but composed most of her poetry in this home. Emily only left home to attend Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for two semesters. Though her stay there was brief, she impressed her teachers with her courage and directness. They felt her writing was sensational. At the age of twenty-one, Emily and her family moved to the Dickinson Homestead on Main Street. This move proved to be very difficult for Emily. This was difficult for Emily because she became very attached to her old house, which shaped her writing and personality for fifteen years. They now lived next door to her brother Austin and his wife Susan and their daughter Martha. Emily and Susan became so close that many people believe they may have been lovers. A rumor perpetuated by the fact that Emily was known to have written many love letters and poems to Susan. Martha attempted to protect both of their images and suppress the rumors. It became common knowledge that Emily had some type of very strong feelings for Susan. At the age of thirty-one Emily sent some of her poems to a publisher, Thomas Higginson, from whom she got a very good response and a strong friendship developed. He acted as her mentor but she never seemed to have taken any of his advice. It became evident that she didn't like the idea of having her works published, she made 40 packets of about twenty poems apiece from 814 poems. She placed these in a box along with 333 other poems. Emily died on May 5, 1886 at the age of 56. She had planned her own funeral. It was held at the mansion on Main Street and ended at the family plot near the house on Pleasant Street. At her request, her casket was covered with violets and pine boughs, while she herself was dressed in a new white gown and had a strand of violets placed about her neck. Before she died, Emily left specific instructions for her sister and a housemaid, Maggie to destroy all the letters she had received and saved. The box of packets and poems was found with these letters, but Emily had not said anything about destroying them. Her sister Lavina was determined to have these published, but Susan kept them for two years before they were released to Higginson. In 1890 and 1891, some of the poems were published. They received a great response, but no more were released until 1955, when the rest of her poems were published. Though she was not religious many of her poems do reflect Protestant and Calvinistic views. She wrote many of her poems on pain, but unlike most Protestants she refused to believe that she deserved this pain. Though she is viewed by many as a hermit who spent much of her life in isolation, she also is admired for her style in writing. She chose her words for her poems in a way that allows the reader to choose the meaning. In conclusion, she wrote nearly eighteen hundred poems, most ignoring rhyme and punctuation. Emily's poems did not have titles because she never wanted them to be published. Many of her poems are dark and mysterious but all are true works of art.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Emotional Intelligence.TXT
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Emotional Intelligence
   Emotional Intelligence is the ability to sense understands and effectively applies the power and acumen of emotions as a source of human energy, information and influence. Researches clearly demonstrate that while some aspects of our personalities are fixed, the way we act out those qualities is ours to choose. In other word, we do not choose our characteristics, but we do choose our characters. We do not choose many of the events of our lives, but we do choose how we react to them. For this reason, organizations can improve their employee's emotional I.Q. There are many programs and courses that are specially designed to help people in organizations to improve their emotional I.Q.      
     Emotional I.Q is not about sales tricks or how to cheat somebody; it is not about putting a good face on things, or the psychology of control. Emotional Intelligence requires that we learn to acknowledge and value feelings in ourselves and others that we appropriately respond to them, effectively applying the information and energy of emotions in our daily life and work. Managers should have a great knowledge in emotional intelligence. It helps them to handle anger, and use this anger in a positive and intelligent way. Emotional I.Q help managers to affect others in a positive, optimistic way in the workplace. Also, managers with high emotional I.Q can read other's feelings. This will for sure help managers to communicate and deal better with employees and customers. 
     It is emotional intelligence that motivates us to pursue our unique potential and purpose, and activates our innermost values and aspirations, transforming them from things we think about to what we live.  
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ENDURING.TXT
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ENDURING, ENDEARING NONSENSE by Andrew
Green Did you read and enjoy Lewis Carroll's Alice in
Wonderland books as a child? Or better still, did you have
someone read them to you? Perhaps you discovered them
as an adult or, forbid the thought, maybe you haven't
discovered them at all! Those who have journeyed Through
the Looking Glass generally love (or shun) the tales for their
unparalleled sense of nonsense . Public interest in the
books--from the time they were published more than a
century ago--has almost been matched by curiosity about
their author. Many readers are surprised to learn that the
Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and a host of other absurd
and captivating creatures sprung from the mind of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson,
a shy, stammering Oxford mathematics
professor. Dodgson was a deacon in his church, an inventor,
and a noted children's photographer. Wonderland, and thus
the seeds of his unanticipated success as a writer, appeared
quite casually one day as he spun an impromptu tale to
amuse the daughters of a colleague during a picnic. One of
these girls was Alice Liddell, who insisted that he write the
story down for her, and who served as the model for the
heroine. Dodgson eventually sought to publish the first book
on the advice of friends who had read and loved the little
handwritten manuscript he had given to Alice Liddell. He
expanded the story considerably and engaged the services
of John Tenniel, one of the best known artists in England, to
provide illustrations. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and
its sequel Through The Looking Glass were enthusiastically
received in their own time, and have since become
landmarks in childrens' literature. What makes these
nonsense tales so durable? Aside from the immediate appeal
of the characters, their colourful language, and the
sometimes hilarious verse ("Twas brillig, and the slithy
toves/did gyre and gimble in the wabe:") the narrative works
on many levels. There is logical structure, in the relationship
of Alice's journey to a game of chess. There are problems of
relativity, as in her exchange with the Cheshire Cat: "Would
you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
There is plenty of fodder for psychoanalysts, Freudian or
otherwise, who have had a field day analyzing the
significance of the myriad dream creatures and Alice's
strange transformations. There is even Zen: "And she tried to
fancy what the flame of a candle looks like after the candle is
blown out..." Still, why would a rigorous logical thinker like
Dodgson, a disciple of mathematics, wish children to wander
in an unpredictable land of the absurd? Maybe he felt that
everybody, including himself, needed an occasional holiday
from dry mental exercises. But he was no doubt also aware
that nonsense can be instructive all the same. As Alice and
the children who follow her adventures recognize illogical
events, they are acknowledging their capacity for logic, in
the form of what should normally happen. "You're a serpent;
[says the Pigeon] and there's no use denying it. I suppose
you'll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!" "I
have tasted eggs, certainly," said Alice... "But little girls eat
eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know." Ethel
Rowell, to whom Dodgson taught logic when she was
young, wrote that she was grateful that he had encouraged
her to "that arduous business of thinking." While Lewis
Carroll's Alice books compel us to laugh and to wonder, we
are also easily led, almost in spite of ourselves, to think as
well. FURTHER READING: Lewis Carroll. Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass,
with an introduction by Morton N. Cohen, Bantam, 1981.
Lewis Carroll: The Wasp in a Wig, A "Suppressed Episode
of Through the Looking-Glass, Notes by Martin Gardner,
Macmillan London Ltd, 1977. Anne Clark: The Real Alice,
Michael Joseph Ltd, 1981. Raymond Smullyan: Alice in
Puzzleland, William Morrow and Co., 1982.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Ernest Hemingway.TXT
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Ernest Hemingway
"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" was published by Scribner's Magazine in March of 1933, but it was not until 1956 that an apparent inconsistency in the waiters' dialogue was brought to Hemingway's attention. Hemingway's thirteen word reply to Judson Jerome, an Assistant Professor of English at Antioch College, said that he had read the story again and it still made perfect sense to him. Despite this letter, Scribner's republished "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" in 1965 with a slight change in the waiters' dialogue that they argued would fix the apparent anomaly. Scribner's decision to alter the original text, the letter Hemingway wrote to Professor Jerome, and several papers on the subject all add up to a literary controversy that still churns among Hemingway scholars. I will argue that the original text is the correct text and Scribner's just failed to interpret it properly. They failed to notice nuances in Hemingway's writing that appear throughout many of his other works. They obviously thought Hemingway's reply to Professor Jerome was made without notice of the inconsistency. Most important, I believe they did not evaluate the character of the two waiters in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." A careful examination of the character of each waiter can make it apparent that the original text was correct and that there was no need for Scribner's to alter the text.
The dialogue in question results from a conversation the two waiters have concerning the old man's attempted suicide. One waiter asks "Who cut him down?", to which the other waiter replies "His niece." Later in the story, the original text appears to confuse who possesses the knowledge about the suicide. The waiter who previously said "His niece", now says: "I Know. You said she cut him down." This seems to assume the knowledge about the attempted suicide has either passed from one waiter to another, or that we have incorrectly attributed the first exchange to the wrong waiters. So which waiter asked about cutting down the old man? When the disputed dialogue between the two waiters takes place, we do not know enough about them to develop an outline of character. As the story progresses, the character of the two waiters emerges through their dialogue and thoughts, as does many of Hemingway's characters. Once the character of each waiter is developed and understood, the dialogue makes more sense when the story is read again. The older waiter, who is unhurried and can empathize with the old man, makes declarative and judgmental statements throughout the story. Much like Count Mippipopolous in "The Sun Also Rises", the older waiter is a reflective man who understands life and is not compelled to rush his time. He says things that convey his nature: "The old man is clean. He drinks without spilling." and "I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe." The older waiter shows concern for the old man and it would only be reasonable to assume that he knows a little about him. So if the older waiter knows about the attempted suicide, why did the original text "confuse" the issue? The younger waiter shows all the impatience of youth and an uncaring attitude towards the old man. He is more concerned about getting home to his wife and to bed before three than he is about the old man. This becomes obvious when he says, "An old man is a nasty thing." We can assume that because the younger waiter cares only that the old man pays his tab, he is not paying close attention to what the older waiter is saying about him. This might be viewed as a long inference, but taken with the original text it interprets quite clearly. We have seen that the older waiter possess the character of a man Hemingway would probably respect and admire. He is reserved, contemplative, judgmental, and possesses many of the characteristics of a Hemingway hero. The older waiter was trying to make sense of what he probably saw as an age of confusion. The soldier that passes by suggests a conflict is occurring and adds to the old waiter's perception of confusion. He was trying to tell the younger waiter how honest and decent it is just to sit in a clean cafe and drink a few brandies by yourself while trying to make sense of life. He tries to tell him that it is different to sit in a well-lighted cafe than it is to sit at a loud or dirty bar. The cafe is a place of quiet refuge and the older waiter understands this. The young waiter does not pay close attention to what the older waiter is saying because he is too concerned with his own affairs. Understanding the differences in each waiter's character and the inferences that can be drawn from them is crucial when attributing the dialogue to the waiter. Certain proposals made by Otto Reinert (1959) and Charles May (1971) about Hemingway's unconventional presentation of dialogue can be debunked if it is assumed the waiters have consistent characters. Reinert and May suggest that Hemingway wrote two lines of dialogue, but intended them to be said by the same person who in this case would be the young waiter. This would switch to whom the proceeding dialogue is attributed to and puts the younger waiter in the position of telling the older waiter about the old man's attempted suicide. Reinert and May say that another double dialogue occurs when the older waiter says: "He must be eighty years old. Anyway I should say he was eighty." This switches the dialogue again and explains the apparent inconsistency in the original text when the older waiter says to the younger waiter, "You said she cut him down." This would work well, except the dialogue that Reinert and May suggests is said by the younger waiter does not seem in line with his character. I cannot accept that the older waiter is suddenly asking all the questions and that the younger waiter knows enough about the old man to answer them. While it is true that we are unable to know who speaks which line during the first two dialogues of the story, when taken as a whole the characters of the waiters emerge and we are able to attribute lines to each waiter. The character of each waiter indicates to me that the older waiter knew about the old man and was therefore telling the younger waiter about him. If this is so, then the original text still appears to be inconsistent, but a look at Hemingway's droll approach to humor will suggest otherwise. George H. Thomson's article " 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place': Interpreting the Original Text" first gave me the idea that Hemingway might have imbued the older waiter with a dry humor that is found in other Hemingway characters. Jacob Barnes in "The Sun Also Rises" and the narrator in "Green Hills of Africa" possess this dark humor and Hemingway uses it effectively to befuddle other characters or to add to the cynicism of a situation. The narrator in "Green Hills of Africa" pretends to aim at humans while hunting and the guide misunderstands and takes him seriously. In "The Sun Also Rises" Jake speaks of a woman with bad teeth smiling that "wonderful smile." The humor in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is more subtle, but if it exists as Thomson speculates, then it clears up the apparent inconsistency in the waiters' dialogue. When the older waiter tells the younger waiter that the old man tried to hang himself, the younger waiter asks, "Who cut him down?" Thomson suggests the younger waiter was not thinking clearly because it is easier to lift someone up and untie the rope or to untie the rope itself than it is to cut the rope and let the person fall down. The older waiter notes this, but decides to barb the younger waiter by replying, "His niece." He does this without further explanation of the particulars because he knows the younger waiter is completely disinterested anyway. This is shown by the younger waiter's next response: "Why did they do it?" Even though the older waiter said niece, the younger waiter responds with "they" suggesting he was not listening. Where the inconsistency is purported to occur in the original text, it is my feeling that the older waiter is still barbing the younger waiter, but the younger waiter's aloofness prevents him from realizing this. Younger waiter: "His niece looks after him."
Older waiter: "I know. You said she cut him down." Taken literally there is no inconsistency because it was the younger waiter who suggested someone cut him down. The older waiter simply agreed with him. I could just imagine the scene when the older waiter said this to the younger waiter. His eyes would glance up, a thin smile would appear on his lips, but the younger waiter would not be looking. His consternation would focused towards the old man who was keeping him from bed. The older waiter was prodding the younger waiter for suggesting that to take care of the old man all one had to do was cut him down. When the younger waiter did not respond to his jab, the older waiter probably just shook his head and went on to tell him the old man was not so bad. This might be construed in some camps as just rank speculation, but I enjoy playing with the original text and trying to interpret what Hemingway wrote, not what Scribner's wrote. Whether or not Hemingway intended this apparent anomaly to be interpreted this way is unknown, but I do believe he intended to write it as it was in the original text. The effect of what Hemingway wrote must be analyzed through his style and usage of language, but it must be done through what he wrote and not what satisfies someone else's common sense.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Escape From A Dollhouse.TXT
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Escape From A Dollhouse
Escape From A Doll House We have all felt the need to be
alone or to venture to places that our minds have only
imagined. However, we as individuals have always found
ourselves clutching to our responsibilities and obligations, to
either our jobs or our friends and family. The lingering feeling
of leaving something behind or of promises that have been
unfulfilled is a pain that keeps us from escaping. People
worldwide have yearned for a need to leave a situation or
seek spiritual fulfillment elsewhere. The need for one's
freedom and their responsibility to others can make or break
a person. Henrik Isben's inspirational characters of Nora
Helmer, Kristine Linde, and Nils Krogstad have all had to
suffer for their right to be individuals and to be accountable
for their actions. A woman of the tough Victorian period,
Nora Helmer was both a prisoner of her time as well as a
pioneer. In her society women were viewed as an inferior
species and were not even considered real human beings in
the eyes of the law. Nora and other women soon discovered
that it was a man's world and they were just not allowed to
participate in it. Women of that era though, were allowed to
stay at home and adhere to their tired, overworked spouse's
needs, not to mention their constant obligation to their
children. Women in those days were only allowed to work
solely at home or to have minor jobs such as maids or
dressmakers. Nora was a free spirit just waiting to be freed;
her husband Torvald would constantly disallow the slightest
pleasures that she aspired to have, such as macaroons. Nora
lived a life of lies in order to hold her marriage together. She
kept herself pleased with little things such as telling Dr. Rank
and Mrs. Linde; "I have such a huge desire to say-to hell
and be damned!" (Isben 59) Just so she could release some
tension that was probably building inside her due to all the
restrictions that Torvald had set up, such as forbidding
macaroons. The need for her to consume these macaroons
behind her controlling husband's back was a way for her to
satisfy her sense of needing to be an independent woman.
Upon the arrival of her old friend Kristine Linde, Nora took
it upon herself to find her friend a job since she had gone
through a lot in her life. She asked her husband Torvald,
who also happened to be the new manager at the bank if
Kristine could have a job and he responded with an
afirmative response. Mrs. Helmer had also stated that she
had single handedly saved her husband's life when she took
out a loan for his benefit. However, in those days women
were unable to get a loan without their husband's consent or
another male's signature, so Nora took it upon herself to
forge her father's signature in order to secure the welfare of
Torvald. She saw it as her obligation as a loving wife to
break the law so she would be able to save a life, especially
when it was the life of her husband. Others though saw it as
a criminal offence; Nils Krogstad for example accused Nora
of violating the law to which Nora replied: "This I refuse to
believe. A daughter hasn't the right to protect her dying
father from anxiety and care? A wife hasn't the right to save
her husband's life? I don't know much about laws but I'm
sure that somewhere in the books these things are allowed.
And you don't know anything about it-you who practice the
law? You must be an awful lawyer, Mr. Krogstad." (Isben
67) Nora saw the law as something which, stood in the way
of her responsibility to her family not to mention to herself. If
she were to of told her ill father about her situation
concerning Torvald's health he could have died due to stress
of hearing this news. If she had spoken to Torvald about his
illness he would have forbidden her from carrying it on
because he wouldn't want to be in debt to a women, and
more importantly his wife; his pride as a male would have
been crushed. It was her responsibility that she did not
disclose that information to Torvald because of the
repercussions it would bring. At the conclusion of the play
Nora knows that her secret will be revealed and awaits
Torvald's reaction to it. When she learns that her marriage
was a sham and it was a one sided, playful wedlock she
decided to leave Torvald. Torvlad makes many futile
attempts to make her stay concerning her duties to her
husband and children to which Nora tells him that she has
other duties; duties to herself. Torvald pleads with her that
before all else; she is his wife and the mother of their
children, to which Nora says: " I don't believe in that
anymore. I believe that, before all else, I'm a human being,
no less than you-or anyway I ought to try to become one. I
know the majority thinks you're right, Torvald, and plenty of
books agree with you, too. But I can't go on being satisfied
with what the majority says, or what's written in books. I
have to think over these things myself and try to understand
them." (Isben 111) In her leaving and the abandoning of her
family and the memories that coincide with them, Nora was
able to gain her freedom as an individual and was now in
search for new responsibilities. Other people seek out
independence and accountability through personal
experience and by themselves. Kristine Linde, a childhood
friend of Nora has had to strive for all that she wanted. In
her past she had at one time had a serious relationship with
Mr. Krogstad, but due to circumstances beyond her power
she had to give up her life with him. It was all due to her
mother's ailment and her obligation to her younger brothers
that she had to take it upon herself to marry a wealthy man
so she could make her mother's last days enjoyable. With all
the extra money she could afford to help her brothers and
live the good life. This though all came crashing down on her
when her husband died and she was left a penniless widow.
She took it on herself to work in a man's world and be
faced with the obstacles that would constantly confront her.
She became a teacher and worked many odd jobs before
Torvald gave her a job in his bank. She sees Nora as the
ideal wife, and as everything that she wants to be. Kristine
believes that Nora has had it easy in life in comparison to
her, Kristine has had to fulfill her obligations to her family not
to mention herself while suffering long years of unhappiness
in a marriage to a man she did not love. Kristine then hears
of all the trouble that Nora had gone through and the secrets
that she had to keep and attempts to right the wrong that
Krogstad is trying to do to her. Mrs. Linde feels slightly
responsible for what Krogstad is doing because of what she
had did to him in the past. She believes that if she had not
left him he would have never of become this sly individual
who is not only pestering one of her friends but blackmailing
her as well. Mrs. Linde attempts to get Krogstad to
withdraw his letter to Torvald concerning all of Nora's
secrets. During their conversation she admits her love for
him, not only because she felt responsible for his current
situation but she also felt that she needed to fulfill the
responsibility to her heart and her emotional wellbeing.
Kristine tells Nils that: "I have to work to go on living. All
my born days, as long as I can remember, I've worked, and
it's been my best and my only joy. But now I'm completely
alone in the world, so terribly lost and forsaken. To work for
yourself-there's no joy in that. Nils, give me
something-someone to work for." (Isben 96) She is ever
constantly striving for no one but herself and it is hurting her
inside. Telling Krogstad about her feelings towards him frees
her from all the years of guilt and sets up a new beginning for
her. Kristine begins her new life by not holding on to lies and
tells Krogstad not to take back his letter but instead, leave it
there so the truth can be revealed. In her rekindled
relationship with Krogstad, Kristine had learned that a
healthy relationship must go on without lies. She believes that
"Helmer's got to learn everything; this dreadful secret has to
be aired; those two have to come to a full understanding; all
these lies and evasions can't go on." (Isben 97) She has the
forethought to see that Nora's lies will only cause her pain
and like Torvald said "Because that kind of atmosphere of
lies infects the whole life of a home. Every breath the
children take is filled with the germs of something
degenerate." (Isben 70) Which in time might prove to be
true and would eventually be the cause of their separation.
Finally, other people have had to fight for their freedom and
therefore accept responsibility for their actions, just like Nils
Krogstad. Mr. Krogstad was once a good man until his
world fell apart when Kristine dumped him. It was due to a
rash action of his that his reputation had been tarnished, his
case never went to court but all doors were closed to him
and he took up some corrupt activities to support himself.
He felt quite responsible for his actions and for the sake of
his sons he wanted to reform and started the process with
his job at the bank. When his position was threatened he
took it on himself to first ask Nora to persuade her husband
to let him keep his job. When that failed he decided to
blackmail her and do it legally; he as a lawyer knew that
Nora had committed forgery when she took out a loan and it
was his responsibility to report it. This all changed when
Kristine had the opportunity to speak with him alone during
the Helmer's party. There in the secret blanket of the dark,
Kristine was able to convince Krogstad that she still truly
loved him and because of her announcement he deduced
that he had wronged the Helmer's entirely wondering "Oh, if
only I could take it all back." (Isben 97) Kristine then
informs Krogstad that he can still take his letter back, but
after he decides to demand his letter back; Kristine tells him
that he can't and that the truth must be revealed. With a new
lust for life and responsibility to his new life with Kristine, he
agrees. In finding a renewed life with Kristine, Nils Krogstad
has been granted the freedom from his past that he
constantly awaited and has found his new responsibility to
his children and to Mrs. Linde. We all have wanted to go
out on our own and fulfill our responsibility to ourselves.
However our need to find our individuality can lead to our
downfall or in most cases our uprising. In Isben's play A
Doll House, an estranged wife, Nora Helmer; an
independent working woman, Kristine Linde; and a morally
corrupt man, Nils Krogstad, had all suffered to become
individuals in their own right and have taken accountability
for their actions to achieve their freedom.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Ethan From1.TXT
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Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome is a story of ill-fated love, set during the winter
in the rural New England town of Starkfield. Ethan is a
farmer who is married to a sickly woman named Zeena. The
two live in trapped, unspoken resentment on Ethan's isolated
and failing farm. Ethan has been caring for his wife for six
years now. Due to Zeena's numerous complications they
employ her cousin to help in the house, the animated Mattie
Silver. With Mattie's youthful presence in the house, Ethan is
awoken of the bitterness of his youth's lost opportunities,
and a dissatisfaction with his life and empty marriage. Ethan
and Mattie in turn, fall in love. However, they never follow
their love due to Ethan's morals and the respect he has for
his marriage to Zeena. Ethan eagerly awaits the nights when
he is able to walk Mattie home from the town dances. He
cherishes the ground she walks on. After a visit to the
doctor, Zeena is told that she needs more sufficient hired
help. Thus, she decides to send her incompetent cousin
away and hire a new one. Ethan and Mattie are desperate to
stay together. However, Ethan's lack of financial means and
Zeena's health are factors that will never allow him to leave
Starkfield. Unable to find any solutions to this problem,
Ethan and Mattie decide to commit suicide by sledding into
a tree. They figure it is the only way they can be together.
The attempt fails, and the two are left paralyzed. Now
Ethan's wife must care for the two for the rest of their lives.
There were many themes found in Ethan Frome, but the
greatest of them all is loneliness and isolation. In college
Ethan acquired the nickname "Old Stiff" because he rarely
went out with the boys. Once he returned to the farm to care
for his parents, he couldn't go out with them even if he
wanted to. Whatever he's done has kept him apart from
others: tending to the farm and mill, nursing his sick mother
and caring for Zeena. Ethan's isolation is intensified, because
he is often tongue-tied. He would like to make contact with
others but can't. For example, when he wants to impress
Mattie with beautiful words of love, he mutters, "Come
along." In their own ways, Zeena and Mattie are solitary
figures, too. For years, Zeena rarely leaves the house. She's
consumed by her illness. Mattie, on the other hand, seeks
refuge from loneliness at the Fromes' farm. A year later she
chooses to die rather than return to a world of solitude.
Edith Wharton uses characters such as Mattie, to express
the theme of loneliness and isolation. Mattie Silver is unlike
any of the other characters in Ethan Frome. The town of
Starkfield is very colorless and dull. When Mattie enters she
is wearing bright clothing and ribbons tied in her hair. From
her first appearance, the reader becomes aware that Mattie
is very different from Ethan's wife. Of all the characters in
this novel, Mattie is the most tragic. She was so energetic
and full of life that she wanted to free Ethan from this terrible
society he lived in. She suggested suicide as a means of
escape for the two of them. When the attempt failed, she
became paralyzed. She is now stuck in the cold, colorless,
world of Starkfield. The setting of Ethan Frome, also
expresses the isolation. Around the turn of the century, in
Ethan Frome's time, the town of Starkfield was a cold and
lifeless place. Life is dreary and cheerless in Starkfield.
People stay indoors and keep to themselves. Weeks pass
between visits with friends or neighbors. Wharton calls
Starkfield a small farming community, and the town does live
up to it's name. It's desolate and it's people are poor. Ethan
can barely scrape a living off the land. The town Starkfield
afflicts Ethan and helps to shape his destiny. Like the town,
he is sullen and run-down. Starkfield sits alone in its valley,
isolated from the world around it. Ethan is also isolated. He
left the lonely valley to go to college, but since returing he
has gone scarcely more than few miles from his remote farm.
Physically, and therefore, emotionally, he is trapped by his
wife, his farm, and his poverty. Ethan is in some ways, a
piece of the scenery, or as the narrator says, "a part of the
mute melancholy landscape, an incarnation of frozen woe."
He lacks the strength to shake himself loose before it's too
late. The author is able to clearly portray the themes of
isolation and loneliness through the characters and the
setting. In conclusion, I feel that Ethan Frome should be
included in a list of works of high literary merit, because it is
a classic. The book is about society in general and this
attracts many readers. I think that the magnificence of Ethan
himself attracts many readers. His character was so carefully
thought out. Although Ethan Frome was not a commercial
success when it was first written, many critics praised the
novel. Dr Kinnicuttt said that Ethan Frome was "a classic
that will be read an re-read with pleasure and instruction."
Henry James told Edith Wharton that the novel "contained a
beautiful art and tone and truth -- a beautiful artful kept
downness." Many critics also disliked the book. People said
that it was too pessimistic to be recommended to the general
reader. A critic in The Bookman could not forgive Wharton
for her cruelty toward both her characters and her readers.
The novel shows how one will not follow their heart due to
what society may think. It shows how much society's beliefs
in the 1900's were valued. Despite low sales when this book
first became published and unfavorable remarks about Ethan
Frome, the novel is still read and loved by many people, in
many countries and languages, today.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ETHAN FROME.TXT
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ETHAN FROME
Ethan Frome's Selflessness and Affects of his
Responsibilities By Neil Mehta Ethan Frome is the main
character of Edith Wharton's tragic novel. Ethan lives the
bitterness of his youth's lost opportunities, and
dissatisfaction with his joyless life and empty marriage.
Throughout the story Ethan is trapped by social limits and
obligations to his wife. He lives an unhappy life with many
responsibilities and little freedom. Ethan Frome studied
science in college for a year and probably would have
succeeded as an engineer or physicist had he not been
summoned home to run the family farm and mill. Ethan
quickly ended his schooling and went to run the family farm
and mill because he feels it is his responsibility. He marries
Zeena after the death of his mother, in an unsuccessful
attempt to escape silence, isolation, and loneliness. Ethan
also feels the responsibility to marry Zeena as a way to
compensate her for giving up part of her life to nurse his
mother. After marring Zeena he forgets his hope of every
continuing his education and he is now forced to remain
married to someone he does not truly love. Several Years
after their marriage, cousin Mattie Silver is asked to relieve
Zeena, who is constantly ill, of her house hold duties. Ethan
finds himself falling in love with Mattie, drawn to her youthful
energy, as, " The pure air, and the long summer hours in the
open, gave life and elasticity to Mattie." Ethan is attracted to
Mattie because she is the opposite of Zeena, while Mattie is
young, happy, healthy, and beautiful like the summer, Zeena
is seven years older than Ethan, bitter, ugly and sickly cold
like the winter. Zeena's strong dominating personality
undermines Ethan, while Mattie's feminine, lively youth
makes Ethan fell like a "real man." Ethan and Mattie finally
express their feeling for each other while Zeena is visiting the
doctor, and are forced to face the painful reality that their
dreams of being together can not come true: The return to
reality was as painful as the return to consciousness after
taking and anaesthetic. His body and brain ached with
indescribable weariness, and he could not think of nothing to
say or do that would arrest the mad flight of the moments He
desperately wanted to run away with Mattie, but he could
not leave because his practical sense told him it was not
suitable to do so partly because of his responsibility to take
care of Zeena. This is when he finally realizes and affects of
his marrying Zeena out of compensation. Ethan and Mattie
attempt to preserve their happiness and remain together the
only way they can, in death. It was Ethan's job to steer into
the elm tree with the sled so that it looked like a accidental
death instead of suicide. Instead of running into the tree
Ethan thinks of his responsibility of taking care of Zeena and
pulls away. The accident did not kill either of them instead it
just injured them and these injuries stayed with them forever.
At this point Mattie unintentionally becomes the cause of
Ethan's tragic suffering. The aborted suicide attempt leads to
their tragic fate, living a life of physical suffering, so badly
that Zeena is forced to take care of them. After the accident
Ethan took care of Mattie because he felt responsible for the
accident. Now he has to live with the guilt from his wife and
injured Mattie. "If she'd ha' died, Ethan might ha' lived."
Mattie use to be the joy of Ethan life now she is the burden.
After suffering so long with Zeena, Et! han now has to exist
with the horrible deformed remains of a once beautiful,
sensitive, and loving girl. Once again surrendering himself to
the forces of isolation, silence, darkness, cold, and dealing
with his obligations to his wife and now Mattie. Ethan
Frome's practical sense of putting his responsibilities before
his self- interests had a very negative affect on his life. His
first decision of marrying Zeena had a big impact on
everything he did afterward. It seemed that every thing he
tried to do worked against his favor. With all the incidents
that happened it seemed inevitable that responsibilities and
obligations toward Mattie and Zeena would trap him.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Everything That Rises Must Converge.TXT
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Everything That Rises Must Converge
There is an absolute theme of integration in "Everything That Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O' Connor. Through the experience of reading this short story, we can depict the characters' past experiences. There are two incompatible personalities in the passage, Mrs. Chestney, the mother, which represents the transition from the old South, and Julian, the son, who represents the transition of the new South. Due to the fact that Mrs. Chestney was the granddaughter of a governor, it purely conveys that she ranked high in wealth and position. This purely expresses her growing experience in a southern manner and to behave in a gentile southern manner. In relation to integration, Mrs. Chestney dismisses the plight of blacks with a southern response, "They should rise, yes, but on their own side of their fence". This attitude most likely resulted from being taught to talk this way all her life. Although she makes thoughtless remarks, her genuine affection for her childhood nurse Caroline, shows that she has no real malice towards the black race. There is a repetition of the words "meet yourself coming and going", in which she implicates her kind, as the party responsible for the tension between black and whites. In fact, what she really means is that, "we dominated this race of people", and feels threatened by it. Also, Mrs. Chestney truly meets her match when the black woman who boards the bus with her son refuses her charity. Julian becomes overjoyed when he notices that the woman's hat is identical to his mother's. Thus, Mrs. Chestney fears materialize- she truly "meets herself coming and going". Mrs. Chestney doesn't open her mind to face reality, but instead is looking for a deeper message than what is offered in Julian's sermon on race relations. She wants to return to the sweet smelling mansion of her childhood that she views as a "safe heaven" where she will be welcomed. She regresses to childhood calling out, "Tell Grandpa to come get me," Tell Caroline to come get me." This purely indicates that the mother is still living in the past. In opposition though, Julian is obsessed with the idea of integration, and thus indicates that he was brought up completely different than his mother. He experiences life and race relations completely different as opposed to his mother. For example, "he daydreams about making black friends, and even bringing home a black lover." This statement is impossible, mainly because of his refusal to deal with the outside world and "the general idiocy of his fellow." "Julian lives" in the inner compartment of his mind... safe from any kind of penetration from without." His view of the world is too cynical and ironically every attempt he makes with the blacks fails. What can be conclude of Julian is that he had an absence of heart, which blatantly depicts his past, but when his mother dies, the love that he was unable to express comes out when he cries, "Darling, sweetheart, wait." In conclusion, Mrs. Chestney was trying to make the past present and that caused many conflicts between her son and herself. Since she was obsessed with her past way of living, she was trying to convince her son to follow her idiosyncrasy, but Julian was following his mind, not his mother's heart.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Explanation Of The Poem From Snowbound.TXT
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Explanation Of The Poem From Snowbound
Explanation of the poem from Snowbound
The main theme of Snowbound is that no-matter what happens, family will be there to help and comfort. This theme is demonstrated widely throughout the poem and even more so in the last stanza of this excerpt. Another, less prominent, theme of Snowbound is the meaning and involvement of God in the lives of people.
The first stanza describes the moment before the storm. "A chill no coat, however stout, Of homespun stuff could quite shut out," This stanza begins to set up the obstacle that the family must overcome. When Emerson describes the storm as "less than treat" and then goes on about the intense cold it brings he also is describing God. God is caring and loving but he is also vengeful and just.
The second stanza is about the family preparing for the storm. "Meanwhile we did our nightly chores," suggests that they were perfectly calm together, everyone knew what to do and they did it.
The third stanza is describing the snowstorm beginning; "Unwarmed by any sunset light The gray day darkened into night"
The forth stanza tells of how the outside looked after two straight days of snow; " And, when the second morning shone, We looked upon a world unknown,"
The fifth stanza is about the family continuing on with there chores after the storm. Despite all that has happened the family still continues on, quite happily as a matter of fact; "Well pleased, (for when did farmer boy Count such a summons less than joy?)" This stanza also shows how God is good because even after the snowstorm the animals are all still alive.
The sixth stanza describes their solitude and isolation from the outside world.
"Beyond the circle of our hearth
No welcome sound of toil or mirth
Unbound the spell, and testified
Of human life and thought outside"
The seventh stanza is when the family makes a fire; "We watched the first red blaze appear". Surrounded by snow in all directions, they make a fire witch symbolizes hope.
The eighth stanza is describing the bitter cold of the outside; "Most fitting that unwarming light, Which only seemed where'er it fell To make the coldness visible"
The ninth stanza is the most important of all. It is about the family resting after their day is done. The family is all together relaxing without a care;
"Shut in from all the world without,
We sat the clean-winged hearth about,
Content to let the north-wind roar
In baffled rage at pane and door,"
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Fahrenheit 451.TXT
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Fahrenheit 451
Book Title: Fahrenheit 451 Author: Ray Bradbury Original date of publication: 1953 Part A.) The Author. Visit the reference section of a library. Drawing from at least two sources, share the life story of the author. Discuss how the author's life and circumstances may have influenced the novel. (Use your own words.) Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois on August 22, 1920. Ray Bradbury is an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. Bradbury's first book that got published was "Hollerbochens Dilemma". Bradbury's most popular novel, was Fahrenheit 451, it was released in 1953. Ray Bradbury has been awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award in 1954. Bradbury was an imaginative child, and being the creative child he was he was prone to nightmares. I think the way he thought when he was a child is finally coming out and he is writing about his fantasies. Source: May, Keith M. Aldous Huxley. Paul Elek Books Ltd., 1972 Source: Allen, Walter The Modern Novel. Dutton, 1964 Part B.) The Plot. In clear careful sentences. Summarize the plot. Try to limit your synopsis to 300-350 words. This book takes place in the future, in Elm City. The book takes place around a man named, Guy Montage. Guy was married to his wife, Mildred Montage. Guy had an unusual job; it was not to put out fires but to start them. He would start books on fire, because it was against the law to read books. The reason the books were being burnt was because people were afraid of them, they thought they put bad ideas in your head that you don't need, at least that is what Guys boss Captain Beatty believed. Guy never thought he was doing anything wrong till he talked to a seventeen-year-old girl, who said that people weren't always afraid of books. Then the next time he was supposed to burn some books, he took one home with him. Later on his boss Captain Beatty found out, and she said this was his only chance, and he ignored it and she later burns down his house, and then his wife left him because of it. All he had was a book, and with that he fought the society. Discuss (describe) the scene you find the most dramatic. The scene I found to be the most dramatic, would have to be when Guy was on a burning streak, and he got to a house with a women and a lot of books, she would not get out of the house so he could burn the books, so he burnt her with the books, killing her. Share the scene you find the most amusing. If there is not one, discuss this. The one scene I found the most amusing would have to be when Guy and his wife, Mildred were in the house looking at some books when his boss Captain Beatty, made a surprise visit. Once they saw her at the door they scrambled around the house to try to hide the books so she wouldn't see them, while yelling, "be there in a minute Beauty". If you could Change anything about the plot, what would it be and why? If I could change anything about the plot I might change the part about Clarisse McClellan, the girl my age, to live instead of dying like she does in the book. The reason I say that is because, she is the one who opened Guys eyes to see that what he was doing was wrong. Part C. The Setting. Explain the main setting (time and place) of the novel. This book took place in a little city named, Elm City. The novel took place in the future. Does the setting change? How? The setting does change, it changes when he got caught reading books, from then on he had to flee his city, and run from the law. Would the story be effective if it were set in another time/place? Explain. I don't think the book would be as effective in the past or present, because we know the past, and present, and according to this book, it is not true. What truth about society or about human condition does this book reveal? In this novel, Guy Montage has a wife Mildred. Just like in today's society they fight. What is different is that unlike today's society they still stay together, instead of getting divorced. The Montages also thought that was the way a marriage was supposed to be like. Guy Montage is able to see through the government and the official policies of his society. He does by questioning everything around him. This novel represents today how we are influenced by what other people think. Part D.) Characterization. Using quotes as well as actual details and plot events, discuss the following: What is the protagonist's (main characters) physical appearance? Throughout the book the main character, Guy Montages appearance isn't really stated throughout the book. What kind of person is he/she? During the beginning of the novel Guy appears to be a ruthless person, burning houses down. As he stood, "with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head. . ." It is not till he meets the seventeen-year-old girl that he realizes what he is doing is wrong. From then on he changes into a passionate person and changes his old ways. Who offers the most conflict for the protagonist? Describe him/her. What is the conflict? The person that caused Guy the most trouble would have to be his wife, Mildred. She thinks of herself, and has to have it her way, just like in the book when Guys boss burnt their house down and she had to have it her way so she left him. Many writers make the use of stereotypes in their novels to add texture/ dimension/ familiarity to their work. Discuss/ describe a minor character in the novel. What does he/ she bring to the novel (humor, drama, contrast, controversy...)? A minor character would be Mildred; she brings hate to the novel. She also causes change to Guy; she causes him to have hate towards others and to get every thing you want. Another minor character bringing change to the novel would be the seventeen-year-old girl named, Clarisse McClellan. She causes change to Guy buy changing the way he thought and help him open his eyes. Is this stereotype DYNAMIC (one-dimensional but changing) or STATIC (one-dimensional and unchanging)? This stereotype is DYNAMIC. Which character do you empathize with the most? Explain. If I had to pick a character that empathizes the most with me, it would have to Guy Montage. Because throughout his life he believes that what he is doing with the books is right, but he finds out that it isn't, and he has to change everything that he believes, and live a new life from what he is living now. I had a similar change and it changed my life, the way I believed on certain topics. Which character do you dislike the most? Why? The character I dislike the most would have to be Mildred Montage, because she is so selfish and has to get whatever she wants. If you were handed a $250,000,000 budget and the services of Steven Spielberg as director, who would you cast as the main characters in your film version of the book? Why? (Use actors, not friends) I would cast Jim Carrey, and Pamela Anderson. Jim Carrey as Guy Montage, and Pamela Anderson as Mildred Montage. These two would be perfect for this book, Jim bringing laughter, and Pamela bringing the looks, therefore making this film a hit. Part E. Style, Structure, and Meaning. Locate any or one detail or element that functions symbolically in this novel. Wheather it be a color, an object, or an action, describe it and discuss what you believe it stands for. One object that functions symbolic in this novel are mechanical dogs. Today we characterize dogs as mans best friend, but in this novel they are seen as enemies. This describes are society and how it messed up. One thing I learned from this novel is that we are never satisfied with life, but life still goes on. Discuss the significance of the book's title. The significance of the books title is 451 degrees is the temperature at which books burn. Part F. Your Opinion. In two to three paragraphs, share your reaction to this novel. In closing, explain whether you would recommend it to your friends. My reaction to this novel is that the future wont be as extreme as the book has it, but something in life might replace the book, such as the computer, or maybe an advanced calculator. I don't think that just because one person believes that books are bad, that everyone should think the same, as they do in the book. This book, if I had to rate it, it would be some were around 8 because it had some cool parts, but it also had some dumb parts. Over all I thought the book was good and I would recommend it to one of my friends.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Fahrenheit.TXT
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Fahrenheit
One of the themes which happens to be the biggest one is
burning books because they conflict with each other and the
ideas of society. The firemen don't fight fires, they start them
when they find books. Recollections and thoughts, writings
and teachings from the greatest minds in history go up in
flames because the government doesn't want people to fill
their heads with it and develop an individual intelligence.
The government is afraid of the books because they
stimulate people's minds to think for themselves and away
from the main track that the general public was expected to
follow. The government covered up the problems of the
world that still wore on, like war, and didn't let the people
see it or have it affect them. They heard about it and that
was all. In general, people's lives became better, but it was
of no consequence because they didn't know what it was
like to have things not go well and as planned. A candy cane
is much sweeter after you think about eating oil. Another reason
they burn books is because they don't
agree and they aren't real. The government figures that there
is no use in people thinking about things that don't exist,
especially when each book's ideas conflict. I think that
conflicting ideas helps us think for ourselves because we are
forced to make decisions. Making a decision is a lot better
when you have more food for thought to work with. Also, it
would be boring not to have conflicting ideas.
So many things that we value and we can be proud of in
terms of the accomplishments of the human race went up in
flames in the book. Everything from Socrates, Newton, the
Bible, Thoreau, Hans Christian Anderson and Shakespeare
was wiped out because they didn't go together fluently with
each other and the ideas of society at that time. Even if ideas
changed, those writings could never be recovered, the ashes
never reconstructed.
I think the book was a good book for making you realize
how important books really are. I hope this book never
becomes a reality, and that it continues to be read so that
other people can see how lucky we are to have them.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Falling.TXT
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Falling 
ANNE PROVOOST
 
"He's a skinhead, a second one added. I knew they wouldn't talk to me any more, only about me"(p111)
Falling is a book that contains many complex scenarios and interpersonal relationships. The plot is set on the strong bonds between characters due to shared opinions and emotions.
Caitlin is a character that voices her opinions about anything that may be troubling her: "Keeping silent about the truth is to distort it."(P148) and Lucas is a character that finds it hard to voice his opinions because most issues that concern him he doesn't know the facts about: "I...I don't know...Actually...I have no opinion about it"(p138).
In which way do the visual aspects affect the characters? In one section of the book Lucas chose to cut his hair very short, which to some people may represent him being a "Skinhead" or Neo-Nazi. "He's a skinhead, a second one added. I knew they wouldn't talk to me any more, only about me"(p111) this did not necessarily make him a follower of such beliefs but because his appearance was like those who did believe in "taking action against migrants" etc... he was discriminated against. By cutting his hair very short the character showed that he is converting to be accepted by such people as Beno?t; "an extremist who believes in violent action against migrant workers"(blurb).
 
The main essence of Caitlin's character is that she is a dancer, her clothing therefore is practical and durable with an American style. "She walked rhythmically, her back straight. She was wearing shorts and a thin T-shirt, and I (Lucas) could see how bony she was, and how, as she climbed the hill, her muscles tensed right up to her neck"(p51). "She was taller than me (Lucas)"(p44). Caitlin is a thin and muscular character, the average build of a dancer. Caitlin having "black hair"(p29) and "Her eyes were as brown as beer, her skin pale"(p45) doesn't seem to impact her at all, only proposing what will later be discovered that she is in fact Jewish.
 
The appearances of the characters are influenced more by their opinions than anything else. The appearance of the character is important to the person reading the book because it gives the finishing touches to a character, make them more life-like. If there where to be no descriptions of appearances you, the reader, would have a gap in the plot and the book is less believable and intriguing.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\FAMILY IN CHARLES DICKEN.TXT
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FAMILY IN CHARLES DICKEN'S NOVEL
University of Latvia
Faculty of Foreign Languages Foreign Literature Department
FAMILY IN CHARLES DICKEN'S NOVEL
"DAVID COPPERFIELD"
Natalya Artjuh
3d year student Matriculation card: Kole K 96215
DECLARATION OF INTEGRITY.
I declare that this study is my own and does not contain any unacknowledged work from any source.
/N.Artjuh/
CONTEXT
INTRODUCTION. 4
1. COPPERFIELDS (SENIOUR): Dicken's pattern of 6
happy marriage.
2. DAVID&DORA'S MARRIAGE: the reasons of spiritual 8
separation in the family.
3. DAVID&AGNES'S MARRIAGE: Dicken's ideal of 12
marriage
4. MR.MURDSTONE&CLARA: opposite to Dicken's ideal 14
Of happy marriage.
5. MICAWBERS: the main components of 16
happy marriage.
6. MR.BARKIS&PEGGOTTY: the importance of women's wisdom 20
CONCLUSION 22
BIBLIOGRATHY 23
INTRODUCTION
David Copperfield became my favorite of all Dickens' novels. Although the novel is rather long ( 736 pages) I have read it in one gulp for the actions that take place in the novel are developed so dynamically that the process of reading itself was like taking a piece of sweet cake. It evoked in me a lot of emotions and I really have been crying and laughing together with the heroes of this novel. The affect of the book on me was so great that I that was even thinking of it days and nights. That is the reason why I have chosen this book for my term paper in order to develop the theme "Family in Charles Dickens' novel 'David Copperfield' ".
Charles Dickens is one of the most popular and ingenious writers of the XIX century. He is the author of many novels. Due to reach personal experience Dickens managed to create vivid images of all kinds of people: kind and cruel ones, of the oppressed and the oppressors. Deep, wise psychoanalysis, irony, perhaps some of the sentimentalism place the reader not only in the position of spectator but also of the participant of situations that happen to Dickens' heroes. Dickens makes the reader to think, to laugh and to cry together with his heroes throughout his books. "David Copperfield" was Dickens' favorite creation. The novel reflects writer's own life - his autobiography. The image and character of David Copperfield corresponds to the image and character of Dickens himself. The range of personages of the novel recalls to us people which were close to Dickens: Micowber is comical portrait of John Dickens, the father of the author; the image of Dora - is the exact copy of the Marry Bindel - the first sweet-heart of the writer; David's seeking in marriage repeats the story of Dickens' seeking in marriage to Catrin Hogart which later became his wife and so on. The theme of family was very important for the writer and thus we get acquainted with all kinds of families and relationships between their members in this novel. We find love and hatred, fortune and misfortune, happiness and unhappiness in marriages. In David Copperfield the reader becomes acquainted with more than 15 families: Mr.Copperfield and young Ms.Copperfield- father and mother of David, Mr.Murdstone (step-father of David) and Ms.Copperfield, Mr.Barkins and Peggoty, Ms.Trotwood, Mr.Micawber and Ms.Micawber, Traddles and Sophia, David and Dora and later David and Agnes. They are all very different and Dickens goes into careful description of relationships between their members. What was the family ideal for Dickens? What was the opposite? What is the purpose of marriage? What is the true happiness in it? What are the components which make husband and wife spiritually close or the opposite - separate them? At a close look we can find answers to these and other questions in Charles Dicken's masterpiece .
CHAPTER 1.
COPPERFIELDS (SENIORS):
DICKENS' PATTERN OF HAPPY MARRIAGE
1.1. "Marriage is a case which give a unique opportunity to serve to another human being in a special way and as a result experience one's human dignity to the highest degree".
The first family that we meet in the novel - the family of David Copperfield (the senior) and Clara. Mr.Copperfield was twice older than his wife. From the dialogue of Betsy Trootwood and Ms.Coppperfield (the widow by that time) we can judge that despite of such age-difference they had never "a word of difference"(*1,p.11).Clara was 20 years old -gentle dainty creature, obviously not very practical in life. Still seems like the last feature didn't bring misbalance to the family.
Whether because this marriage hasn't last long since the death of Mr.Copperfield or rather very indulgent and patient character of Mr.Copperfield. He didn't go into discourses and quarrels but instead started teaching his young wife sharing with her his experience of life.
"...'I kept my housekeeping book regularly, and balanced it with Mr.Copperfield every night,' cryed my mother..." (*1, p.11). Clara loved her husband and moreover her desire was help her husband in a practical way. Thus she was eager to contribute to their housekeeping by learning some practical things from him. Both of them have been committed to satisfaction of each others needs in other words they loved and served to each other. From that we can assume by now that Dicken's formula of happy marriage is : "Marriage is a case which give a unique opportunity to serve to another human being in a special way and as a result experience one's human dignity to the highest degree". Marriages where the above mentioned principle is observed by both parties can not only be unhappy but experience spiritual unity with one another for the essence of love is concern about the need of the other one. CHAPTER 2.
DAVID&DORA'S MARRIAGE: THE REASONS OF SPIRITUAL SEPARATION
This and some others ideas are developed by Dicken's through the description of relationships between David Copperfield and Dora in their marriage. Just like David's mother Dora was young, pretty and remarkable creature. She had the most delightful little voice, the grayest little laugh, the pleasantest and most fascinating little ways. David falls in love with her at first sight, before she has spoken a word: with her form, her face, her manner; and later with her timid innocence, playfulness and trust, her singing and painting - and everything about her. Although we later are shown by Dickens that it was the case of the heart ruling the head completely. They have got married. David and Dora admired each other. However David had to work a lot in order to support the family and naturally would expect all the housekeeping work to be managed by his wife. But it turned out that Dora is totally incompetent in domestic work.
Somewhere in the back of his mind David knew that Dora was just not created for that. Still he decided to adapt Dora to himself. It would be unfair to say that Dora didn't care about house-keeping. She loved her "boy" and tried her best to be a good and caring wife. Under the guidance of David (who by love and patience was trying gently form Dora's mind) she was trying to do her first practical steps. David's love, his patience, care about his tender -hearted wife's feelings at that time causes admiration. However she kept failing in her domestic activities all the time. She bought a small cask of oysters that wouldn' t open, she tried to calculate the numbers in her house-register but their wouldn't obey her. It exhausted her and her husband. She was just not created for practical life. She was like a flower, just "a Little Blossom" created for everybody's delight but not use. Dora realized it too - might be even earlier than David did. Therefore she asked him to thing of her as being only a child-wife and not to be angry with her if she disappointed him by something. Finally David had found impracticable to adapt his tender-heated wife's mind to himself and it remained for him to adapt himself to Dora.
"Better to be natural than anything else in the world",- assumed David (*1,p.585).
After making such decision David felt that his second year of marriage was happier than the first one. Dora loved him and was eager to make everything so that her "boy" was happy but just couldn't remake herself. She was happy to keep his fountain pens as he was writing day at night in order to be close to her dear husband and David but he appreciated that. He was ready to do everything so that his "child-wife" be happy. Seems like at that point we find several messages which Dickens is trying to share with the reader concerning the reasons of the unhappy marriage.
2.1."Initially the main motivations for getting married should not be just attractive appearance, bright personality, prosperity etc. All other factors should be taken in concern".
That is Dicken's warning appealed to the young generations Those who are in love with each other should also think of their future practical life, in other words will he/she cope with all hardships and trials of routine life. Dickens' delivers his moral through the words of Ms.Strong which David often recalled.
"The first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart". (*1,p.586). We also find it in the confession of David himself:
"I knew now that my own heart was undisciplined, it never could have felt, when we were married, what it had felt in its secret experience." (*1,p.586).
Dora's incapability to cope with women part of work in the family gradually resulted in spiritual separation with David. He was very busy with his work. Besides this he had to care about all domestic work. He loved his wife dearly and she responded to him by her gentlest feelings. Although not to hurt Dora David had to keep from her the load of increasing problems and worries.
Dickens again illustrates that breaking of his pattern of happy marriage, which is "Marriage is a case which give a unique opportunity to serve to another human being in a special way and as a result to experience one's human dignity to the highest degree and spiritual unity with one's counterpart". David could not have an open dialogue with his child-wife, could not expect mature understanding from her, could not find comfort. He had to bear on his own shoulders what he could. Dickens showed us that as a result some shadow felt upon David's heart as time pasted by. David tried hard but couldn't remove it. He still loved his wife dearly and was happy with her, but that was not happiness he once enjoyed and there was always something wanting. He missed something. "It would have been better for me if my wife could help me more, and shared the many thoughts in which I had no partner; and this might have been, I knew." (*1,p.586). 2.2. "Very deep in our soul each of us has strong desire to love and to be loved, to accept and to be accepted, to share our burden and to be supported. When we feel that somebody cares about us indeed we experience some special feeling inside our soul. This yearning for support and acceptance reflects one side of our necessities"
And that is the second message Dickens delivers to us through his book. He is trying to depict us natural desire which most people feel inside:". That was David's yearning which could not be satisfied in his marriage to a dainty, little Dora. Seems like in his later marriage to Agnes this missing part was contributed. Besides another message Dickens shares with us is: 2.3. "You can not be happy in marriage if your intention is to change your counterpart. And as soon as you have got married accept each other as you are and don't try to mould your partner". Desire to change your husband or wife would not bring happiness to yourself and your marriage. Later we will see that breaking of this last principle in marriage of Mr.Murdstone to David's mother lead to terrifying consequences.
CHAPTER 3.
DAVID& DORA'S MARRIAGE: DICKENS' IDEAL OF MARRIAGE.
In the marriage of David and Agnes Dickens portrays his ideal of perfect marriage. Agnes, the perfect woman, has all the virtues that Dora has not, but probably not so much of Dora's fascination. She was always David's quiet, good, calm spirit in other words his "angel" to the image of which he referred in his thoughts at different periods of his life. She was a "little woman" even as a girl. Everyone who knew her consulted her and was guided by her. David had a very close friendly relationships with her since they were children. Every time he sew her then he admired her. "You are so good and sweet-tempered. You have such a gentle nature, and you are always right (*1,p.234).
He trusted all secrets of his heart to her, even his love affairs. She has always been a guide and good support for him. We could only wonder why he had not married her earlier. Perhaps he thought she was too good for him. At the end of the novel Agnes confess:
"I have loved you all my life". (*1, p.726)
Dickens is trying to show us here that there is a difference between falling in love and real love. The foundation for the marriage of David and Dora which was described in the previous chapter is totally different from the marriage of David and Agness. The foundation in the second case could be called "patience". It is difficult to understand how Agnes could keep her love through all these years. The love that she had to David was patient and not-selfish. She had such love that was able to help him in his relationships with his girlfriend and later with his wife. She was able to love him without desire to posses him. The foundation for David's second marriage was absolutely different from foundation for his marriage to Dora which was defined by Dickens earlier in the novel as " the first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart". This marriage brought peace to David's and Agnes's hearts, harmony and peace to the hearts which was longing for that all those years. After a lot of trials and hardships including loss of his dearly Dora David abided in the light of his "angel" who was shining on him like a heavenly light and pointing upward, who became his inspiration and the sense of his life. Agnes had got a supporter and comforter on her earthly path, a man to whom she could trust and to whon she became a blessing- her second part. CHAPTER 5.
MR.MURDSTONE&CLARA: OPPOSITE TO DICKENS' IDEAL OF MARRIAGE
5.1." You can not be happy in marriage if your intention is to change your counterpart. And as soon as you have got married accept each other as you are and don't try to mould your partner"
In the novel we also meet another family which seems to be a complete opposite to Dickens' ideal of happy marriage. That is marriage of Mr.Murdstone to Clara Copperfield . Through this family Dickens shows us very negative example of the marriage in which one partner is imposing his will upon the other trying to mould her character in accordance with his own standards. In the description of Mr.Murstone and his sister Ms.Murdstone appearance we already are given the impression of something obscure. And really after their coming into the lives of Ms.Copperfield "young, pretty widow", her little son David and their faithful servant Peggotty a dark shadow felt upon their sunny nest of love. This is the description of greeting scene after David's arrival from Great Yarmouth and his getting to know that he had got a "new Papa":
"...After a moment of suspense, I went and kissed my mother; she kissed me, patted me gently on the shoulder, and sat down again to her work. I couldn't look at her, I couldn't look at him (Mr.Murdstone), I knew quite well that he was looking at us both; and I turned to the window and looked out there, at some shrubs that were drooping their heads in the cold." (*1,p.39).
Depressive, subjugate, reticence fear had started ruling in the family. Imposing "firmness", "control over oneself", "recollection" on Ms.Copperfield in her relationships with one's own child can be defined as threads of Murdstones' cobweb in which they dragged her. Mr.Murdstone was cold and cruel towards his adopted son and built his relationships with his wife in such a way that she had to hide her natural gentle feeling to her Davy. Ms. Copperfielf suffered a lot because of that but was too mild to defend her son and even herself from Murdstone's imposing will. Her own will was defeated at her first attempt to show that she is still a person to respect and a mistress of the house and may have a word to say about domestic matters. Mr. Murdstone accused her in being ungrateful to him and to his sister which resulted in Ms.Copperfield's repentance. His reproaching speech appealed to his wife uncovers his true intention for this marriage. "Yes, I had a satisfaction in the thought of marrying an inexperienced and artless person, and forming her character, and infusing into it some amount of that firmness and decision of which it stood in need"(*1,p.54). He had chosen the wrong source for satisfaction in marriage. It wasn't satisfaction of his wives needs at all although he was trying to perform it like that. In reality he acted as truly consumer totally ignoring his wife's feelings, emotions and needs. That lead to unpredictable consequences. After sending David to Mr. Creakle's School which Murdstones considered to be essential, for his "stubborn character" should have to be reformed, the light of life had started fading in Ms. Copperfield and she died in early ages after a birth of the second child. Dicken's let the reader know of how dangerous imposing reformation of somebody's character might be, for the relationship in this family could easily be called a "spiritual prison" in which young and gentle nature of Ms.Copperfield was just exhausted to death.
CHAPTER 5.
MICAWBERS: THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF HAPPY MARRIAGE.
Gradually we are coming to the description of one of the happiest families in the novel. And that is the family of Micawbers. It wouId be useful to analyze relationships inside this family in order to figure out the main components of perfectly happy married from Dickens' point of view.
Mr.Micawber is a thoroughly good-natured man, and as active a creature about everything but his own affairs as ever existed. He is middle-aged, stoutish and completely bald but, though his clothes are shrubby, he sports an imposing shirt-collar, and carries a cane and quizzing-glass. We very soon learn that his weakness is an inability to get or to keep remunerative employment; and that he is constantly being dunned by creditors. But despite the squalor of the pawnshop and the debtors prison, Micawber retains his dignity, chiefly by means of his verbosity and magniloquence.
He is genuinely attached to Ms.Micawber and his children. "In our children we live again and that, under the pressure of pecuniary difficulties, any accession to their number was doubly welcome".(*1, p. 356.)
5.1. One of the essential needs of wife is the assurance she is loved
Micawbers lived in perfect harmony despite of continual financial problems. He will never act contrary to her desires neither did she. Dickens shows to the reader that one of the essential women's need is assurance that she is loved and Mr.Micawber did his best to let her know that all the time. They supported each other . Looking at Mr.Micawber from aside someone might say that he was just the unlucky fellow but that would definitely be not his wife. She has indeed a profound admiration for his talent, and is convinced that any lack of success he may have in the business world - is due to the failure of others to recognize his great qualities. She had the greatest confidence in his abilities and qualifications and was somewhat saddened by the fact that her family did not also appreciate them - which she regarded as due to their blindness.
"They have never understood you, Micowber. They may be incapable of it. If so, that is their misfortune."(*1,p.765).
5.2. One of the essential needs of husband is the assurance that he is respected
Ms.Micawber had very wise approach to her husband's personality. In her image we are shown by Dickens the essence of women's wisdom. Any husband would appreciate hearing such words from his wife, for they mean acknowledgement and respect of his authority, which increase his personal significance and enriches understanding of his personal value which is one of the purposes in marriage.
5.3. It should really matter for you what others might say about your spouse-don't allow them to interfere.
Besides we observe that Ms. Micawber didn't allow her relatives and other people influence the way she regards her husband and thus didn't allow anybody to interfere into their family relationships. That was very wise approach which also propped spiritual unity with her husband.
Ms.Micawber would always find effective words in order to comfort and encourage her husband in times of despair. It was her who persuaded him "to throw down the gauntlet", who realized his "ulterior potentials" and so on.
Dickens was very realistic in portrayal of this family, for it is a common knowledge that there is no one marriage that wouldn't experience difficulties. Micawbers had hard times in their marriage caused by Mr.Micawber's preoccupation with his villainous employer Uriah Heep. The way which Ms.Micawber followed in order to overcome hardships in their relationships is worthy of admiration. The behavior of Mr.Micawber at that time was very unusual and even terrifying. He became alienated from his family. "Mystery and secrecy" became his principal characteristics.
"...the slightest provocation, even being asked if there is anything he would prefer for dinner, causes him to express a wish for separation,...on being childishly solicited for two pence, to buy 'lemon-stunners' - he presented an oyster-knife at the twins!"( *1,p.591). The situation in the family was "beyond the assuaging reach even of Mrs.Micawber's influenced, though exercised in the tripartite character of women, wife, and mother". That was Mr.Micawber's own evaluation of his wife's behavior in this situation. We may assume from it that she wasn't irritated by her husband's behavior, she would not make quarrels, would not shout at her husband but instead like a consoling mother she was trying to find the route, the true reason of such strange behavior and changes in her spouse. "The quick eye of affection is not easily blinded"- that's how Dicken's emphasizes the importance of right attitude in critical for the marriage situations. Having no success in settlement of this situation by herself Ms.Micawber didn't gave way to despair. She was ready to do all that was possible in order to bring peace in the family. She decided to write a letter to good friends of their family and "to implore" them to see her "misguided husband, and to reason him". That was very wise decision and it really worked. As a result Mr.Micawber had opportunity to speak out his heart and we all share their joy at the restoration of normal relationships as they both were returned "to havens of domestic tranquillity and peace of mind".
"A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
Proverbs 31:10-12
That's the wisdom which coincides with Dickens' moral delivered to the reader by illustration of Micawbers' family.
CHAPTER 6.
MR.BARKIS&PEGGOTTY: THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN'S WISDOM IN MARRIAGE
The same moral we find in the description of Mr.Barkis and Peggotty marriage. Both of them were not young when they've got married. Each of them had a load of life experience and yet they managed to create marriage in which both of them were happy. Mr.Barkis made a proposal to Peggotty when David's mother was still alive. But Pegotty was attached to her mistress and didn't want to leave her "...Not for all the world and his wife.."(p.96) After the loss of her dear mistress she was very lonely and Mr.Barkis was lonely too. So she accepted his proposal and they've got married. WE may observe that they were almost opposite in their character. Peggotty was lively, energetic, generous. Mr. Barksis - silent, slow and , tight-fisted. Yet they lived in harmony. And the greatest role in the creation of this harmony was played by Peggotty. We may assume that she is one of the most outstanding persons in this novel. Just like Ms. Micowber she showed a lot of wisdom in her relationships with her husband. Mr. Barkis had one weakness .It was his greediness. To get even the half-guinea out of Mr.Barkis's box was not very easy for Peggotty. Yet we see that it didn't become a reason for the quarrels and separation in the family. Peggotty was showing her women's wisdom and quick witness. One of the illustrations of that was given to us by Dickens when David visited them. Mr.Barkis was in his bed for a long time because of rheumatism. Yet he accepted David with absolute enthusiasm. "He was too rheumatic to be shaken hands with, but begged me to shake the tassel on the top of his nightcap, which I did cordially."(p. 260)"....My dear, you'll get a dinner today, for company; something good to eat and drink...", (*1.,p.261)- he said. And then he used the trick which he always used in order to get a money from the box underneath of his bed so that nobody even Peggotty knows about its content. Very noticeable of Peggotty's behavior is that she being aware of this usual trick did not protested or resisted in any way.
" I've got a trifle money somewhere about me, my dear", said Mr.Barkis, "but I'm a little tired. If you and Mr. David will leave me for a nap, I'll try and find it when I wake."...."When we got outside the door Peggotty informed me that Mr.Barkis, being now 'a little nearer' than he used to be, always resorted to this same device before producing a single coin from his store; and that he endured unheard-of agonies in crawling out of the bed alone, and taking it from that unlucky box."(*1, p.261).
Peggotty had loving, tender heart and a lot of wisdom. She was the perfect wife and house-keeper. Her husband even being bounded by rheumatic pain praises her: "She's the usefullest and best women, Clara Peggotty Barkis. All the praise that any one can give to C.P. Barkis, she deserved, and more!..."(*1, p.261)
CONCLUSION
Summing up all observations that was made in the present paper we may come to the inference that Dickens' novel "David Copperfield" is not only a life-story of the main hero but also a brilliant guide in questions of marriage and this particular feature makes his book invaluable. When the first single edition of "David Copperfield" was published in 1850 Dickens wrote of the novel, "Of all my books I like this the best". Likewise legion readers have come to agree with the author's own conclusion. In my paper I tried to trace Dicken's messages and lessons he teaches the reader on the family issue. By masterly usage of the language the author manages to portray good and bad images in order for us to be able to chose which way to follow and which one to avoid. The principles and components of happy marriage that the author is trying to share with us are simple but at the same time ingenious. I firmly believe that this book is highly useful for young people and should be included in the list of books compulsory for reading in the University.
BIBLIOGRATHY
*1. Dickens Charles."David Copperfield", Wordsworth Edition Ltd., Denmark, 1992, 737 pages.
WORKS CONSULTED:
*1. Lawrence Crabb. "Marriage Builder", Druckhaus Gummersbach,Germany, 1991, 160 pages
*2. http://library.utoronto.ca/www/dickens/crit/il.html
*3. http://www.glug.com/homework/copperfield.html
*4. http://www.nagoya.-u.ac.jp.dickens.html
*5. http://www.mitsuka.dickens.crit.html
*6 Jammy Broke "Notes on 'David Copperfield'", Cambridge University Press, 1991, 50 pages.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Far From The Madding Crowd.TXT
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Far From The Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
Adam Gates
Far From The Madding Crowd centers around the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene, and the three who love her and try to win her over. Gabriel Oak, Mr. Boldwood, and Sergeant Francis Troy find them selves intertwined in their quest to win Bathsheba. Bathsheba is headstrong, feminine, and beautiful. She inherits her uncle's farm, and tries to run it herself. As all of theme were farmers, they didn't think that she cold do it. Although she had a few things go wrong like fires she overall handles her farm very well and became a good farmer. But, her love life was something else. She had three men after her at the same time. The first suitor she met was Gabriel Oak.
Farmer Oak was dependable and caring and wise. Without him, Bathsheba couldn't have taken care of the farm. Oak did have his own sheep, but they were killed in a freak accident when they ran off a cliff. Oak is "one with nature." He knew just by looking at his she's tails that it was going to rain. He would do anything for Bathsheba (and he did), even thought she denied his first attempt at marriage. In the end thought, Bathsheba did marry Oak. Troy first met Bathsheba as they were walking through the woods. Bathsheba became tangled in the brambles with Troy. He made a few comments to her about how lovely se was and how he would love to stay tangled up with her. Instantly, Bathsheba was in love. Little did she know that Troy was deeply in love with a girl named Fanny Robbins, who was a maid of Bathsheba's. Troy ended up marrying Bathsheba, but it was a bad marriage and didn't last for long. Bathsheba was in love with Troy's image and he loved her for her money and appearance. The final straw for their marriage was when Fanny died. Troy lost his true love, an unborn child, and in the end, his own life. Ironically, his death was by the hands of Bathsheba's suitor Boldwood.
Boldwood was introduced to Bathsheba when she sent him a valentine. Soon, his pleasure turned to obsession for Bathsheba. She constantly denied his advances, but he wouldn't give up. Boldwood eventually found himself on the brink of insanity. When Troy returned, after allowing everyone to believe that he had drowned, Boldwood became enraged when he tried to take Bathsheba away. After all, it was his Christmas party and Bathsheba promised him an answer on his hundredth marriage proposal. Seeing Troy pulling on Bathsheba's arm caused Boldwood to shoot Troy. He turned himself into the authorities where a pardon allowed him to live the rest of his life in prison.
In the end, Bathsheba happily married to Oak, although I think that it was more of friendship than love. Troy was united with his love in death and Boldwood went from a successful farmer to an old murderer. I really enjoyed this story. I loved the plot and how it ended. I laughed at how everything turned out for each of the characters in the story.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Farenheit 451.TXT
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Farenheit 451
"Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years and he had never questioned the joy of the midnight runs, nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames...never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think...and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do! (Ray Bradbury-Fahrenheit 451)". Was Guy Montag the same person at both the beginning and end of Fahrenheit 451? The answer to this question is a definite no. Montag transformed dramatically throughout the story. He started as a person of ignorance, but ended a man of enlightenment and intelligence. Montag embarked on his journey as a fireman who lived to burn and destroy books, but returned a crusader who lived to save them. "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spouting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of an amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. (Ray Bradbury-Fahrenheit 451, page 3)". In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag was happy on the outside. He enjoyed burning books for a living, and believed that his marriage and all-around life fulfilled him. However, deep within, Montag really wasn't happy. His marriage was far from perfect. He and Mildred seldom spoke of subjects which held any meaning. They showed little or no love for each other. Seemingly, they had little in common. Deep within himself, Montag knew something was wrong. What sparked Montag to change was Clarisse, who was the catalyst of Montag's huge transformation. Clarisse brought questions and emotions into Montag's life that he had never experienced or seen in anyone before. She questioned things such as society, the world, other people, and everything around her. She thought about life, looking for real answers and meanings. She noticed tiny everyday things such as rain or the moon, which seemed amazing to her. She held insight and intellect. All these elements were missing in Montag's life, and deemed wrong or "anti-social" within the world he existed. Clarisse's imagination, intelligence, and questioning personality rubbed off on Montag as he too began to stop and look at the world around him. This signified the beginning of Montag's great change.
Many things pushed Montag to further change. The second of these events was the alarm at the old woman's home. When Montag witnessed the old woman burn herself with her books, he realized that perhaps books really were worth reading. After this significant event, Montag decided to contact Faber, a retired English professor whom he had met in the park. Faber, much like Clarisse, challenged Montag's mind, questioning the world and seeking the real meanings and solutions to the problems faced by society. Faber educated Montag about books, and introduced him to the hidden world of conformity, dishonesty, and degradation that surrounded them. Faber was really Montag's bridge over trouble. Had it not been for Faber's calming advice and explanation, Montag would likely have gone crazy over his confused battle for books. Through the small hearing device, Faber guided Montag through the many obstacles blocking their goal of resurrecting books in the conforming society. At this stage, Montag was midway through his transmogrification. Through the help of Faber and eventually Beatty, Montag would completely change. Guided by Faber's voice in the tiny earpiece, Montag explored life through new eyes. He had become two people, Montag, and Faber. Montag was influenced somewhat by Beatty, the fire captain. Through his drawn out speeches, Beatty attempted to confuse Montag, but only pushed Montag further toward discovering what lay within books. Montag began to see the world in a new light. He confronted Mildred and her friends by reading poetry in front of them. After this, Mildred went over the edge, calling in the alarm on Montag. Montag was forced to burn his home, which he did willingly. As he did this, he burnt his old life, the life of conformity, destruction, and ignorance. Montag was torching the life he had spent with Mildred, as well as the life of the fireman. Yet, the action, which would change Montag's life forever, still waited. As Montag stood in the ashes of his smoldering home, the ashes of his old life, he was confronted by Beatty. Antagonized by Beatty, Montag pulled the trigger of the flame-thrower, instantaneously turning Beatty into a burning mass of flame. The murder of Beatty signified the end of old life for Montag. He could no longer go back. Montag knew he must leave, and this he did. By way of the river, Montag fled from the mechanical hound, firemen, police, and helicopters. He escaped to the country, leaving behind the city, the conforming, ignorant society, as well as the ashes of the old Montag. Montag was a new man. Once he met the Granger and the other men who lived in the forest, he knew he had really found his new life. These men were much like Montag. They too were fighting a war to keep books alive. Within the heads and memories of these men lived books. These men would appreciated Montag for his courage, and would recognize him as a leader. There, Montag would live, waiting for the right moment when people would be ready to accept books again. As Montag led the men back toward the ashes of the city, the city which much like Montag, had been scarred by war, he knew that he would probably never change the world. Immediate action may not follow his arrival. Yet, Montag would do his best to contribute to the rebuilding of a new world, a world of intelligence instead of ignorance, and understanding instead of condemnation. Montag was truly a new man. Montag changed drastically throughout the book Fahrenheit 451. He began as a lost, empty, sad individual with little knowledge of the fulfillment life could bring. However, Montag became a new man. Through the help of Clarisse and Faber, and eventually Granger, as well as the indirect influence of people such as Mildred and Beatty, Montag became a man of understanding and fulfillment. He had a purpose in life, and realized what the world held for him. He was the new Guy Montag.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Farewell To Arms Paper.TXT
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Farewell To Arms Paper
Hemmingway has a unique style of writing. It works on multiple levels. A person could read Farewell to Arms and enjoy it as a tragic love story. Hemmingway's concise writing style allows a literal interpretation. At the same time a reader could get involved with the various symbols that he has placed in the novel. In a way everything he has can be used as a symbol depending on a person's biases. This is what makes Hemmingway's writing even more unique. He can have what seems to be a straightforward sentence have multiple meanings. The transcendentalist and romantic writing styles leave ideas vague so the reader can reflect on his/her own thoughts. Hemmingway is pragmatic in the sense that his writing can be read literally, but also romantic if you read his work more in depth. One symbol that Hemmingway seems to use constantly is night and the fear of darkness. Fredrick is afraid of the dark. What this seems to mean is that Fredrick is afraid to be in the unknown. This is the idea that males want to know what is around them. Fredrick is afraid of what he does not understand. This symbol is also seen in "A Way You'll Never Be" where Hemmingway's character Nick will not sleep without a light. When a person sleeps they are resting and it seems that Fredrick does not want to rest without "knowing". If Nick were to have the light he would be able to see what was going on. This would allow Nick to "know" what is happening. Thus it could be seen that the symbol of the unknown and how the male characters want to "know" what is happening. Another analysis of this could be that Fredrick is afraid of the malicious things around him. This is the superficiality of the male. Basically in this sense the male wants to live in his perfect little world and not worry about the complexities of life. This is the opposite of the fear of the "unknown" because in this sense the males do not want to know. Fredrick would then be scared of the evil around him. War is part of the "evil" around him because with war comes with real sadness. Frederick's fear of darkness is really fear of those evil elements and the sadness around him. Fredrick is afraid of the sad reality. He wants to live in the simple superficial world he is in. In this sense Nick's fear of sleeping in the dark has a different view. The idea here is that while Nick is scared of the evil around him as long as there is some good he can rest in peace. Basically this is saying that as long as there is something good to hold on to Nick would be OK. Another reflection of this idea is in "Hills like White Elephants" where the male keeps saying "perfectly simple". This is the concept of the male being cursory. He wants to be "simple" and live in a world where there is no evil to be seen. The male in "Hills like White Elephants" wanted to be simple and he wanted to live in a world with out evil. Another interesting symbol in Farewell to Arms was the Priest. The Priest seems to reflect two different symbols in Hemmingway's novel. First of all the Priest is part of the Hemmingway code of discipline. The Priest is a very disciplined character. Fredrick looks up to the Priest because he is so disciplined. Discipline is an important part of the Hemmingway code of honor. Self-discipline and being in control of the situation are two extremely important aspects of the Hemmingway code of being a hero. Throughout the novel Fredrick seems to be able to control the situation. When he was wounded he ordered the doctor to heal him. He chose to leave the war and even after Catherine's death Fredrick still remains in control. The average person would most likely be shattered completely, but he said, "it was like saying good-by to a statue". The idea here is it is like saying good bye to something inanimate, something frozen in time. Fredrick was in control enough to move on in his own life. The Priest is also a symbol of Hemmingway's view on religion. The officer ridiculed the Priest. This is saying that men don't want God anymore. During the time of World War II faith was down by many people. This is because people could not understand that if there is a God why would these atrocities happen. This made people lose faith in religion and ridicule religious figures like the Priest. Hemmingway is stating that people are ridiculing God. Another idea of God, which is complex, is that God is everlasting. Fredrick is a character that likes ephemeral things. Drinking and prostitution are ephemeral. They are straightforward and are quick pleasure. To achieve the concept of "good in God's eyes" it may take a lifetime. A lifetime that people don't want to wait. That is why Hemmingway's characters mock God, they want "quick pleasure".
Hemmingway also uses the symbol of rain quite a bit. In a biological sense rain can represent death. This is because in certain moist environments bacteria (cholera, which was mentioned by Catherine) can grow at an increased rate and thus bring death. The rain is used when Catherine dies at the end. Also Catherine was scared of the rain. Catherine's fear of the rain was foreshadowing her death, but it also has another reason. Catherine is expressing a submissive role to Fredrick. Catherine is in a way stating that she wants to be protected from death. It seems that Catherine is playing the typical fairy tale female when she says she is afraid of death. She wants to be saved from death by a male. Hemmingway uses the rain to mean death also in his vignettes in chapter five. This is where soldiers were dying in the rain. Another idea that where there is rain there is death. The rain and death combination could also have another meaning. Rain typically reflects sadness because it is like the Earth crying. Every time death is present it rains. In this view Hemmingway is saying where there is death there is sadness. Another example of where the rain was used as sadness is where Fredrick left for the war. It rained when Fredrick left Catherine this was because it was a sad event. Yet another example of where the rain represented sadness is where Dr. Baker says "the rain has stopped, light floods the window". Light typically has the symbolic meaning of either happiness or enlightenment. In this case Hemmingway is using light to mean good. When rain, sadness, stops light, good, floods the world. This is an interesting quote that Dr. Baker made, which reaffirms the rain being a symbol of sadness.
Hemmingway has a variety of symbols that can be viewed in different ways. Hemmingway's symbols are a direct reflection of the reader's biases. This is much like how the romantic writers are vague so a reader can come to his/her point of view. All good books are not completely black and white. While they may have a black and white story such as Farewell to Arms, there must also be a deeper meaning. Yet the deeper meaning is not supposed to be black and white. The meaning is what the reader has learned from the book. Obviously this message is derived from a person's own biases, but that is what makes the lesson apply to that person. Hemmingway allows this type of lesson to be learned, but at the same time he has a clear and concise love story that is reflective of a Greek tragedy. Perhaps the idea of the tragedy is because of Hemmingway's own tragic life, but that is a whole other story.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Fathers and Sons.TXT
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778
Arcady: His Voyage Towards Individualism In the novel Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev, Arcady plays a major role both in his own life and the lives of others. Arcady, despite the shield he surrounds himself with, is not a true Nihilist like his friend Bazarov through his thoughts and actions we see his change. To begin, Arcady shows signs of Romanticism Early on in the novel despite the announcement of his Nihilist beliefs. For example, Bazarov and Arcady were walking one afternoon in the garden and overheard Nicholas playing his cello. "At that instant the lingering notes of a 'cello were wafted towards them from the house . . . and, like honey, the melody flowed through the air" (49). Like a true Nihilist, Bazarov immediately denounced the act of playing music as a purely romantic institution. "Good Lord! At forty-four, a pater familias, in the province of X, playing the 'cello! Bazarov continued to laugh: but, on this occasion, Arcady, though he venerated his mentor, did not even smile" (50). By this we see that although Arcady looks up to Bazarov, he truly does not uphold the Nihilist beliefs as strongly or as strictly. His acceptance of his father's cello playing shows that Arcady, unlike Bazarov. does not find music a purely romantic institution, but an enjoyable way ! to be merry. Also this incident shows us that Arcady does not like when others poke fun at his family. Here, he obviously does not think his father's cello playing is a laughing matter. Secondly, Nihilist ideas included the belief that love is outdated. Arcady went against this belief when he fell in love with Anna Sergeyevna and later, her sister Katya. Arcady even went so far as to tell Katya, in his own way, that he truly loved her. "It may be all the same to you, but I should like to state that, far from having any preference for your sister, I wouldn't exchange you for anyone else in the world" (174). Bazarov also fell in love with Anna Sergeyevna but realized that she would not love him back. " 'I must tell you that I love you stupidly, madly . . . . You have forced me. Now you know.' Madame Odintzov was filled with fear as well as a feeling of compassion for him. But she at once disengaged herself from his embrace an instant later she was already standing distantly in the corner and gazing at him. 'You misunderstood me,' she whispered hastily in alarm. She looked as though she might scream if he took another step (108)." And so, he retur! ned to his Nihilist beliefs. Arcady's falling in love with Katya and his proposal to her was his second step towards becoming an individual. It showed that he no longer followed Bazarov like an impressionable child would an older sibling. He now began to make large decisions on his own which affected his life in a big way. Arcady, through his understanding of Bazarov's arrogance, took his third and final step towards becoming his own person. "It is not for the gods to glaze pottery . . . . Only now, at this very instant, was the whole bottomless pit of Bazarov's arrogance and pride revealed to him. 'So you and I are gods? Or rather, you are a god and I'm a mere lout, isn't that so?' 'Yes,' Bazarov repeated firmly. ' You're still stupid.'" (112). Not only does this remark allow Arcady to see that Bazarov had never considered him an equal, but also that Bazarov believed himself a god dwelling above all others. This prompted Arcady to reconsider his relationship with Bazarov. He realized they were never friends, but only mere traveling companions on the road of life. Arcady seemed to realize also that he was never a pure and true Nihilist. He had been drawn into that particular way of thinking by his mentor, Bazarov, not his willingness to uphold Nihilism. Turgenev does a very good job in showing the changes taking place within Arcady. His true nature is slowly revealed throughout the book and we see his way of thinking by reading about his actions. Arcady is truly a dynamic character, as can be seen by his Nihilist beliefs changing into romantic ideas. Arcady enjoys beautiful language and is also a bit of a philosopher. For example, his description of a falling leaf: "Look! A withered maple leaf has left its branch and is falling to the ground its movements resemble those of a butterfly in flight. Isn't it strange? The saddest and deadest of all things is yet so like the gayest and most vital of all creatures" (134). By the conclusion of the novel, we see that Arcady was part of the novel because he had the most influence on others as well as on himself, and also because he had the most to learn from life's experiences. He has established a life of his own. A life where he if free from Bazarov's hold and Nihilist ! ideas, and a life where he is free to be himself. His voyage: completed.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Faust.TXT
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791
The hero that never was In Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe builds a dramatic poem around the strengths and weaknesses of a man who under a personalized definition of a hero fails miserably. A hero is someone that humanity models themselves and their actions after, someone who can be revered by the masses as an individual of great morality and strength, a man or woman that never sacrifices his beliefs under adversity. Therefore, through his immoral actions and his unwillingness to respect others rights and privileges, Faust is determined to be a man of un heroic proportions. It is seen early in the poem, that Faust has very strong beliefs and a tight moral code that is deeply rooted in his quest for knowledge. Sitting in his den, Faust describes his areas of instruction, "I have, alas, studied philosophy, jurisprudence and medicine, too, and, worst of all, theology with keen endeavor, through and through..." It is obvious that through his studies he has valued deep and critical thinking, however with the help of Mephisto, he would disregard his values and pursue the pleasures of the flesh. Faust's impending downward spiral reveals the greed that both Mephisto and Faust share. Mephisto's greed is evident in the hope that he will overcome Faust's morality and thus be victorious in his wager with God; also because he is the devil and that is what he does. For Faust, greed emerges because of his desire to attain physical pleasures and therefore become whole in mind, body and spirit. Faust's goal to become the Überminche is an understandable desire, however, the means at which he strives for those ends are irresponsible and unjust. It is through this greed that Faust with the help of Mephisto exploit others in the pursuit of Faust's earthly desires. Enter innocent Gretchen, a poor lower class young woman who experiences the impossible, love. Under Mephisto's magical potion, Faust becomes intoxicated with passion and controlled by his hormones. It is under this spell that he approaches the "beautiful" Gretchen, however, the feeling of passion is not mutual between the two. Faust realizes then, that his simple looks and personality will not attract Gretchen, rather Faust must deceive and manipulate this woman in order to possess her. Thus, Faust turns to Mephisto for help in his quest for Gretchen, "Get me that girl, and don't ask why?"(257) Mephisto replies with a quote that establishes the nature at which Faust will pursue Gretchen with, "We'd waste our time storming and running; we have to have recourse to cunning."(261) It is from this point in the story that Faust declines into a state of immorality and irresponsibility; a level he will remain at for the majority of the story. Faust's immorality emerges from the idealization that despite harming others, there are not any consequences to his actions. The harm in combining Faust and Mephisto is that their actions become dangerous and deadly. Faust becomes an unstoppable, Napoleonic figure, when his irresponsibility is mixed with Mephisto's lethal power. Gretchen is Faust's first victim, before her death she was responsible for three deaths; ultimately she is imprisoned because of Faust's influence upon her. Faust's desire for progress and reformation in society led to the deaths of his second set of victims, an elderly couple. Thus, Mephisto burns them out, a result that Faust had not asked for specifically, but an action which served the purpose and was almost as detrimental as what Faust had intended for them, to move them out of their home. This action against the elderly is analogous to any other parts of the story in which Faust commits an illegal or immoral act to heighten himself in his own eyes. It is obvious then that Faust is a criminal, a man who abuses the rights of others to gain spiritual and financial freedom for himself. A criminal is a personn that should neither be rewarded or idealized for his actions against society. The only endeavor that Faust does in order to save himself, is to feel apologetic and remorseful for his immoral and self-serving actions, and is therefore allowed into heaven, an ending to the story which is unreal and unbelievable. Heaven should be a place where men and women who are virtuous and contain traits such as honesty, morality and decency should reside to. Rather, Goethe poetically sends a man whose indirectly murdered, is dishonest and greedy to such a wondrous and magical location only because he admits that what he did was wrong. Attaining passage into heaven is the only accomplishment that Faust makes in order to attain a heroes status. Even this final accomplishment is questionable, because God would not allow a man so unworthy to accompany people who have such a high moral standard and irrefutable grace. Faust then, neither falls under the classical definition of a hero except that he was, "...favored by the gods" and he does not fit into my personal definition of a hero. For Faust is not someone whose actions should be followed, he sacrificed his beliefs under adversity and most importantly; he destroyed anyone's life if it conflicted to any aspect of his plan for superiority. Faust then, may be considered the greatest un hero to have ever attain passage into heaven.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\fear and loathing in las vegas.TXT
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fear and loathing in las vegas 
Finding the American Dream in Sin City:
What I got out of Fear and Loathing
Where do I start ? This book left me with so many questions and so many things
to think about. Was this journey real? Was Hunter S. Thompson drawing off real life
experinces to create this strange and insightful journey? If this was stricly a fictional story
this is obivoiusly written by a man who had alot of experince with drugs and there effects.
I don not want to focus on the drugs because I think there is more to this book and if you
just focus and the outlandish number of drugs ingested by Raoul Duke and his attorney
you will miss it. The book bills itself as "A savage journey to the heart of the American
Dream." That is exactly what it is. We see america through a man who seems to have
seen what America could have been only to see it come crashing down to the harsh
realties of what it is. He was not alone in this feeling he makes it clear when he remarks
that Nixons term marked the popularuty of downers. The whole country was in a down
mood it seemed that everything had failed and the people that were left after the smoke of
the sixties cleared felt dislousined and out of place like Raoul Duke. The only feeling he
had left to cling on from this time was the drugs and even the highs didn't seem the same.
Take for example when he was describing being in San Francisco during the Acid Wave
how carefree and innoceent his high nights seemed compare this with the constant
parnonia that plagued him throughout his five day romp through Vegas. His highs along
with america had lost a sense of innocence All that was left was a feeling of fear and
loathing.
I also belive that the choice of Las Vegas as the hunting ground for the Amercian
Dream was extremely important. I think that for many Vegas especially circa 1971
embobied all that was right and very wrong with American Culture. The tacky glitz of the
strip, out of work entertainers pefroming for middle americans in the twilight of their life
gambling away penisons and savings and two bit gamblers hoping that they to could
strike it rich and become geniune rags to riches story. Vegas with its lure of the instant
Horatio Alger story seems to me to repersent the Amercian Dream over last half century
and I think Hunter S. Thompson saw this too. Then there was the Mint 400 and the drug
confrence both I think were used as vehicles to see American culture from opposite
spectrums. There was the racers and fans for the Mint 400 a rough and tumble bunch
some would call them rednecks, bikers or rebels. These were the people who seemed to
be living the American Dream on their own terms. On the opposite there was people
attending the drug convention a cross section of middle american law enforcement
people. To these people a free trip to vegas was the vaction they and the misses had been
waiting for. They seemed so out of place in the glitzy lights and fancy casinos but in a
sense I feel they fit right in. They were the target market for vegas. Rich people and hip
young Americans don't travel hundreds of miles to see Tom Jones do medleys and eat bad
buffet food. To me the convention attendees, Mint 400 fans, casino vistors and Raoul
Duke all resprsented diffrent aspects of one idea, The American Dream. Rauol and his
attorney had at one time found there American Dream and had lost it along with
thousands of others who thought the sixties really would mean a change for the better.
The Mint folks had found theirs and as mindless and backwoodish as it might seem to
many it fit them and I don't think they gave a damn what anyone thought. The convention
people they represented the masses grinding it out everyday 9 to 5 living the so called
"Honest American Way" oblivous to the way thing we
re beyond their own front lawns.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Fern Book Report again.TXT
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2003
SUMMER READING
BOOK REPORT
"Where the Red Fern Grows"
Author:  Wilson Rawls
By:  Conor Scott
Lake Highland Preparatory School
Grade 7
CHAPTERS 1-V:
1. What memories are stirred in the narrator's mind when he sees the warm gray eyes of the friendly old hound?
Answer:
The narrator had fond memories of his past, wonderful memories.   He earlier stated when he saw the dog-fight and looked at the "old hound fight against such odds", "he remembered on old hound that gave his life so that he may live".   Seeing the warm gray eyes brought many memories of his past and his feelings, like an old familiar face he sat in front of his fire and started thinking of them.
2. Why does the author call puppy love a terrible disease?
Answer:
He always felt like a young Daniel Boone and his first and only love was that to share his time with a 'puppy' just not any puppy, but two coon hounds.  Friends for life that you can play with, gnaw at your fingers, sleep and eat with.   It is easier if you can have a dog, whenever you want, but the wanting of a particular, dog that cost money and to have out of his reach, well, this was his disease.  A friend, a hunter far away in his dreams.
3. How did Billy's prowling at the campground help cure his dog-wanting disease?
Answer:
His father bought his steel traps, which started his first exploration into hunting and catching wildlife.  This helped his dog-wanting disease as he tried to catch all of the animals in the barn, including the cat.  It kept him busy and he learnt how to "trap" as a hunter and do chores in the campground.   He was finally ready to help his father with the farm and this helped him cure his wanting a coon-hound.
But when he found the campground, he also found a sportsman's magazine and this changed his life forever, because it brought him hope of having a coon-hound.   He read the article on "dogs for sale" so much he hear dogs and smell dogs.   He had a dream.
4. How did Billy's grandpa react when Billy shows him the money he has earned to buy the dogs?
Answer:
Billy's grandpa was dumbfounded.  He had no idea that Billy has continued to save for two years.  Billy worked at catching minnows or crawfish, selling vegetables and picking berries for a long time.  Little by little he had enough for his dream.  I think his grandpa was proud of Billy.
5. Why does Billy feel so out of place in Tahlequah?
Answer:
Tahlequah was a big town to Billy.  It had 800 people and was a city to Billy.  It was nothing like he had ever seen or ever experienced.  He was a country boy and he walked into Tahlequah and it was like he was in a story.  It was also the first time he saw a reflection of himself.    He had no experience with the city and everything that it taught him.
CHAPTERS VI-X:
6. Why is it so important that Billy gets the coon for his dogs?
Answer:
The answer is to give the coons a fair chance and to allow his dogs to be real "coon hunters".   Billy trapped his first coon and it was the first sign that his father said they would be good 'coon-hunters', but to do it with his dogs was the best way.   They learned a lot about hunting and Billy learnt a lot about his dogs.   He was in preparation for hunting season.   He was following his dream of being a hunter with coon-hunting dogs.
7. What shows you that Billy is totally responsibly for his dogs?
Answer:
Billy cares for his dogs.   He takes his responsibility seriously for his dogs and will not give up on getting a coon, or sacrificing himself so that he can be there for his dogs.   It is his determination and responsibility to teach his dogs to hunt and to be there for them at all costs.
CHAPTERS  XI-XV:
8. Describe the relationship between Little Ann and Old Dan?
Answer:
Little Ann and Old Dan were very close.  Where one was strong, the other was weak;  when one needed help, the other stayed to offer.  It was on the icy bank that Old Dan showed his devotion to Little Ann as she hung on for her life.  The sounds of help, longing and sorrow from Old Dan showed Billy their relationship.  It was this night that he saw their bond.
9. How are Rubin and Rainie different from Billy?
Answer:
Rubin and Rainie were both mean-looking boys, one older and one about the same age as Billy.   They both had mean dispositions.  They were raised differently and this changed who they were and what they did.  They believed in betting and fighting and Billy did not.
10. Why must Billy's dogs free the ghost coon?
Answer:
Billy made a bet with Rainie and Rubin with his dogs to free the ghost coon.  They did not believe that Billy had good dogs or they had any ability to catch the coon.
11. What final gestures helps Billy resolve Rubin's death?
Answer:
Billy went over to Rubin when he was laying with an ax in him.  When Rubin asked him to take it out, he did/he tried.   It was the beginning of the dogs fighting that started this tragedy, but it was an accident and Billy did what he could to help Rubin.
12. Describe the Championship Coon Hunt.
Answer:
Billy's grandpa entered Old Dan and Little Ann into the "Championship Coon Hunt".  This wasn't any hunt, this was a championship where only registered hounds could participate.   Billy's grandpa had written letters, upon letters recording the coons Billy's dog has caught and their catch was among the top.   Billy's grandpa had paid the entry fee and was waiting for Billy to agree.  It was the ultimate championship for coon-hunters.
CHAPTERS XVI-XX:
13. Give examples that show that Billy's hounds are truly intelligent creatures.
Answer:
His hounds, were the first in 40 years of judging to catch the coon the way they did.  These little hounds raced along the river and chased this coon during the night and it was their dedication and Billy's hunting.   The judges had never seen a hound walk on a sycamore limb like that and jump, they had tied the leading team.
14. What does Billy mean when he says, "You were worth it old friend, and a thousand times over?
Answer:
It was a saying of his deepest love, man's best friend.   In his eyes, Old Dan was his best friend, someone who saved his life and had great courage to try.   Billy did everything he knew how to do, and yet Old Dan gave him a thousand more.
15. What is the meaning of the title Where the Red Fern Grows?
Answer:
It is an Indian  legend that shows that God has never left our side.      It was heard that " and old Indian legend tells you about the death of a little Indian boy and girl in a blizzard.  They were lost and during the spring, when they were found, a beautiful red fern had grown up between their two bodies.  The story went on to say that only an angel could plant the seeds of a red fern, and that they never died;  where one grew, that spot was sacred."   
With the death of Old Dan and Little Ann, Billy was very hurt and when they moved to their new home, and saw a red fern in the yard, it was a sign of an angel.  Billy never lost Old Dan and Little Ann, they would be always with him.   They were always meant to be together and together they gave Billy the best love of all, hope and friendship.  He also knew that God had a place for them and they would never be alone.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Fern Book Report.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2003
SUMMER READING
BOOK REPORT
"Where the Red Fern Grows"
Author:  Wilson Rawls
By:  Conor Scott
Lake Highland Preparatory School
Grade 7
CHAPTERS 1-V:
1. What memories are stirred in the narrator's mind when he sees the warm gray eyes of the friendly old hound?
Answer:
The narrator had fond memories of his past, wonderful memories.   He earlier stated when he saw the dog-fight and looked at the "old hound fight against such odds", "he remembered on old hound that gave his life so that he may live".   Seeing the warm gray eyes brought many memories of his past and his feelings, like an old familiar face he sat in front of his fire and started thinking of them.
2. Why does the author call puppy love a terrible disease?
Answer:
He always felt like a young Daniel Boone and his first and only love was that to share his time with a 'puppy' just not any puppy, but two coon hounds.  Friends for life that you can play with, gnaw at your fingers, sleep and eat with.   It is easier if you can have a dog, whenever you want, but the wanting of a particular, dog that cost money and to have out of his reach, well, this was his disease.  A friend, a hunter far away in his dreams.
3. How did Billy's prowling at the campground help cure his dog-wanting disease?
Answer:
His father bought his steel traps, which started his first exploration into hunting and catching wildlife.  This helped his dog-wanting disease as he tried to catch all of the animals in the barn, including the cat.  It kept him busy and he learnt how to "trap" as a hunter and do chores in the campground.   He was finally ready to help his father with the farm and this helped him cure his wanting a coon-hound.
But when he found the campground, he also found a sportsman's magazine and this changed his life forever, because it brought him hope of having a coon-hound.   He read the article on "dogs for sale" so much he hear dogs and smell dogs.   He had a dream.
4. How did Billy's grandpa react when Billy shows him the money he has earned to buy the dogs?
Answer:
Billy's grandpa was dumbfounded.  He had no idea that Billy has continued to save for two years.  Billy worked at catching minnows or crawfish, selling vegetables and picking berries for a long time.  Little by little he had enough for his dream.  I think his grandpa was proud of Billy.
5. Why does Billy feel so out of place in Tahlequah?
Answer:
Tahlequah was a big town to Billy.  It had 800 people and was a city to Billy.  It was nothing like he had ever seen or ever experienced.  He was a country boy and he walked into Tahlequah and it was like he was in a story.  It was also the first time he saw a reflection of himself.    He had no experience with the city and everything that it taught him.
CHAPTERS VI-X:
6. Why is it so important that Billy gets the coon for his dogs?
Answer:
The answer is to give the coons a fair chance and to allow his dogs to be real "coon hunters".   Billy trapped his first coon and it was the first sign that his father said they would be good 'coon-hunters', but to do it with his dogs was the best way.   They learned a lot about hunting and Billy learnt a lot about his dogs.   He was in preparation for hunting season.   He was following his dream of being a hunter with coon-hunting dogs.
7. What shows you that Billy is totally responsibly for his dogs?
Answer:
Billy cares for his dogs.   He takes his responsibility seriously for his dogs and will not give up on getting a coon, or sacrificing himself so that he can be there for his dogs.   It is his determination and responsibility to teach his dogs to hunt and to be there for them at all costs.
CHAPTERS  XI-XV:
8. Describe the relationship between Little Ann and Old Dan?
Answer:
Little Ann and Old Dan were very close.  Where one was strong, the other was weak;  when one needed help, the other stayed to offer.  It was on the icy bank that Old Dan showed his devotion to Little Ann as she hung on for her life.  The sounds of help, longing and sorrow from Old Dan showed Billy their relationship.  It was this night that he saw their bond.
9. How are Rubin and Rainie different from Billy?
Answer:
Rubin and Rainie were both mean-looking boys, one older and one about the same age as Billy.   They both had mean dispositions.  They were raised differently and this changed who they were and what they did.  They believed in betting and fighting and Billy did not.
10. Why must Billy's dogs free the ghost coon?
Answer:
Billy made a bet with Rainie and Rubin with his dogs to free the ghost coon.  They did not believe that Billy had good dogs or they had any ability to catch the coon.
11. What final gestures helps Billy resolve Rubin's death?
Answer:
Billy went over to Rubin when he was laying with an ax in him.  When Rubin asked him to take it out, he did/he tried.   It was the beginning of the dogs fighting that started this tragedy, but it was an accident and Billy did what he could to help Rubin.
12. Describe the Championship Coon Hunt.
Answer:
Billy's grandpa entered Old Dan and Little Ann into the "Championship Coon Hunt".  This wasn't any hunt, this was a championship where only registered hounds could participate.   Billy's grandpa had written letters, upon letters recording the coons Billy's dog has caught and their catch was among the top.   Billy's grandpa had paid the entry fee and was waiting for Billy to agree.  It was the ultimate championship for coon-hunters.
CHAPTERS XVI-XX:
13. Give examples that show that Billy's hounds are truly intelligent creatures.
Answer:
His hounds, were the first in 40 years of judging to catch the coon the way they did.  These little hounds raced along the river and chased this coon during the night and it was their dedication and Billy's hunting.   The judges had never seen a hound walk on a sycamore limb like that and jump, they had tied the leading team.
14. What does Billy mean when he says, "You were worth it old friend, and a thousand times over?
Answer:
It was a saying of his deepest love, man's best friend.   In his eyes, Old Dan was his best friend, someone who saved his life and had great courage to try.   Billy did everything he knew how to do, and yet Old Dan gave him a thousand more.
15. What is the meaning of the title Where the Red Fern Grows?
Answer:
It is an Indian  legend that shows that God has never left our side.      It was heard that " and old Indian legend tells you about the death of a little Indian boy and girl in a blizzard.  They were lost and during the spring, when they were found, a beautiful red fern had grown up between their two bodies.  The story went on to say that only an angel could plant the seeds of a red fern, and that they never died;  where one grew, that spot was sacred."   
With the death of Old Dan and Little Ann, Billy was very hurt and when they moved to their new home, and saw a red fern in the yard, it was a sign of an angel.  Billy never lost Old Dan and Little Ann, they would be always with him.   They were always meant to be together and together they gave Billy the best love of all, hope and friendship.  He also knew that God had a place for them and they would never be alone.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Ficciones.TXT
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553
Jorge Luis Borges possesses writing styles unlike others of his time. Through his series of works, he has acquired the title of "the greatest living writer in the Spanish language." The particular example of work that I read, titled "Ficciones," was a definite portrayal of his culture. The book was not merely a list of facts from his birth country; instead the real cultural knowledge came from his writing style. The book consisted of two parts; each part was broken up into stories. Each one, despite being fiction, is a painting of his experiences, and the cultures of Buenos Aires. Among his themes are myths passed down through the families in his country. I thought that the stories that were contained in this collection were very educational. When finally taking a minute to analyze, and find deeper meaning to the tales, I discovered that they all posses what he has known in his life. He is easily distinguishable in his works. Now that I have thoroughly made it clear of his uniqueness, it will be easier for me to explain my next opinion. I thought that the writing style of Jorge Luis Borges was extremely exciting. He possesses the ability to capture his readers by fully utilizing the writing style known as irony. I found that irony is a large part of his works. He makes sure that the climax of the particular piece is not revealed until the conclusion of the story. A strong example of this was in a piece entitled "The Garden of Forking Paths." Borges put it in such formats, that the beginning of the story was missing so that it wasn't until the conclusion that the story fits together, but is totally not what is expected. The entire fictional tale was about a crime that was committed. The pre-crime, crime, and results of the action were all known. However, the motif of the crime is not revealed until the last paragraph. Jorge was able to portray this irony by initially stating that "The first two pages are missing" in reference to the story that he was about to tell. I especially found this a unique and effective method of creating an initial mystification. This set the stage for an ironic ending. Another unique trait of Borges' is his unmatched ability to capture his reader's attention by the use of description. His sentences are full of words that build a wall of pictures in the mind of the reader. An example of this ability is in the story entitled "The Form of the Sword." The quote stirred my imagination, which made a great mental image. "After supper we went out to look at the sky. It had cleared, but behind the ridge of the mountains, the south, fissured and shot through with lightning flashes, was brewing up another storm." I focussed mainly on Borges' writing style when giving my opinion of the book. I chose to closely examine and comment on this aspect because of its uniqueness and its tie with his cultural experiences. Through Jorge's thorough description in his sentences, and his ability to utilize irony, he has accomplished greatness in his writing.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Fight Club.TXT
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645
Since the beginning of time, man has been on a quest to find his inner self. This topic has been the theme of many books and researches. This is no exception, in the 1959 book, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. In this particular story the main character, Siddhartha, is trying to find his 'inner self'. He tries to accomplish this in many ways, one being self denial or destruction. This is also the case in the 1996 book, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, in which the main theme promoted is that destruction leads to purity. These two works, written almost 40 years apart, which at first glance seem to be complete opposites, are actually spawns from the archetypal theme of man's quest from self knowledge. Many issues in each of these stories give reason to believe that the authors had the same idea in mind. It could also be said that the author of Fight Club may have read Siddhartha. This is so because of the fact that many quotes in Fight Club relate to Hinduism, which is the religion of the heron in Siddhartha. For example, at a point in Fight Club, a character questions his safety. The reply from the character, Tyler Durden, is, "You're as safe as a Hindu cow", is a metaphor that since the cow is very respected in the Hindu religion and is not harmed. This may be mere coincidence, but other information gives reason to believe otherwise. Other than just saying that there is a connection with something that is said in the two books, there is also connections with the themes and styles of each book. In Siddhartha the charters often speak in ways the you may have to think about to understand the full meaning. This is also true in the case of Fight Club. At one point in Siddhartha, the character Govinda [Siddhartha's friend] says, "He who in contemplation, with purified mind, immerses himself in Atman, Inexpressible in words is his heart's bliss." These quotes convey the idea of the actually enlightenment. In Fight Club, it is common to see quotes like, "You are not a beautiful and unique snow flake" which tells Tyler Durden's followers that what they may think they are is completely false. This type of put down is a major ingredient in the stew of mayhem which leads to enlightenment. When you compare the actual meanings of Fight Club and Siddhartha, you will find that they are very much alike. Fight Club is a release for people. It helps you know yourself, know what you can do, and know your limits. In the book, it would often be used by people with terminal illnesses in place of a support group. The ultimate goal of what the people where trying to accomplish in Fight Club was to gain complete self fulfillment by doing something that ordinarily would not be considered helpful, but painful. In Siddharha, the main character is also trying to find fulfillment to break the cycle of life in which we are trapped. An idea that is shared in the two works is that time is an illusion. The main character in Fight Club, who is referred to as Jack, has insomnia. He pleases him self by buying things, but later on finds out that, "It is only until you've lost everything, are you free to do anything" which is also a theory that Siddhartha has. This is expresses in the line from Siddhartha that states, "May I never be complete, may I never be content." These quotes show that this theory of finding ones 'self' is a universal idea shared by everyone. May it be the style of writing, the well thought out phrases, or the over all theme of these books, it can be easily shown that these works are very similar. Many other people have written books based on the principals that, "In death we become heroes" and "Disaster is part of evolution", showing that only by destruction and pain, will one find and experience his self. This archetypal theme has been discussed for as long time has existed and will continue to be spawned into many other works of literature, each having common traits and sharing the common idea of finding a meaning in life.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Figure Of Christ In Lord Of The Flies.TXT
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693
"CHRIST" IN LORD OF THE FLIES Many critics have compared the character of Simon in the book Lord of the Flies to a Christ figure. After reading this book I also found out that Simon and Christ had a lot in common. The first time we, readers start considering Simon a special person, different from the others is when we see him the only one to helping the littluns to gather fruits they were unable to reach. "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.51) So we know about Jesus -- carrying about starving and suffering. After Christ was baptized he walked away to the desert and stayed there for forty days, meditating and praying. So did Simon. He felt better walking in the jungle alone, thinking, probably, dreaming, enjoying the power and the beauty of the nature. In that desert Christ also talked to God and I think it was the God's appeal to Simon when the large ray of light fell down from the sky. "Beyond the screen of leaves the sunlight pelted down and the butterflies danced in the middle their unending dance."(p.120) Simon did not fear it and he faced it. As Christ facing God, Simon knelt. Physical help to people was not the main task of Christ -- he taught, gave sermons, appealed to clear their souls and thoughts - to get rid of internal evil. As well Simon was the only one who supposed that the beast they were so afraid of was, probably, inside them. "What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us." (p.80) God chose Christ from all others to fulfill the most important task because Jesus was sinless and saint. Simon was the only one on that island with clear soul and the good inside him without any ambitions of power and suppression. So it was his destiny and privedge to confront the "beast" first and to talk to it The Lord of the Flies told Simon that the evil was inside the boys and for that reason - invinsible. It was trying to tempt Simon saying that he was initially good but everyone was going to have fun on the island so Simon has to quit being perfect and become like the rest of the boys. "You're not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island."(p.131). It reminds the temptation of Christ by devil while he was alone in the desert praying and thinking. That conversation with the Lord of the Flies happened not a long time before Simon's death. His soul, probably, felt it and Simon felt bad. He fainted and when he woke up he was very weak exhausted, thirsty and hot. The night before Christ was arrested he also felt badly and could not sleep. Finally there was a lot in common in the deaths of Christ and Simon. They both were killed by the members of their communities. Simon was not recognized by them and was murdered, so was Christ (figuratively). "He came unto his own, and his own received him not."(John, chapter 1-11) They both sinless and good were sacrificed for the sins and evil of the others. After the Simon's death as well as after the Christ's one suddenly there was a shower and storm. "Then the clouds opened and let down the rain like a waterfall" (p.139). Afterwards the Christ's dead body disappeared. The Simon's did too --was washed out to sea. And was not his death the sin offering -- soon after it all other boys became rescued. So cannot we conclude that Simon in the book Lord of the Flies was Jesus Christ of that story, of their world. Simon came there with the same mission Christ did -- to save the man, bringing to him "the Word"-- and lose his life for the sake of it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Flowers for Algernon 2.TXT
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644
Medical operations are carried out everyday, but for some, an operation can change a person's life. One experiment was done on a mentally retarded person to try to raise his intelligence. The experiment worked, but after months, the patient regressed dramatically. In the book, Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, this intelligence operation was preformed, and the patient was Charlie Gordon. After the operation, Charlie was very bright, but experienced psychological traumas, loneliness, disillusionment, and social inadequacies. Charlie's psychological traumas or emotional upset was caused by his memory recalls. After his operation, he remembered every aspect of his childhood, whether it was good or bad. "...He's normal! He's normal! He'll grow up like other people. Better than others..." Charlie had dreams of how his mother was ashamed of him. His mother always thought her son was normal and would grow up and be somebody. "...He's like a baby. He can't play Monopoly or checkers or anything. I won't play with him anymore..." Charlie's sister also ignored him. To her, Charlie was dumb and could not do anything. Charlie had dreams of his sister yelling at him and making fun of him. He also had memories of the night his parents took him to the Warren Home. He was terrified and his dad would never answer his questions. Charlie remembered his childhood and through his memories, he felt guilty for hurting his family. After the operation, Charlie also suffered from disillusionment. In the bakery he used to have friends. Friends that would talk to him and care about him. "...Why? Because all of the sudden your a bigshot. You think you are better than the rest of us..." Charlie then realized that he had no friends but merely knew people that made fun of him. The bakery employees just liked him because they could blame their mistakes on Charlie. Then, they could not do this after the operation, so they all turned against Charlie. "...I had to find out just how much they knew. I found out. Nothing..." "Both frauds" Charlie also found out about Nemur and Strauss. He realized they were not professionals, but two men that were taking a shot in the dark. Charlie felt like an expendable lab specimen. Thus, Charlie had lost his friends and knew now he was just a like a lab rat. Charlie had lacked faith in his fellow man. "...Thoughts of suicide to stop it all while I am still in control..." Everyday Charlie lost a piece of himself. He was starting to regress and thought about suicide to end his up and down life. He became irritable and edgy around people at the university. He would become mad at people very quickly and then yell at them. His self-centered and arrogant personality was a symptom of his regression. People stayed away from him because he was becoming a madman and was unpredictable. Because of this, Charlie became lonely in his last weeks before he regressed totally. "...Intelligence without the ability to give and receive affection can lead to a mental breakdown..." Charlie experienced social inadequacies while he was intelligent. "...You know as well as I do, you don't need to work here anymore..." Charlie lost his job because he was to smart to work in a bakery. He could not socially interact with people he worked with and the people he met. Also, Charlie could not perform with Alice or Fay. "...I saw him watching me with his eyes wide open. I couldn't do it..." He experienced illusions when he tried to make love with Alice. The "Charlie" inside of himself emerged and started to regain control of his mind. All in all, Charlie suffered from the pain of not knowing how to deal with his peers and decisions. Therefore, after the operation, Charlie became a smart man but he had to pay the price for it. He had psychological traumas, suffered from loneliness and illusions, and did not know how to act with his peers. Charlie regressed and finally went to the Warren Home, but he at least experienced the world through normal eyes. On the other hand, Charlie might of been better off without the experiment. He would still have friends and a job, but most important of all, he would have a life.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Flowers For Algernon.TXT
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593
Melissa Jackson 10-17-99 Exploratory Thinking Period 3 "Flowers For Algernon" Report "Flowers for Algernon" is about a man named Charlie Gordon who is mentally retarded. Charlie signs up for an experiment that is supposed to make him smarter. He wants to be like every one else. To do the experiment he has to keep a journal showing his progress. Charlie starts out spelling almost every word wrong. Charlie's family and friends have all made fun of him; his parents gave him to his uncle when he was ten. The experiment starts to work and Charlie gets smarter and he starts realizing new things. Before the operation his imagination and his brain weren't working that well. His imagination started to work for the first time when he got this operation. Now that he was smart, he could quit his old job of working as a janitor at a bakery and start working for the hospital full time. Charlie soon becomes aware that his smartness may not stay forever, that he might lose his genius. He starts to research the experiment himself. He studies a little mouse named Algernon who they did the experiment on first. Charlie starts to become attached to the little white mouse. Together they are the smartest of their species. When Charlie and Algernon have to go Chicago for an interview, Charlie gets so frustrated at how all the scientists are talking as if before the operation Charlie wasn't a real person. In his frustration he accidentally on purpose let Algernon go. The scientists freaked out and started looking for Algernon. They were in a huge building and most of the doors in the room they were in were open. Charlie was the first to find Algernon, and he put Algernon in his pocket and left the building. They went to the airport and flew home, leaving the scientists baffled as to where Algernon was. Charlie worked hard trying to discover how long his smartness would last. While studying Algernon, he noticed that he was becoming more jumpy and that he would attack Charlie sometimes. Charlie wondered whether this was because of the experiment. Algernon got worse and he refused to do the mazes and to work. After a few weeks Algernon died. Tests showed that Algernon's brain had started to shrink, causing him to die. Charlie's intelligence started to fall. Slowly he lost it all, from foreign languages to math equations to reading and writing. He started to forget things and feel like the old Charlie. He knew that the only thing that he really wanted to keep was being able to read and write. In about a month he had lost it all. He didn't know what to do. With much hesitation, he signed himself for the local retarded hospital. He had had every thing and lost it in a matter of weeks! The climax in the story is when Charlie realizes that he is going to lose his brilliance and that he himself has to discover the cure or else it will be gone forever. The main characters are Charlie, Mrs. Kinnian, the two doctors who work on Charlie, Algernon, and the workers at the bakery. The book is set in a semi-major city somewhere in New England. The book has many lessons, the main one being that ignorance is bliss, and the less you know the less will bother you.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Ford.TXT
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Ford: exporting to the Middle East
We work hard to deliver the kinds of products that our costume's wants and needs". The famous say for Orlando Anderson, the head manager of the exporting section of GM. Being one of the big companies world wide, it assures that it is exporting the satisfaction to its customers all over the world with a quality driving experience.
When the target was the Middle East, GM studied the different kind environments and way of living in each and every country there so it can deliver the right project to the customer. Let's take Egypt for example, the cities are "loaded" with citizens over there "Cairo for example, has 1,000,000 citizen living there". One can imagine how crawdy it is, and how many hours one could stuck in a traffic jam or having hard time finding a place to park a car. Being one of the low-income countries, people in Egypt cannot effort expensive cars, big cars, paying gas or paying for the parts of the cars that needs to get fixed or replaced if anything bad happened to it.
The perfect solution that GM found to solve all these problems Egyptians are facing is:Light- and medium duty cars and trucks with Isuzu and Chevrolet and Bedford brand name and mini-busses and micro-buses built on Isuzu chases badge "GME", and Opel cars.All of these cars upon are small size, economic and with cheap price and available parts. That's all what one would think of as a car to get in a country like Egypt.
GM is one of the pioneers with delivering the satisfaction. Lately, GM've got increases in it's exporting income between %7.5 and %9 for this year, which mean that they are improving their markets all over the globe and that all their marketing plans are successful. And that's what they, GM managers of exporting, described in what they called it "the GM cancer taking over the world"
 
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Frankenstein Essay.TXT
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Frankenstein Essay
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley is a complex novel that was written during the age of Romanticism. It contains many typical themes of a common Romantic novel such as dark laboratories, the moon, and a monster; however, Frankenstein is anything but a common novel. Many lessons are embedded into this novel, including how society acts towards the different. The monster fell victim to the system commonly used to characterize a person by only his or her outer appearance. Whether people like it or not, society always summarizes a person's characteristics by his or her physical appearance. Society has set an unbreakable code individuals must follow to be accepted. Those who don't follow the "standard" are hated by the crowd and banned for the reason of being different. When the monster ventured into a town"...[monster] had hardly placed [his] foot within the door ...children shrieked, and ...women fainted" (101). From that moment on he realized that people did not like his appearance and hated him because of it. If villagers didn't run away at the sight of him, then they might have even enjoyed his personality. The monster tried to accomplish this when he encountered the De Lacey family. The monster hoped to gain friendship from the old man and eventually his children. He knew that it could have been possible because the old man was blind, he could not see the monster's repulsive characteristics. But fate was against him and the "wretched" had barely conversed with the old man before his children returned from their journey and saw a monstrous creature at the foot of their father attempting to do harm to the helpless elder. "Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore [the creature] from his father..." (129). Felix's action caused great inner pain to the monster. He knew that his dream of living with them "happily ever after" would not happen. After that bitter moment the monster believed that "...the human senses are insurmountable barriers to our union [with the monster]" (138) and with the De Lacey encounter still fresh in his mind along with his first encounter of humans, he declared war on the human race. The wicked being's source of hatred toward humans originates from his first experiences with humans. In a way the monster started out with a child-like innocence that was eventually shattered by being constantly rejected by society time after time. His first encounter with humans was when he opened his yellow eyes for the first time and witnessed Victor Frankenstein, his creator, "...rush out of the [laboratory]..." (56). Would this have had happened if society did not consider physical appearance to be important? No. If physical appearance were not important then the creature would have had a chance of being accepted into the community with love and care. But society does believe that physical appearance is important and it does influence the way people act towards each other. Frankenstein should have made him less offending if even he, the creator, could not stand his disgusting appearance. There was a moment however when Frankenstein "...was moved..." (139) by the creature. He "...felt what the duties of a creator..." (97) were and decided that he had to make another creature, a companion for the original. But haunting images of his creation (from the monster's first moment of life) gave him an instinctive feeling that the monster would do menacing acts with his companion, wreaking twice the havoc! Reoccurring images of painful events originating from a first encounter could fill a person with hate and destruction. We as a society are the ones responsible for the transformation of the once child-like creature into the monster we all know. The public needs to know that our society has flaws and they must be removed before our primal instincts continue to isolate and hurt the people who are different. With such a large amount of technology among us, some people may wonder why such an advanced civilization still clings on to such primitive ways of categorizing people.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Frankenstein.TXT
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695
It has been questioned by people, honored by people and revered since the beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a matter of opinion. It was Dr. Victor Frankenstein's opinion that it was alright to create a "monster". Frankenstein's creation needed a companion. Knowing that his first creation was evil should the doctor make a second? With the knowledge at hand, to Dr. Frankenstein, it is not at all morally correct to bring another monster into the world. Looking at this probelm with his family in mind, the doctor begins his work on the second monster. The first monster threatened Frankenstein and even his family. The monster angrily said to Frankenstein, "I can make you so wretched." (pg. 162) Trying to scare Frankenstein for not creating his mate the monster resorted to threats. If the good doctor does create a companion for his first creation he may be endangering others. "The miserable monster whom I had created," (pg.152) says Victor upon looking back at his work. If there is another monster there will be twice the power and possibly twice the evil, which could hurt or kill his family. When and if Frankenstein commits the moral sin of creating another monster he may be rid of both monsters forever. "With the companion you bestow I will quit the neighbourhood of man,"(pg 142) promises the morally corrupt monster to the doctor upon the completion of his partner. When the doctor, if and when he, finished his first creation's mate there is a chance that the monsters will not keep their promise and stay in Europe envoking fear into townfolk. The good doctor, trying to act morally, destroys the monster for the good of the world. The monsters can potentially take over whatever they please. "A race of devils would be propegated,"(pg. 163) thinks Frankenstein to himself in his study. The monsters, if powerful enough, could possibly take over Europe. Frankenstein realizes that he can not possibly doom the world to benefit himself. "Shall I, in coold blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon.."(pg. 162) argues Frankenstein with his creation. It is not morally right for one person to unleash such a terror on the world to benefit only himself and his family. Frankenstein will not let any example change his mind on the point that the monster is and will always be morally corupt. Continuing on his point that the monster was too evil to duplicate, Frankenstein says, "Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness; but they confirm me in determination of not creating you a companion in vice."( pg. 163) Frankenstein will not sacrifice his morallity because of persuation from a monster. Although beholding the threat of death and misery Frankenstein held his ground and did not sacrifice his moral. When and if Frankenstein creates another monster he can not feel as if he has done the morally right thing. From creating the monster Frankenstein will some how be making people other than himself unhappy. " I consent to your demand, on your solem oath to quite Europe forever, and every other place in the neighbourhood of man,"(pg. 143) says Frankenstein as he sees the power that the two could possibly possess. The good doctor sees that with his own hands he could possibly scar the world forever. The doctor wants, if anyone, himself to be unhappy instead of all of man kind. "Begone! I do break my promise," (pg. 162) states the doctor angrily. Not thinking about himself but the world unselfishly breaks his promise to the monster. Possessing such a great mind the doctor is able to realize that a greater evil will be realesed upon the earth then upon himself. "Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness,"(pg. 162) says the doctor as he argues his point with his creation. The doctor sees that a greater and more horrible result can come from him making the second monster than not. With the knowledge at hand, to Dr.Frankenstein, it is not at all morally correct to bring another monster into the world. On the one hand if the second monster was created Frankenstein's family would be saved. By the same token the rest of the world could be forced to bow before two hideous monsters. The problem, making or not making the second monster, played heavily on Frankenstein's mind, possibly caused his brief lapse into the realm of the insane. Even though Frankenstein began his work for the good of man his experiment ended up hurting himself and his family.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\FREEDOM TRAIN again.TXT
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             book report: FREEDOM TRAIN
my book report is called FREEDOM TRAIN BY Dorothy Sterling.The main people are Harriet Tubman,Daddy Ben ,Miss Sarah,ld Alice,Susan ,Old Rit ,James Cook, MRS.Cook, Master , AND Misstress.Master and Missterss beat all the slaves untill they bleed.All seven of them had to sleep in the same cabin Daddy Ben and James Cook had to sleep on the floor.
The problems they had to face was slavery for seven years.Harriet was fourteen when slavery was over.She ran away about  two times.Every time Daddy Ben cought her and brought her back.When Master or Misteress found she was back they would wip her back until her black back turned red.Master or Mistereswouldnt even care if they died from loss of blood.All they would do was buy more slaves.
Know matter how hard they tried they could never escape.If one person escaped and another caught them they would tell on them    unless they were family.If they wernt they would tell to save their own lives.Adults only weighed one hundred to one hundred fifty pounds.Harriet only weighed fiffty seven pounds at age seven.Her five year old sister weighed thirty eight pounds.
This was a really good book i really liked it.This book was really enjoyable.i would recomend this book to my friends.I think they would like it to.If i had to change the book i would not have slaves !
     by:CASSIDY GROVE
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\FREEDOM TRAIN.TXT
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             book report: FREEDOM TRAIN
my book report is called FREEDOM TRAIN BY Dorothy Sterling.The main people are Harriet Tubman,Daddy Ben ,Miss Sarah,ld Alice,Susan ,Old Rit ,James Cook, MRS.Cook, Master , AND Misstress.Master and Missterss beat all the slaves untill they bleed.All seven of them had to sleep in the same cabin Daddy Ben and James Cook had to sleep on the floor.
The problems they had to face was slavery for seven years.Harriet was fourteen when slavery was over.She ran away about  two times.Every time Daddy Ben cought her and brought her back.When Master or Misteress found she was back they would wip her back until her black back turned red.Master or Mistereswouldnt even care if they died from loss of blood.All they would do was buy more slaves.
Know matter how hard they tried they could never escape.If one person escaped and another caught them they would tell on them    unless they were family.If they wernt they would tell to save their own lives.Adults only weighed one hundred to one hundred fifty pounds.Harriet only weighed fiffty seven pounds at age seven.Her five year old sister weighed thirty eight pounds.
This was a really good book i really liked it.This book was really enjoyable.i would recomend this book to my friends.I think they would like it to.If i had to change the book i would not have slaves !
     by:CASSIDY GROVE
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Friday.TXT
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356
FRIDAY A handsome, in about 26 years old, with straight and strong limbs, tall and well shaped fellow who bare name Friday which he got for the memory of a day he was rescued. The native who was saved from a certain death by Robinson Crusoe during one of the cannibal rituals of a local tribe. By the man who was actually on his way to Africa to buy Negroes! His hair was long and black but not curled, he had very high forehead and great sparkling sharp eyes. Friday's appearance was somewhere in between Negro and European, black but tawny skin, round face and small but not flat nose as most of the Negroes have. Of course, like all Negroes have, had he fine teeth well set and white as ivory, but oddly enough - thin lips. To lay his head flat upon ground, close to person's foot and set other foot upon his head - this was Friday's way of showing the servitude and submission. Robinson understood him in many things and let him know how very pleased he was with him. This was something Friday understood before he could speak Robinson` s language. Still he was a cannibal in his nature, full of lot abhorrence. We can see how the other culture is suppressed from the very beginning. Robinson cures Friday of his cannibalistic habits and gives him a new Western name. But the first words he taught him in English were words that one servant has to know and use! So Friday was domesticated and incorporated into Western society. The main fear and an idea throughout the book is Crusoe `s goal to re-educate Friday to a civilised human being and if he wouldn't have, he would have no mercy but to kill him! Submissive Friday, full of gratitude was treated with the attitude close to colonial that is - possession. In my opinion, Friday's total submission released Robinson from the sort of guilt and the need to use violence. He was Crusoe` s slave because he was saved by him and lifelong servitude was accepted by Robinson. The servant-master relationship was symbolically sealed by an oath, a substitute for the written contract.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Gatsby meets.TXT
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384
Gatsby meets a woman and falls in love with her. However, Gatsby does not have the fame and fortune a classy lady like Daisy desires. Gatsby decides to devote his whole life to achieving the material goods with which to satisfy Daisy. He lives in the past on a moment of absolute happiness hoping he can relive that state of emotion sometime in the future. F. Scott Fitzgerald published the book in 1925 using the actual time in history, the Roaring Twenties to help create Gatsby's character. Gatsby's participation in the bootlegging business, the extravagant parties he throws, and the wealthy, careless lifestyle the Buchanans represent, are all vivid pictures of that time frame. Fitzgerald's portrayal of the time period creates lifelike characters in the novel. By creating these personable characters, Fitzgerald is allowing the reader to associate himself with Gatsby, and letting him use his imagination, so that in the end, the reader can decide if the Great Gatsby is truly 'great'. Fitzgerald allows the reader to incorporate the story into their own past and past relationships, ultimately putting the reader in Gatsby's shoes and seeing what the reader would do in the same situation. It raises a great debate; should people live their lives yearning for something in the past? Is it acceptable to live one's whole life on a past experience or memory hoping to reach back in time and pull the past to the present. Is it healthy? In this case, Fitzgerald is saying no its not healthy. He says it ruins a person and things change. Is Gatsby great? In some ways he is, you have to admire a man who lives his whole life devoting himself to his passion and never getting sidetracked. But you also have to realize that some things are foolish to live a dream upon, because nothing ever stays the same. Things change and when you reach a goal you realize it wasn't what you remember. Fitzgerald tackles a issue that everyone canrelate to and has to deal with sometime in his life. Fitzgerald presents a likable character, a likable story and time period to the reader. At the end he has the reader contemplating what he himself would do if a similar situation would arise in his life. Fitzgerald raises a great philosophical question, making the book enjoyable to read and think about.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Gatsby.TXT
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Gatsby 
Was Gatsby Stupid for Pursuing Daisy?
Gatsby was stupid for pursuing Daisy for many reasons, first of all; in their short history together Daisy had already turned him down, they had not seen each other in five years, and Gatsby was only going on the assumption that Daisy still loved him. Gatsby had held onto his dream of being with Daisy until the end when his life was taken. He built everything he had on this one goal to be re-united with her and it brought him to the high point in his life and then to the end where he had no Daisy and showed how pathetic his life was when only Nick and a few others showed up to his funeral. Gatsby got caught in his dream and made his money in a shady way leaving him few friends and even more associations who knew they could not get involved in his death.
When Gatsby first met Daisy he was poor and had just enlisted in the service. He lied to her, saying that he had a lot of money when he obviously didn't. Then he went away to war and she waited. When he had his chance to come home he decided to stay in England and go to college. From there Daisy sent him a letter saying that it was over, that she had found someone else who had money and she could fall back on. This crushed him, and made him come back to the U.S. even though it was too late and Daisy married Tom. He spent the next few years building his fortune and searching for Daisy, his whole life was based around her and a small hope that he could win her back. His life was consumed by this dream and only cut him off from everyone else in the world.
When Gatsby had found out Daisy found someone else in union with the fact that they had not seen each other in five years and also had not made any contact at all he should have realized it was over. Daisy had a husband and as daughter and a new love in her life. He was stupid to think Daisy would leave Tom after she had been married to him for a few years and still love him as well. Daisy's love for Gatsby may have been strong for a while but after waiting for him for so long she broke away and turned to the next best thing that she could find. Daisy also knew that Tom was well respected and had a lot of money so he would be able to take care of her the way she was used to. Gatsby had no guarantee of that and Daisy knew it.
Gatsby had no idea if Daisy loved him or not and was only hoping she still had feelings for him. As soon he and Daisy did start up again and they started taking more risks Gatsby probably got excited and lost site of reality. In the hotel on that hot fateful day as soon as Daisy was in question of her love to tom he should have backed out and left. But he didn't he was still holding on to that last hope she would fall for him and ended up in a hit and run. He made the mistake of letting Daisy drive and then running. He felt he would take the blame for a girl who did not love him and ended up paying with his life.
For these reasons Gatsby was stupid for pursuing Daisy when anyone else would know that he had no chance at a renewed love with someone they had been away from for so long. The love of being linked through marriage and the presence of a daughter would be hard to break. Daisy didn't know whom she wanted to be with and could not say that she did not love Tom when confronted. Gatsby's downfall came after the moment in the hotel, and he was stupid to continue this crush. If Gatsby had not been so blind he would have lived longer and maybe lived longer.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\GENERAL ELECTRIC.TXT
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GENERAL ELECTRIC
Product Development
Dishwashers
Like today's kitchens, GE profile dishwashers are highly sophisticated in form and function. GE profile dishwashers clean dishes the way you want them done: quietly, thoroughly, and efficiently. Innovative features include SmartWash, Flexible SmartRacks, and the CleanSensor, which automatically adjusts the wash to suit the dishload. And it is so quiet, you will hardly know the dishwasher is running. All you notice are the sparkling results!
Such a performance was impossible to achieve without the hard working of the people in the Research and Development Center. The research and Development Center was created in 1965 by the merger of the GE research Laboratory and the GE Advanced Technology laboratories. The Center and its predecessor organisations have accounted for many important innovations.
A lot of developments were added to the dishwashers in order to reach today's performance. The Triclean wash System has not only one, not two, but three arms for better coverage and better cleaning than you ever thought possible. Eliminate recirculating food particles with 100% triple water filtration and Dual pumps. Food particles are pulverised by the Piranha Anti-Jamming Hard Food Disposer. Triton's sanitization cycle reduces 99.99% of the bacteria found on dishes and is certified by the NSF International. NSF International is the most highly recognised independent testing institution for water treatment products. The Saniwash cycle is ideal for sanitizing baby bottles and cutting boards, as well as glasses and dishes.
Now, you do not have to choose between clean and quiet. By redircting the spray jets, more water hits the dishes and less hits the tub and door. The sound of great wash action stays where it belongs...inside the dishwasher. Sound is deadened by the PermaTuf QuietTub and QuietPower insulation and sound cushion package. An intelligent air vent system, ActiveVent, closes during the wash cycle to contain noise, then opens during dry cycle to aid drying. So, with all these development you can enjoy the cleanest wash with minimum or no sound.
Speed is the most challenging element for GE dishwashers. For this they add to their dishwashers something called Speed Cycle. When dinner's almost ready and the dishes are still dirty, use GE Triton Speed Cycle.
SpeedWash and SpeedDry Cycles cut thirty minute off GEC's standard normal cycles. Thirty-minute can make a difference when everyone's hungry and you are in a hurry.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Glass Menagerie Commentary.TXT
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511
First of all, I liked the way that The Glass Menagerie was not specifically dated. What I mean by this, is even though the play was written in the forties, today we (people in general), can still relate to some of the issues in it. Like take for example the disability issue. Laura was so self conscious of her disability, but in reality, people did not really even notice. This is how society in general treats people with disabilities today - the same as everyone else. I also liked the development of Laura's character over the course of the plot. At first she was timid and afraid of the world. But as the play progressed, and her character grew, she started to grow out of her timidness and started to be more trustful of people. By the end of the play, she had completely opened up to Jim and even showed him her glass menagerie, her most prized possession. I think that the stage directions in this play were both useful and annoying. I say that they were useful because they helped me to understand the plot and the characters motives and actions easier and better. But they were annoying because there were so many of them, and at times Tennessee Williams was overly descriptive in his stage directions. This play made me think about how people with disabilities are treated. I had always thought that in the thirties and forties, being disabled was not accepted. But after reading this play, I am starting to think that I might be wrong after all, because Laura seemed not to be treated any differently as a result of her disability. What surprised me about this play, was the fact that Jim was not married to Emily Meisenbach, his high school sweet heart. The way that he was presented by Laura's memory, I thought that for sure he would be married to Emily. But on the other hand, he is engaged to Betty, so he must really be as wonderful as Laura remembers. What angered me about this play, is the fact that Jim did im fact turn out to be engaged. I guess that I was hoping that Laura would in fact end up getting together with Jim, and living "happily ever after". But that is not how real life is, and I like the way that Williams shows us that not everything works out to be alright in the real world. I don't like the way that Amanda kept accusing Tom of being selfish. I think that Tom is being very generous and noble by supporting Amanda and Laura. It's not his duty to do so, but he is still doing it, regardless. He could be out in the world having fun with his money, but instead he chooses to support Amanda and Laura. I would recommend that you continue to use this play as study material for grade eleven students. I say this because this play is not dated, and it touches on some very good topics (eg. people with disabilities and how they're treated). I also think that this should be continued to be studied, because it is really a short play, and it is straight-forward. It also gets to the point quickly, and there is less of a chance that the students will get bored of it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Go Ask Alice.TXT
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1101
Go Ask Alice This book is actually a real diary, written by a 15 year old American girl who is tossed into the world of drugs. The girl has the "perfect" life but is forced to change from a child to an adult virtually overnight. She develops a crass attitude, and becomes paranoid, all because of her newly found lust for drugs. It didn't just happen overnight. She started to take sleeping pills and tranquilizers to fall asleep but friends slipped her LSD and from then on she was hooked. She felt insecure and alone, so when the "popular group" invited her to join them she leapt at the chance. She fits right in by being introduced to drugs such as Speed and torpedos. She starts to experiment with more use of drugs and pre-marital sex. She starts pushing drugs at school for her new boyfriend Ritchie which will give her a rep she won't be able to shake off father on down the road. It turns out though, that Ritchie is gay as she soon finds out, she was used and feels terrible so..... Feeling her life is depressing, with her parents harping at her about her looks and grades, and her peers ignoring her at her new school, she runs away with a girl a year older than herself, Chris. They go to the city of San Francisco to escape it all. They live in a one bedroom dirty apartment, saving their money until they can open up their own little boutique. They find jobs with wonderful bosses who invite them out. One is a wonderful old man with a large family who accepts them as their own. The other boss is a very wealthy woman who loves to throw parties and lets the girls crash at her place. They think everything is wonderful until one evening they are sitting with her and her boyfriend and they try heroin and then speed and then are brutally raped. They are disgusted with this lifestyle so they head out to start a boutique for themselves. After a while with the boutique the two are over with it and decide to head home, she calls her mother and is picked up the next evening at the airport by her families warm embrace. Christmas time has come and she is happy as can be. No more drugs, happy to be with her family and ready to get rid of her old life and on with the new. Even though she has decided no more drugs, her friends need "connections" and harass her, making simple things such as going to a dance, horrid. She starts drugs again and the next while is indescribable. She goes through so many situations that many people couldn't even imagine. It's funny how little people actually realize that drugs are very powerful and very addicting. These writings were recorded on single sheets of paper and brown paper bags. There were no dates for them because she didn't know what date it was or when it was. She sleeps on curbs, in churches if she's lucky, she only has the clothing on her back, her period starts and has no Kotex, she has money so she becomes a prostitute so she can get her fix of drugs. She finally ends up talking to a priest you understands youth. He calls home and her parents are so overwhelmed with love for their daughter, she can't understand how they can still love her, all that she's done..... She wants to become a physiatrist or maybe a child guidance counselor when she gets out of school. she wants to rectify her life by helping others. Her dear old grandfather passes away and about a month later, her dear grandmother too. She begins to have terrible nightmares about worms and maggots eating her grandparents bodies, the deaths are making her lose sleep and it's taking a lot more energy to do simple tasks and to concentrate in school. The "druggies" harass her constantly, they put joints in her purse and the are cruel and they tell her that "they will get her back." She is trying hard to keep control but it is very difficult with all of this going on around her. She meets a wonderful young man whom takes as much an interest in her as she to him. They have wonderful conversations and her parents approve of him too. Things seem great until one day when she is babysitting for a neighbour, she eats chocolate covered peanuts which have been covered in acid. She doesn't notice but goes crazy and hurts herself badly, that along with her background and her two ex-friends saying statements that weren't true, she ends up in an insane asylum. She begins to talk with the people around her and learns more about the harsh world of drugs, she writes everything down so she can look back on it and understand people better when she becomes a psychiatrist. She gets out of the hospital about two months or so later and realizes the life she missed. She loves everything, Joel, her family, God, everything. She begins piano lessons again, and starts to hang around with the "right group of kids" and leave the "wrong group" behind. It's hard to shake her past but she doesn't let anything stop her. She and Joel see each other once again, birthday's come and everything is wonderful. Epilogue: The subject of this book died three weeks after her decision not to keep another diary. Her parents came home from a movie and found her dead. The called the police and hospital but there was nothing anyone could do. Was it an accidental overdose? A premeditated overdose? No one knows, and in some ways that question isn't important. What must be of concern is that she died, and that she was only one of thousands of drug deaths that year. This diary is brutally truthful and it will make an impact on your life either in the present or the future, there are no words to describe how you feel when you are reading this book. It is a true tale of how seductive drugs are, how innocent everything seems and then it all changes and how she defeated it all, her power reigned, even in her death. This is one of the best books I've ever read. It touches your heart, you feel like you know her, you want to run away, cry, laugh, and scream with her, it compels you, it's superb. It shows you that even the most "perfect" people aren't so perfect after all, everybody has problems. I give it ten out of ten.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Goblins Dont Play Video Games again.TXT
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Book Report                                     Name-Lucia   Date-May 17,2000
Name of Book-Goblin's Don't Play Video Games
Main Characters-Melony, Lisa, Howie, Eddie and Mr. Goble
Number of Pages-82
Where you found it in the Library-Fiction J.
What is the story about-The story starts with Melony buying a new video game. The video is the game of zapping goblins. Lisa calls her but she never comes to play because she's so wrapped up in her new video game trying to get to the next level. Then she saw a person moving into the old house on her street. But then Melony and her friends realized that the haunted house in her video game looked exactly like the haunted house on her street. Then they saw mover's moving lots of computer equipment into the house. Then they saw the door of the house squeak open and standing there was a little stooped man that wore gray clothes and  had a gray mustache, even his skin was gray. The next day they met under the big oak tree at school. Lisa was complaining that she had the worst dream of her life, she dreamed that she was being chased by a gray monster through Bailey Cemetery. Howie was complaining that he never got any sleep because someone was playing an organ after midnight. They were worried the next day because Melony wasn't at school yet and she was never late for school, but then they saw her walking slowly down the sidewalk toward the playground with her hand held video game. She was concentrating so much on her game that she bumped right into
Lisa. Your going to bump into a tree Lisa warned. That day at school the four friends were surprised that the little gray man was our new computer teacher. Melony was playing her video game in computer class. Mr.Goble caught her and took it away. Mr. Goble was trying to play the game and by the end of the class he was on the eighth level. 
After computer class something strange happened, the lights went out and the kids were in total darkness and then they heard a loud laughter echo through the hallway. When they went to their classroom Mrs. Jeeper's their teacher was writing multiplication problems on the board, but when she was writing her chalk snapped in half. Then they heard a loud BANG!!! At the back of the classroom the bookshelf had fallen apart. Then they heard a big knock at the door. The next day after school they met by the big oak tree because Lisa had to tell them something important, but Eddie was so hungry that he had to eat but Lisa had to tell them this. There were about 10 men and women fixing the outside of the house, now it actually looks like a mansion, Eddie said to his friends. They read the instructions, it said if you wanted to get rid of the Master Goblin and followers they'd have to get to the tenth level. The next day they walked into the classroom and to their amazement they found the books were lined up neatly. Not even a speck of dust was on the ground.
	The next day Melony had something to show her friends, she had herbal food. Lisa asked Melony why they needed herbal food. Melony told her that goblins can not stand messes. They went into the school really early and started spreading the herbal food all over the floor. When Mrs. Jeepers arrived she asked the children why they were there,   they were looking for Mr. Goble , as he had gotten a job somewhere else said Mrs. Jeepers. So they went into the computer room and saw the big mess, then Howie threw a handful of cheese popcorn at Lisa and said goblins don't play video game after all!!!
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Goblins Dont Play Video Games.TXT
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Book Report                                     Name-Lucia   Date-May 17,2000
Name of Book-Goblin's Don't Play Video Games
Main Characters-Melony, Lisa, Howie, Eddie and Mr. Goble
Number of Pages-82
Where you found it in the Library-Fiction J.
What is the story about-The story starts with Melony buying a new video game. The video is the game of zapping goblins. Lisa calls her but she never comes to play because she's so wrapped up in her new video game trying to get to the next level. Then she saw a person moving into the old house on her street. But then Melony and her friends realized that the haunted house in her video game looked exactly like the haunted house on her street. Then they saw mover's moving lots of computer equipment into the house. Then they saw the door of the house squeak open and standing there was a little stooped man that wore gray clothes and  had a gray mustache, even his skin was gray. The next day they met under the big oak tree at school. Lisa was complaining that she had the worst dream of her life, she dreamed that she was being chased by a gray monster through Bailey Cemetery. Howie was complaining that he never got any sleep because someone was playing an organ after midnight. They were worried the next day because Melony wasn't at school yet and she was never late for school, but then they saw her walking slowly down the sidewalk toward the playground with her hand held video game. She was concentrating so much on her game that she bumped right into
Lisa. Your going to bump into a tree Lisa warned. That day at school the four friends were surprised that the little gray man was our new computer teacher. Melony was playing her video game in computer class. Mr.Goble caught her and took it away. Mr. Goble was trying to play the game and by the end of the class he was on the eighth level. 
After computer class something strange happened, the lights went out and the kids were in total darkness and then they heard a loud laughter echo through the hallway. When they went to their classroom Mrs. Jeeper's their teacher was writing multiplication problems on the board, but when she was writing her chalk snapped in half. Then they heard a loud BANG!!! At the back of the classroom the bookshelf had fallen apart. Then they heard a big knock at the door. The next day after school they met by the big oak tree because Lisa had to tell them something important, but Eddie was so hungry that he had to eat but Lisa had to tell them this. There were about 10 men and women fixing the outside of the house, now it actually looks like a mansion, Eddie said to his friends. They read the instructions, it said if you wanted to get rid of the Master Goblin and followers they'd have to get to the tenth level. The next day they walked into the classroom and to their amazement they found the books were lined up neatly. Not even a speck of dust was on the ground.
	The next day Melony had something to show her friends, she had herbal food. Lisa asked Melony why they needed herbal food. Melony told her that goblins can not stand messes. They went into the school really early and started spreading the herbal food all over the floor. When Mrs. Jeepers arrived she asked the children why they were there,   they were looking for Mr. Goble , as he had gotten a job somewhere else said Mrs. Jeepers. So they went into the computer room and saw the big mess, then Howie threw a handful of cheese popcorn at Lisa and said goblins don't play video game after all!!!
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Gods Law vs Human Law in Great Expectations again.TXT
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     In his book Great Expectations, the problematic nature of moral judgement and justice that stems from a conflict between God's law and human law is one of several topical themes that Charles Dickens addresses.  This paradox regularly surfaces in his treatment of plot and setting, and is more subtlety illustrated in his use of character.  To facilitate the reader's awareness of such a conflict, the narrator often uses language that has Christian connotations when relating his thoughts and when giving descriptions of the environment, characters and events that take place.  While these things allude to divine and moral law, the story itself revolves around crime and criminals, thereby bringing issues of human law into focus.
	    The climate for this theme is established from the very beginning of the novel.  Pip's act of Christian charity towards the convict can also be considered a serious crime.  The story opens in a churchyard  where the grave, symbolic of eternal judgement can be contrasted with the nearby gallows, symbolizing human punishment.  Set on the eve in which we commemorate the birth of Christianity, an institution based on charity and love, Pip feels guilty for bringing food to a starving fellow human.  Pip must steal food from his own family to help Magwitch, thereby transforming mercy and compassion  into crimes.  As Pip is running home, he looks back at the convict and sees him limping towards the gallows "...as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back up again" (27).  This imagery conveys a complicated perception of guilt as something conscious of its own moral accountability, frightening and self-destructive. When Magwitch is caught, he gives a false confession to stealing the food fro
m the Gargery's to protect Pip.  Joe replies that he wouldn't want him to starve and that he was welcome to it.  Pip highlights the conflict between divine and human law by comparing the Hulk that his convict is returned to as "a wicked Noah's ark" (56).  Thus in these first few chapters, the ideals of justice, mercy, law, and punishment are intermingled and confused.
	    This confusion is furthered by Mrs. Joe, who actually transforms charity into punishment.  Her beatings, bullying and lectures of how she brought Pip up "by hand" at great personal sacrifice are a constant reminder to Pip of his fault for ever being born.  The narrator recounts his sisters response to Mrs. Hubble's observation that young Pip has been a "world of trouble" and we see that Pip is made to feel guilty even for things completely beyond his control as a young and innocent child:
	"Trouble?" echoed my sister; "trouble?"  And then entered on a fearful catalogue of all the illnesses I had been guilty of, and all the acts of sleeplessness I had committed, and all the high place I had tumbled from, and all the low places I had tumbled into, and all the injuries I had done myself, and all the times she had wished me in my grave, and I had contumaciously refused to go there. (45)
Pip becomes familiar with guilt and injustice at a very young age, and these issues become central to his motivations throughout his life as a young man.  Ironically it is Orlick, the most contemptible character in the novel who is Mrs. Joe's unwitting agent of justice.  Orlick, who embodies selfishness and violence, is never brought to justice for his murderous behavior.
	     Magwitch is another example of a failed justice system. Superficially, he appears to personify evil and moral corruption.  Pip finds him horrifying upon their first encounter and equally revolting when he returns to London as Provis.  Despite all this, we learn that he is a loving, generous, sympathetic man who risks his life to see Pip and spends his fortune to repay Pip for an act of kindness.  While he is a criminal, and deserving of punishment from the law, he is simultaneously deserving of mercy and forgiveness from God.  Compeyson, is treated much more favorably by the law than Magwitch: "And when the verdict come, warn't it Compeyson as was recommended to mercy on account of good character and bad company, and giving up all the information he could agen me, and warn't it me as got never a word but Guilty?" (324).  Compeyson exhibits no redeeming qualities at all, but it is Magwitch who gets the tougher sentence.  Though Magwitch's fate seems inconsistent with his kind and unselfish behavior, it is
 in perfect alignment with the theme under consideration.   The interplay between divine and human justice is again alluded to at the convict's final court appearance when he says to the Judge "My Lord, I have received my sentence of Death from the Almighty, but I bow to yours" (272).   
	    One can draw from the narrator's own self-revelations as well.  In preparation for his first visit to Satis House, Pip recalls how he "...was put into clean linen of the stiffestcharacter, like a young penitent into sackcloth, and was trussed up in my tightest and fearfullest suit [and] delivered to Mr. Pumblechook, who formally received me as if he were the Sheriff " (67).  Just two paragraphs later, Pip observes the many little drawers of Mr. Pumblechook's seed shop.  As he peeks into the drawers and sees the seeds tied up in brown paper packets he wonders "...whether the flower-seeds and bulbs ever wanted of a fine day to break out of those jails, and bloom" (67).  Given that "pip" is also the word for a small seed, one cannot help but draw a parallel here.  When he returns from the Satis House, he tells outrageous lies about his experience there, and admits this to Joe later.  In one short episode, Pip has described himself as a penitent, a prisoner, and a confessed wrongdoer. 
	    The conflict between Pip's own instincts regarding morality and conventional perceptions of justice and punishment is manifested as the guilt he is burdened with throughout his childhood and young adult life.  Pip accumulates these feelings and attempts to suppress them throughout most of the story.  At one point the narrator takes a moment to reflect on his guilty conscience:
	As I had grown accustomed to my expectations, I had insensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself and those around me.  Their influence on my own character, I disguised from my recognition as much as possible, but I knew very well that it was not all good.  I lived in a state of chronic uneasiness respecting my behaviour to Joe.  My conscience was not by any means comfortable about Biddy. (256)
He goes into great debt in his attempts to distract himself from this guilt, and drags his dear friend Herbert along with him (which he also expresses guilt about).  His vain attempt to make reparations with his conscience by sending  "a penitential codfish and a barrel of oysters 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Gods Law vs Human Law in Great Expectations.TXT
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     In his book Great Expectations, the problematic nature of moral judgement and justice that stems from a conflict between God's law and human law is one of several topical themes that Charles Dickens addresses.  This paradox regularly surfaces in his treatment of plot and setting, and is more subtlety illustrated in his use of character.  To facilitate the reader's awareness of such a conflict, the narrator often uses language that has Christian connotations when relating his thoughts and when giving descriptions of the environment, characters and events that take place.  While these things allude to divine and moral law, the story itself revolves around crime and criminals, thereby bringing issues of human law into focus.
	    The climate for this theme is established from the very beginning of the novel.  Pip's act of Christian charity towards the convict can also be considered a serious crime.  The story opens in a churchyard  where the grave, symbolic of eternal judgement can be contrasted with the nearby gallows, symbolizing human punishment.  Set on the eve in which we commemorate the birth of Christianity, an institution based on charity and love, Pip feels guilty for bringing food to a starving fellow human.  Pip must steal food from his own family to help Magwitch, thereby transforming mercy and compassion  into crimes.  As Pip is running home, he looks back at the convict and sees him limping towards the gallows "...as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back up again" (27).  This imagery conveys a complicated perception of guilt as something conscious of its own moral accountability, frightening and self-destructive. When Magwitch is caught, he gives a false confession to stealing the food fro
m the Gargery's to protect Pip.  Joe replies that he wouldn't want him to starve and that he was welcome to it.  Pip highlights the conflict between divine and human law by comparing the Hulk that his convict is returned to as "a wicked Noah's ark" (56).  Thus in these first few chapters, the ideals of justice, mercy, law, and punishment are intermingled and confused.
	    This confusion is furthered by Mrs. Joe, who actually transforms charity into punishment.  Her beatings, bullying and lectures of how she brought Pip up "by hand" at great personal sacrifice are a constant reminder to Pip of his fault for ever being born.  The narrator recounts his sisters response to Mrs. Hubble's observation that young Pip has been a "world of trouble" and we see that Pip is made to feel guilty even for things completely beyond his control as a young and innocent child:
	"Trouble?" echoed my sister; "trouble?"  And then entered on a fearful catalogue of all the illnesses I had been guilty of, and all the acts of sleeplessness I had committed, and all the high place I had tumbled from, and all the low places I had tumbled into, and all the injuries I had done myself, and all the times she had wished me in my grave, and I had contumaciously refused to go there. (45)
Pip becomes familiar with guilt and injustice at a very young age, and these issues become central to his motivations throughout his life as a young man.  Ironically it is Orlick, the most contemptible character in the novel who is Mrs. Joe's unwitting agent of justice.  Orlick, who embodies selfishness and violence, is never brought to justice for his murderous behavior.
	     Magwitch is another example of a failed justice system. Superficially, he appears to personify evil and moral corruption.  Pip finds him horrifying upon their first encounter and equally revolting when he returns to London as Provis.  Despite all this, we learn that he is a loving, generous, sympathetic man who risks his life to see Pip and spends his fortune to repay Pip for an act of kindness.  While he is a criminal, and deserving of punishment from the law, he is simultaneously deserving of mercy and forgiveness from God.  Compeyson, is treated much more favorably by the law than Magwitch: "And when the verdict come, warn't it Compeyson as was recommended to mercy on account of good character and bad company, and giving up all the information he could agen me, and warn't it me as got never a word but Guilty?" (324).  Compeyson exhibits no redeeming qualities at all, but it is Magwitch who gets the tougher sentence.  Though Magwitch's fate seems inconsistent with his kind and unselfish behavior, it is
 in perfect alignment with the theme under consideration.   The interplay between divine and human justice is again alluded to at the convict's final court appearance when he says to the Judge "My Lord, I have received my sentence of Death from the Almighty, but I bow to yours" (272).   
	    One can draw from the narrator's own self-revelations as well.  In preparation for his first visit to Satis House, Pip recalls how he "...was put into clean linen of the stiffestcharacter, like a young penitent into sackcloth, and was trussed up in my tightest and fearfullest suit [and] delivered to Mr. Pumblechook, who formally received me as if he were the Sheriff " (67).  Just two paragraphs later, Pip observes the many little drawers of Mr. Pumblechook's seed shop.  As he peeks into the drawers and sees the seeds tied up in brown paper packets he wonders "...whether the flower-seeds and bulbs ever wanted of a fine day to break out of those jails, and bloom" (67).  Given that "pip" is also the word for a small seed, one cannot help but draw a parallel here.  When he returns from the Satis House, he tells outrageous lies about his experience there, and admits this to Joe later.  In one short episode, Pip has described himself as a penitent, a prisoner, and a confessed wrongdoer. 
	    The conflict between Pip's own instincts regarding morality and conventional perceptions of justice and punishment is manifested as the guilt he is burdened with throughout his childhood and young adult life.  Pip accumulates these feelings and attempts to suppress them throughout most of the story.  At one point the narrator takes a moment to reflect on his guilty conscience:
	As I had grown accustomed to my expectations, I had insensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself and those around me.  Their influence on my own character, I disguised from my recognition as much as possible, but I knew very well that it was not all good.  I lived in a state of chronic uneasiness respecting my behaviour to Joe.  My conscience was not by any means comfortable about Biddy. (256)
He goes into great debt in his attempts to distract himself from this guilt, and drags his dear friend Herbert along with him (which he also expresses guilt about).  His vain attempt to make reparations with his conscience by sending  "a penitential codfish and a barrel of oysters 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Grapes of Wrath Dustbowl Disaster.TXT
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In the 1930s, drought and horrific dust storms turned the once-fertile agricultural lands of mid-America into virtual dust bowls and wastelands. Thousands of destitute farmers packed their families and belongings into and onto their cars and left their homes in search of agricultural work in central California. Their plight and the politics of that day are told in the novel "The Grapes of Wrath." Published in 1939 by California writer John Steinbeck, the book won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize. In his book, Steinbeck champions the downtrodden migrants, as he follows the Joad family from Oklahoma to California. Tom Joad, eldest son, is the book's protagonist and his efforts to save his family are the core of the book's story. As Steinbeck writes in his book, "The moving, questing people were migrants now. Those families which had lived on a little piece of land, who had lived and died on forty acres, had now the whole West to rove in. And they scampered about, looking for work; and the highways were streams of people, and the ditch banks were lines of people." Often known as "Okies," a derogatory term, Dust Bowl immigrants like the fictional Joads did not get a warm welcome from California's farmers and politicians. The newcomers were herded into slum-like migrant camps, given low wages for back-breaking work, and treated like criminals. Much of this was an effort by local farmers to take advantage of a cheap labor pool and to prevent labor organizing that would raise wages. Much of it was the result of fear on the part of Californians who were faced with a huge influx of ragged families. Whatever the cause, the result wasn't pretty. It shaped the development of the Midwest, which lost thousands of people and farms, and of California, which had to develop a new social order to handle the transplants. The problems faced by those from Oklahoma are not unlike those faced today by migrant workers from Mexico.
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Grapes of Wrath Explain how the behavior of the Joads shows Steinbeck's view of the responsibility of the individual to society as a whole. Chapter 14 made an interesting point. At one point in the chapter it was stated that a farmer lost his farm. As this man's family picks up their belongings and heads west they meet up with another family dealing with a similar situation. Now these two families share a common bond. A brotherhood is forming. This is the catalyst. No longer is it one farmer saying he lost his land but two farmers united saying they lost their land. Much the same transformation happens to the Joad family - especially to the characters of Ma, Young Tom, and Rose of Sharon. At the onset of the novel we see the Joad family struggling just to keep their immediate family together. They are focused on just themselves. By the end of this wonderful book we see the Joad family branching out in many different ways to embrace all of mankind as one big family. Ma Joad's main concern at the beginning of the story is her family. She wants to keep the unit together and works diligently to achieve this goal. However, one by one, family members leave the group for various reasons leading to the slow but sure disintegration of the Joad clan. The first to go is Noah; then Grandpa and Grandma die;Connie walks off and leaves Rose of Sharon; Young Tom leaves because he has gotten into trouble again; and Al becomes engaged and decides to go with his fiancee's family. Ma deals with each loss as best she can. As the story progresses, we find Ma Joad becoming more and more concerned with people outside the family unit. She feels the need to share whatever meager food and belongings her family has with other families enduring hardships. She saw the needs of her own family at the beginning of the story and by the end of the novel, she sees the needs of her fellow man. Young Tom appears to be self-centered when he if first introduced. He has just left prison after serving four years for murder. Tom want to enjoy life to the fullest and to be with his family. He is very disturbed to find the family home deserted and almost destroyed. He by this time has reacquainted himself with Jim Casey, an ex-preacher. The more Tom listens to Jim and his views on life, the soul of man, and the fellowship of mankind, the less he focuses on himself and his needs. He then begins to focus on the plight and abuse of the homeless farmers. He starts to realize that in order for the migrant workers to survive and succeed they must unite. He knows that if they band together as one, they can demand that their God-given rights under the constitution be honored. They can begin to gain respect from their fellow man. After Jim is killed, Tom takes up the cause of "his" people. He plans to work with them. Just as Jim taught him, Tom realizes that man is no good alone and that every man's soul is just a piece of a bigger one. Rose of Sharon is totally focused on herself from the beginning. She is pregnant for the first time and in love with her husband so her little world is complete. She constantly bemoans the fact that she needs nutritious food so her baby will be healthy. She is always concerned that what she does or what others do to her will hurt her baby in some way. She is so wrapped up in herself and the baby she is carrying that she does not realize that her family is falling apart. She whines and moans her way through most of the book until her baby is born dead. The death of her child seems to transform her. At the very end of the novel she breast feeds a dying man. To me this is symbolic of drinking from the milk of human kindness. She gives of herself to save another human being. She too is learning about the fellowship of man. In conclusion, as the Joad family seemingly disintegrates, they actually merge in to a larger, more universal family - the family of man.
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Great Expectations
Great Expectations, authored by Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, is considered one of  his finest works of literature.  It was indicative of Dickens's strong feelings for injustices and poor conditions committed on women and children of that time.  Through the main character, Pip, Dickens's demonstrated the compassion he felt for children.  Most readers, like myself, are able to associate Pip's experiences with their own.  Pip endeavored upon many things that I can see myself doing.  
From the beginning of the novel Pip had felt an impending feeling of guilt.  It is a common theme in Great Expectations and is one that I have felt numerous times before.  In one instance, my  friends and I were at a party  playing with a water balloon launcher shooting balloons down the street.  My  neighbors had just put in a new set of porch windows that were quite expensive.  With a slight aiming misalignment we broke a window and had to confess to my neighbor and give her our apologies. Pip, however, had the guilt weighed on his conscience forever-he did not have the courage to tell Mrs. Joe that he had taken a pork pie that was for Christmas dinner.  Mrs. Joe only made it harder for Pip when she asked, "And were the deuce ha' you been?" (page 20).  Pip had to make a moral judgment about whether or not to tell the truth about what he did and is challenged with many more of these decisions throughout the book.
Pip was later introduced to Estella, Ms. Havisham's adopted daughter, whom was taught to pursue retribution on all of the male population for her "mother".  Pip became easily infatuated with Estella's good looks, money, and attitude.  Estella considered Pip to be common and pointed out the ways when she said, "He calls the knaves, jacks, this boy!  And what coarse hands he has!  And what thick boots!" (page 55).  Pip once again has the feeling of guilt, this time for just being a common laborer and the humility of his background.  I have felt intimidated just as Pip was.  It is extremely uncomfortable to be around someone who arrogantly shows that they are of a "higher class" than you.  In my own experience some adults speak condescendingly to teenagers and it causes me to feel like less of a person just like Pip did.
Pip has also felt extreme amounts of stress throughout the novel.  Everyone is always encouraging  him to satisfy his "great expectations".  I have been pressured in a comparable way in early schooling when I was accepted to the D.E.E.P. program in 4th grade.  I was asked to change schools and friends to be in a more advanced class-there was a lot of pressure on me to succeed in that class.  Pip and I both managed to make it through, but, it wasn't easy.
I have felt sometimes that I was better than another person and have "made fun" of them.  Pip has not really made fun of anyone but he has discarded the people that care about him most; Joe and Biddy.  He left them for money and success and did not even glance back to look at them.  I have realized that I would not want that happen to me so now I treat people with the same respect that I did before no matter if I get better or not.  Pip, in later chapters, understood this when Magwitch revealed that he was his benefactor.  Pip immediately  was embarrassed and ashamed that he had left Joe and Biddy for a defiled convict that he stole from them for. 
Pip's life and my life show  much  resemblance while yet they are so contrasted. If I would have gotten the Great Expectations and was in Pip's shoes Joe and Biddy would have came along with me.  I respect things that are given to  me more than Pip did.  Dickens's expresses his sorrow he feels for children like Pip but then has Pip turn around and be ungrateful for his great expectations.  Mr. Jaggers tells us about them when he says, "Now, I return to this young fellow.  And the communication I have got to make is that he has great expectations." (page 129). Pip just did not realize what he was getting into when he found out about his great expectations.
 

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Great Expectations
Great Expectations, authored by Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, is considered one of  his finest works of literature.  It was indicative of Dickens's strong feelings for injustices and poor conditions committed on women and children of that time.  Through the main character, Pip, Dickens's demonstrated the compassion he felt for children.  Most readers, like myself, are able to associate Pip's experiences with their own.  Pip endeavored upon many things that I can see myself doing.  
From the beginning of the novel Pip had felt an impending feeling of guilt.  It is a common theme in Great Expectations and is one that I have felt numerous times before.  In one instance, my  friends and I were at a party  playing with a water balloon launcher shooting balloons down the street.  My  neighbors had just put in a new set of porch windows that were quite expensive.  With a slight aiming misalignment we broke a window and had to confess to my neighbor and give her our apologies. Pip, however, had the guilt weighed on his conscience forever-he did not have the courage to tell Mrs. Joe that he had taken a pork pie that was for Christmas dinner.  Mrs. Joe only made it harder for Pip when she asked, "And were the deuce ha' you been?" (page 20).  Pip had to make a moral judgment about whether or not to tell the truth about what he did and is challenged with many more of these decisions throughout the book.
Pip was later introduced to Estella, Ms. Havisham's adopted daughter, whom was taught to pursue retribution on all of the male population for her "mother".  Pip became easily infatuated with Estella's good looks, money, and attitude.  Estella considered Pip to be common and pointed out the ways when she said, "He calls the knaves, jacks, this boy!  And what coarse hands he has!  And what thick boots!" (page 55).  Pip once again has the feeling of guilt, this time for just being a common laborer and the humility of his background.  I have felt intimidated just as Pip was.  It is extremely uncomfortable to be around someone who arrogantly shows that they are of a "higher class" than you.  In my own experience some adults speak condescendingly to teenagers and it causes me to feel like less of a person just like Pip did.
Pip has also felt extreme amounts of stress throughout the novel.  Everyone is always encouraging  him to satisfy his "great expectations".  I have been pressured in a comparable way in early schooling when I was accepted to the D.E.E.P. program in 4th grade.  I was asked to change schools and friends to be in a more advanced class-there was a lot of pressure on me to succeed in that class.  Pip and I both managed to make it through, but, it wasn't easy.
I have felt sometimes that I was better than another person and have "made fun" of them.  Pip has not really made fun of anyone but he has discarded the people that care about him most; Joe and Biddy.  He left them for money and success and did not even glance back to look at them.  I have realized that I would not want that happen to me so now I treat people with the same respect that I did before no matter if I get better or not.  Pip, in later chapters, understood this when Magwitch revealed that he was his benefactor.  Pip immediately  was embarrassed and ashamed that he had left Joe and Biddy for a defiled convict that he stole from them for. 
Pip's life and my life show  much  resemblance while yet they are so contrasted. If I would have gotten the Great Expectations and was in Pip's shoes Joe and Biddy would have came along with me.  I respect things that are given to  me more than Pip did.  Dickens's expresses his sorrow he feels for children like Pip but then has Pip turn around and be ungrateful for his great expectations.  Mr. Jaggers tells us about them when he says, "Now, I return to this young fellow.  And the communication I have got to make is that he has great expectations." (page 129). Pip just did not realize what he was getting into when he found out about his great expectations.
 
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	Charles Dickens¹s Great expectations is a story about a boy, Philip Pirrip, who comes to a point in his life where his life changes drastically from the way it was when he was growing up.  Whenever this change occurs, he does his best not to let people know about his past life where he was just a ³common² boy.  Throughout the novel, Dickens points out how people sometimes lead two lives that they want to keep separate.
	The change in Pip¹s life is characterized in several ways.  First of all, there is a physical change, when he moves to London.  That just accentuates the difference between the two ³lives.²  Before, he lived in a small town that was near some marshes, both of which reflect the ³common² side of his life.  London is seen by Pip as a great and wonderful city which symbolizes his expectations of what is to come in his future.  Another change in his life is that he is treated better by others.  Mr. Trabb, the tailor, takes exception to Pip after he hears that he has come into a fortune.  He measures Pip very quickly, and gets angry at his son for not showing the same respect of Pip¹s wealth.  Then, when he next sees Pumblechook, he repeatedly asks Pip if he may shake his hand, as if it is some great honor.  Before the news, he hardly treated Pip any differently than any other common boy.  Pip also looks to the way his new acquaintances are treated, most notably Mr. Jaggers.  He is treated with a great deal of resp
ect by everyone, and even invokes fear in some.  Pip had never seen this level of respect for someone that was his direct acquaintance before, except for Miss Havisham, who he knew had great wealth.
	This dual lifestyle is paralleled in Mr. Wemmick, the clerk for Mr. Jaggers.  Mr. Wemmick, when at work, only thinks about his work, and doesn¹t let his personal life affect how he goes about his business.  The flip side of the coin is also true, as when he goes home, he forgets about anything that happened at work, and concentrates on making his deaf father happy.  The scene when he takes Pip to work shows the change that he goes through on his way to work:  ³By degrees, Wemmick got dryer and harder as we went along, and his mouth tightened into a post-office again.²  Just like Pip, he changes how he acts according to which role he is playing.
	Whenever the two lives come together, it is hard for Pip to determine what to do about it.  He seems not to want his two lives to mix, but is helpless to prevent it.  Whenever Joe says he is coming to London, Pip doesn¹t like he idea, but he ends up coming anyway.  Also, when he finds that Orlick is working for Miss Havisham, he is apparently shocked.  He remembers him working for Joe, and doesn¹t think it¹s right that he¹s now working as Miss Havisham¹s watchman.
	In society today, people often lead these dual lives.  I have known many people who, when at school, take it very seriously and work hard at it, but when the weekend comes, they take their partying just as seriously.  Another way that people lead separate lives is when they hide who they really are and pretend they are someone else.  Mostly this happens because that person is afraid that they will not ³fit in² with the rest of the crowd.  Ok, I'll come clean.  At one time I was one of these people that tried to fit in.  I later realized that I was just denying who I really am.  I have a feeling that, by the end of the novel, Pip will have a better standing of who he really is. 

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	Charles Dickens¹s Great expectations is a story about a boy, Philip Pirrip, who comes to a point in his life where his life changes drastically from the way it was when he was growing up.  Whenever this change occurs, he does his best not to let people know about his past life where he was just a ³common² boy.  Throughout the novel, Dickens points out how people sometimes lead two lives that they want to keep separate.
	The change in Pip¹s life is characterized in several ways.  First of all, there is a physical change, when he moves to London.  That just accentuates the difference between the two ³lives.²  Before, he lived in a small town that was near some marshes, both of which reflect the ³common² side of his life.  London is seen by Pip as a great and wonderful city which symbolizes his expectations of what is to come in his future.  Another change in his life is that he is treated better by others.  Mr. Trabb, the tailor, takes exception to Pip after he hears that he has come into a fortune.  He measures Pip very quickly, and gets angry at his son for not showing the same respect of Pip¹s wealth.  Then, when he next sees Pumblechook, he repeatedly asks Pip if he may shake his hand, as if it is some great honor.  Before the news, he hardly treated Pip any differently than any other common boy.  Pip also looks to the way his new acquaintances are treated, most notably Mr. Jaggers.  He is treated with a great deal of resp
ect by everyone, and even invokes fear in some.  Pip had never seen this level of respect for someone that was his direct acquaintance before, except for Miss Havisham, who he knew had great wealth.
	This dual lifestyle is paralleled in Mr. Wemmick, the clerk for Mr. Jaggers.  Mr. Wemmick, when at work, only thinks about his work, and doesn¹t let his personal life affect how he goes about his business.  The flip side of the coin is also true, as when he goes home, he forgets about anything that happened at work, and concentrates on making his deaf father happy.  The scene when he takes Pip to work shows the change that he goes through on his way to work:  ³By degrees, Wemmick got dryer and harder as we went along, and his mouth tightened into a post-office again.²  Just like Pip, he changes how he acts according to which role he is playing.
	Whenever the two lives come together, it is hard for Pip to determine what to do about it.  He seems not to want his two lives to mix, but is helpless to prevent it.  Whenever Joe says he is coming to London, Pip doesn¹t like he idea, but he ends up coming anyway.  Also, when he finds that Orlick is working for Miss Havisham, he is apparently shocked.  He remembers him working for Joe, and doesn¹t think it¹s right that he¹s now working as Miss Havisham¹s watchman.
	In society today, people often lead these dual lives.  I have known many people who, when at school, take it very seriously and work hard at it, but when the weekend comes, they take their partying just as seriously.  Another way that people lead separate lives is when they hide who they really are and pretend they are someone else.  Mostly this happens because that person is afraid that they will not ³fit in² with the rest of the crowd.  Ok, I'll come clean.  At one time I was one of these people that tried to fit in.  I later realized that I was just denying who I really am.  I have a feeling that, by the end of the novel, Pip will have a better standing of who he really is. 
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Great Expectations
In life, symbolism is present all around us. Whether it is in the clothes we wear, the things we do, or what we buy, everything has a meaning. Symbolism is also present in literature and it is shown in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. The symbols of isolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, and wanting to be someone else are seen throughout the book through the characters of Estella, Magwitch, Miss Havisham, and Pip. 
The character of Estella represents the symbols of isolation and manipulation. By acting as an adult when she was still young, she separated herself from Pip and others. This was due in large part to the way Miss Havisham, her stepmother, raised her. She had no emotion, as Miss Havisham used her for revenge on men. On his first visit to the Satis House, Pip overheard Miss Havisham tell Estella "Well? You can break his heart." [65]. By doing what Miss Havisham tells her to, she shows she is just as heartless as her stepmother. She also represents manipulation in how she played with Pip's feelings, who has strong feelings for her eventhough he also cannot stand her. She tells Pip "Come here! You may kiss me if you like." [102]. Although the kiss may have meant a lot to Pip, it did not mean anything to Estella as she was just playing with Pip's emotions.
 The character of Magwitch represents the symbols of isolation and the tragic hero. In this case, he was physically isolated from society because he was a convict and was looked upon with disgust. When Magwitch confesses and apologizes to Joe for stealing the food, Joe replies "poor miserable fellow creatur." [43]. Magwitch also illustrates the symbol of the tragic hero. Throughout most of the book, Magwitch is looked down upon by Pip.  Magwitch talks about his gratitude for Pip when he helped him as a convict many years ago. "You acted noble, my boy," said he. [356]. "Noble Pip! And I have never forgot it!" [356]. He shows why he is a hero when he explains to Pip that he was the benefactor and the one responsible for making him a gentleman and helping him achieve his great expectations. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me wot done it!" [359-360]. After his death, however, Pip feels guilt and sadness when he learns what Magwitch spent most of his life trying do. As a result, he shows the
 readers why he was the tragic hero.
 One character who represents the symbols of isolation and manipulation is Miss Havisham. For most of her life, she has refused to let go of her past as she continues to wear her wedding dress and keep her wedding cake. Her decaying dress and cake are symbols of how her life rotted away. It also depicted the state of the Satis House, where she was isolated from the rest of society. The house is used as a metaphor to show how they decayed and crumbled as time passed on. Miss Havisham also illustrates the symbol of manipulation. She had raised Estella as a heartless stepdaughter whose main purpose was to seek revenge on men. This central motivation of revenge resulted from the fact that she was a rejected lover. Her plan is shown when she tells Estella to go play with Pip. "Well? You can break his heart." [65]. As a result, she made Estella into a human monster with no emotion. Near the end, Miss Havisham dies a hopeless neurotic.
The one character who shows the symbol of how people always want to be someone else but than decide they are better off with whom they are is Pip, the story's protagonist. As a boy, Pip wishes to be a gentleman. With unknown help from Magwitch the convict, Pip's dreams come true. After attaining his fortune and his expectations, Pip is miserable. "As I had grown accustomed to my expectations, I had intensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself and those around me." [305]. He noticed the negative effects as he was in debt because of his lavish spending and he also realized how much he neglected Joe and Biddy, his two best friends as a kid. In the end, Pip changes as he becomes a loyal friend to Magwitch in his time of need, tries to repair his relationship with Joe and Biddy, and goes from almost total destruction to moderate business success. He also shows how people gain from giving. The only good fortune from the money he received from his private benefactor, Magwitch, was giving it to Herbert.
As shown from the examples above, symbolism plays an important part in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Many symbols such as isolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, and wanting to be someone else are present throughout the novel and are brought to life by the characters. People in today's society must realize that a lot of what we do symbolizes something about us and helps explain who we are as people.                                                                                                                         
 
 

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637
Great Expectations The novel, Great Expectations, presents the story of a young boy growing up and becoming a gentleman. He must learn to appreciate people for who they are, not shun them for who they aren't. Nicknamed Pip, Philip Pirrip, the main character, goes through many changes in his personality, as he is influenced by various people. Pip experiences tough times as a boy and a young man, but at the end he has become a fine, morale young man. In the beginning, Pip, an orphan, considers himself to be a common laboring boy, but he has a desire to improve his station in life. He is raised by his sister, and her husband, Joe Gargery. Then Pip meets Estella, the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, an old lady who is bitter and eccentric. Estella taunts Pip and is very cruel to him, but he still falls in love with her. Miss Havisham is teaching Estella to hurt men, because she herself was deserted by her fiancé on her wedding day. One day, Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer, reveals to Pip, that there are "Great Expectations" for Pip. He is given the money to become a gentleman and receive a good education; he assumes that his benefactor is Miss Havisham. In London, Pip makes many new, high-society friends. When Joe Gargery comes to visit Pip in his new way of life, Pip is ashamed of Joe, because he is a commoner. At this time, Pip is around twenty years old. Estella is still the center of his attractions. When she comes! to London, he meets her, but she tries to warn Pip to stay away from her because she might hurt his feelings. She is being kind to him in the only way that she knows how. Around the same time, Pip receives a letter telling him that Mrs. Joe Gargery had died. A man from Pip's past steps out, an ex-convict, named Magwitch, who he had fed many years ago; this man is his true benefactor. Pip finally knows the truth about this man. Magwitch is Estella's father, and Mr. Jagger's housekeeper is Estella's mother. A short time later, Estella is wed to Bentley Drummle, but she is very unhappy. Pip falls ill, and Joe comes to take care of him. While he is being nursed back to health, Pip starts to appreciate Joe and begins to look past the fact that he is "common." He receives the news that Miss Havisham is dead. Pip visits Joe's home and is told that Joe and Biddy, Pip's friend, are married. Pip then returns to London and continues his life for eleven more years. Pip finally goes back to Joe's house, to find that Joe and Biddy have a son, and they have named him Pip. During that last visit, he returns to Miss Havisham's old run-down home. There he meets Estella, grown into a woman, her husband dead. There, Estella asks Pip to for! give her, he does, and all is well. So the story ends, with grown Pip and a changed Estella both at peace with each other. In conclusion, I thought that this was a very well written book. It took me a while to get into it and understand the plot, but now I see that Dickens wrote Great Expectations with a very complex plot and well described characters. From Joe Gargery to Miss Havisham, I really got to know the characters as if they were people. I would describe this book as a delightful story with a sprinkle of mystery and a handful of romance, with a pinch of fun all mixed in.
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Great Expectations
In life, symbolism is present all around us. Whether it is in the clothes we wear, the things we do, or what we buy, everything has a meaning. Symbolism is also present in literature and it is shown in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. The symbols of isolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, and wanting to be someone else are seen throughout the book through the characters of Estella, Magwitch, Miss Havisham, and Pip. 
The character of Estella represents the symbols of isolation and manipulation. By acting as an adult when she was still young, she separated herself from Pip and others. This was due in large part to the way Miss Havisham, her stepmother, raised her. She had no emotion, as Miss Havisham used her for revenge on men. On his first visit to the Satis House, Pip overheard Miss Havisham tell Estella "Well? You can break his heart." [65]. By doing what Miss Havisham tells her to, she shows she is just as heartless as her stepmother. She also represents manipulation in how she played with Pip's feelings, who has strong feelings for her eventhough he also cannot stand her. She tells Pip "Come here! You may kiss me if you like." [102]. Although the kiss may have meant a lot to Pip, it did not mean anything to Estella as she was just playing with Pip's emotions.
 The character of Magwitch represents the symbols of isolation and the tragic hero. In this case, he was physically isolated from society because he was a convict and was looked upon with disgust. When Magwitch confesses and apologizes to Joe for stealing the food, Joe replies "poor miserable fellow creatur." [43]. Magwitch also illustrates the symbol of the tragic hero. Throughout most of the book, Magwitch is looked down upon by Pip.  Magwitch talks about his gratitude for Pip when he helped him as a convict many years ago. "You acted noble, my boy," said he. [356]. "Noble Pip! And I have never forgot it!" [356]. He shows why he is a hero when he explains to Pip that he was the benefactor and the one responsible for making him a gentleman and helping him achieve his great expectations. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me wot done it!" [359-360]. After his death, however, Pip feels guilt and sadness when he learns what Magwitch spent most of his life trying do. As a result, he shows the
 readers why he was the tragic hero.
 One character who represents the symbols of isolation and manipulation is Miss Havisham. For most of her life, she has refused to let go of her past as she continues to wear her wedding dress and keep her wedding cake. Her decaying dress and cake are symbols of how her life rotted away. It also depicted the state of the Satis House, where she was isolated from the rest of society. The house is used as a metaphor to show how they decayed and crumbled as time passed on. Miss Havisham also illustrates the symbol of manipulation. She had raised Estella as a heartless stepdaughter whose main purpose was to seek revenge on men. This central motivation of revenge resulted from the fact that she was a rejected lover. Her plan is shown when she tells Estella to go play with Pip. "Well? You can break his heart." [65]. As a result, she made Estella into a human monster with no emotion. Near the end, Miss Havisham dies a hopeless neurotic.
The one character who shows the symbol of how people always want to be someone else but than decide they are better off with whom they are is Pip, the story's protagonist. As a boy, Pip wishes to be a gentleman. With unknown help from Magwitch the convict, Pip's dreams come true. After attaining his fortune and his expectations, Pip is miserable. "As I had grown accustomed to my expectations, I had intensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself and those around me." [305]. He noticed the negative effects as he was in debt because of his lavish spending and he also realized how much he neglected Joe and Biddy, his two best friends as a kid. In the end, Pip changes as he becomes a loyal friend to Magwitch in his time of need, tries to repair his relationship with Joe and Biddy, and goes from almost total destruction to moderate business success. He also shows how people gain from giving. The only good fortune from the money he received from his private benefactor, Magwitch, was giving it to Herbert.
As shown from the examples above, symbolism plays an important part in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Many symbols such as isolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, and wanting to be someone else are present throughout the novel and are brought to life by the characters. People in today's society must realize that a lot of what we do symbolizes something about us and helps explain who we are as people.                                                                                                                         
 
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Grendel.TXT
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546
Authors often have to choose between concentrating on either plot or social commentary when writing their novels; in John Gardener's Grendel, any notion of a plot is forgone in order for him to share his thoughts about late sixties-early seventies America and the world's institutions as a whole. While Grendel's exploits are nearly indecipherable and yawn inducing, they do provide the reader with the strong opinions the author carries. This existentialistic novel can be seen clearly as a narrative supporting nihilism in its many forms. Most easily, the reader will be able to see the blatant religious subtext in the guise of corrupt priests and the foolish faithful. There is also some negativity placed on the notion of the old being the wise. Gardener deems hero idolization unacceptable as well; knowledge that the Vietnam War was prevalent at the time gives additional insight into his complaints. Religion plays a large role in Grendel. Priests do not want to perform their services without the proper payment which, in turn, causes the rich to be able to become the most 'religious.' The citizens of the village are also confusingly poly- and monotheistic. When praying to their king god does not decrease the frequency of Grendel's visits, they retreat to begging any god of which they have known for help. This reveals their faith to be not faith at all but rather faith that will remain faith as long as it can be proven. A proven religious faith is contradictory term, for it can only be placed in a religion that cannot be proven lest it is true faith no longer. Grendel's interludes with the dragon portray, at their onsets, the dragon as a worldly, wise creature with much to share. The dragon haughtily informs Grendel about his vast store of knowledge as he teases him with how much he knows. As Grendel's interests are piqued, the dragon expends the cumulative result of his travails: "Know how much you've got, and beware of strangers...My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it." Although the dragon serves as a vessel to point out the necessity of Grendel and makes some pointed observations about mankind, all his respectability is lost with those two short sentences. The author is making an observation about materialism and the falsehood of wisdom always accompanying age. After all his years of intense scrutiny, the dragon can only grasp from human- and animalkind alike that possessions are the key to life's existence. Nature against society is also discussed in Grendel. The fact that citizens surrounded with religion and social status could be so easily overtaken by nature (Grendel) gives a sense of irony to the reader. Nature is the only virtuous and pure institution left available to the world and yet capable of such cold-blooded viciousness (again, Grendel). People can build up whatever walls they may to block the righteousness that is nature but will always be unsuccessful. Nature has no religion, no political power struggles, and no inherent corruption and will always be superior to man in all respects. The author is successful at dissembling the institutions that have been repeatedly dissembled for centuries: society and religion. The corrupt natures of religion and power have been the theses for countless books before and will remain for countless books after. While he doesn't add much to the literary forum with these ideas, he expresses them in a creative way, through the eyes of one 'innocent' to human wiles. His thoughts are neither original nor innovative, but his success in including them all in a single story is a formidable achievement
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\GULF WAR.TXT
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GULF WAR
 
       Every one of us has heard of the Gulf War. What is happening in the Arab Gulf. In Iraq particularly, is an international problem, which is not solved till now. Many solutions had been given; however, not any proved to be efficient. The first step in the Gulf War is the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, and this lead to the big. Gulf Ware we are going to talk about.
     The Iraqi attack against Kuwait started a minutes after midnight on August 2,1990. About 150,000 Iraq men entered the Kuwait borders. By dawn Iraq had assumed control of Kuwait City the capital. The United Nations Security Council and the Arab league immediately condemned the Iraqi invasion. Many reasons let Iraq think of invading Kuwait. In 1961 Britain granted Kuwait independence, and Iraq revived an old claim that Kuwait had been governed as part of an Ottoman province in southern Iraq and was therefore rightfully Iraq's.
      Since 1963, there were occasional classless along the Iraqi-Kuwait border, and relations between the 2 countries were sometimes tense       Nevertheless, the relations between the 2 countries improved during the Iraqi-Iran war. By 1990 Iraq had fallen $ 80 billion in debt and demanded that Kuwait forgive its share of the debt and help with other payments. Meanwhile, Iraq also claimed that Kuwait was pumping oil from a field that straddled the Iraqi- Kuwait border and was not sharing the revenue. Iraq also accused Kuwait of producing more oil than allowed under quotas set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, there up depressing the price of oil Iraq's main export      Iraq's complaints against Kuwait grew increasingly harsh, but they were mostly about money and did not suggest that Iraq was about to revive its land claim to Kuwait.
      As a result of the Iraqi invasion, and after many negotiations in which Iraq disapproved to with draw from Kuwait, a large international force gathered in Saudi Arabia. The United States sent more than 400,000 troops, and more from Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, France, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, and other countries sent ships, air forces, and medical units. Including the Netherlands, Italy... Iraq tried in many ways to threaten the attacking forces. They lunited that they would use chemical weapons and missile attacks on cities. In a step to weaken Arab support within the coalition, Iraq tried to hide its occupation of Kuwait to the larger Arab-Israeli conflict in the region. On January 12, 1991, the US congress narrowly passed a resolution authorizing the president to use force, nullifying the domestic debate.
       On April 2,1991, the security council laid out strict demands for ending the sanctions: Iraq would have to accept liability for damages, destroy its chemical and biological weapons, and accept international inspection to ensure these condition were met. In Kuwait the prewar regime was restored Palestinians in Kuwait forced poorly after the war, for Yasir Arafat of the Palestine Liberation organization had endorsed Hussein and his anti-Israeli rhetoric. Blamed for collaborating with the Iraqis, most of Palestinian population was expelled from Kuwait or forbidden to return.
      Thousands of American soldiers faced many health problems such as diarrhea, insomnia, abdominal pair... these symptoms were called Gulf war syndrome. And they were suggested to be due to a toxic nerve gas, sarin, the soldiers were exposed to.  The UN continued to maintain most of the economic embargo on Iraq after the war. The sanctions allowed Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil or food and medicines. However, the war didn't end and neither side is giving solutions.
       In my opinion the strike on Iraq is done in order to weaken the Iraqi army and make it less powerful than Israel. The U.S and Britain found a way to kill the Iraq powers. When Iraq with drew from Iraq everything should have ended, but the U.S don't want so. They want to feel relieved that Iraq could no more threaten Israel. Now, the Iraqi children and women are suffering to death from lack of nourishing and medical treatments.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Gullivers Travels.TXT
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1361
Many authors write books about events, their lives and their environment, and their corrupt government. One satirical author who wrote a novel about living in a corrupt society is Jonathan Swift who wrote Gulliver's Travels. The places the protagonist had visited reflected on the author's English government. The life of the author will be shown similar to this book because of the way he lived. Jonathan Swift was well educated and graduated from Trinity College in Dublin in English literature. He not only had a life in literature but also had a life in politics. This experience helped him write many satirical essays and novels against England and Ireland. His first political job was to work for the remarkable statesman, Sir William Temple from 1689 to 1699. During that time, he also became a minister for the church of England in 1694. After Sir William Temple died in 1669, Swift became a pastor of a small Protestant parish in Laracor, Ireland. He was ordained in 1694. His skill as a writer was greatly appreciated within the church and was well known in Dublin. If one were to divide Swift's career into "periods," the years 1710-14 would naturally fall into the "Middle Period."(Cook, V) In 1710, he became a powerful supporter of the Tory government in England. Through many of Swift's articles and pamphlets in defense, he became one of the most effective public relations men any English administration ever had. The Tories saw how good Swift's literature was and hired him as an editor for their journal, The Examiner. His political power ended when a new government came to power. This was the Whig party. The Tory government and the Whig party were against each other and shared different views like the republicans and democrats in the U.S. The last stage of Swift's life shows him transformed from an English into a Irish favorite, and this almost in spite of himself.(Swift, XIV) He was betrayed and exiled to Ireland by his friends. The unbearable lifestyle he endured while living in Ireland forced him to write his brilliant satirical essay, A Modest Proposal. This essay suggested that the people of Ireland should use their children for a cash crop. In the book Gulliver's Travels, the author reflects his life on the main character to Prove a point, mankind are savages. All that was necessary was that he take on a deliberate persona in the form some self-deceived enthusiast. (Cook, pg.92) The protagonist of the story Lemieux Gulliver, went on many voyages and left his wife and child back in England for months at a time. The first voyage he went on in the book was to Lilliput. All of the places he went to were by accident. It was either he was shipwrecked or his boat was taken over by pirates. In Lilliput, he fell asleep ashore and woke up tied down by the barbaric Lilliputians. These natives are only three inches high and look exactly like humans but smaller. Swift satirizes our bestial selves and use them as these Lilllputians. These Lilliputians are pure evil and very corrupt. Their government system is similar to ours. Their leader is an Emperor who has all but some power over their country. He also has advisors who seem to influence the Emperor in all his decisions even if he did not agree. This system is similar to our government and congress having equal power to the president. In order for a person to gain a seat in congress or hold a certain political position in our society, they have to be elected by the people. In Lilliput, the people gain their political power in the strangest and silliest way. The emperor holds a stick out in front of the person and in order for the person to get the highest position possible, they must be able to jump over or crawl under the stick depending how the emperor positions it. The emperor may raise the stick and lower it for whomever he wants. He may pick favorites and make it easier for them to get over the stick. The Lilliputians were in the middle of a civil war with a neighboring island called Blefescu. The war was caused due to a misunderstanding in the past. The Lilliputian and Blefescudian ancestors were eating breakfast and they broke their eggs on different ends. They got into an argument about which end is better to break and split up. The Lilliputians called themselves the Big Enders and the Blefescudians called themselves the Little Enders. Gulliver's stay was short because they did not trust him and was plotting against his life. He then fled to Blefescu, which was an enemy of the Lilliputians. They soon rejected him and he started on his journey home. The second place Gulliver arrives is Brobdingnag. These natives are about ten stories high and looked like humans because of their facial features. The farmer that found Gulliver brought him to the queen. The Brobdingnagian government is similar to the communistic government. In this society, there is no currency because everyone gets the same amount of food and luxuries. The queen explained how her government was based on equality and Gulliver explained on how his government was based on conquering other and in constant war with other countries with simple problems that can be solved with talking it out. The queen heard of his horrid government and was appalled at what he was saying. The Brobdingnagian society is not similar because it is morally advanced, but they have all of our incomplete values. The queen eventually exiles him and he leaves for England. Unfortunately he never makes it to England but gets his ship taken over by pirates. He is given a small boat and is left to die. Some natives of a flying island called Laputa picked up Gulliver. The natives of this island were very peculiar. The elders would stare at the sun and think deep thoughts. They would ask questions like, "How's the sun?". They were usually in so much of deep thought that they would be unconscious. There is a man always following them and tapping them trying to bring them back to reality. Swift is satirizing the scientists with their wild theories and unproven facts. There were many of these people around his time that made many theories that turned out to be false. The last place Gulliver went to was The Land of the Houynhnms. The natives of this island were horses. They ruled the island and all of the other inhabitants on it. The other inhabitants were Yahoos. These yahoos were humans who were uncivilized and were supposed to satirize our bestial sides of us. The Houynhnms had the reasoning and language of our human race. They did not know what love was, so they did not know what was jealousy, rage, anger, insanity, and many other emotions that love may harvest. The Houynhnms and the Yahoos were being satirized because those two species put together were called the Homo sapiens species. Given man's instinctive corrupt nature and the downward drift it fostered, social change of almost any sort was apt to be worse. (Cook,120) Gulliver was accepted in to the Houynhnm society even though he resembled a yahoo. He learned to speak their language and learned their ways. As Gulliver explains to his Houyhnhnm master about England, noble families in England nearly always die out after three generations, "unless the wives take care to provide a healthy father among her neighbors, or domesticks, in order to improve and continue the Breed." (Cook,124) He was eventually ostracized from them because he was a threat to them for being a yahoo. Eventually, Gulliver returned home and shared his stories with every one. They marked him as mad and he lived the rest of is days in an insane asylum. Many authors like Jonathan Swift reflect their lives in their books. This book was a good example in my opinion of an author reflecting his life and his society which may be fair or corrupt. All authors should reflect their lives in their books so that the reader will know more about them.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hamlet 2.TXT
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Hamlet 
n the play, "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, many aspects contribute to the
tale of tragedy, but of these there is one thing that is purely essential to this
famous story : the ghost of King Hamlet. The ghost of King Hamlet is so
important to "Hamlet" on so many levels, accounting for most issues, directly
or indirectly, that are involved in the drama. The intrigue of the pale specter
creates many things such as Hamlet's procrastination, it also projects the
image of Hamlet's madness, and most importantly, it provides the plot of the
story: Hamlet seeking revenge for King Hamlet's murder. The mystery that
was set at the beginning of the play, with the appearance of the king's ghost,
was resolved when his son Hamlet went to the battlements after a quick game
of follow the leader. This is where King Hamlet's visage speaks to Hamlet,
saying not the most famous words of the play, but the words with the most
meaning. At this time King Hamlet tells his son the truth of his death. Here it is
revealed that King Hamlet did not die of a tragic accident, but of a
treacherous betrayal by his own dear brother. With this event revealed the
story is set in motion with Hamlet seeking to avenge his father's untimely
demise and with Hamlet also seeking the death of Claudius. With Hamlet's
new found knowledge about the murderous Claudius, another aspect of
Hamlet is shed light upon. Hamlet's so called "procrastination" is brought forth
with the apparition's information. Because the prince was unknowing of his
father's true identity, whether he was truly his father, King Hamlet, or a
devious imposter sent by the devil himself to make Hamlet commit a deed of
unrepentable evil. To make sure the accusations of the spirit were true,
Hamlet set out on a quest to test the validity of the statements made. So,
through half the play, Hamlet goes forth looking for clues, finding no hard
evidence but plenty of suspicion. It wasn't until the actors came that he
pondered on an idea that would test the truth of the words that were
circulating in his mind. Here Hamlet decided "the play is the thing, to catch the
conscience of the King". That he did, proving that Claudius was indeed
responsible for killing his father, therefore proving the identity of the ghost
being actually his father. In most of Shakespeare's plays, madness plays a
major role and Hamlet is no exception. In Romeo & Juliet mad love played
an important part in the tragedy. In even closer ties, Macbeth's run in with the
ghost of Banquo also proved to be an important additive. The appearance of
Banquo to only the eyes of Macbeth displayed to his guests a visage of
madness. This case is also true in Hamlet, but in a slightly different manner. In
Hamlet, the coming of the apparition did not totally create the image of
Hamlet being mad. To begin with he was not the first and only person to see
this ghost of King Hamlet. Only with the testimony of Horatio, Marcellus, and
Barnardo did Hamlet even know that this apparition existed. The impression
of Hamlet being crazy was not present in his first encounter with the ghost,
but in another. After the first meeting with the specter, Hamlet made his three
accomplices swear not to tell anyone about what they saw. So instead of
sweeping through Denmark that the King was present in a less substantial
manner, no body knew of the ghost's existence. So comes the ghost's second
encounter with Hamlet. This time it occurs in the "closet" of Queen Gertrude
while Hamlet is pleading with his mother to lay off of Claudius because of
Claudius's dark deed. Right before Hamlet was to totally sell his speech to
Gertrude, his ranting got out of hand and his father's form appeared again,
warning Hamlet not to harm his mother for a second time. While Hamlet was
conversing with his father, the Queen stood in dismay not knowing who
Hamlet was talking to because of her lack of ability to see her ex-husband.
This convinced Queen Gertrude that Hamlet was truly mad and she totally
dismissed the ideas that were recently programmed in her mind. With out the
mad appearance of Hamlet and his noted procrastination, "Hamlet" would not
be as popular as it is today. Certainly without its detailed plot the story would
have little meaning and little effect. Therefore, where would the play be
without King Hamlet's insubstantial visit.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hamlet and King Lear.TXT
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473
There are a lot of similarities in two Shakespeare stories HAMLET and KING LEAR. I guess its because of the style in which Shakes peare wrote. William Shakespeare wrote three kinds of stories: comedy, tragedy and history. Both of these books are tragedies and they are very similar tragedies. In both of these stories there is a feud going on within the family. And in both the feud is between the children and their parents or relatives. Hamlet is looking for the revenge on his uncle for killing Hamlets father and hes upset with his mother marrying the murderer. Here Lears evil daughters try to completely destroy their father. Lear calls his daughters and asks them who loves the most. Regan and Goneril lie just to get Lears land and power. Cordelia honestly answers Lear and for that is given away to France, because Lear has gone out of his mind. After Lear gives out almost all his land he realizes his wrongdoing and tries to restore his power. But now its too late, because his daughters already took away all the land. He sees how evil his daughters really are and they dont love him at all, so he curses them. Now Lear appears to be crazy from his actions, but in reality he exactly knows what is going on. Hamlet saw the ghost of his father and it told Hamlet that his uncle killed him to become the king. This shows that the person will even commit murder to get control of the country, just like we see in KING LEAR. After the ghost appeared to Hamlet, he started to act like he was crazy. But just like Lear, in reality he wasnt crazy, he was thinking of how to get back at his uncle. The endings of both stories are very similar. Besides the fact that all the main characters in both stories die, its how they die thats interesting. Because Goneril wants to get Edmund, she poisons her sister Regan. Hamlets uncle wants to poison Hamlet, but by mistake he poisoned his wife, Hamlets mother. Hamlet by mistake kills his uncle servant Polonius. Because of the death of her father Ophelia (Polonius daughter) goes insane and later kills herself. Because Gonerils plan didnt work, she kills herself. At the end there is a duel between Edgar and Edmund, where Edgar kills his bastard brother. At the end of HAMLET there is a duel between Hamlet and Polonius son, where Hamlet wins but in process gets cut by a poisonous sword; He dies. And finally during the duel Hamlet also kills his uncle getting his revenge, but loosing his life. After Polonia is found dead, Lear totally goes insane and thinking that his daughter is still alive he dies. And at the very end Kent says, My master is dead I have no reason to live, and kills himself. Just like at the end of HAMLET, Hamlets servant and friend also says the same and also kills himself. In conclusion: both of these plays are tragedies, a very close connections throughout the play, and a very similar endings.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hamlet.TXT
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574
In the first section of the passage, Hamlet is filled with self-loathing. His feelings of worthlessness are made quite apparent as he questions himself with statements like "What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast no more." This metaphor clearly shows how unworthy Hamlet feels about the fact that he has been lying around doing nothing and his father remains unavenged. His use of unpleasant imagery like "bestial oblivion" and "fust" also contribute to his tone. Hamlet knows he has been thinking too much and acting too little. He questions his own courage when he says that his thoughts are " but one part wisdom and ever three parts coward." Hamlet understands that pondering on an action like he has been doing only leads to excuses to ignore the offense done to him, and it is his fear creating the excuses and leaving his honor soiled. In the second section of the passage Hamlet is still angry at himself, especially when he views himself next to Fortinbras. He juxtaposes his own actions against Fortinbras' in lines like "Why yet I live to say "This thing's to do," sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means to do't." and "Witness this army of such mass and charge, led by a delicate and tender prince , whose spirit, with divine ambitioned puffed, makes mouths at the invisible event." He continues to question his self worth as he sees the fact that Fortinbras is willing to spend 20,000 lives to gain honor in his "event," while He himself has not been able to gather even enough courage take care of his "event" which is revenging his father. The comparison is clear Hamlet is a "coward" while Fortinbras is a brave "delicate and tender prince." In the third section Hamlet finds the answer to the self questioning that has occurred in the first to passages. He realizes he must take action immediately and quit delaying. He understands the fact that "Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, but greatly to find quarrel in a straw when honor's at stake." Hamlet has much greater reason then "a straw" to be angry and a vivid picture of his reason for rage is painted in the line "a father killed, a mother stained, excitements of my reason and my blood, let all sleep, while to my shame I see the imminent death of twenty thousand men." His honor has been taken away and he is standing by watching normal men die without reason while he, a prince who is supposedly of noble blood stands idly by while his father lies dead and his murderer continues to sully Hamlets honor by sleeping with his victims wife. Hamlet's admiration for Fortinbras' action along with his feelings toward himself have turned to utter disgust. Hamlet uses grave imagery in his speech like " (there) is not tomb enough and continent to hide the slain." To show his mind has voyaged down to the depths of morbidity that show he is prepared to act. He knows that he is worth nothing until his father is avenged as he shows in his statement " My thoughts be bloody, or they be nothing worth" this line clearly illustrates that by the end of the passage Hamlet's state of mind is nothing short of murderous.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hard Times 5.TXT
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	CharlesDickens' novel, Hard Times, is a story of two struggles--the struggle of
fact versus imagination and the struggle between two classes.  It takes place in
Coketown, and industrial-age English city.  The novel is divided into two sections.  One
deals with the struggle of upper class members of society and their struggle to learn the
value of imagination.  The other involves a working class man who is trapped by those in
that upper class who trap him in a dreary existence.
	Thomas Gradgrind, the father of Louisa, Tom, and June not only stresses facts in
the classroom in which he teaches, but also at home to his family.  Thomas has brought
up his children to know nothing but facts.  Everything is black and white,right or wrong--
nothing in between.  He discourages such fanciful motions as going to the circus or
having flowered carpet.  Everyone knows, one cannot have flowered carpet.  One would
trample all over them and they would end up dying.
	In Hard Times, two classes are relevant in Coketown.  The upper class, which
were few in numbers, are dominant over the middle class, which is larger in numbers. 
Stephen Blackpool represents the working class.  He is a warm-hearted man trapped in
thes run down society.  He feels he deserves this mediocre lifestyle.  Blackpool was
originally employed under Bounderby, but is fired for standing up for his beliefs.   This
type of behavior was totally unacceptable during the period of time as it  involved
imagination and independance.  Bounderby portrayed himself as a self-made man,when
in fact, he had eveything handed to him with a silver spoon.  His mother gave him the
very best of everything, including a wonderful education.  This demonstrates that the
upper and middle classes were not just two different classes, but two different worlds. 
The book concludes with the upper class characters being forced into accepting that
something other than facts exist.  Thomas Gradgrind has given up his philosophy of facts
by allowing his daughter back into his house.
	In conclusion, the entire Gridgrind system of facts proves to be a failure, and he
learns that emotions and imagination are the controlling forces in everyones life. 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hard Times again.TXT
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1513
Utilitarianism "Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in spring......" A perfect example of a product of utilitarian education, Bitzer defines a horse off the top of his head in a split second. Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times. The first; Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the principal of a school in Coketown. He was a firm believer in utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at the school from a very young age, as well as his own children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a group of circus members, who are the total opposite of utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind. Thomas Gradgrind Sr., a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children. The educators see children as easy targets just waiting to be filled with information. They did not consider, however, the children's need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children's minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded human beings through the educational process. One has to wonder how different the story would be if Gradgrind did not run the school. How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these. Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life's everyday struggles. Gradgrinds two oldest children, Tom and Louisa, are examples of how this utilitarian method failed miserably. These children were never given the opportunity to think for themselves, experience fun things in life, or even use their imaginations. True, they are smart people in the factual sense but do not have the street smarts to survive. Tom is a young man who, so fed up with his father's strictness and repetition, revolts against him and leaves home to work in Mr. Bounderby's bank. Tom, now out from under his fathers wing, he begins to drink and gamble heavily. Eventually, to get out of a deep gambling debt, he robs a bank and is forced to flee the area. When Bitzer realizes that Tom has robbed the bank and catches him, Mr. Gradgrind begs him to let Tom go, reminding him of all of the hard work that was put on him while at the school. Ironically Bitzer, using the tools of factuality that he had learned in Gradgrinds school, replies that the school was paid for, but it is now over and he owes nothing more. I think this is extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind's educational theory has backfired in his face. I think Dickens put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Louisa, unlike Tom, does get along with her father. She even agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby, even though she does not love him, in order to please her father. She stays in the marriage with Bounderby, and goes about life normally and factually, until she is faced with a dilemma and panics. Mr. James Harthouse, a young, good looking guy, is attracted to Louisa and deceivingly draws her attraction to him. She does not know what to do since she has never had feelings of her own before. Her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself, or even love someone. This is why Louisa goes frantic and ends up crying in her fathers lap. She has always been told what to do and what is 'right', and now even her father is stumped. For the first time in the whole novel, Mr. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. One must think that he is beginning to doubt his philosophy after seeing it backfire in his face more than once. Josiah Bounderby is another prime example of utilitarianism. He is one of the wealthiest people in Coketown; owning a bank and a factory, but is not really a likable person. His utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that factuality is the single most important virtue that one could posses. Mr. Bounderby maintained throughout the story his utilitarian views, which basically stated that nothing else is important besides profit. Being the owner of both a factory and a bank, Bounderby employs many workers, yet seems to offer them no respect at all. He refers to the factory workers as "Hands," because that is all they are to him. Bounderby often states that workers are all looking for "venison, turtle soup, and a golden spoon," while all they really want is decent working conditions and fair wage for their work. He is not concerned about his employees as human beings, but how much their hands can produce during the workday, resulting with money in his pocket. When one of his workers, Stephen Blackpool came to Bounderby's house asking for advice about his bad marriage, he was treated as inferior just because of his social status. Dickens portrayed the scene as one in which Blackpool was on a level five steps below Bounderby and his associates because he was a lowly worker who was obviously much less educated than them. It almost seemed like they would not even take him seriously because he was such. Blackpool was told that he could not divorce his wife because it would be against the laws of England. Later in the book, Bounderby divorces his wife. This shows that wealth played a large role in determining the social classes that people were in and the privileges they had. This was definitely unfair but the social classes were structured in a way which allowed those who had money to look down upon those who were less fortunate. Generally, those who were not well-educated did not have any money, while the well-educated ones such as Bounderby and Gradgrind were wealthy. The people who knew the factual information, (utilitarians) were successful, while those who did not were reduced to working in the factories of the utilitarians. Dickens paints a vivid picture of this inequality between social classes and shows he does not care much for it. It is fairly easy to see that Dickens holds a contempt for Bounderby and the utilitarian philosophy he carries. The book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it failed. How much different would their lives be if the town was not run by utilitarians. Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the utilitarian approach to life. The circus people could be called the total opposite of utilitarianism. If one element of the book stands out in my mind, it would be this one. The circus people are simple, open-minded human beings whose goal in life is to make people laugh. Dickens portrays them as a step up from the "Hands" but still close to the bottom in the social structure. These people are hated by Gradgrind, Bounderby and other utilitarians because they represent everything that is shunned in utilitarianism such as love, imagination, and humor. Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus man, was taken in by the Gradgrinds to live in their home. She is representative of the circus people with her innocence and free-will, qualities which are lacking in the lives of the people around her. Just by her presence, her goodness rubs off on the people around her, although it is too late for most of them. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism into her by Mr. Gradgrind and his school, she is still the fun-loving girl that she always was because she grew up living with "normal" people who thought for themselves and loved each other. She influenced these qualities on the youngest Gradgrind daughter Jane, who led a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life than her older sister Louisa because of those influences. Jane is not spoken of much until the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the non-utilitarian lifestyle. The utilitarians ultimately ended with a great downfall because their narrow-minds could not endure the pressures that life can impose on oneself. The people that did not fall victim to the utilitarian trap were able to live their lives happily and freely, able to love, laugh, and use their imagination; which is the way life ought to be lived. Dickens obviously had a definitive opinion of the way life should be lived and did an excellent job of depicting it. His method was somewhat indirect in the sense that he worked backwards to get his point across, but turned out to be very effective as the story progressed. Most of the story revolved around utilitarianism and the study of cold hard facts, but when the character flaws began to surface as a result of this philosophy, Dickens is quick to emphasize them. One actually sees the main character of the book and firm supporter of utilitarianism, Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, experience the faults of his practice and begin to stray from it. Now, after watching his life fall apart, maybe he wishes he were in the circus.
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	CharlesDickens' novel, Hard Times, is a story of two struggles--the struggle of
fact versus imagination and the struggle between two classes.  It takes place in
Coketown, and industrial-age English city.  The novel is divided into two sections.  One
deals with the struggle of upper class members of society and their struggle to learn the
value of imagination.  The other involves a working class man who is trapped by those in
that upper class who trap him in a dreary existence.
	Thomas Gradgrind, the father of Louisa, Tom, and June not only stresses facts in
the classroom in which he teaches, but also at home to his family.  Thomas has brought
up his children to know nothing but facts.  Everything is black and white,right or wrong--
nothing in between.  He discourages such fanciful motions as going to the circus or
having flowered carpet.  Everyone knows, one cannot have flowered carpet.  One would
trample all over them and they would end up dying.
	In Hard Times, two classes are relevant in Coketown.  The upper class, which
were few in numbers, are dominant over the middle class, which is larger in numbers. 
Stephen Blackpool represents the working class.  He is a warm-hearted man trapped in
thes run down society.  He feels he deserves this mediocre lifestyle.  Blackpool was
originally employed under Bounderby, but is fired for standing up for his beliefs.   This
type of behavior was totally unacceptable during the period of time as it  involved
imagination and independance.  Bounderby portrayed himself as a self-made man,when
in fact, he had eveything handed to him with a silver spoon.  His mother gave him the
very best of everything, including a wonderful education.  This demonstrates that the
upper and middle classes were not just two different classes, but two different worlds. 
The book concludes with the upper class characters being forced into accepting that
something other than facts exist.  Thomas Gradgrind has given up his philosophy of facts
by allowing his daughter back into his house.
	In conclusion, the entire Gridgrind system of facts proves to be a failure, and he
learns that emotions and imagination are the controlling forces in everyones life. 
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Hatchet
In the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, the main character Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old boy from Hampton, New York. Brian's parents just got a divorce. Brian is on his way to visit his father in Canada when the pilot has a heart attack. Brian manages to crash the plane in a lake in the Canadian wilderness in the middle of nowhere. Brian is average height and weight for his grade, maybe a little bit husky and a bit shy. Brian is very smart and able to get himself out of problems by thinking with his head. He is very resourceful and strong. Brian is lost without food or shelter for fifty for days and that experience changed him for the rest of his life. He made the best of his conditions and learned many things about the wild and he had great respect for it. Brian felt that if it were not for the wild he would not have survived. Through the whole time Brian never lost hope. Had he not been rescued before winter his survival would have been slim and he new that. But he never lost hope of being rescued. The whole time he remained strong and his ability to react quickly helped him in many ways. I read this book in sixth grade and I still remember everything about it. The entire time I read the book I was constantly amazed at Brian's ability to come through in tough situations. He never thought that he would not be rescued. He felt that sooner or later he would get home. I love his strong will and positiveness. Instead of looking back at what happened and being mad, he realizes how much it taught him.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hawthorne To Faulkner.TXT
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Hawthorne To Faulkner: The Evolution Of The Short Story
Nathaniel Hawthorne and William Faulkner's short stories "Young Goodman Brown" and "A Rose for Emily" use a moral to endorse particular ideals or values. Through their characters examination and evaluation of one another, the author's lesson is brought forth. The authors' style of preaching morals is reminiscent of the fables of Aesop and the religious parables of the Old and New Testament. The reader is faced with a life lesson after reading Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown:" you cannot judge other people. A similar moral is presented in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." The use of morals combined with elements of Romantic era writing show the stories of Hawthorne and Faulkner to be descendants both of fables and of Romance literature.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" tells the story of a young man who decides to league himself with the devil. Goodman Brown is a citizen of a typical town with its share of good people and not-so good people. Goodman Brown believed that he knew the inhabitants of the town fairly well. He knew Goody Cloyse, for example, to be "a very pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual advisor, jointly with the minister and Deacon Gookin" (598). He knew Deacon Gookin was a strict man of the Church and was always "bound to some ordination or ecclesiastical council" (599). However, in his travels through the woods with the old man, Goodman Brown notices Goody Cloyse progressing down the path.
"'A marvel, truly that Goody Cloyse should be so far in the wilderness at nightfall,' he [Goodman Brown] said" (598).
Just as he begins to have doubts about the woman's pureness of heart, he comes across Deacon Gookin in the woods as well. As they are supposedly fine, upstanding citizens of the village, Goodman Brown has to wonder why they are traveling through the woods on the same path that he is taking with the devil. Afterwards, he is astonished to see not only these two upstanding citizens at Satan's ceremony, but almost everyone else in the town as well. It is through his assumption that his fellow townspeople were good that Goodman Brown learns the story's most important lesson: namely that you should not judge people at face value; anyone can put on airs, and his encountering of the devil's ceremony emphasizes this fact.
Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" has a similar moral, only in this story, it is the townspeople who learn the lesson. Emily is a woman who goes against all norms of her society: she takes a lover, a Northerner no less, she does not marry him, and she even commits murder. As she goes through these events in her life, the townspeople make certain assumptions about what she is doing. They assume that she has married Homer Barron, they assume that the arsenic she purchased is so that she can kill herself, and they constantly assume that she is "Poor Emily," a woman who is ruled by her father and unable to make decisions for herself.
"So the next day we all said, 'She will kill herself;' and we said it would be the best thing. When she had first begun to be seen with Homer Barron, we had said, 'She will persuade him yet...'" (461).
The townspeople continually judge Emily and make assumptions about her life without a basis in fact. Faulkner himself acknowledged the connection between his title character and her environment, that is, her town and the townspeople around her, in an interview in 1959.
"...and that was simply another manifestation of man's injustice to man, of the poor tragic human being struggling with its own heart, with others, with its environment, for the simple things which all human beings want..." (1416)
He continues with a description of Emily and how she does not meet the expectations of her society.
"She had been trained that you do not take a lover. You marry, you don't take a lover. She had broken all the laws of her tradition, her background..." (1417)
The townspeople in the story learn that all that they assumed to be true about Emily was not true, thus instilling the moral that judging people without truly knowing them can only lead to misunderstandings.
Both "Young Goodman Brown" and "A Rose for Emily" use morals to teach readers how to improve the way that they perceive the people in their lives. It is this style of teaching a lesson that is a direct descendant from the grandfather of all short stories: namely the fable. The fable used highly simplified characters, even animals in some instances, to illustrate certain lessons to be learned about life. Animals were used frequently as they could easily depict certain basic emotions or characteristics which people could relate to, such as a fox for cunning, a dog for loyalty, or a pig for gluttony. The lessons taught could be as ordinary as "Whomever laughs last, laughs best" or as timeless as "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." In a similar manner, religious parables, most notably those of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, taught these basic life lessons as a means for people to learn the teachings of religious leaders in an easy and straightforward manner. The characters in these parables were people to which common folk could relate. Parables such as "The Good Samaritan," for example, told of a man who is beaten and left for dead by robbers. He is passed by two other men, one of them being a religious leader, and is not helped by either of them. The third person to pass is a Samaritan, a person who does not follow the Jewish religion, and he is the one who helps the injured man. The simple moral of this parable is to help those in need whoever they may be; a good life lesson for anyone, be they religious or not. Hawthorne particularly, and to a lesser extent Faulkner, use the device of the moral in their stories so that they may teach a valuable ideal to their readers. The evolution of the short story can be seen not only in the use of morals in the works of Hawthorne and Faulkner, but in their use of elements of Romantic literature such as preoccupation with ages past, use of the supernatural, and their psychological studies of their characters. Hawthorne wrote during the Romantic era and as such his work "is closer to the prose romance than to the novel" (1602). Faulkner follows in the Romantic footsteps of Hawthorne in his "A Rose for Emily." Faulkner, although he is a modernist writer, incorporated many Romantic literary techniques in his "A Rose for Emily." The style in which he is writing would be classified as a sort of neo-romantic style due to his use of elements of the supernatural, a preoccupation with the past, and his complex psychological studies of his primary characters. Faulkner himself commented that he wanted to write a "ghost story," a definite throwback to the preoccupation with the supernatural that was prevalent in Romantic era literature.
Additional evidence of an evolution between the two literary periods and the two authors can be found in the differences between Hawthorne's language and Faulkner's language. The language of Hawthorne's day 150 years ago may be quite different from our modern language, however, Hawthorne had the additional burden of writing his story in the language of the 1690s, the time setting for "Young Goodman Brown." Hawthorne did so by using vernacular such as "durst" and "pray tarry." Faulkner, on the other hand, keeps with the fairly modern language of his day, although he adds a bit of Southern slang to his writing in keeping with the setting of the story.
"The construction company came with niggers and mules and machinery, and a foreman named Homer Barron, a Yankee3/4" (460)
Faulkner differs from Hawthorne in that he addresses controversial issues that in Hawthorne's time would hardly have been considered appropriate material to discuss, much less include in a short story. In "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner makes subtle references to Homer Barron's possible homosexuality.
"...Homer himself had remarked3/4he liked men, and it was known that he drank with younger men in the Elks' Club3/4that he was not a marrying man" (461).
Later in the story, Faulkner makes reference to Emily's possible necrophilia, although no direct statement is ever made. Homosexuality and necrophilia would in no way be topics to be discussed in Hawthorne's time. As a modern writer, Faulkner had a considerable amount of freedom in what he wrote, and this freedom is reflected in his work. The short story began as fables and parables that evolved into more complex psychological studies of virtues, ideals, and values. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" emphasizes these morals as he examines the inner workings of his main character's thoughts as he encounters the devil and the townspeople. Faulkner also uses these techniques in his modern style of writing, however he tailors them to fit the more controversial issue of his generation while still maintaining a hold on the past generation he is examining. Over time, values and ideals stay the same, but the manner in which the technique is used evolves with current affairs and modern vocabulary.
Works Cited
Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995.
 

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Hawthorne
Breaking out of Prison
Hawthorne's view on life is wrong. He says that in the depths of human nature there is an inner world in which every human being is alone. Hawthorne's background and they way he lived his life gave him this dark view on life. His father and grandfather did things that he did not like and Hawthorne tried to redeem the bad things they did and when he couldn't he went into seclusion and explored his own heart. Every person is not the same as Hawthorne; I believe that with certain people their heart could be their prison but not the average person. People are not caged by their heart, their heart shows what kind of person they are. It is similar to Emerson's "golden possibility," Hawthorne did not meet his golden possibility and this is why he looks on things so darkly. He doesn't try to look at the good things in life, he tries to see what is wrong with people and explain why. He only looked at himself though and he did not have much to be happy for and this is why he felt like he was in a prison. Most people if they look inside themselves they are happy and do not dwell on such things like Hawthorne does. A person's cage is not their heart, their heart is something that lets them be free and go on about a normal day with a happy countenance on their face.
Your own heart could be your worst prison but every human being is not in that prison like Hawthorne was. Hawthorne is right that your heart is the worst prison a person could be in but everyone is that same situation. Hawthorne shouldn't generalize so much, he was only looking at himself and not the world around him. He was too self-centered in his writings and quotes, he should have looked at other people and saw how they lived. Then he would see a world of bright colors and fun filled life, he could have lived life to the maximum but he chose to look at the dark side of things and keep living inside his prison instead of changing his life.
Hawthorne was correct in his view of his own life but incorrect is his assumptions of other people's lives. He chose to live inside that prison instead of breaking out and living life to the maximum. I think that if you are in a prison it is possible to break out, you can always find a way to change things from the normal routine, all a person has to do is try.
 

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347
In D.H. Lawrence's "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," Mabel "did not share the same life as her brothers "(195). Mabel Pervin was not close to her brothers, because there were personal and physical separations. Mabel was a plain, uninteresting woman. She seldom showed emotion on her face. In fact her face usually remained impassive and unchanged. Her brothers could be described as three handsome and well-spoken men. Mabel was independent, having taken care of the house for ten years without a servant. Even though they depended upon her, they seemed to have control over her. The Pervin brothers "did not care about anything" (195). They were poised and felt secure about themselves. Her brothers felt superior to her. "They had talked at her and round her for so many years, that she hardly heard them at all" (196). She would either give a neutral response to her brothers, or remain quiet when they talked to her. Instead of giving her encouragement, they teased her. This treatment could have led to her insecurity. They would tease her about becoming a maid or about her "bulldog" face. Her brothers were full of energy and very talkative. Mabel also seemed to be alone in the world. Unlike her brothers who had many companions, she had had no friends of her own sex. Sometimes it seemed that Mabel wanted to escape her life. One place Mabel felt secure and immune from the world was at her mother's grave. "There she always felt secure, as if no one could see her" (200). Mabel was extremely devoted to her deceased parents, especially her mother. She was mindless and persistent. At the graveside, she had many different feelings. She seemed to be coming nearer to her own glorification. Also she would become remote and intent. She seemed to feel contact with the world that mother had lived. Her brothers, however, were the opposite of her. The memory of their parents faded away in their minds. They never spoke or showed emotion dealing with their parents. They had left the past behind them and waited for the future would bring. Mabel's devotion led to an immense personal separation between the Pervin brothers and Mable. Mainly, because Mabel wanted to live her life just like her mother did, and her brothers had moved on with theirs.
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Heart of Darkness
The framing narrative
of Heart of Darkness is presented by an unnamed,
undefined speaker, who is one of a group of men, former
sailors, now professionals, probably middle-aged, on the
deck of a yacht at the mouth of the Thames River, London
England. The time is probably contemporary with the
writing and publication of the novel, so around the turn of
the 20th century. One among the group, Charlie Marlow, a
mysterious figure who is still a sailor, tells the story of
something that happened to him several years before, when
he drove a steamboat up a river in Africa to locate an agent
for a Belgian company involved in the promising ivory
trade. Most of the novel is Marlow's narration, although
Conrad sometimes brings us back to the yacht and ends
the novel there. Also, as in Wuthering Heights, the
technique of a framing narrative brings up questions of
memory: how a story is reliable when related by someone
many years after the fact, then reported by someone else.
The structure of Heart of Darkness is much like that of the
Russian nesting dolls, where you open each doll, and there
is another doll inside. Much of the meaning in Heart of
Darkness is found not in the center of the book, the heart
of Africa, but on the periphery of the book. There is an
outside narrator telling us a story he has heard from
Marlow. The story which Marlow tells seems to center
around a man named Kurtz. However, most of what
Marlow knows about Kurtz, he has learned from other
people, many of whom have good reason for not being
truthful to Marlow. Therefore Marlow has to piece together
much of Kurtz's story. We slowly get to know more and
more about Kurtz. Part of the meaning in Heart of
Darkness is that we learn about "reality" through other
people's accounts of it, many of which are, themselves,
twice-told tales. Marlow is the source of our story, but he
is also a character within the story we read. Marlow,
thirty-two years old, has always "followed the sea", as the
novel puts it. His voyage up the Congo river, however, is
his first experience in freshwater travel. Conrad uses
Marlow as a narrator in order to enter the story himself and
tell it out of his own philosophical mind. When Marlow
arrives at the station he is shocked and disgusted by the
sight of wasted human life and ruined supplies . The
manager's senseless cruelty and foolishness overwhelm him
with anger and disgust. He longs to see Kurtz- a fabulously
successful ivory agent and hated by the company manager.
More and more, Marlow turns away from the white people
(because of their ruthless brutality) and to the dark jungle (a
symbol of reality and truth). He begins to identify more and
more with Kurtz- long before he even sees him or talks to
him. Kurtz, like Marlow, originally came to the Congo with
noble intentions. He thought that each ivory station should
stand like a beacon light, offering a better way of life to the
natives. Kurtz's mother was half-English and his father was
half-French. He was educated in England and speaks
English. The culture and civilization of Europe have
contributed to the making of Kurtz; he is an orator, writer,
poet, musician, artist, politician, ivory procurer, and chief
agent of the ivory company's Inner Station at Stanley Falls.
In short, he is a "universal genius"; however, he also
described as a "hollow man," a man without basic integrity
or any sense of social responsibility. Kurtz wins control of
men through fear and adoration. His power over the natives
almost destroys Marlow and the party aboard the
steamboat. Kurtz is the violent devil whom Marlow
describes at the beginning. Kurtz might never have revealed
his evil nature if he had not been spotted and tortured by
the manager. A major theme of Heart of Darkness is
civilization versus savagery. The book implies that
civilizations are created by the setting of laws and codes
that encourage men to achieve higher standards. It acts as a
block to prevent men from reverting back to their darker
tendencies. Civilization, however, must be learned. While
society seems to restrain these savage tendencies, it does
not get rid of them. The tendency to revert to savagery is
seen in Kurtz. When Marlow meets Kurtz, he finds a man
who has totally thrown off the bondage of civilization and
has reduced to a primitive state where he cheats everybody
even himself. Conrad recognized that deception is the
worst when it becomes self-deception and the individual
takes seriously his own fictions. Kurtz "could get himself to
believe anything- anything." His friendly words of his report
for the International Society for the Suppression of Savage
customs was meant to be sincere, but a deeper meaning of
it was rather "Exterminate all the brutes!" Marlow and
Kurtz are two opposite examples of the human condition.
Kurtz represents what every man will become if left to his
own intrinsic desires without a protective, civilized
environment. Marlow represents the civilized soul that has
not been drawn back into savagery by a dark, alienated
jungle. The book implies that every man has a heart of
darkness that is usually drowned out by the light of
civilization. However, when removed from civilized society,
the raw evil of within his soul will be released. The
underlying theme of Heart of Darkness is that civilization is
superficial. The level of civilization is related to the physical
and moral environment they are presently in. It is a much
less stable or state than society may think. The wilderness
is a very significant symbol in Joseph Conrad's Heart of
Darkness. It is not only the background in which the action
of the story takes place, but also a character of the story in
and of itself. The vastness and savagery of the wilderness
contrast with the foolishness of the pilgrims, and the
wilderness also shows the greed and brutality that hide
even behind the noblest ideals. The wilderness is not a
person as such, but rather an omnipotent force that
continually watches the invasion of the white man. The
activities of the white people are viewed throughout the
book as insane and pointless. They spend their time
searching for ivory or fighting against each other for
position and status within their own environment. Marlow
comments: "The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was
whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying
to it . . . I've never seen anything so unreal in my life" In
contrast, the wilderness appears immovable, and
threatening. During Marlow's stay at the Central Station, he
describes the surrounding wilderness as a "rioting invasion
of soundless life, a rolling wave of plants, piled up, crested,
ready to . . . sweep every little man of us out of his little
existence" It is difficult to say, however, what the intentions
of the wilderness actually are. We see the wilderness
entirely through Marlow's eyes, and it remains always an
open question. It is "an implacable force brooding over an
inscrutable intention" . The natives, who are too simple to
have false motives and pretenses, live perfectly at peace
with the wilderness. At some places in the story their voices
can be considered the voices of the wilderness. Especially
when they are crying out in grief through the impenetrable
fog, their voices seem to be coming from the wilderness
itself. ("...to me it seemed as though the mist itself had
screamed...") The natives reflect the savage but very real
quality of the wilderness. Consider Marlow's description of
the natives in the canoes on the coast: "...they had bone,
muscle, a wild vitality, and intense energy of movement,
that was as natural and true as the surf along their coast.
They wanted no excuse for being there" . The people who
are successful in fighting the wilderness are those who
create their own structured environments. For example, the
chief accountant of the government station preserved
himself by maintaining an impeccable appearance. Marlow
says of him, "...in the great demoralization of the land he
kept up his appearance. That's backbone. His starched
collars and got-up shirt-fronts were achievements of
character" . On the whole, the white men are successful in
fighting the influence of the wilderness. They are either too
greedy and stupid to realize that they are under attack, such
as the pilgrims who are hunting for ivory, or they have
managed to protected themselves with work, such as the
accountant. There is, however, one notable exception.
Kurtz stops resisting to the savagery of the wilderness. He
gives up his high aspirations, and the wilderness brings out
the darkness and brutality in his heart. All the principles of
European society are gone away from him, and the
passions and greed of his true nature are revealed. He
collects loyal natives who worship him as a God, and they
raid surrounding villages and collect huge amounts of ivory.
The chiefs must use ceremonies when approaching Kurtz
which Marlow feels disgust of. Marlow says, "...such
details would be more intolerable than those heads drying
on the stakes under Mr. Kurtz's windows... . I seemed at
one bound to have been transported into some lightless
region of subtle horrors . . ." The degradation of Kurtz has
implications for more than just himself. It also comments on
humanity. At his death, he sees the true state of mankind.
His gaze is "piercing enough to penetrate all the hearts that
beat in the darkness" His final statement of "The horror!
The horror!" is his judgment on all of life. The wilderness
brings Kurtz to the point where he has a full awareness of
himself, and from there he makes his pronouncement about
the mankind. Heart of Darkness explores something truer,
more fundamental than just a personal narrative. It is a night
journey into the unconscious, and confrontation within the
self. Certain circumstances of Marlow's voyage, looked at
in these terms, has new importance. Marlow insists on the
dreamlike quality of his narrative. "It seems to me I am
trying to tell you a dream - making a vain attempt, because
no relation of a dream can convey the dream - sensation."
Even before leaving Brussels, Marlow felt as though he
"was about to set off for center of the earth," not the center
of a continent. The introspective voyager leaves his familiar
rational world, is "cut off from the comprehension" of his
surroundings, his steamer toils "along slowly on the edge of
a black and incomprehensible frenzy." As the crisis
approaches, the dreamer and his ship moves through a
silence that "seemed unnatural, like a state of trance; then
enter a deep fog." In the end, there is a symbolic unity
between the two men. Marlow and Kurtz are the light and
dark selves of a single person. Marlow is what Kurtz might
have been, and Kurtz is what Marlow might have become.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hill House.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hill House
Ever do something stupid to impress someone? Throughout a person's life they will do something very ignorant or say something very stupid hundreds of times. Most of the time it is because they are trying to impress somebody or change their ways to make someone or others accept them. The story "Haunting of Hill House" has great examples of people changing just to fit in. The author Shirley Jackson, who died in 1965, was one of the most brilliant writers of her time. She was widely acclaimed for her hair-raising stories and novels of the supernatural. Although the "Haunting of Hill House" fits this description perfectly with its eerie description of supernatural tales of the happenings of Hill House; there is a more to it than hauntings. The story starts out with three guests being invited to the house to monitor any out of the ordinary occurrences in Hill House. Throughout the story the guests experience some ghostly moments. However during this one of the guest named Eleanor changes her ways to fit in with the guests. Her actions show that society's views on a person can lead that person to things they would never have thought of. One example would be when Eleanor told lies about herself and her past. Another example would be when Eleanor went around the house alone having no fear. Finally Eleanor became open and spoke out what was on her mind.
An example of society's views on a person leading them to things they never thought of was when Eleanor became a liar and lied about her past. Today a lot of people are pressured so much by society to be a certain way they will lie about themselves to fit in with those certain people. In the story Eleanor feels that she does not fit in with the group of people who are staying at Hill House. She is a person with a lack of confidence so she feels she has to lie to feel accepted. "Theodora came through the bathroom door into Eleanor's room; she is lovely, Eleanor thought, turning to look; I wish I were lovely." This quote shows the lack of confidence she has. One of Eleanor's lies was when she told the others she lived alone in an apartment. This is not true because she lives with her sister and her boyfriend in a house. The reason she told this lie was because Theo lived in an apartment with a friend so she felt Theo would not accept her. Throughout the story there were instances where everyone in the house had an opinion of something. Eleanor would not tell anyone about the way she really felt because she didn't want anyone to reject her. So she would say what everybody else would say. If Theo favorite color was blue, so was Eleanor's. If Theo hated something so did Eleanor. Eleanor would have never thought she had to lie to fit in. Being pressured to fit it she felt she had no choice but to pick an identity the others would like. That is one example of how society's views on a person lead them to things they would have never thought of.
Another example of society's views on a person leading them to things they never thought of was when Eleanor lost all her fear of Hill House. There are a lot of instances where people try to be someone they are not and are still not accepted so much they stop to care about everything else. This happened to Eleanor. She felt so isolated from everyone else and felt she stopped caring about everything. She did not think of the fear she had of Hill House. She didn't care. Since the others rejected her she felt the only thing she had was the house. Eleanor quotes," I Have broken the spell of Hill House and somehow come inside. When Eleanor first came to the house she hated it. She was scared of every room and would not dare go anywhere alone. Since she felt isolated from the others she felt apart of Hill House. One night Eleanor got out of her room and quietly went out of her room and roamed the halls alone. She knocked on doors and would wake everyone up. The others finding Eleanor's room empty went searching for her. The house that Eleanor would not dare explore alone felt like home to Eleanor. The house was all Eleanor had left. Eleanor felt the others did not accept her even when she tried to be someone else. This pushed her further and further away from the group so she stopped caring and basically went crazy and climbed a high broken-down staircase in the library of Hill House. This another example of how the views on a person can lead them to do things they would not normally do.
The last example of how society's views on a person can lead them to do things they would have never thought of before is when Eleanor became more open. The views on a certain person can lead them to do many things. Over time it will help them figure out it does not matter what other people think. This is what happened to Eleanor. "Eleanor was quiet for a minute, wanting to tell them exactly how it was." Eleanor finally figured out she did not have to be a certain way and started to tell it like it is. She confessed to lying about where she lived to the other individuals. She felt she did not need to hide anything away from them. She also told Theo what was on her mind. She wanted to go live with Theo so she asked her. Before she would have never asked her or even thought of confessing about where she lived. Eleanor did not care what the others thought anymore. I did not matter to her. She also confessed to stealing her sister's car and told them everything she owned was in her suitcase. With this new attitude the others thought Eleanor had gone mad. They failed to realize that it was their views and comments on her slowly brought out the type of person she really was. They finally got to meet the real Eleanor instead of a fraud. Therefore this is another example of how society's views can make a person do things they would not ordinarily do which is being more open.
The "Haunting of Hill House" does provide the reader with a chilling tail, as a horror book should do. It can also serve as another purpose by teaching the reader that society's views on a person can lead that person to things they would never have thought of before. The character that gave examples of this lesson in the story was Eleanor. Other people's views lead her to lie about her past. Their views also lead her to forget her fears and roam Hill House alone. Finally they also caused her to be open and honest. It is important to our society to have people who criticize and judge others, although it may not seem like it. This criticism can help people become stronger individuals. What does not kill us, makes us stronger.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hindsight.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hindsight
To fully know one's self and to be able to completely
understand and interpret all actions and experiences one
goes through is difficult enough. However, analyzing and
interpreting the thoughts and feelings of another human being
is in itself on an entirely different level. In the novel Jane
Eyre, its namesake makes a decision to reject her one true
love in favor of moral decency. Certain aspects of the novel
discredit the validity of Jane's choice.
The truthfulness of Jane's reason to leave Mr. Rochester can
be questioned because Jane Eyre narrates the novel herself.
She therefore, can exaggerate or warp any details in regard
to her feelings at any present time in the past, as well as her
true intentions or fears. At several points in the book Jane
chooses to avoid going into detail because the subject is too
painful or would be of no interest to the reader. Such painful
memories may have an influence on her development as a
child and would give further insight into her personality,
weaknesses and strength. Although Jane has a stringent
moral Christian upbringing, she has a great deal of pride and
cares about the opinions of others around her. When
walking from house to house begging for food from
strangers, she has a great deal of loathing for herself. She
also admits that if she saw someone in a similar situation to
herself, she would treat her the exact same way as the
people of the hamlet treat her. The pride that Jane carries
with her might influence her as she tells her tale. She may
change details in order to seem more pious or more proper. Jane has reached a blissful state in finding the love of her
employer Mr. Rochester. Unfortunately he has a wife in a
deranged woman who lives in the attic, where she is tended
by a strange, jinn drinking servant. Despite the strange
circumstances surrounding the marriage, Jane chooses to
end her life a Thornfield Manor and flee through the country
side. She claims that the reason she leaves her true love is
that their marriage would be one that would go against God.
Mr. Rochester is already spoken for. The possibility of him
as an acceptable husband is slim. He admits he lied to Jane
and attempted to become a "polygamist", but he appeals to
her sense of reason asking how an insane animal could be
his wife. Still she rejects his proposal and leaves, but does
she leave because of God, or another reason.
The novel, narrated by Jane, shows a less than flattering side
of organized religion. The two representatives of the Cloth
are Mr. Brokelhurst and St. John Rivers. Both are unloving
and cold. The school Jane attended was under the iron clad
rule of Brokelhurst. He demanded the girls of his school be
prepared for a life of hardship and misery. St. John wanted
not to be loved by another, but to serve God. He rejected
the love of another, and his love for her in favor of serving
God as a missionary. He asks if Jane will marry him and go
to India, but offers a loveless marriage. He says the only
thing he wants is a wife and becomes nearly violent when
Jane does not accept his offer. The depiction of these two
members of the Church in the novel may show that Jane
does not respect the stringent ways of organized religion. Many people she hated held God in high regard and thought
themselves to be quite pious and religious, most notably
Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed, Jane's former guardian, constantly
warned Jane about the wrath of God and called her a
wicked girl with great frequency. She threatened Jane with
promises of Hell and suffering for such an unwholesome girl.
Jane may have had her own idea about religion and God.
Perhaps she found the marriage acceptable, but would not
allow herself to part with the teachings she had become
some familiarized with and used to identify herself. When contemplating Mr. Rochester's offer she almost
accepts it, but fears her acquiescence would ruin everything
she believed in and make the entire union a hollow travesty.
She may have even chosen to reject Rochester because she
wanted to obey the laws of England. Perhaps the idea of
breaking the marriage laws of England would cause her to
think of herself as a common thief or criminal.
The reason Jane gives for choosing to leave Rochester is not
one to be accepted without hesitation. One must remember
that a human being is telling the tale. A human being with
feelings, weaknesses and opinions. The story of Jane Eyre is
not told by an omnipotent impartial observer, but by a
woman looking ten years back at what her life was or what
she hoped or wished it to be.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\history 17c aunt moody book review again.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
										Mirza Jahic	
										06/24/03
										History 17c
										Carlos Mujal 
			Aunt Moody and the life she led						
      Anne Moody was born in Mississippi on September 15, 1940, in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Coming of age in Mississippi focuses primarily on the experiences of racism and daily struggles from a child's perspective to the hardships of being black during these times of racial inequality and despair. Aunt Moody's life of struggle is definitely an inspiration to everybody seeking a change in their society because she was an active NAACP and CORE member and activist fighting against injustice. Her purpose in writing this book was to help people understand her life and the continuous discrimination and hardships that blacks had to face during these horrible times of racism.
	Some are born with it and others have to earn it the hard way. This was exactly the way Anne Moody saw it. Even though she had to start working at an early age due to the fact that her father deserted her family and left them to support themselves by doing whatever they have to do to survive. Coming of age in Mississippi is filled with examples of the hatred that existed between blacks and whites in the 1960's and 70's not written by an individual simply analyzing the situation but by an individual exposed to racism first hand throughout her whole life and having to live with the fact that if you are black, you are less than white. Well, Anne Moody was always a rebel and did not agree with the thoughts that her mother had about the world, which are some reasons why she got involved in activities and movements trying to support and help the common black man.
	The book Coming of Age in Mississippi is not in any way based on statistical data but just on the experiences and views of the oppressed. Statistical data in this case does not really matter nor does it influence the cause in any way because the hatred toward another being or racism cannot be classified into a category as statistic data but rather a feeling or brainwashing which is exactly why this book was so great in explaining and showing the amounts of hate and rejection that blacks faced during these times. 
	Aunt Moody depends primarily on the facts and experiences that are going on around her and that have been influencing her ever since she had to work for white people to support her family. As a child she developed questions that have to do with race such as to why white people are all in good financial standing and why Anne and her family have to live in famine. Her mother was no help toward this subject whatsoever because she was aware of the cause and that it is the way it is. Anne challenged that point of view because of her mother's ignorance and disbelief that change is inevitable but that it can be achieved if organization and the powerful will are present.
 
	This story is written in first person point of view as the author is telling the story about her life. Anne Moody clearly paints a picture of racial inequality in the South of the 1950's and 60's because she experienced it first hand. There is a huge difference in hearing about a problem and experiencing the problem first hand like Anne Moody did. Her choice of mythology is absolutely fabulous. As a matter of fact, had she used a different choice of writing, I would probably have not been as interested as I was. She tries to relate to the reader by painting pictures of the cruel injustice in the readers head and she achieves nothing but attention. The cruel and unjust life that Anne Moody leads during these times is somewhat similar to what every one of us goes trough on a daily basis. Such as fight for survival, the constant struggle to be better than the other, the racial discrimination that we still face today, etc. 
	It's amazing how the reader can gather so much valuable information about injustice, the racial discrimination and the movements and resistance of blacks during these times of struggle by just Anne writing about her life and her experiences. Anne Moody had an exiting life and whatever she was doing; she was always in the middle of it. That is why the methodology that she is using is so extremely effective because racism cannot be analyzed it can only be experienced.
	I do not think that Anne Moody is missing anything in particular in this book. It is very organized and flows very smooth. The way of writing clearly gets the message across and all my questions have been nicely and in a timely manner been answered as I proceeded to read the book. The only thing that I personally would have wanted to see more of is less family issues and more of the issues at hand which is racism. But then I thought about this and came to the conclusion that it is all tied together. For example, the unjust treatments, the lack of opportunity, the segregations such as the one that occurred in the movie theater and other actions and causes that make me realize and come to the conclusion, that it is all in fact tied together and that without the actual family evaluation and background, this book would not hit the spot as much as it did with it. 
	Anne Moody has somewhat of a weird way of defining the problems in the book. As I was reading the book it seemed to me as if she was not even trying to state the problems but rather identify the situation to the reader and so that the reader can make up his/her own mind about the situation. She does not get into the details of the problems until later in the book after she has joined the activist groups where she clearly identifies the problems, the causes and the effects. Anne Moody's sympathies and antagonism are aimed at both individual groups. They are aimed at blacks and also on whites. She is furious about the white supremacy and the way that the blacks are mistreated yet she is also disappointed and shows a certain form of hostility towards blacks because of their lack of interest and perhaps their fears of change. She is somewhat of an individualistic rebel that does classify herself with neither whites nor blacks due to her mixed feelings about northern whites and doubts about the direction of black liberation.
	The body of the book and the language of the book are not particularly written in any form that would identify them with a particular school of thought. The reason for this is that Anne Moody never thought of herself as a writer, but rather as a civil rights movement activist. The language of this book is not considered highly intellectual but is written for the main and if not sole purpose of showing the new generation how it was and what they could do to overcome this great discriminative society. 
	This book deals with one of the biggest issues of the century. It deals with primarily racism during the time of Anne Moody and the troubles and racist behavior that she was exposed to. I can relate this book to numerous experiences even in today's world where supposedly racism has been overcome. It has not been extinguished, it has only been watered down so it is politically correct but the views and hate are unfortunately still the same.
	This book relates to some of my past experiences in the United States about a certain time when I was pulled over in Sacramento for falling into a category of Russian's that have been anonymously tipped to the police. Automatically after they have noticed that I have a little bit of accent, they proceeded to act it out as if I was the criminal himself, this is very similar to the writings of Anne Moody where she writes that all blacks are automatically segregated into a category where they are only able to do the things that were supposedly "destined" to do, such as slave labor, etc. The book Coming of Age in Mississippi deals a great deal with everything that one goes trough on a daily basis. Hate, mistrust, obligations to certain people, discrimination are just some of the things that Anne writes about that occurred during her time and that are also occurring in today's world.
	The story ends with Anne Moody being exhausted to death from rallying, protesting, marching, organizing that she was unsure of what she had accomplished. She had led a life before that where she ignored the fact that blacks were oppressed even though the thought always simmered in the back of her mind. She had lost everything including her materialistic objects and possessions and almost her health because of this fight for civil rights. The ending was really sad because people have sacrificed a lot for this cause like for example Mrs. Chinn and C.O, Moody and they have not even scratched the problem. The solution that Moody comes to is that she is aware of the fact that the white man controls everything and after her sitting on that bus heading for Washington and looking at little Gene, remembering how she was once just like him. She fought and fought and had not achieved anything and it bothered her because she was a person that accomplishes and survives and with Anne Moody being as smart, motivated, and with her fighter spirit soaring, this was a big task that she could not overcome and it bothered her, thinking if maybe she should give up the fight against the white man for the civil rights. 
I agree with Moody where she to a certain degree loses her interest in everything and is trembling with fear deep down inside, not knowing what to do or where to go. She had dedicated her life to the cause of fighting and achieving human civil rights and she was exhausted. Moody says in her other book and this quote really got me thinking about racism even more is "...that we made a few visible little gains; yet at the root, things always remained the same; and that the movement was not in control of its destiny, nor did we have any means of gaining control of it. We were like an angry dog on a leash that had turned on its master. It could bark and howl and snap, and sometimes even bite, but the master was always in control." 
	
	 
1
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\history 17c aunt moody book review.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
										Mirza Jahic	
										06/24/03
										History 17c
										Carlos Mujal 
			Aunt Moody and the life she led						
      Anne Moody was born in Mississippi on September 15, 1940, in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Coming of age in Mississippi focuses primarily on the experiences of racism and daily struggles from a child's perspective to the hardships of being black during these times of racial inequality and despair. Aunt Moody's life of struggle is definitely an inspiration to everybody seeking a change in their society because she was an active NAACP and CORE member and activist fighting against injustice. Her purpose in writing this book was to help people understand her life and the continuous discrimination and hardships that blacks had to face during these horrible times of racism.
	Some are born with it and others have to earn it the hard way. This was exactly the way Anne Moody saw it. Even though she had to start working at an early age due to the fact that her father deserted her family and left them to support themselves by doing whatever they have to do to survive. Coming of age in Mississippi is filled with examples of the hatred that existed between blacks and whites in the 1960's and 70's not written by an individual simply analyzing the situation but by an individual exposed to racism first hand throughout her whole life and having to live with the fact that if you are black, you are less than white. Well, Anne Moody was always a rebel and did not agree with the thoughts that her mother had about the world, which are some reasons why she got involved in activities and movements trying to support and help the common black man.
	The book Coming of Age in Mississippi is not in any way based on statistical data but just on the experiences and views of the oppressed. Statistical data in this case does not really matter nor does it influence the cause in any way because the hatred toward another being or racism cannot be classified into a category as statistic data but rather a feeling or brainwashing which is exactly why this book was so great in explaining and showing the amounts of hate and rejection that blacks faced during these times. 
	Aunt Moody depends primarily on the facts and experiences that are going on around her and that have been influencing her ever since she had to work for white people to support her family. As a child she developed questions that have to do with race such as to why white people are all in good financial standing and why Anne and her family have to live in famine. Her mother was no help toward this subject whatsoever because she was aware of the cause and that it is the way it is. Anne challenged that point of view because of her mother's ignorance and disbelief that change is inevitable but that it can be achieved if organization and the powerful will are present.
 
	This story is written in first person point of view as the author is telling the story about her life. Anne Moody clearly paints a picture of racial inequality in the South of the 1950's and 60's because she experienced it first hand. There is a huge difference in hearing about a problem and experiencing the problem first hand like Anne Moody did. Her choice of mythology is absolutely fabulous. As a matter of fact, had she used a different choice of writing, I would probably have not been as interested as I was. She tries to relate to the reader by painting pictures of the cruel injustice in the readers head and she achieves nothing but attention. The cruel and unjust life that Anne Moody leads during these times is somewhat similar to what every one of us goes trough on a daily basis. Such as fight for survival, the constant struggle to be better than the other, the racial discrimination that we still face today, etc. 
	It's amazing how the reader can gather so much valuable information about injustice, the racial discrimination and the movements and resistance of blacks during these times of struggle by just Anne writing about her life and her experiences. Anne Moody had an exiting life and whatever she was doing; she was always in the middle of it. That is why the methodology that she is using is so extremely effective because racism cannot be analyzed it can only be experienced.
	I do not think that Anne Moody is missing anything in particular in this book. It is very organized and flows very smooth. The way of writing clearly gets the message across and all my questions have been nicely and in a timely manner been answered as I proceeded to read the book. The only thing that I personally would have wanted to see more of is less family issues and more of the issues at hand which is racism. But then I thought about this and came to the conclusion that it is all tied together. For example, the unjust treatments, the lack of opportunity, the segregations such as the one that occurred in the movie theater and other actions and causes that make me realize and come to the conclusion, that it is all in fact tied together and that without the actual family evaluation and background, this book would not hit the spot as much as it did with it. 
	Anne Moody has somewhat of a weird way of defining the problems in the book. As I was reading the book it seemed to me as if she was not even trying to state the problems but rather identify the situation to the reader and so that the reader can make up his/her own mind about the situation. She does not get into the details of the problems until later in the book after she has joined the activist groups where she clearly identifies the problems, the causes and the effects. Anne Moody's sympathies and antagonism are aimed at both individual groups. They are aimed at blacks and also on whites. She is furious about the white supremacy and the way that the blacks are mistreated yet she is also disappointed and shows a certain form of hostility towards blacks because of their lack of interest and perhaps their fears of change. She is somewhat of an individualistic rebel that does classify herself with neither whites nor blacks due to her mixed feelings about northern whites and doubts about the direction of black liberation.
	The body of the book and the language of the book are not particularly written in any form that would identify them with a particular school of thought. The reason for this is that Anne Moody never thought of herself as a writer, but rather as a civil rights movement activist. The language of this book is not considered highly intellectual but is written for the main and if not sole purpose of showing the new generation how it was and what they could do to overcome this great discriminative society. 
	This book deals with one of the biggest issues of the century. It deals with primarily racism during the time of Anne Moody and the troubles and racist behavior that she was exposed to. I can relate this book to numerous experiences even in today's world where supposedly racism has been overcome. It has not been extinguished, it has only been watered down so it is politically correct but the views and hate are unfortunately still the same.
	This book relates to some of my past experiences in the United States about a certain time when I was pulled over in Sacramento for falling into a category of Russian's that have been anonymously tipped to the police. Automatically after they have noticed that I have a little bit of accent, they proceeded to act it out as if I was the criminal himself, this is very similar to the writings of Anne Moody where she writes that all blacks are automatically segregated into a category where they are only able to do the things that were supposedly "destined" to do, such as slave labor, etc. The book Coming of Age in Mississippi deals a great deal with everything that one goes trough on a daily basis. Hate, mistrust, obligations to certain people, discrimination are just some of the things that Anne writes about that occurred during her time and that are also occurring in today's world.
	The story ends with Anne Moody being exhausted to death from rallying, protesting, marching, organizing that she was unsure of what she had accomplished. She had led a life before that where she ignored the fact that blacks were oppressed even though the thought always simmered in the back of her mind. She had lost everything including her materialistic objects and possessions and almost her health because of this fight for civil rights. The ending was really sad because people have sacrificed a lot for this cause like for example Mrs. Chinn and C.O, Moody and they have not even scratched the problem. The solution that Moody comes to is that she is aware of the fact that the white man controls everything and after her sitting on that bus heading for Washington and looking at little Gene, remembering how she was once just like him. She fought and fought and had not achieved anything and it bothered her because she was a person that accomplishes and survives and with Anne Moody being as smart, motivated, and with her fighter spirit soaring, this was a big task that she could not overcome and it bothered her, thinking if maybe she should give up the fight against the white man for the civil rights. 
I agree with Moody where she to a certain degree loses her interest in everything and is trembling with fear deep down inside, not knowing what to do or where to go. She had dedicated her life to the cause of fighting and achieving human civil rights and she was exhausted. Moody says in her other book and this quote really got me thinking about racism even more is "...that we made a few visible little gains; yet at the root, things always remained the same; and that the movement was not in control of its destiny, nor did we have any means of gaining control of it. We were like an angry dog on a leash that had turned on its master. It could bark and howl and snap, and sometimes even bite, but the master was always in control." 
	
	 
1
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hoop Dreams.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams is a story about two young men who want to become basketball players in the NBA. The author Ben Joravsky wrote the book. The idea for the book came from the documentary movie, Hoop Dreams, which is a true story. Arthur Agee and William Gates are the names of the two boys who were followed from eighth grade to twelve grade to do the movie.
Arthur Agee was a 5'6 125 pound guard from the playgrounds of Chicago when St Joseph recruiters saw him. Arthur was playing against guy's three years older than he was and he was still the best in the neighborhood. Arthur's parents Bo and Sheila Agee were very poor people who were on cocaine and could not support their family. Big Earl, the guy who recruited Arthur told his family that St. Joe's would be able to pay Arthur's tuition if he played basketball for them. Arthur went to St. Joe's and met William Gates. They had become friends in grade school but had never really done anything together. Eventually William turned out to be the better player and all the attention and money was focused on him. Therefore, Arthur was booted out of St. Joe's in the middle of the school year. He was forced to enroll at Marshall, the area public school. As a result, Arthur could see his dreams of the NBA were slipping away. Along with that, he couldn't keep his grades up enough to attend a Division I school. He and the Marshall Commandos ended up going downstate Arthur's senior year. They finished third in the state overall. Arthur ended up going to a junior college named Mineral Area in Flat River Mississippi. After his two years in Mississippi, Arthur received a scholarship to Arkansas State. He finished his degree in communications and he graduated. Arthur never did reach his dream of going to the NBA, at least yet. As you can see, it takes a lot for an inner city boy to try and reach his dream, but most of the time it never happens. William Gates was also 14 when he was recruited to go to St. Joseph. He and Arthur both had to wake up around 5:30 every morning so they could get on the subway to make it to school in time. It took William about two hours everyday. William impressed the coaches and he was moved up to varsity when he was a freshman. This disappointed Arthur because he wasn't used to seeing people better than he was. After a while William began to start and all of Arthur's scholarship was being used for William. William felt very bad about this but he knew that he couldn't let this stop him if he was going to make it in the pros. Eventually Arthur left the team and being one of the few blacks in a Christian school made William feel even more out in space. William kept improving and he was getting letters from major colleges all over the country. However he wasn't able to get an SAT score of 18 so he wasn't going to be eligible to play his freshman year. Additionally, he ripped cartilage in his knee and some schools were wondering if he could ever play again. This narrowed down Williams choices and he picked Marquette University. He ended up graduating and he hired an agent and they tried to get him into the NBA but they failed. William ended up marrying Catherine, which he already had two kids with and they moved back to Chicago. In conclusion, the dream was just as hard for William as it was for Arthur, William just made a little closer. Arthur and William still play pick-up games down at the playgrounds they became great. It's hard to believe that William was once the better player. They both said they still have the dream but they aren't going to chase it. They will wait for the NBA to come calling for them. This story is a great story for young kids who have the dream for becoming stars. It gives them the reality of the dream. All in all, this book was one of the best I have ever read.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Hoover Company.TXT
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Hoover Company
Product Development (Vacuum Cleaner)
In 1811, an Englishman named James came up with an invention that today saves us a great deal of time. That invention was the first patented mechanical device designed specifically for floor sweeping. It wasn't until 1907 that Murray Spangler, a building maintenance man faced with cleaning endless hallways, found a way to improve on Humes invention by developing a motor that attached to the sweeping machine. In 1908, Spangler teamed up with William H. Hoover, and the Hoover Suction Sweeper Company was formed.
Since then, Hoover has led the cleaning appliance industry by developing and marketing some of the most efficient, easy to use appliances in the U.S. and abroad. It's interesting to note that most Hoover vacuum cleaners still use the agitation/suction system that Spangler originally invented.
Recently, Hoover has introduced the New WindTunnel Canister. Hoover, the floor-care innovator, has moved to revolutionize the canister cleaner category with its famous WindTunnel technology. Meet the WindTunnel canister. It picks up more dirt than any other canister cleaner on the market, including all bagless models. The WindTunnel canister contains the exclusive WindTunnel technology. This technology, patented by Hoover, is a breakthrough in the design of the agitator cavity: Dirt is prevented from coming in contact with the agitator and being scattered back onto the carpet by a dual-duct arrangement in the WindTunnel nozzle. This technology improves cleaning effectiveness, which is the most-sought-after benefit consumers want in a cleaner, according to independent research. WindTunnel technology is not a new concept to consumers. Since the advancement was introduced in 1997, Hoover has invested millions of dollars in advertising to promote the technology in its WindTunnel uprights. As for the WindTunnel canister, Hoover will push the unit with a true multi-media campaign, starting with a short-form direct-response spot, commercials on network and cable television, and national radio - with more to come. The WindTunnel canister is loaded with convenience features, including:
* A wide, 15-inch power nozzle.
* An agitator on-off switch for effective cleaning on either carpet or bare floors.
* The Hoover allergen-filtration system, which minimizes the escape of fine particles back into the air. The most important element of the system is the two-ply, disposable filter bag, which captures 100 percent of dust mites and 99.9 percent of ragweed and common grass pollens.
* A transparent agitator cavity so that the user can see the WindTunnel technology in action.
* A full array of on-board, covered tools: Six-foot swivel hose, two chrome wands, crevice tool, dusting brush, furniture nozzle and hard-floor tool.
* A 25-foot cord with automatic rewind.
* Automatic bag-check indicator.
* Edge groomers - a series of flexible bristles aligned vertically along the far edges of the agitator cavity. The bristles brush the dirt particles along baseboards, and the particles are then drawn by the suction of the cleaner toward the air ducts.
Hoover anticipates that the introduction of the WindTunnel canister will amount to additional sales for a category that in 1998 experienced the greatest percentage growth of all floor-care categories. The growth has been fueled in part by a proliferation of hard-floor surfaces in homes, especially in warm-weather climates. Hoover also believes that further growth will be seen as one-time canister users come back to the category. They left six to 10 years ago when uprights with attached tools attracted many canister users. Now that their uprights are aging, they'll be back in the market and will give the WindTunnel canister a long look.
The WindTunnel canisters (models S3630 and S3655) come in forest green/black and carry an expected retail range of $299 to $470.
Hoover, the leader in the floor-care industry, offers a full line of products, including full-size uprights and canisters, stick cleaners, hand-held cleaners, extractors, utility vacuums, central vacuum systems and commercial products. Hoover is based in North Canton, Ohio, where it was established in 1908.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\House Of Spirits.TXT
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House Of Spirits
THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF ESEBAN
TRUEBA Esteban Trueba's triumphs and defeats Isabel
Allende documents The House of the Spirits. After leaving,
his mother and sister, and starting a new and independent
life, Esteban changes much. For the first time he is successful
and wealthy. He feels as if he has no problems, mainly
because he does not have a family to weigh him down.
Trueba's move to Three Marias seems to appease his hunger
temporarily, before his monstrous, demanding, and ever
growing needs overwhelms him. The type of lifestyle
achieved by Esteban Trueba in Three Marias far surpassed
that of living with his mother and sister, however only brief
moments of satisfaction are incurred. These, previously
mentioned, moments created a hunger for perfection and
greed that would continue perpetuate at any cost. Receiving
a letter from Ferula brings back memories for Esteban of his
sad life with her and his mother, which forces him to endure
his memories of poverty and pain. He even remembers the
smell of medicince, which had encompassed their home.
These memories force Esteban to reflect on the reasons why
he left them. He reminisces on that portion of his life,
occupied by the deterioration of his family. Ferula endured
many burdens as well, due to their father's drinking, then his
death, their mother's age, her chronic sicknesses, and
Esteban's childhood care. A direct result of these chaotic
years is the siblings inability to relate. When Esteban bought
a luxury, an elaborate coffee with his money she scolded him
for "spending Mama's medicine money on [his] private little
whims" (Allende 43). Eventually Esteban tires of this
oppressive way of life and goes to search for a "destiny that
was bright, free, and full of promise" (Allende 44). At Tres
Marias he hopes to find his Eden. All this cargo from his past
is called to his attention by the letter he receives from Ferula.
The letter does result in inflicting guilt on Esteban, for his lack
of morals and complete selfishness. Ferula tells Esteban, in
the letter, that their mother wants to see her son again before
she dies. "Esteban had never really loved his mother or felt at
ease in her presence," but he knew that resisting this visit to
pay his last respects would be unethical (Allende 71).
Visiting "this woman who was always present in his
nightmares," was unavoidable: death is final and feelings are
not(Allende 72). Ferula never enjoys the pleasure in her life,
part of Esteban's dilemma before moving to Three Marias.
Yet, Esteban hopes to avoid his kin for the rest of their lives.
Esteban should not dwell on his family, especially when
everything in his life has gone considerably better without
them. As any family member will attest, there are always
strong family ties regardless of ones denial. The temporary
feelings of a son will eventually leave and regret will occur,
for not visiting, writing or caring while a loved one was still
available. For Esteban, his move to Three Marias simplified
his life, he had no family problems, no financial problems,
and he believed that he was content often. He was
practically a king, do what he pleases on his land with many
uneducated servants, meaning free labor. In Three Marias
people wait on him, he has wealth and unbridled freedom.
None of these luxuries came into Esteban's dreams until he
moved there. He likes Transito Soto and lends her money to
start a new life for herself, away from the brothels. This was
one of the few times throughout the book in which Esteban is
philanthropic. After so many grinding and sorrowful years,
the opportunity Esteban has to meet new people and thrive
in a new town temporarily appeased him. Esteban comes to
believe that the first time he sat down in the first class car of
the train that being first was his pursuit of happiness and
independence. Presumably for Esteban Trueba, marriage,
children, and control, all found at Three Marias, would
ensure his happiness. Despite the prosperity which Esteban
achieved at Three Marias, he would still remain an abrasive
man who could not accept failure or weakness. Prosperity,
women, children, and wealth would never compensate for
his eternal bitterness which could be attributed to his
childhood and early adult years.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Huck Fin.TXT
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Huck Fin 
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a book about a
young boy's coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800's. The main
character, Huckleberry Finn, spends much time in the book floating
down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim.
Before he does so, however, Huck spends some time in the town
of St. Petersburg where a number of people attempt to influence him.
Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life of absolute
freedom. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much
attention to him; his mother is dead and so, when the book begins, Huck
is not used to following any rules. The book's opening finds Huck living
with the slightly mean but sweet Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Both women are
fairly old and are really somewhat incapable of raising a rebellious boy
like Huck Finn. Nevertheless, they attempt to make Huck into what they
believe will be a better boy. Specifically, they attempt, as Huck says, to
"civilize" him. This process includes making Huck go to school, teaching
him various religious facts, and making him act in a way that the women
find socially acceptable. Huck, who has never had to follow many rules in
his life, finds the demands the women place upon him constraining and
the life with them lonely. As a result, soon after he first moves in with
them, he runs away. He soon comes back, but, even though he becomes
somewhat comfortable with his new life as the months go by, Huck never
really enjoys the life of manners, religion, and education that the Widow
and her sister impose upon him.
 
Huck believes he will find some freedom with Tom Sawyer. Tom is
a boy of Huck's age who promises Huck and other boys of the town a life
of adventure. Huck is eager to join Tom Sawyer's Gang because he feels
that doing so will allow him to escape the somewhat boring life he leads
with the Widow Douglas. Unfortunately, such an escape does not occur.
Tom Sawyer promises much-robbing stages, murdering and ransoming
people, kidnapping beautiful women-but none of this comes to pass. Huck
finds out too late that Tom's adventures are imaginary: that raiding a
caravan of "A-rabs" really means terrorizing young children on a Sunday
school picnic, that stolen "joolry" is nothing more than turnips or rocks.
Huck is disappointed that the adventures Tom promises are not real and
so, along with the other members, he resigns from the gang.
Another person who tries to get Huckleberry Finn to change is
Pap, Huck's father. Pap is one of the most astonishing figures in all of
American literature as he is completely antisocial and wishes to undo all
of the civilizing effects that the Widow and Miss Watson have attempted
to instill in Huck. Pap is a mess: he is unshaven; his hair is uncut and
hangs like vines in front of his face; his skin, Huck says, is white like a
fish's belly or like a tree toad's. Pap's savage appearance reflects his
feelings as he demands that Huck quit school, stop reading, and avoid
church. Huck is able to stay away from "Pap" for a while, but Pap kidnaps
Huck three or four months after Huck starts to live with the Widow and
takes him to a lonely cabin deep in the Missouri woods. Here, Huck
enjoys, once again, the freedom that he had prior to the beginning of the
book. He can smoke, "laze around," swear, and, in general, do what he
wants to do. However, as he did with the Widow and with Tom, Huck
begins to become dissatisfied with this life. Pap is "too handy with the
hickory" and Huck soon realizes that he will have to escape from the
cabin if he wishes to remain alive. As a result of his concern, Huck makes
it appear as if he is killed in the by taking and killing
a goat in the cabin while Pap is away, and leaves to go
to a remote island in the Mississippi River, Jackson's Island.
It is after he leaves his father's cabin that Huck joins yet another
important influence in his life: Miss Watson's slave, Jim. Prior to Huck's
leaving, Jim has been a minor character in the novel. He has been shown
being fooled by Tom Sawyer and telling Huck's fortune. Huck finds Jim
on Jackson's Island because the slave has run away-he has overheard a
conversation that he will soon be sold to New Orleans. Soon after joining
Jim on Jackson's Island, Huck begins to realize that Jim has more
talents and intelligence than Huck has been aware of. Jim knows "all
kinds of signs" about the future, people's personalities, and weather
forecasting. Huck finds this kind of information necessary as he and Jim
drift down the Mississippi on a raft. As important, Huck feels a comfort
with Jim that he has not felt with the other major characters in the novel.
With Jim, Huck can enjoy the best aspects of his earlier influences. As
does the Widow, Jim allows Huck security, but Jim is not as confining as
is the Widow. Like Tom Sawyer, Jim is intelligent but his intelligence is
not as intimidating or as imaginary as is Tom's. As does Pap, Jim allows
Huck freedom, but he does it in a loving, rather than an uncaring,
fashion. Thus, early, in their relationship on Jackson's Island, Huck says
to Jim, "This is nice. I wouldn't want to be nowhere else but here." This
feeling is in marked contrast with Huck's feelings concerning other
people in the early part of the novel where he always is uncomfortable
and wishes to leave them.
 
At the conclusion of chapter 11 in The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, Huck and Jim are forced to leave Jackson's Island because Huck
discovers that people are looking for the runaway slave. Prior to leaving,
Huck tells Jim, "They're after us." Clearly, the people are after Jim, but
Huck has already identified with Jim and has begun to care for him. This
stated empathy shows that the two outcasts will have a successful and
rewarding friendship as they drift down the river as the book comes to a end.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Huck Finn And Racism.TXT
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Huck Finn And Racism
In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck goes through many adventures on the Mississippi River. He escapes from Pap and sails down the Mississippi with an escaped slave named Jim. Huck goes through the moral conflict of how wrong it is to be helping Jim escape to freedom. Eventually Huck decides he will help Jim and actually steals him from a farmer with the help of Tom Sawyer, a friend. Eventhough Huck and Jim are trying to sail to the Ohio River which leads to freedom, they pass it in the dark.
Over the course of the novel Huck's opinion of Jim changes. In the beginning of their voyage, Huck feels he shouldn't be helping Jim to freedom and almost turns him in to slave catchers Twain 87 "I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this (that Huck is his one and only friend) it seemed to take the tuck all out of me.". Huck begins to enjoy having Jim's company, and when Jim is sold by the Duke and the King, Huck breaks down and cries while asking the Duke where Jim is Twain 208 "'sold him' I says, and begun to cry; 'why he was my nigger, and that was my money. Where is he?-- I want my nigger.". Then Huck steals Jim from the Phelps farm (eventhough he was already set free by Miss Watson's will). Huck Finn
changes as we go through the story because Jim is really almost his slave and he grows to like having Jim wait on him.
In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain depicts Southern life and society in the 1870's. The main point that Twain makes is that Southern life is not as glorious as it's made out to be. We can tell this be several ironies between the way Southern life was depicted and the way Twain describes them. One of the ironies is that plantation owners were supposed to be like kings, but Twain takes one of these "kings", Colonel Sherburn and has him kill Boggs, the town drunk. If these plantation owners were kings they'd have no reason to be killing drunks. Another irony is that Southern society is supposed to be based on European aristocracy, but in reality the characters in this book are nothing but loafers and idiots. They are quick to pass judgment like when Huck tells the slave catchers that people on his raft have smallpox (on page 88) and they instantly believe him and give him money. Violence is the general outcome of most situations in this novel. An example of this is the funeral when a dispute arises when the real Wilkses arrive they decide that they'll kill all four of them Twain 195 "The whole billin' of 'm 's frauds! Le's duck 'em! Le's drown 'em! Le's ride 'em on a rail!". Mary Jane is a good example of one of the few good intelligent Southerners in this book.
In Huck Finn Twain uses women throughout the novel. Some of the women like Mary Jane and Mrs. Loftus (when Huck dresses as a girl) are used to help Huck. Mary Jane aids in catching the Duke and King, and Mrs. Loftus gives Huck some valuable information Twain 57 "...but husband's going over to see (if Jim's on Jackson Island)- him and another man". Another way women are used in this novel is as controlling figures. The widow and Miss Watson are two character who try to control or "sivilize" Huck and are generally viewed as bad people.
It may be suprising but Huck Finn wasn't considered a racist for the time that this story occured. Huck Finn acted and thought just like many other Southerners Twain 213 "..(Huck)We blowed out a cylinder head. (Aunt Sally) Good gracious! Anybody hurt? (Huck) No'm killed a nigger. (A.Sally) Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt." Back then negros were treated as objects or animals. The word 'nigger' was the normal word for a black person. That is why this book is so controversial today. In any case Huck Finn is a good story, and a great example of literature from that time.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Huck Finn.TXT
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Huck Finn-Individual Vs. Society
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The conflict between society and the individual is a very important theme portrayed throughout Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many people see Huckleberry Finn as a mischievious boy who is a bad influence to others. Huck is not raised in agreement with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As seen several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more right than those of society. Society refuses to accept Huck as he is and isn't going to change its opinions about him until he is reformed and civilized. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to "sivilize" Huck by making him stop all of his habits, such as smoking. They try to reverse all of his teachings from the first twelve years of his life and force him to become their stereotypical good boy. However, from the very begininning of the novel, Huck clearly states that he does not want to conform to society. "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me...I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." (page 11) Huck says this shortly after he begins living with the Widow Douglas because it is rough for him to be confined to a house and the strict rules of the Widow Douglas. When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an obviously evil and unfit man. One who drinks and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out down the Mississippi. As they run from civilization and are on the river, they ponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. The river never cares how saintly they are, how rich they are, or what society thinks of them. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be, and that is Huck. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restriction of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Society automatically sees a black person, and even further, slaves, as inferior. They never think of slaves as human beings, only as property. A slave, such as Jim, could be the nicest, most caring person you have ever met, but since he is a slave he is presumed incapable of such things. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. In Chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he comes up with a story about his father being on the raft with small pox. The men fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give Huck money and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick man. This is contrasted to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he actually did a morally just action. Huck's acceptance for his love for Jim is shown in Chapter thirty-one. Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson to return Jim, yet he ends up ripping the letter and wishes to free Jim. "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'-and he tore it up." (page 210) Here, we see that Huck concludes that he is evil, and that society has been right all along. The ending is perhaps most disappointing because it seems as though through all the situations that Huck is growing up and accepting his innate ideas of right, when in fact he hasn't grown at all. In the last chapter after everything has been cleared up and set straight, Aunt Sally wishes to adopt Huck and unfortunately, Huck is against that idea. "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." (page 283) In Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry, Huck finds himself living in a society that doesn't fit him. Huck is considered an uneducated backwards boy, constantly under pressure to conform to the "humanized" surroundings of society. Everywhere he looks there are people who value things that he sees as meaningless. Huck feels trapped and begins his journey, with Jim, down the river in an effort to find someone or some place that will bring him happiness. Huck and Jim's adventures give us a chance to examine the sociey they live in. The conflict between society and the individual is one of the most important themes of this novel. Throughout the story we learn that Huck functions as a more noble person when he is not confined by the hypocrisies of civilization.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The conflict between society and the individual is a very important theme portrayed throughout Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many people see Huckleberry Finn as a mischievious boy who is a bad influence to others. Huck is not raised in agreement with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As seen several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more right than those of society. Society refuses to accept Huck as he is and isn't going to change its opinions about him until he is reformed and civilized. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to "sivilize" Huck by making him stop all of his habits, such as smoking. They try to reverse all of his teachings from the first twelve years of his life and force him to become their stereotypical good boy. However, from the very begininning of the novel, Huck clearly states that he does not want to conform to society. "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me...I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." (page 11) Huck says this shortly after he begins living with the Widow Douglas because it is rough for him to be confined to a house and the strict rules of the Widow Douglas. When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an obviously evil and unfit man. One who drinks and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out down the Mississippi. As they run from civilization and are on the river, they ponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. The river never cares how saintly they are, how rich they are, or what society thinks of them. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be, and that is Huck. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restriction of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Society automatically sees a black person, and even further, slaves, as inferior. They never think of slaves as human beings, only as property. A slave, such as Jim, could be the nicest, most caring person you have ever met, but since he is a slave he is presumed incapable of such things. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. In Chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he comes up with a story about his father being on the raft with small pox. The men fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give Huck money and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick man. This is contrasted to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he actually did a morally just action. Huck's acceptance for his love for Jim is shown in Chapter thirty-one. Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson to return Jim, yet he ends up ripping the letter and wishes to free Jim. "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'-and he tore it up." (page 210) Here, we see that Huck concludes that he is evil, and that society has been right all along. The ending is perhaps most disappointing because it seems as though through all the situations that Huck is growing up and accepting his innate ideas of right, when in fact he hasn't grown at all. In the last chapter after everything has been cleared up and set straight, Aunt Sally wishes to adopt Huck and unfortunately, Huck is against that idea. "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." (page 283) In Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry, Huck finds himself living in a society that doesn't fit him. Huck is considered an uneducated backwards boy, constantly under pressure to conform to the "humanized" surroundings of society. Everywhere he looks there are people who value things that he sees as meaningless. Huck feels trapped and begins his journey, with Jim, down the river in an effort to find someone or some place that will bring him happiness. Huck and Jim's adventures give us a chance to examine the sociey they live in. The conflict between society and the individual is one of the most important themes of this novel. Throughout the story we learn that Huck functions as a more noble person when he is not confined by the hypocrisies of civilization.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The conflict between society and the individual is a very important theme portrayed throughout Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many people see Huckleberry Finn as a mischievious boy who is a bad influence to others. Huck is not raised in agreement with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As seen several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more right than those of society. Society refuses to accept Huck as he is and isn't going to change its opinions about him until he is reformed and civilized. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to "sivilize" Huck by making him stop all of his habits, such as smoking. They try to reverse all of his teachings from the first twelve years of his life and force him to become their stereotypical good boy. However, from the very begininning of the novel, Huck clearly states that he does not want to conform to society. "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me...I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." (page 11) Huck says this shortly after he begins living with the Widow Douglas because it is rough for him to be confined to a house and the strict rules of the Widow Douglas. When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an obviously evil and unfit man. One who drinks and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out down the Mississippi. As they run from civilization and are on the river, they ponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. The river never cares how saintly they are, how rich they are, or what society thinks of them. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be, and that is Huck. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restriction of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Society automatically sees a black person, and even further, slaves, as inferior. They never think of slaves as human beings, only as property. A slave, such as Jim, could be the nicest, most caring person you have ever met, but since he is a slave he is presumed incapable of such things. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. In Chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he comes up with a story about his father being on the raft with small pox. The men fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give Huck money and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick man. This is contrasted to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he actually did a morally just action. Huck's acceptance for his love for Jim is shown in Chapter thirty-one. Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson to return Jim, yet he ends up ripping the letter and wishes to free Jim. "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'-and he tore it up." (page 210) Here, we see that Huck concludes that he is evil, and that society has been right all along. The ending is perhaps most disappointing because it seems as though through all the situations that Huck is growing up and accepting his innate ideas of right, when in fact he hasn't grown at all. In the last chapter after everything has been cleared up and set straight, Aunt Sally wishes to adopt Huck and unfortunately, Huck is against that idea. "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." (page 283) In Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry, Huck finds himself living in a society that doesn't fit him. Huck is considered an uneducated backwards boy, constantly under pressure to conform to the "humanized" surroundings of society. Everywhere he looks there are people who value things that he sees as meaningless. Huck feels trapped and begins his journey, with Jim, down the river in an effort to find someone or some place that will bring him happiness. Huck and Jim's adventures give us a chance to examine the sociey they live in. The conflict between society and the individual is one of the most important themes of this novel. Throughout the story we learn that Huck functions as a more noble person when he is not confined by the hypocrisies of civilization.

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Huckleberry Finn - Racist Novel?
There is a major argument among literary critics whether The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question focuses on the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and the way he is treated by Huck and other characters. The use of the word "nigger" is also a point raised by some critics, who feel that Twain uses the word too often and too loosely. Mark Twain never presents Jim in a negative light. He does not show Jim as a drunkard, as a mean person, or as a cheat. This is in contrast to the way Huck's (white) father is depicted, whom Twain describes using all of the above characterizations and more. The reader views Jim as a good friend - a man devoted to his family and loyal to his companions.
Jim is, however, very naive and superstitious. Some critics say that Twain is implying that all blacks have these qualities. When Jim turns to his magic hairball for answers about the future, we see that he does believe in some foolish things. But all the same, he is visited by both blacks and whites to use the hairball's powers. This type of naivete was abundant at the time and found amongst all races - the result of a lack of proper education. So, the depiction of Jim is not negative in the sense that Jim is stupid and inferior, and this aspect of the story is clearly not meant as a racial slight.
Next, it is necessary to analyze the way in which white characters treat Jim throughout the book. Note that what the author felt is not the way most characters act around Jim, and his feelings are probably only conveyed through Huck. In the South during that period, black people were treated as less than humans, and Twain needed to portray this. The examples of the ways Jim is denigrated include being locked up, having to hide his face in the daytime, and being mercilessly derided. These examples are necessary for historical accuracy. So, Mark Twain had to display Jim's treatment in this manner, even if it was not the way he felt. Huck, however, does not treat Jim as most whites do. Huck sees Jim as a friend, and by the end of their journey, disagrees with society's notion that blacks are inferior. There are two main examples of this in the story. The first one is where Huck is disgusted by Jim's plans to steal his own children, who are "someone else's property." While Huck still seems racially prejudiced at this point, Twain has written the scene in a way that ridicules the notion that someone's children can actually be the property of a stranger just because the father is black. The second example is where Huck doesn't reveal Jim's whereabouts, so as not force Jim to return to slavery. Huck instead chooses to "go to hell" for his decision. This is again Twain making a mockery of Southern values that considered it a sin to be kind to black people.
Twain's critics consider the novel to be racist, and quite outwardly so. They cite the common use of the word "nigger," as the most obvious instance of the book's racism. This, however, is not a good example because this is how blacks were referred to then. To have used the words Negro or African-American would have taken away from the story's impact, and would make it sound ridiculous. If Twain wanted to write a historically accurate book - as he did - then the inclusion of this word is totally necessary.
A closer reading also reveals Twain's serious satiric intent. In one scene, for instance, Aunt Sally hears of a steamboat explosion. "Good gracious! anybody hurt?" she asks. "No'm," comes the answer, "Killed a nigger." But anyone who imagines that Mark Twain meant this literally is missing the point. Rather, Twain is using this casual dialogue ironically, as a way to underscore the chilling truth about the old south - that it was a society where perfectly "nice" people didn't consider the death of a black person worth their notice. To drive the point home, Twain has the lady continue: "Well, it's lucky, because sometimes people do get hurt."
But what is the book really about? It's about nothing less than striving for and attaining freedom. It's about a slave who breaks the law and risks his life to win his freedom and be reunited with his family, and a white boy who befriends him and helps him in escape. As a result of his upbringing, the boy starts out believing that slavery is part of the natural order. However, as the story unfolds he wrestles with his conscience, and when the crucial moment arises, he decides he will be damned to the flames of hell rather than betray his black friend. Moreover, Jim, as Twain presents him, is hardly a caricature. Rather, he is the moral center of the book, a man of courage and nobility, who risks his freedom - and his life - for the sake of his friend, Huck.
These claims that Huckelberry Finn is a racist novel are not simply attempts to damage the image of a great novel. They come from people who are hurt by racism and do not like seeing it in any context. However, they must realize that this novel and its author are not racially prejudiced at all. Rather, "Huckelberry Finn" is an unbiased literary classic that has become one of the most well read American titles of all time.
 

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Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn provides the narrative voice of Mark Twain's novel, and his honestvoice combined with his personal vulnerabilities reveal the different levels of the Grangerfords'
world. Huck is without a family: neither the drunken attention of Pap nor the pious ministrations of Widow Douglas were desirable allegiance. He stumbles upon the Grangerfords in darkness, lost from Jim and the raft. The family, after some initial cross examination, welcomes, feeds and rooms Huck with an amiable boy his age. With the light of the next morning, Huck estimates "it was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice house, too"(110). This is the first of many compliments Huck bestows on the Grangerfords and their possessions. Huck is impressed by all of the Grangerfords' belongings and liberally offers compliments. The books are piled on the table "perfectly exact"(111), the table had a cover made from "beautiful oilcloth"(111), and a book was filled with "beautiful stuff and poetry"(111). He even appraises the chairs, noting they
are "nice split-bottom chairs, and perfectly sound, too-not bagged down in the middle and
busted, like an old basket"(111). It is apparent Huck is more familar with busted chairs than sound ones, and he appreciates the distinction.
Huck is also more familiar with flawed families than loving, virtuous ones, and he is happy to sing the praises of the people who took him in. Col. Grangerford "was a gentleman all
over; and so was his family"(116). The Colonel was kind, well-mannered, quiet and far from frivolish. Everyone wanted to be around him, and he gave Huck confidence. Unlike the drunken Pap, the Colonel dressed well, was clean-shaven and his face had "not a sign of red in it anywheres"(116). Huck admired how the Colonel gently ruled his family with hints of a submerged temper. The same temper exists in one of his daughters: "she had a look that would make you wilt in your tracks, like her father. She was beautiful"(117). Huck does not think negatively of the hints of iron in the people he is happy to care for and let care for him. He does not ask how three of the Colonels's sons died, or why the family brings guns to family picnics. He sees these as small facets of a family with "a handsome lot of quality"(118). He thinks no more about Jim or the raft, but knows he has found a new home, one where he doesn't have to go to school, is surrounded by interior and exterior beauty, and most importantly, where he feels safe. Huck "liked that family, dead ones and all, and warn't going to let anything come between us"(118).
Huck is a very personable narrator. He tells his story in plain language, whether
describing the Grangerford's clock or his hunting expedition with Buck. It is through his precise, trusting eyes that the reader sees the world of the novel. Because Huck is so literal, and does not exaggerate experiences like Jim or see a grand, false version of reality like Tom Sawyer, the reader gains an understanding of the world Mark Twain created, the reader is able to catch Twain's jokes and hear his skepticism. The Grangerford's furniture, much admired by Huck, is actually comicly tacky. You can almost hear Mark Twain laughing over the parrot-flanked
clock and the curtains with cows and castles painted on them even as Huck oohs and ahhs. And Twain pokes fun at the young dead daughter Huck is so drawn to. Twain mocks Emmeline as an amateur writer: "She warn't particular, she could write about anything you choose to give her to write about, just so it was sadful"(114). Yet Twain allows the images of Emmeline and the silly clock to deepen in meaning as the chapter progresses. Emmeline is realized as an early portent of the destruction of Huck's adopted family. The mantel clock was admired by Huck not only for its beauty, but because the Grangerfords properly valued beauty and "wouldn't took any money for her"(111). Huck admired the Grangerfords' principles, and the stake they placed in good manners, delicious food, and attractive possessions. But Huck realizes in Chapter 18 that whereas the Grangerfords may value a hand-painted clock more than money, they put little value on human life.
The third view of the Grangerford's world is provided by Buck Grangerford. He is the same age as Huck; he has grown up in a world of feuding, family picnics, and Sunday sermon that are appreciated but rarely followed. Buck, from when he meets Huck until he is brutally murdered, never questions the ways of his family. For the rest of the chapter, Buck provides a foil for Huck, showing the more mature Huck questioning and judging the world around him. In fact it seems Buck does not have the imagination to conceive of a different world. He is amazed Huck has never heard of a feud, and surprised by Huck's desire to hear the history and the rationale behind it. In Buck Grangerford's rambling answers we hear Mark Twain's view of a southern feuding family, and after Buck finishes his answer, we watch Huck's reaction to the true nature of the Grangerfords. Buck details Twain's opinion that a feud is not started or continued by thought. The reasons for the feud have been forgotten, and the Grangerfords do not hate, but in fact respect, their sworn enemies. They live their lives by tradition, and the fact that the feud is a tradition justifies its needless, pointless violence. From the dignified Colonel with "a few buck-shot in him"(121) to Buck, who is eager for the glory to be gained from shooting a Shepherdson in the back, the Grangerfords unquestioningly believe in de-valuing
human life because it is a civilized tradition.
It is interesting that the only compliment Huck gives to a Grangerford after Buck shot at Harney Shepherdson was to Miss Sophia. He admits that the young women who denied part in any family feud is "powerful pretty"(122). But the rosy sheen that had spurred Huck to use the word 'beautiful' six times previously in description of the Grangerfords has evaporated. He attends church with the family and notices all the Grangerfords keep their guns close by. Huck thinks it "was pretty ornery preaching"(121), but the feuding patriarchy praises the good values listed by the Preacher. The hypocritical mixture of guns and sermons, holy talk and bloodthirstiness make it "one of the roughest Sundays [Huck] had run across yet"(121). He now questions the motives of everyone in the household, including Miss Sophia as she send him to the church on an errand. By this point the cynical, sarcastic Twain and the disillusioned Huck are of one mind. Huck walks among a group of hogs who have sought the coolness of the church and notes "most folks don't go to church only when they've got to; but a hog is different"(122)
The narration of Huck's final day with the Grangerfords is prefaced by: "I don't want to talk much about the next day"(124). For Huck's easy-going fluid dialogue to become stilted and censored, the reader knows the young boy has been hurt. A senseless fatal feud is not the only tragedy depicted through the events of that day, also shown is the heartbreak of a young boy who loses every vestige of the hopeful trust he put in a father, brothers and sisters. Huck is shocked to hear the fatherless, brotherless Buck complain he hadn't managed to kill his sister's lover on an earlier occaison. And then from his perch in the tree, Huck hears Buck's murderers "singing out, 'Kill them, kill them!' It made [Huck] so sick [he] most fell out of the tree"(127). He wishes he "hadn't comeashore that night, to see such things"(127).
The end of chapter nineteen, when Huck returns to the raft and Jim, almost exactly mirrors the end of chapter eighteen. Both chapter conclude with Huck enjoying a good meal with good company in a cool, comfortable place. First it is with the Grangerfords in the cool, high-ceilinged area in the middle of their double house. "Nothing could be better"(115), Huck thought. But only a few pages later the raft and Jim provide the same comforts. Nothing had ever sounded so good to him as Jim's voice, and Huck felt "mighty free and easy and comfortable on [the] raft"(128). . Huck happily slides away from the bloody scene with the unorthodox father figure of a runaway slave. Huck has realized he does not need a traditional family to make him feel safe and happy. He must develop and live by his own integrity, not the past decisions of a father or grandfather. This is clearly Mark Twain's opinion also, and the reader, full of relief at Huck's escape, is aware that the author sent us all into the Grangerfords' world to prove just that point.
 

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Research paper on Mark Twain: Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
	Mark Twain^?s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boy^?s
coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800^?s.  It is the story of Huck^?s
struggle to win
freedom for himself and Jim, a Negro slave.  ^ÓAdventures of Huckleberry Finn
was Mark
Twain^?s greatest book, and a delighted world named it his masterpiece.  To
nations
knowing it well - Huck riding his raft in every language men could print - it
was America^?s
masterpiece^Ô (Allen 259).  It is considered one of the greatest novels
because it conceals
so well Twain^?s opinions within what is seemingly a child^?s book.  Though
initially
condemned as inappropriate material for young readers, it soon became prized
for its
recreation of the Antebellum South, its insights into slavery, and its
depiction of
adolescent life.  The novel resumes Huck^?s tale from the Adventures of Tom
Sawyer,
which ended with Huck^?s adoption by Widow Douglas.   But it is so much more.
 ^ÓInto
this book the world called his masterpiece, Mark Twain put his prime purpose,
one that
branched in all his writing: a plea for humanity, for the end of caste, and
of its cruelties^Ô
(Allen 260).
    	Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born in Florida,
Missouri, in 1835.  During his childhood he lived in Hannibal, Missouri, a
Mississippi river
port that was to become a large influence on his future writing.  It was
Twain^?s nature to
write about where he lived, and his nature to criticize it if he felt it
necessary.  As far his
structure, Kaplan said, 
		^ÓIn plotting  a book his structural sense was weak; intoxicated by a hunch,
		he seldom saw far ahead, and too many of his stories peter out from the
		author^?s fatigue or surfeit.  His wayward techniques came close to free
		association.  This method served him best after he had conjured up 	
		characters from long ago, who on coming to life wrote the narrative for 
		him, passing from incident to incident with a grace their creator could
		never achieve in manipulating an artificial plot^Ô (Kaplan 16).  
									 
His best friend of forty years William D. Howells, has this to say about
Twain^?s writing.
		^ÓSo far as I know, Mr. Clemens is the first writer to use in extended
		writing the fashion we all use in thinking, and to set down the thing that
		comes into his mind without fear or favor of the thing that went before or
		the thing that may be about to follow^Ô (Howells 186).
	The main character, Huckleberry Finn, spends much time in the novel floating
down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim.  Before
he does so,
however, Huck spends some time in the fictional town of St. Petersburg where
a number
of people attempt to influence him.   Huck^?s feelings grow through the novel.
 Especially
in his feelings toward his friends, family, blacks, and society.  Throughout
the book, Huck
usually looks into his own heart for guidance.  Moral intuition is the basis
on which his
character rests.
	Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life of absolute freedom.  His
drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him; his
mother is dead
and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not used to following any rules.  In
the beginning
of the book Huck is living with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss
Watson.  Both
women are fairly old and are incapable of raising a rebellious boy like Huck
Finn. 
However, they attempt to make Huck into what they believe will be a better
boy.  ^ÓThe
Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but
it rough
living in the house all the time considering how dismal regular and decent
the widow was
in all her ways^Ô (Twain 11).  This process includes making Huck go to school,
teaching
him various religious facts, and making him act in a way that the women find
socially
acceptable.  In this first chapter, Twain gives us the first direct example
of communicating
his feelings through Huck Finn:  ^ÓAfter supper, the Widow Douglas got out her
book and
learned me about Moses...By and bye she let it out that Moses had been dead a
considerable long time; so then I didn^?t care no more about him, because I
don^?t take no
stock in dead people^Ô (Twain 12).  In a letter written by Twain, he had this
to say:  ^ÓAs to
the past, there is but one good thing about it, and that is, that it is the
past -- we don^?t 
have to see it again...I have no tears for my pile, no respect, no reverence,
no pleasure in
taking a rag-picker^?s hood and exploring it^Ô (Bellamy 156).  Twain expresses
his feelings
in the above paragraph by using the ^ÓI don^?t take no stock in dead
people^Ô(Twain 12) line
in the novel.  In this way he can fashion a child^?s narrative to convey his
views of the past. 
This is one example of the process Twain will continue to use in this novel
to conceal
satirical meanings within humorous lines.
	Huck, who has never had to follow many rules in his life, finds the demands
the
women place upon him constraining and the life with them lonely.  As a
result, soon after
he first moves in with them, he runs away.  He soon comes back, but, even
though he
becomes somewhat comfortable with his new life as the months go by, Huck
never really
enjoys the life of manners, religion, and education that the Widow and her
sister impose
upon him.  
	Huck believes he will find some freedom with Tom Sawyer.  Tom is a boy of
Huck^?s age who promises Huck and other boys of the town a life of adventure.
 Huck is
eager to join Tom Sawyer^?s Gang because he feels that doing so will allow him
to escape
the boring life he leads with the Widow Douglas.  Unfortunately, such an
escape does not
occur.  Tom Sawyer promises the gang they will be robbing stages, murdering
and
ransoming people, kidnapping beautiful women, but none of this comes to pass.
 Huck
finds out too late that Tom^?s adventures are imaginary: that raiding a
caravan of ^ÓA-rabs^Ô
really means terrorizing young children on a Sunday School picnic, that
stolen ^Ójoolry^Ô is
nothing more than turnips or rocks (Twain 22).  Huck is disappointed that the
adventures
Tom promises are not real and so, along with the other members, he resigns
from the
gang.
	Another person who tries to get Huckleberry Finn to change is Pap, Huck^?s
father. 
Some of Huck^?s most memorable lines were in reference to Pap.  Twain uses
humor and
innocence to depict a generalization of society:  ^ÓPap always said, take a
chicken when 
you get a chance, because if you don^?t want him yourself you can easy find
somebody that
does, and a good deed ain^?t never forgot.  I never see Pap when he didn^?t
want the
chicken himself, but that is what he used to say, anyway^Ô (Twain 16).  These
types of
paragraphs are used for three things simultaneously:  to add a note of
satire, to add to the 
storyline, and to continue to emphasize the child^?s point of view (Branch
214).  Pap is one
of the most interesting figures in the novel.  He is completely antisocial
and wishes to
undo all of the civilizing effects that the Widow and Miss Watson have
attempted to instill
in Huck.  Pap is unshaven and dirty.  Huck is afraid of his father because he
is an abusive
drunk who only wants Huck for his money.  ^ÓI used to be scared of him all the
time, he
taned me so much, I reckoned I was scared now too^Ô (Twain 18).  Pap demands
that
Huck quit school, stop reading, and avoid church.  Huck is able to stay away
from Pap for
a while, but Pap kidnaps Huck three or four months after Huck starts to live
with the
Widow and takes him to a lonely cabin deep in the woods.  Here, Huck enjoys,
once
again, the freedom that he had prior to the beginning of the book.  He can
smoke, laze
around, swear, and, in general, do what he wants to do.  However, as he did
with the
Widow and with Tom, Huck begins to become dissatisfied with this life.  Pap
beats Huck
often and he soon realizes that he will have to escape from the cabin if he
wishes to remain
alive.  Huck makes it appear as if he is killed in the cabin while Pap is
away, and leaves to
go to a remote island in the Mississippi River, Jackson^?s Island.  
	It is after he leaves his father^?s cabin that Huck joins yet another
important
influence in his life, Miss Watson^?s slave, Jim.  Prior to Huck^?s leaving,
Jim has been a
minor character in the novel -- he has been shown being fooled by Tom Sawyer
and telling
Huck^?s fortune.  Huck finds Jim on Jackson^?s Island because the slave has run
away when 
he overheard a conversation that he will soon be sold to someone in New
Orleans.  When
he first finds Jim on the island, he is glad simply because he wants
companionship; but as
the two share the peace of the place, Huck comes to regard Jim as a human
being 
rather than a faithful dog.  Huck begins to realize that Jim has more talents
and intelligence
than Huck has been aware of.  Jim knows all kinds of things about the future,
people^?s
personalities, and weather forecasting.  Huck finds this kind of information
necessary as he
and Jim drift down the Mississippi on a raft.  Mark Twain^?s imagination lends
vigor and
freshness to many passages, and especially in the sections involving
conversations between
Jim and Huck.  As Huck and Jim lie on their backs at night looking up at the
stars, while
the raft slips silently down the river, they argue about whether the stars
^Ówas made or only
just happened^Ô:  ^ÓJim said the moon could ^Ña^? laid them; well, that looked
kind of
reasonable...because I^?ve seen a frog lay most as many^Ô (Twain 120).  Huck
feels more
comfortable with Jim than he feels with the other major characters in the
novel.  With Jim,
Huck can enjoy the best aspects of his earlier influences.  Jim allows Huck
security, but
Jim is not as confining as the Widow.  Like Tom Sawyer, Jim is intelligent
but his
intelligence is not as intimidating or as imaginary as is Tom^?s.  Unlike Pap,
Jim allows
Huck freedom, but he does it in a loving, rather than an uncaring, fashion.
 Thus, early, in
their relationship on Jackson^?s Island, Huck says to Jim, ^ÓThis is nice.  I
wouldn^?t want to
be nowhere else but here^Ô(Twain 55).   Although their friendship took plenty
of time to
develop and had many bumps  in the road, it is a strong one that will last a
long time. 
Through it all, Huck triumphed over society and followed his heart, and Jim
helped Huck
to mature and became free.  Their journey to friendship is one to remember.
 Huck is a
developing character throughout the novel.  Much of his development is due to
his
association with Jim and his increasing respect for the black man.  
	Huck and Jim start their long journey down the Mississippi to Cairo where
Jim will
find his freedom.  It is on this journey where Huck slowly develops a
respectful friendship 
with Jim.  However, this is slow to develop because Huck plays some very
nasty tricks on
Jim.  The tricks would not have been so mean if Huck did not mean so much to
Jim.  Jim
really needs Huck^?s help if he is going to make it safely.  It is also later
revealed that Huck 
is the only friend that Jim ever had.  After Huck plays the trick where they
got separated
on the river he realizes what he has done and feels bad; however, Huck is
slow to
apologize.  ^ÓIt was fifteen minutes before I could go and humble myself to a
nigger; but I
done it and I warn^?t ever sorry for it afterward, neither.  I didn^?t do him
no more mean
tricks, and I wouldn^?t have done that one if I^?d a^?knowed it would make him
feel that
way^Ô (Twain 86).  That incident probably changed the whole way Huck looks at
Jim and
other Negroes.  He realizes that they are people with feelings not just a
household item. 
	Part of the power of the book lies in Mark Twain^?s drawing of the character
of
Nigger Jim.  Mark Twain shows Jim^?s slow, purposeful reasoning.  But in other
moods
Jim^?s spirit opens out to a wider horizon.  Like Huck, he senses the beauty
of the river.  In
his interpretation of a dream, Jim lets ^Óthe big, clear river^Ô symbolize ^Óthe
free States^Ô-in
other words freedom.  If  The Enchanted Village might serve as a subtitle for
Tom
Sawyer, so The Road to Freedom might serve the same purpose for Huckleberry
Finn
(Bellamy 342).
	A while later fate decides to test Huck and they come across some slave
hunters. 
Huck is still a little confused between right and wrong and decides to turn
Jim in, but at
the last second Huck starts lying and saves Jim from being discovered.  ^ÓThey
went off
and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low, because I knowed very well I
had done
wrong^Ô (Twain 91).
	At one of the towns that Huck and Jim stop at they pick up two men who claim
to
be royalty but are really con-artists.  Huck quickly realizes this but does
not say anything
just to keep the peace on the raft.  Huck does not really like these two,
King and Duke,
because they do mean things to innocent people to make their living.  They go
too far 
when they find three sisters who just lost their father and they pretend to
be their British
uncles.  They plan to rob the sisters for all their worth but Huck foils
their plan.  This
passage illustrates Huck^?s kindness to total strangers.  Huck especially did
not care for 
King and Duke after King sells Jim for forty dollars.  Huck is determined to
free Jim and
finds out that Jim is being kept at the farm of Tom Sawyer^?s aunt and uncle.
 Huck
presents himself as Tom Sawyer.  When Tom actually arrives, he cooperates
with Huck
and presents himself as another fellow, Sid.  Huck enlists Tom^?s aid in the
scheme to
rescue Jim.  Tom, however, develops an unnecessarily complicated plot.  When
they help
Jim escape, a chase ensues.  Tom is shot in the leg and Jim is recaptured.
 But then the
boys learn that Jim^?s owner has died, bequeathing him his freedom.  They also
learn that
Huck^?s father, too, has died.  Tom^?s Aunt Sally then offers to adopt Huck,
but he realizes
that the process of becoming civilized is not an enjoyable one.
	Throughout the course of the novel Huck changed from a boy who shared the
narrow-minded opinion which looked down on Negroes to one where he viewed
them as
equals.  I would say that would be his biggest emotional growth in the novel.
	Huck is a very personable narrator.  He tells his story in plain language.
 It is
through his precise trusting eyes that the reader sees the world of the
novel.  Because
Huck is so literal, the reader gains an understanding of the work Mark Twain
created, the
reader is able to catch Twain^?s jokes and hear his skepticism.  The
Grangerford^?s
furniture, much admired by Huck, is actually comically tacky.  You can almost
hear Mark
Twain laughing over the parrot-flanked clock and the curtains with cows and
castles
painted on them even as Huck oohs and ahhs.
	Through the character of Huck, that disreputable, illiterate little boy,
Mark Twain
was licensed to let himself go...That Mark Twain was almost, if not quite
conscious of his
opportunity we can see from his introductory note to the book:  ^ÓPersons
attempting to
find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to
find a moral in it 
will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot^Ô
(Branch 216).    The
emotional tie-in with the past found expression in Mark Twain^?s
self-identification with 
Huck, the dominant strategy he employed.  This identification breathed life
into Huck^?s
character and into his experience, which encompasses the dramatic role of
sharply
individualized characters.
Works Cited
Allen, Jerry. The Adventures of Mark Twain. Boston: Little, 1954. 
Bellamy, Gladys Carmen. Mark Twain: As A Literary Artist. Norman: UP of
                
	Oklahoma, 1950. 
Branch, Edgar Marquess. The Literary Apprenticeship Of Mark Twain. New York: 
	Russell, 1966.
Howells, W. D. My Mark Twain: Reminiscences and Criticisms. New York: Harper,
1910.
Kaplan, Justin, ed. Mark Twain: A Profile. New York: Hill, 1967.
Twain, Mark. Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin, 1959.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\HuckleberryFinn.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Research paper on Mark Twain: Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
	Mark Twain^?s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boy^?s
coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800^?s.  It is the story of Huck^?s
struggle to win
freedom for himself and Jim, a Negro slave.  ^ÓAdventures of Huckleberry Finn
was Mark
Twain^?s greatest book, and a delighted world named it his masterpiece.  To
nations
knowing it well - Huck riding his raft in every language men could print - it
was America^?s
masterpiece^Ô (Allen 259).  It is considered one of the greatest novels
because it conceals
so well Twain^?s opinions within what is seemingly a child^?s book.  Though
initially
condemned as inappropriate material for young readers, it soon became prized
for its
recreation of the Antebellum South, its insights into slavery, and its
depiction of
adolescent life.  The novel resumes Huck^?s tale from the Adventures of Tom
Sawyer,
which ended with Huck^?s adoption by Widow Douglas.   But it is so much more.
 ^ÓInto
this book the world called his masterpiece, Mark Twain put his prime purpose,
one that
branched in all his writing: a plea for humanity, for the end of caste, and
of its cruelties^Ô
(Allen 260).
    	Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born in Florida,
Missouri, in 1835.  During his childhood he lived in Hannibal, Missouri, a
Mississippi river
port that was to become a large influence on his future writing.  It was
Twain^?s nature to
write about where he lived, and his nature to criticize it if he felt it
necessary.  As far his
structure, Kaplan said, 
		^ÓIn plotting  a book his structural sense was weak; intoxicated by a hunch,
		he seldom saw far ahead, and too many of his stories peter out from the
		author^?s fatigue or surfeit.  His wayward techniques came close to free
		association.  This method served him best after he had conjured up 	
		characters from long ago, who on coming to life wrote the narrative for 
		him, passing from incident to incident with a grace their creator could
		never achieve in manipulating an artificial plot^Ô (Kaplan 16).  
									 
His best friend of forty years William D. Howells, has this to say about
Twain^?s writing.
		^ÓSo far as I know, Mr. Clemens is the first writer to use in extended
		writing the fashion we all use in thinking, and to set down the thing that
		comes into his mind without fear or favor of the thing that went before or
		the thing that may be about to follow^Ô (Howells 186).
	The main character, Huckleberry Finn, spends much time in the novel floating
down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim.  Before
he does so,
however, Huck spends some time in the fictional town of St. Petersburg where
a number
of people attempt to influence him.   Huck^?s feelings grow through the novel.
 Especially
in his feelings toward his friends, family, blacks, and society.  Throughout
the book, Huck
usually looks into his own heart for guidance.  Moral intuition is the basis
on which his
character rests.
	Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life of absolute freedom.  His
drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him; his
mother is dead
and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not used to following any rules.  In
the beginning
of the book Huck is living with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss
Watson.  Both
women are fairly old and are incapable of raising a rebellious boy like Huck
Finn. 
However, they attempt to make Huck into what they believe will be a better
boy.  ^ÓThe
Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but
it rough
living in the house all the time considering how dismal regular and decent
the widow was
in all her ways^Ô (Twain 11).  This process includes making Huck go to school,
teaching
him various religious facts, and making him act in a way that the women find
socially
acceptable.  In this first chapter, Twain gives us the first direct example
of communicating
his feelings through Huck Finn:  ^ÓAfter supper, the Widow Douglas got out her
book and
learned me about Moses...By and bye she let it out that Moses had been dead a
considerable long time; so then I didn^?t care no more about him, because I
don^?t take no
stock in dead people^Ô (Twain 12).  In a letter written by Twain, he had this
to say:  ^ÓAs to
the past, there is but one good thing about it, and that is, that it is the
past -- we don^?t 
have to see it again...I have no tears for my pile, no respect, no reverence,
no pleasure in
taking a rag-picker^?s hood and exploring it^Ô (Bellamy 156).  Twain expresses
his feelings
in the above paragraph by using the ^ÓI don^?t take no stock in dead
people^Ô(Twain 12) line
in the novel.  In this way he can fashion a child^?s narrative to convey his
views of the past. 
This is one example of the process Twain will continue to use in this novel
to conceal
satirical meanings within humorous lines.
	Huck, who has never had to follow many rules in his life, finds the demands
the
women place upon him constraining and the life with them lonely.  As a
result, soon after
he first moves in with them, he runs away.  He soon comes back, but, even
though he
becomes somewhat comfortable with his new life as the months go by, Huck
never really
enjoys the life of manners, religion, and education that the Widow and her
sister impose
upon him.  
	Huck believes he will find some freedom with Tom Sawyer.  Tom is a boy of
Huck^?s age who promises Huck and other boys of the town a life of adventure.
 Huck is
eager to join Tom Sawyer^?s Gang because he feels that doing so will allow him
to escape
the boring life he leads with the Widow Douglas.  Unfortunately, such an
escape does not
occur.  Tom Sawyer promises the gang they will be robbing stages, murdering
and
ransoming people, kidnapping beautiful women, but none of this comes to pass.
 Huck
finds out too late that Tom^?s adventures are imaginary: that raiding a
caravan of ^ÓA-rabs^Ô
really means terrorizing young children on a Sunday School picnic, that
stolen ^Ójoolry^Ô is
nothing more than turnips or rocks (Twain 22).  Huck is disappointed that the
adventures
Tom promises are not real and so, along with the other members, he resigns
from the
gang.
	Another person who tries to get Huckleberry Finn to change is Pap, Huck^?s
father. 
Some of Huck^?s most memorable lines were in reference to Pap.  Twain uses
humor and
innocence to depict a generalization of society:  ^ÓPap always said, take a
chicken when 
you get a chance, because if you don^?t want him yourself you can easy find
somebody that
does, and a good deed ain^?t never forgot.  I never see Pap when he didn^?t
want the
chicken himself, but that is what he used to say, anyway^Ô (Twain 16).  These
types of
paragraphs are used for three things simultaneously:  to add a note of
satire, to add to the 
storyline, and to continue to emphasize the child^?s point of view (Branch
214).  Pap is one
of the most interesting figures in the novel.  He is completely antisocial
and wishes to
undo all of the civilizing effects that the Widow and Miss Watson have
attempted to instill
in Huck.  Pap is unshaven and dirty.  Huck is afraid of his father because he
is an abusive
drunk who only wants Huck for his money.  ^ÓI used to be scared of him all the
time, he
taned me so much, I reckoned I was scared now too^Ô (Twain 18).  Pap demands
that
Huck quit school, stop reading, and avoid church.  Huck is able to stay away
from Pap for
a while, but Pap kidnaps Huck three or four months after Huck starts to live
with the
Widow and takes him to a lonely cabin deep in the woods.  Here, Huck enjoys,
once
again, the freedom that he had prior to the beginning of the book.  He can
smoke, laze
around, swear, and, in general, do what he wants to do.  However, as he did
with the
Widow and with Tom, Huck begins to become dissatisfied with this life.  Pap
beats Huck
often and he soon realizes that he will have to escape from the cabin if he
wishes to remain
alive.  Huck makes it appear as if he is killed in the cabin while Pap is
away, and leaves to
go to a remote island in the Mississippi River, Jackson^?s Island.  
	It is after he leaves his father^?s cabin that Huck joins yet another
important
influence in his life, Miss Watson^?s slave, Jim.  Prior to Huck^?s leaving,
Jim has been a
minor character in the novel -- he has been shown being fooled by Tom Sawyer
and telling
Huck^?s fortune.  Huck finds Jim on Jackson^?s Island because the slave has run
away when 
he overheard a conversation that he will soon be sold to someone in New
Orleans.  When
he first finds Jim on the island, he is glad simply because he wants
companionship; but as
the two share the peace of the place, Huck comes to regard Jim as a human
being 
rather than a faithful dog.  Huck begins to realize that Jim has more talents
and intelligence
than Huck has been aware of.  Jim knows all kinds of things about the future,
people^?s
personalities, and weather forecasting.  Huck finds this kind of information
necessary as he
and Jim drift down the Mississippi on a raft.  Mark Twain^?s imagination lends
vigor and
freshness to many passages, and especially in the sections involving
conversations between
Jim and Huck.  As Huck and Jim lie on their backs at night looking up at the
stars, while
the raft slips silently down the river, they argue about whether the stars
^Ówas made or only
just happened^Ô:  ^ÓJim said the moon could ^Ña^? laid them; well, that looked
kind of
reasonable...because I^?ve seen a frog lay most as many^Ô (Twain 120).  Huck
feels more
comfortable with Jim than he feels with the other major characters in the
novel.  With Jim,
Huck can enjoy the best aspects of his earlier influences.  Jim allows Huck
security, but
Jim is not as confining as the Widow.  Like Tom Sawyer, Jim is intelligent
but his
intelligence is not as intimidating or as imaginary as is Tom^?s.  Unlike Pap,
Jim allows
Huck freedom, but he does it in a loving, rather than an uncaring, fashion.
 Thus, early, in
their relationship on Jackson^?s Island, Huck says to Jim, ^ÓThis is nice.  I
wouldn^?t want to
be nowhere else but here^Ô(Twain 55).   Although their friendship took plenty
of time to
develop and had many bumps  in the road, it is a strong one that will last a
long time. 
Through it all, Huck triumphed over society and followed his heart, and Jim
helped Huck
to mature and became free.  Their journey to friendship is one to remember.
 Huck is a
developing character throughout the novel.  Much of his development is due to
his
association with Jim and his increasing respect for the black man.  
	Huck and Jim start their long journey down the Mississippi to Cairo where
Jim will
find his freedom.  It is on this journey where Huck slowly develops a
respectful friendship 
with Jim.  However, this is slow to develop because Huck plays some very
nasty tricks on
Jim.  The tricks would not have been so mean if Huck did not mean so much to
Jim.  Jim
really needs Huck^?s help if he is going to make it safely.  It is also later
revealed that Huck 
is the only friend that Jim ever had.  After Huck plays the trick where they
got separated
on the river he realizes what he has done and feels bad; however, Huck is
slow to
apologize.  ^ÓIt was fifteen minutes before I could go and humble myself to a
nigger; but I
done it and I warn^?t ever sorry for it afterward, neither.  I didn^?t do him
no more mean
tricks, and I wouldn^?t have done that one if I^?d a^?knowed it would make him
feel that
way^Ô (Twain 86).  That incident probably changed the whole way Huck looks at
Jim and
other Negroes.  He realizes that they are people with feelings not just a
household item. 
	Part of the power of the book lies in Mark Twain^?s drawing of the character
of
Nigger Jim.  Mark Twain shows Jim^?s slow, purposeful reasoning.  But in other
moods
Jim^?s spirit opens out to a wider horizon.  Like Huck, he senses the beauty
of the river.  In
his interpretation of a dream, Jim lets ^Óthe big, clear river^Ô symbolize ^Óthe
free States^Ô-in
other words freedom.  If  The Enchanted Village might serve as a subtitle for
Tom
Sawyer, so The Road to Freedom might serve the same purpose for Huckleberry
Finn
(Bellamy 342).
	A while later fate decides to test Huck and they come across some slave
hunters. 
Huck is still a little confused between right and wrong and decides to turn
Jim in, but at
the last second Huck starts lying and saves Jim from being discovered.  ^ÓThey
went off
and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low, because I knowed very well I
had done
wrong^Ô (Twain 91).
	At one of the towns that Huck and Jim stop at they pick up two men who claim
to
be royalty but are really con-artists.  Huck quickly realizes this but does
not say anything
just to keep the peace on the raft.  Huck does not really like these two,
King and Duke,
because they do mean things to innocent people to make their living.  They go
too far 
when they find three sisters who just lost their father and they pretend to
be their British
uncles.  They plan to rob the sisters for all their worth but Huck foils
their plan.  This
passage illustrates Huck^?s kindness to total strangers.  Huck especially did
not care for 
King and Duke after King sells Jim for forty dollars.  Huck is determined to
free Jim and
finds out that Jim is being kept at the farm of Tom Sawyer^?s aunt and uncle.
 Huck
presents himself as Tom Sawyer.  When Tom actually arrives, he cooperates
with Huck
and presents himself as another fellow, Sid.  Huck enlists Tom^?s aid in the
scheme to
rescue Jim.  Tom, however, develops an unnecessarily complicated plot.  When
they help
Jim escape, a chase ensues.  Tom is shot in the leg and Jim is recaptured.
 But then the
boys learn that Jim^?s owner has died, bequeathing him his freedom.  They also
learn that
Huck^?s father, too, has died.  Tom^?s Aunt Sally then offers to adopt Huck,
but he realizes
that the process of becoming civilized is not an enjoyable one.
	Throughout the course of the novel Huck changed from a boy who shared the
narrow-minded opinion which looked down on Negroes to one where he viewed
them as
equals.  I would say that would be his biggest emotional growth in the novel.
	Huck is a very personable narrator.  He tells his story in plain language.
 It is
through his precise trusting eyes that the reader sees the world of the
novel.  Because
Huck is so literal, the reader gains an understanding of the work Mark Twain
created, the
reader is able to catch Twain^?s jokes and hear his skepticism.  The
Grangerford^?s
furniture, much admired by Huck, is actually comically tacky.  You can almost
hear Mark
Twain laughing over the parrot-flanked clock and the curtains with cows and
castles
painted on them even as Huck oohs and ahhs.
	Through the character of Huck, that disreputable, illiterate little boy,
Mark Twain
was licensed to let himself go...That Mark Twain was almost, if not quite
conscious of his
opportunity we can see from his introductory note to the book:  ^ÓPersons
attempting to
find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to
find a moral in it 
will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot^Ô
(Branch 216).    The
emotional tie-in with the past found expression in Mark Twain^?s
self-identification with 
Huck, the dominant strategy he employed.  This identification breathed life
into Huck^?s
character and into his experience, which encompasses the dramatic role of
sharply
individualized characters.
Works Cited
Allen, Jerry. The Adventures of Mark Twain. Boston: Little, 1954. 
Bellamy, Gladys Carmen. Mark Twain: As A Literary Artist. Norman: UP of
                
	Oklahoma, 1950. 
Branch, Edgar Marquess. The Literary Apprenticeship Of Mark Twain. New York: 
	Russell, 1966.
Howells, W. D. My Mark Twain: Reminiscences and Criticisms. New York: Harper,
1910.
Kaplan, Justin, ed. Mark Twain: A Profile. New York: Hill, 1967.
Twain, Mark. Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin, 1959.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\HuckleberryFinn2 again.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is, not and
should not, be considered a child's story.  A story like this may corrupt
a young child's mind.  It deals with adult themes and concepts that are
generally not suitable for young children.  Als o, if used as a child's
story it may confuse them or give them the wrong idea about slavery and
the terminology of the time.
	First of all, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is extremely
inappropriate for children because it may put bad ideas into a young
impressionable mind.  At the young age of about twelve, Huck is roaming
around the woods all by himself and later on is flo ating aimlessly down
the Mississippi River with a bunch of criminals.  Huck is living what may
appear to the children to be a very exciting and glamorous life.  Most
parents would never steer their children the wrong way in life, don't want
to tell childr en about a kid around their age or little older than they
are that is homeless and basically cheating and stealing to survive.  This
novel explains in depth about various scams such as the Wilks brothers
scam, and the teaching schools like the dancing sch ool or "yellow
cution".  In addition to the royal nonesuch plays which teach children
that all you need to do is take the money and run like the King and the
Duke did.  After reading this novel the majority of children won't go out
and try to scam their n eighbors.  However, it may seem like an appealing
lifestyle for them.  It may also give them the impression that being a con
man for a living, or being homeless and wandering is a wonderful and
glorious carefree lifestyle, and because your Mommy or Daddy tells it to
you, it must not be the wrong thing to do.
	In addition to giving the wrong idea about life, it is a brutal
and vulgar book that children should not be exposed to.  There are a
couple of deaths like when Colonel Sherburn kills a harmless town drunk
named Boggs.  Earlier on Huck is staying with a the Grangerford family
that is in the middle of a feud with the Shepherdson family.  Buck, the
youngest child, is about Huck's age.  Buck speaks of murdering all of the
Shepherdsons for a reason he doesn't even know of.  Eventually Buck is
killed by a She pherdson right in front of Huck's eyes.  The King and the
Duke are tarred and feathered later on and Huck doesn't really think twice
about it.  Huck also encounters a wreck on the river with two criminals on
it that are going to leave a third one on there
 to die.  Not to forget the alcoholic and abusive father that is killed in
a whore house. Which is just another example of how vulgar this story is.
	Furthermore, not only is the plot very adult, the language is also
unsuitable for children. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place in
the pre-civil war south.  At this time slavery is very common and is
condoned by society.  Black people were tho ugh of as property and treated
extremely poorly and inhumanly.  When Huck makes up the story on why he,
"Tom", was late getting to Aunt Sally's house he explains that a cylinder
head had blown up.  When Aunt Sally asked if anyone was hurt "Tom" says
that nobody was hurt, just a couple of niggers were killed.  Aunt Sally
was relieved and said "good, because sometimes people get hurt".  This is
an example of how black people were treated.  Not as real people but as
property or luggage.  Huck would have gott en a similar reaction if he
told her that someone had their suitcase broken.  The "niggers" were left
to live in shacks near the Phelp's house.  Treating black people that way
is not a setting a good example for today's youth. 
	We've all made mistakes and the United States made a huge one with
slavery, reading to your kids about "niggers" being killed and treating
"niggers" as servants is not helping us teach today's children that
slavery and racism are a bad thing.  Another th ing that is unsuitable for
children is the excessive use of the word "nigger".  This was a book
written a long time ago and nigger may have been a common term to use. 
However, we shouldn't teach children in today's society to call black
people niggers. 
	In conclusion, Huck Finn is not a child's book and shouldn't be
read to children.  They are too young to comprehend the book in a mature
way.  Also, they are too impressionable to take in that kind of
information and not be affected in some way by it, an d the only way Huck
Finn can be interpreted is in a negative way that gives children the wrong
idea about life.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should never be
taught to young children.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\HuckleberryFinn2.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is, not and
should not, be considered a child's story.  A story like this may corrupt
a young child's mind.  It deals with adult themes and concepts that are
generally not suitable for young children.  Als o, if used as a child's
story it may confuse them or give them the wrong idea about slavery and
the terminology of the time.
	First of all, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is extremely
inappropriate for children because it may put bad ideas into a young
impressionable mind.  At the young age of about twelve, Huck is roaming
around the woods all by himself and later on is flo ating aimlessly down
the Mississippi River with a bunch of criminals.  Huck is living what may
appear to the children to be a very exciting and glamorous life.  Most
parents would never steer their children the wrong way in life, don't want
to tell childr en about a kid around their age or little older than they
are that is homeless and basically cheating and stealing to survive.  This
novel explains in depth about various scams such as the Wilks brothers
scam, and the teaching schools like the dancing sch ool or "yellow
cution".  In addition to the royal nonesuch plays which teach children
that all you need to do is take the money and run like the King and the
Duke did.  After reading this novel the majority of children won't go out
and try to scam their n eighbors.  However, it may seem like an appealing
lifestyle for them.  It may also give them the impression that being a con
man for a living, or being homeless and wandering is a wonderful and
glorious carefree lifestyle, and because your Mommy or Daddy tells it to
you, it must not be the wrong thing to do.
	In addition to giving the wrong idea about life, it is a brutal
and vulgar book that children should not be exposed to.  There are a
couple of deaths like when Colonel Sherburn kills a harmless town drunk
named Boggs.  Earlier on Huck is staying with a the Grangerford family
that is in the middle of a feud with the Shepherdson family.  Buck, the
youngest child, is about Huck's age.  Buck speaks of murdering all of the
Shepherdsons for a reason he doesn't even know of.  Eventually Buck is
killed by a She pherdson right in front of Huck's eyes.  The King and the
Duke are tarred and feathered later on and Huck doesn't really think twice
about it.  Huck also encounters a wreck on the river with two criminals on
it that are going to leave a third one on there
 to die.  Not to forget the alcoholic and abusive father that is killed in
a whore house. Which is just another example of how vulgar this story is.
	Furthermore, not only is the plot very adult, the language is also
unsuitable for children. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place in
the pre-civil war south.  At this time slavery is very common and is
condoned by society.  Black people were tho ugh of as property and treated
extremely poorly and inhumanly.  When Huck makes up the story on why he,
"Tom", was late getting to Aunt Sally's house he explains that a cylinder
head had blown up.  When Aunt Sally asked if anyone was hurt "Tom" says
that nobody was hurt, just a couple of niggers were killed.  Aunt Sally
was relieved and said "good, because sometimes people get hurt".  This is
an example of how black people were treated.  Not as real people but as
property or luggage.  Huck would have gott en a similar reaction if he
told her that someone had their suitcase broken.  The "niggers" were left
to live in shacks near the Phelp's house.  Treating black people that way
is not a setting a good example for today's youth. 
	We've all made mistakes and the United States made a huge one with
slavery, reading to your kids about "niggers" being killed and treating
"niggers" as servants is not helping us teach today's children that
slavery and racism are a bad thing.  Another th ing that is unsuitable for
children is the excessive use of the word "nigger".  This was a book
written a long time ago and nigger may have been a common term to use. 
However, we shouldn't teach children in today's society to call black
people niggers. 
	In conclusion, Huck Finn is not a child's book and shouldn't be
read to children.  They are too young to comprehend the book in a mature
way.  Also, they are too impressionable to take in that kind of
information and not be affected in some way by it, an d the only way Huck
Finn can be interpreted is in a negative way that gives children the wrong
idea about life.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should never be
taught to young children.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\I Stand Here Ironing.TXT
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I Stand Here Ironing 
The short story by Tillie Olsen, I Stand Here Ironing, is an example of a mother daughter struggle. From what I understand, the young mother initially has a rough life, and can barely keep track of herself and her daugher, Emily. Because the mother must work to support them, she always put Emily into other people's care, and even had to send her away for several different periods. This caused the distance between the mother and Emily to become greater, even to the point that Emily does not like physical affection such as hugs from her mother. The mother loves her daughter greatly, but she does not have the means of providing for her child as she would like to. As there are other children and husbands added to the family, Emily seems to move farther from them all.
As Emily grows older, the mother is regretful of the way Emily has grown up. The mother says, "We were poor and could not afford for her the soil of easy growth" (pg 29). The mother criticizes and blames herself for this, causing tension in their already stressful relationship. The mother is obviously suffering from guilt and wretched memories of Emily suffering. Emily, too, is suffering. We see her stiffness towards all that care for her, her quietness in her daily duities, and her feelings of worthlessness towards herself. She feels that she is extremely ugly and stupid, and constantly compares herself to her adorable younger sister, Susan, who has the perfect "Shirley Temple" image.
This is why, in the beginning of the story, someone who cares about Emily, is asking her mother how he/she can help Emily. And, as the mother stands there ironing, she contemplates her daughter and the troubles that they have. The constant motion of the ironing is like a sedative to the mother, as it calms her greatly. Because ironing is such a monotonous job, the mother has time to think her disturbing thoughts. Thus, the theme of coming to terms with and overcoming the past hardships emerges.
Personally, I have a hard time relating to the whole story. I can understand, but I can't really internalize them. I suppose that it just is an example of a basic dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. The story does a good job of showing a mother's anguish over her daughter, and a depressed teenager who is struggling to overcome her unhappy childhood.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\In the book Bananas again.TXT
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Jennifer Howell
WST200 Final
Friday May 7,2004
				Essay #1
	In the book Bananas, Beaches and Bases Cynthia Enloe makes the point that women are central actors in the international arena. With the help of examples from this book, I will describe her central approach and why it is important. I will describe in which ways women are included in the international arena and how differences of class and race shape women's lives. Finally, I will discuss a particular example of women's involvement in the international arena and how the situation might be improved from the perspective of the women. 
				Essay #2
					
      The International Arena, a vague, indefinite medium for myriad associations, communications and economics is, according to Cynthia Enloe, author of Bananas, Beaches and Bases, pivoted around the modern woman.  In her book, she asserts that the female presence is the dominating and crucial element in the cogs of the international machine.  Enloe has etched a modern potential into the burgeoning female workforce; the notion that women, still unfortunately undercut by men, are actually the prominent, modern edge to international affairs.  Women's lives today are much more in their control, yet are still shaped inordinately by their race and class; Enloe expediently dotes on particular examples of these discrepancies and their effect on the sex as a whole.  She unveils the curtain on the true post-modern world and how radical change is right around the next metaphysical corner. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\In the book Bananas.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jennifer Howell
WST200 Final
Friday May 7,2004
				Essay #1
	In the book Bananas, Beaches and Bases Cynthia Enloe makes the point that women are central actors in the international arena. With the help of examples from this book, I will describe her central approach and why it is important. I will describe in which ways women are included in the international arena and how differences of class and race shape women's lives. Finally, I will discuss a particular example of women's involvement in the international arena and how the situation might be improved from the perspective of the women. 
				Essay #2
					
      The International Arena, a vague, indefinite medium for myriad associations, communications and economics is, according to Cynthia Enloe, author of Bananas, Beaches and Bases, pivoted around the modern woman.  In her book, she asserts that the female presence is the dominating and crucial element in the cogs of the international machine.  Enloe has etched a modern potential into the burgeoning female workforce; the notion that women, still unfortunately undercut by men, are actually the prominent, modern edge to international affairs.  Women's lives today are much more in their control, yet are still shaped inordinately by their race and class; Enloe expediently dotes on particular examples of these discrepancies and their effect on the sex as a whole.  She unveils the curtain on the true post-modern world and how radical change is right around the next metaphysical corner. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl again.TXT
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Brian Bass
Professor Habershaw
Expository Writing
10.20.03
Jacobs, Pratt and the "Contact Zone"
     
     In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs, the author's tone and voice proves to challenge the acceptance of slavery during the 19th century.  Jacobs, who is writing within a "contact zone" tries to make a connection to both societies in this story.  According to Mary Louise Pratt a contact zone is:
social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today (Pratt 607).  
Therefore a contact zone is a social space where two cultures collide, where both have the potential to benefit from each other. Jacobs, born a slave, is writing to an audience of white people about the life of a slave.  Being an activist at the time of slavery, she tries to depict the life of a slave in the most realistic sense.  Despite the differences to Pratt's work, writing within the context of a contact zone, Jacobs displays a powerful piece of literature. 
     If both Pratt and Jacobs are accurate in their depiction of contact zones, then why does it matter at all what kind of contact zone is being used in a piece of writing?  Obviously Jacobs wasn't alive when the term "contact zone" was coined but does incorporating a contact zone into her work change how we are to approach or comprehend Jacobs?  Anywhere in the world, especially in the United Sates, there are fusions and collisions of different cultures; so ultimately, there is a contact zone everywhere.  In the mindset that Jacobs's contact zone exits, her work could be viewed differently.  It perhaps, be given a more sociological standpoint than before.  
     To grasp and captivate her audience in a way that the reader can understand another society, Jacobs uses hard hitting literary devices.  Her tone and voice are exemplified through the slaves understanding of the cruelty of slavery.  Jacobs writes: 
I shall never forget that night.  Never before, in my life, had I heard hundreds of blows fall, in succession, on a human being.  His piteous groans, and his 'O, pray don't, massa,' rang in my ear for months afterwards (Jacobs 436).  
The horrible atrocities that are described in the story are all intended to disturb and change the reader's beliefs.  This connection the writer is trying to make between two cultures (master and slave) is an example of an "autoethnographic" text. According to Pratt, an autoethnographic text is:
a text in which people undertake to describe themselves in the terms in ways that engage with representations others have made of them (Pratt 608). 
In other words, a writer attempts to explain an unfamiliar culture to the masses of a separate society in terms they can understand.  The definition of an autoethnographic text may sound similar to a personal persuasive essay but in comparison, an autoethnographic text serves to convince others outside the immediate society, whereas a personal persuasive essay provides an opinion from oneself to anyone.  As a fine example of an autoethnographic text, Jacobs writes:
She had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one day begged as a loan, promising to pay her soon.  The reader probably knows that no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property (Jacobs 431). 
If Jacobs were aware of what an autoethnographic text was, I believe she would consider her work to be one; for her story was written during the era of slavery to prove how wrong human bondage is in society.
	In this narrative, there seems to be almost two contact zones.  One zone is between the North and the South and their misunderstandings of slavery.  The other zone is between the slaves and the owners.  These separate zones that existed in the United States at the time were full of tension and divide, and I believe that is partly why Jacobs wrote this narrative; so she could try to inform both zones of the schism in society.  
   Pratt, using a different contact zone, uses Guaman Poma (an Incan writing about Spanish occupation) as a source to explain her idea of a contact zone. Pratt writes: 
He [Poma] also praises good works, Christian Habits, and just men where he finds them, and offers at length his views as to what constitutes 'good government and justice' (Pratt 611).
The writing exemplifies the collision of Incan and Spanish culture and having Poma praise certain characteristics of Spanish culture proves both sides benefit.  In Jacobs contact zone, the slaves do not profit, they are only demeaned and punished.  Jacobs's style of writing within the contact zone is designed to instigate dialogue.  She wants the reader to understand her view point and disregard any other.  Jacobs is aware that people will disagree on her writing but she feels that those who disagree are wrong.  Instead of Pratt's ideal of having a contact zone where both sides have the ability to gain something, Jacobs's contact zone appears as a collision of two civilizations and the dominating society imposes their ideas and beliefs on the other culture but the subservient culture resists.  If Jacobs were to have her contact zone exemplify Pratt's definition, the storyline would have to entail a reciprocal relationship of learning from both the slaves and their masters.  
  From the opening quote in the story, the author is trying to prove as harshly as possible the wrongful life of slavery.  
Northerners know nothing at all about slavery.  They think it is perpetual bondage only.  They have no conception of the depth of degradation involved in that word, SLAVERY; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown (Jacobs 428). 
 After the quotation, it is credited by "a woman of North Carolina", which is supposed to make the reader feel that even people in the south were truly conscious how horrible slavery was.  Following the first quotation there is a quote from the Bible that says: 
Rise up, ye women that are at ease!  Hear my voice, ye careless daughters!  Give ear unto my speech (Jacobs 428).  
Here Jacobs is trying to ignite the audience by quoting the Bible, which the masses can clearly connect to.  To open the storyline with two powerful quotes, Jacobs is trying to hit hard at the audiences emotions and convince them from the beginning.  
	I see this narrative with heavy political and social influence for it's time.  Her methods of persuasion are not only ethically correct but are done in a way that is riveting and influential.  In a time when the slavery was such an important issue, yet many people from both sides (North and South) were poorly informed, this narrative may have shifted and help structure the abolitionist movement.  Cognizant of the contact zone in which Jacobs is writing in, her work reflects the idea of overcoming the zone through abolishment of slavery.  
   Jacobs, being a former slave, has the ability to put her own past experiences and those of others into an important piece of literature.  Today, it is established that slavery was wrong, but at a time when human bondage was accepted, this work of persuasion was so critical.   For Jacobs has taken the appropriate stance on this issue and written a powerful autoethnographic text in the surroundings of a contact zone.  Despite that her work is not accurately fitting towards Pratt's contact zone, Jacobs work unmistakably makes a valid argument against slavery.
1
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.TXT
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Brian Bass
Professor Habershaw
Expository Writing
10.20.03
Jacobs, Pratt and the "Contact Zone"
     
     In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs, the author's tone and voice proves to challenge the acceptance of slavery during the 19th century.  Jacobs, who is writing within a "contact zone" tries to make a connection to both societies in this story.  According to Mary Louise Pratt a contact zone is:
social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today (Pratt 607).  
Therefore a contact zone is a social space where two cultures collide, where both have the potential to benefit from each other. Jacobs, born a slave, is writing to an audience of white people about the life of a slave.  Being an activist at the time of slavery, she tries to depict the life of a slave in the most realistic sense.  Despite the differences to Pratt's work, writing within the context of a contact zone, Jacobs displays a powerful piece of literature. 
     If both Pratt and Jacobs are accurate in their depiction of contact zones, then why does it matter at all what kind of contact zone is being used in a piece of writing?  Obviously Jacobs wasn't alive when the term "contact zone" was coined but does incorporating a contact zone into her work change how we are to approach or comprehend Jacobs?  Anywhere in the world, especially in the United Sates, there are fusions and collisions of different cultures; so ultimately, there is a contact zone everywhere.  In the mindset that Jacobs's contact zone exits, her work could be viewed differently.  It perhaps, be given a more sociological standpoint than before.  
     To grasp and captivate her audience in a way that the reader can understand another society, Jacobs uses hard hitting literary devices.  Her tone and voice are exemplified through the slaves understanding of the cruelty of slavery.  Jacobs writes: 
I shall never forget that night.  Never before, in my life, had I heard hundreds of blows fall, in succession, on a human being.  His piteous groans, and his 'O, pray don't, massa,' rang in my ear for months afterwards (Jacobs 436).  
The horrible atrocities that are described in the story are all intended to disturb and change the reader's beliefs.  This connection the writer is trying to make between two cultures (master and slave) is an example of an "autoethnographic" text. According to Pratt, an autoethnographic text is:
a text in which people undertake to describe themselves in the terms in ways that engage with representations others have made of them (Pratt 608). 
In other words, a writer attempts to explain an unfamiliar culture to the masses of a separate society in terms they can understand.  The definition of an autoethnographic text may sound similar to a personal persuasive essay but in comparison, an autoethnographic text serves to convince others outside the immediate society, whereas a personal persuasive essay provides an opinion from oneself to anyone.  As a fine example of an autoethnographic text, Jacobs writes:
She had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one day begged as a loan, promising to pay her soon.  The reader probably knows that no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property (Jacobs 431). 
If Jacobs were aware of what an autoethnographic text was, I believe she would consider her work to be one; for her story was written during the era of slavery to prove how wrong human bondage is in society.
	In this narrative, there seems to be almost two contact zones.  One zone is between the North and the South and their misunderstandings of slavery.  The other zone is between the slaves and the owners.  These separate zones that existed in the United States at the time were full of tension and divide, and I believe that is partly why Jacobs wrote this narrative; so she could try to inform both zones of the schism in society.  
   Pratt, using a different contact zone, uses Guaman Poma (an Incan writing about Spanish occupation) as a source to explain her idea of a contact zone. Pratt writes: 
He [Poma] also praises good works, Christian Habits, and just men where he finds them, and offers at length his views as to what constitutes 'good government and justice' (Pratt 611).
The writing exemplifies the collision of Incan and Spanish culture and having Poma praise certain characteristics of Spanish culture proves both sides benefit.  In Jacobs contact zone, the slaves do not profit, they are only demeaned and punished.  Jacobs's style of writing within the contact zone is designed to instigate dialogue.  She wants the reader to understand her view point and disregard any other.  Jacobs is aware that people will disagree on her writing but she feels that those who disagree are wrong.  Instead of Pratt's ideal of having a contact zone where both sides have the ability to gain something, Jacobs's contact zone appears as a collision of two civilizations and the dominating society imposes their ideas and beliefs on the other culture but the subservient culture resists.  If Jacobs were to have her contact zone exemplify Pratt's definition, the storyline would have to entail a reciprocal relationship of learning from both the slaves and their masters.  
  From the opening quote in the story, the author is trying to prove as harshly as possible the wrongful life of slavery.  
Northerners know nothing at all about slavery.  They think it is perpetual bondage only.  They have no conception of the depth of degradation involved in that word, SLAVERY; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown (Jacobs 428). 
 After the quotation, it is credited by "a woman of North Carolina", which is supposed to make the reader feel that even people in the south were truly conscious how horrible slavery was.  Following the first quotation there is a quote from the Bible that says: 
Rise up, ye women that are at ease!  Hear my voice, ye careless daughters!  Give ear unto my speech (Jacobs 428).  
Here Jacobs is trying to ignite the audience by quoting the Bible, which the masses can clearly connect to.  To open the storyline with two powerful quotes, Jacobs is trying to hit hard at the audiences emotions and convince them from the beginning.  
	I see this narrative with heavy political and social influence for it's time.  Her methods of persuasion are not only ethically correct but are done in a way that is riveting and influential.  In a time when the slavery was such an important issue, yet many people from both sides (North and South) were poorly informed, this narrative may have shifted and help structure the abolitionist movement.  Cognizant of the contact zone in which Jacobs is writing in, her work reflects the idea of overcoming the zone through abolishment of slavery.  
   Jacobs, being a former slave, has the ability to put her own past experiences and those of others into an important piece of literature.  Today, it is established that slavery was wrong, but at a time when human bondage was accepted, this work of persuasion was so critical.   For Jacobs has taken the appropriate stance on this issue and written a powerful autoethnographic text in the surroundings of a contact zone.  Despite that her work is not accurately fitting towards Pratt's contact zone, Jacobs work unmistakably makes a valid argument against slavery.
1
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Inherit The Wind.TXT
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816
The Truth about Stanley Kramer's Inherit the Wind History is consistently used in films as a technique to teach the values and morals of events that occurred. But what's the point in teaching history through films when they are terribly fictional? In films, the director finds the best scheme to intrigue their audience only by changing the actual event to satisfy their interest. This is true for Stanley Kramer when he made the history of John Scopes and his "monkey trial" into a film called Inherit the Wind. Kramer knew the exact stereotypical "Hollywood history" his audience enjoyed. The trial itself had a series of conflicts, the main one being evolution vs. religion. Yet there was also a series of tensions throughout the movie, including the argument between individual vs. society. The same themes from Inherit the Wind can also be seen from the actual "monkey trial" event in Dayton, Tennessee. It is sometimes said that truth is stranger than fiction and according to this film, truth is also stronger than fiction. Inherit the Wind ignored the true dramatic moment, which is essential to the actual trial that happened in Dayton, Tennessee. Kramer even portrayed his own opinion of this trial in this film. The truth was so distorted in the film so now the argument is not individual vs. society or evolution vs. religion but history vs. fiction. Inherit the Wind is set in the little town of Hillsboro when Bertram Cates (played by), a biology teacher, was thrown into prison for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. Two famous lawyers were behind this case, Henry Drummond (played by) as the defender and Mathew Harrison Brady (played by), as the prosecutor. Mathew Harrison Brady who was "voted 3 times for a presidential candidate" was sent to Hillsboro is carry out the job as a prosecutor for this trial. As for Cates, a journalist from Baltimore Herald by the name of E.K. Horrbeck willingly provided a lawyer named Henry Drummond for him. Horrbeck was interested in the Cates, expecting to make big bucks from this big "media" case. The two opposing lawyers, Drummond and Brady, were Kramer's two main characters, both with different opinions on how humans arrived on earth. Drummond supported the evolution theory, while Brady, the creation theory. In this film, Kramer distorted the facts of the actual trial to make this film more of a drama than a history documentary. He added fictitious characters like Reverend Heremiah Brown (played by) and his daughter Rachel Brown (played by) to bring this drama out. It's obvious that Rachel is used as icon in Inherit the Wind to make film be seen as more of a drama with the typical love story that directly attracts more audience to his film. Kramer also added Brady's death in the courtroom. He dramatically died of a heart attack in the chaotic courtroom at the end of the trial after his last speech. Persecuted The film is far from the truth, the actual trial didn't happen in quite the same way. The 1925, Dayton, Tennessee went against one of its individual, John Scopes. He just so happened to be substituting for a biology class that was learning about the Darwin's theory. Similar to the film, the actual lawyers, Darrow and Bryan were also famous in their position of the society. Darrow was the defender, and Bryan, the prosecutor. The characters in this film also had different personalities compared with the actual history figures they are. Take Drummond for example, he was less cynical and biting than Scopes' actual defender, Darrow. Brady, on the other hand, was portrayed more of a comical fanatic at moments in the courtroom. From this event on, the flaws of this little town began to reveal. The townspeople of Hillsboro were far more frenzied, mean-spirited, and ignorant than the real citizens of Dayton were toward this trial. From the fictitious characters and the distant differences between the history and film, I can conclude that Kramer was completely biased when he was directing this film. When the actual trial and the film are compared, it'd obvious that Kramer was not only thinking of his audience's interest but his own. He was biased against a particular class of people and their beliefs. The people who believed in the "miracle recorded in the bible, especially the section in Genesis about God's creation, were portrayed in a disgraceful uncomplimentary way. However, the people who didn't believe in the bible were eminently reasonable people who must put on with the threats and ignorance of the fundamentalist Christians around them. The Christian fundamentalists, Bryan being one of them, were consistently lampooned throughout the film while skeptics and agnostics were consistently portrayed as intelligent, rational, and even heroic like Drummond. Kramer did want to make Inherit the Wind similar to John Scopes' trial. It can also be seen that Kramer had made the names of the character and the history figure with almost all the same syllables and even some with the same letter of the first letter in their names. Though in attempted to portray this, he let too many things in his path that overcame the importance of the truth. But is the truth always most important? Or rather what we like to think is the truth? It's a lot simpler when we think that way but in reality it isn't so using films as a technique to teach history is purposeless.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Into Thin Air.TXT
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557
Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer is the author of three books including Eiger Dreams and the acclaimed best seller Into the Wild. He is also the contributing editor of Outside magazine. He and his wife live in Seattle Into thin Air is a great adventure story about Jon Krakauer accent of Mt. Everest. Krakauer Was a member of a Rob Halls "Adventure Consultants" expedition that was going to attempt the summit of Everest on May 10, 1996. The story starts out with a brief history on Mt Everest. It was in 1852 in the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India when the highest mountain in the world was discovered. The mountain first dubbed Peak XV; the first measured height of the mountain was 29,002. This measurement would later prove to be inaccurate, throughout the use of modern lasers and satellite data pictures the actual height of the mountain was determined to be 29,029 ft. In 1865, Peak XV was named Mt. Everest after the late general surveyor Sir George Everest. It would take 101 years for the mountains summit to be climbed. The first man to reach the summit was Edmund Hillary later knighted by the Queen for his feat. May 29, 1953 Hillary and his Sherpa Tenzing were the first men to stand on top of the world. Jon was offered a place on an upcoming Everest expedition by his publisher Outside (a climbing magazine) to cover a story about the commercialization of Everest. Jon had always dreamed about climbing Everest ever since he was a child, now he had a chance. Jon didn't realize that this trip was going to be one that would bring him as closer to death than he had ever been before. The spring of 1996 would turn out to be the most murderous season in the mountain's history. That spring claimed the lives of 12 climbers, a spring that will be remembered for many years to come. Prompted by the proliferation of guided trips promising that any reasonably fit person could make it to the top of the world, Krakauer - an accomplished outdoorsman and technical climber, but with little experience at high altitude - jumped at the chance to attempt this mountaineering grail. Disaster struck on summit day when a blinding, whiteout storm caught four groups on top of the mountain, claiming the lives of nine climbers, including Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, two of the most renowned guides/climbers in the business. Krakauer, through a combination of luck, skill, and discipline, was fortunate enough to survive, though the experience extracted a heavy psychic toll. Immediately, the tragedy at 29,000 feet became the focus of intense worldwide media observation, and the cause for much soul searching within the mountaineering community. THEME: One major theme of this book is the importance of trust and team work, reliance in your partner. Personal Review: I thought that this book was very well written. I enjoy climbing and the outdoors and when I told my dad that I needed a book to read for my English presentation in three days he told me that this book was a good one. He was right. I could not put the book down (like I had a choice), I do not generally enjoy reading but when I pick up a book like this I rather enjoy it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\INTRO TO MARKETING.TXT
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INTRO TO MARKETING (MKT 201)
COMPREHENSIVE CASE 1
 
1. What needs and wants lead to demand for pagers by business and nonbusiness uesrs?
*  Several needs and wants lead to demand for pagers:
A. The need to speak with somebody at a specific time. Dr Williamson said : "It's nice to be able to find you at a time like this" 
B. The need to feel free for young users: "Pagers free kids from having to tell the parents" 
C. The need to be in touch with a friend
And many other needs and wants.
1. How have changes in the marketing environment affected demand in these two markets? 
2. The marketing environment changes affected positively the demand in these two markets. 
As we understand,facing the japanese competition,instead of roll over and die, Motorola fought to get a higher market share and to improve the quality and to reduce cost And it did it! In 1997 80% of teenagers were aware of pagers, compared to 56% in the previous year. The size of the teenage market was so big that no one aver knows how big it is. Motorola moved also abroad and it could conquer the European market. Finally just though a look at the numbers to draw a conclusion about the positive changes: Motorola's market penetration touched the 20% after 4.5% in just 6 years.
3. What customer value do pagers create for teenage market? 
4. As we mentioned up in our study pager could conquer the teenage market. This is due to great customer value it offers. With 60$ cost and 15$ monthly service, the teenagers could be in contact with their parents. Also their friend could call them without passing via their parents. Moreover, pagers freed the kids for telling their parents where they were during lunch period. So with low price and many features, the customer value was very high. 
5. What factors cause the transition from business Market consumer market?
* Many factors cause the transition from the business market to the consumer market:
A. Due to improvement in technology, Motorola could reduce the price of the pager and thus make it accessible to consumers. 
B. Due to improvement in technology also, Motorola reduced the size of the pager and make it more attractive to the customer. 
C. Many features attract the customer, as the vibration option.
Motorola could also reacted to the change of its marketing segment. It introduces the teenager's pager with neon green models and several other colors as blue, yellow...... Moreover Motorola partners with Benetton the most popular clothing company in teenage mind to satisfy its new "HOT" market segment.
1. If RCC's selasperson..... 
2. Ethic business prohibit the banned action such as sell or rent pagers to teenage while pagers are banned in school. But to the interest of the company, the retailer could bye pager to teenage and pretend that the teenage could use it outside the school. 
As for buying to suspect customers, I'm definitely against this idea. Formaly,if someone knows that another person have commit a crime and didn't tell about it so he's a partener in this crime. And this is why RCC's salesperson should not bye or sell suspected customer.
3. What Marketing recommendation would you make to Motorola to help it address the teeage market?
* It's a personal a secret business question but I will answer.
A. Motorola could launch the idea of student price. Every student could benefit from a pager at a lower price. 
B. The benefits could also be not only a lower price but also some stuff with the pager as free cover. 
C. It could launch a pager with special features, as artificial hair for instance. 
D. It could manufacture a pager with a screen, which shows drawing of cool things while receiving a call.
And many other features as well.
 
 
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Introduction to social work.TXT
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Introduction to social work
(Case study)
 
Ghida will graduate with a degree in psychology this spring, her grades are good enough to get her into a Masters program in England, but she does not feel ready. Ghida has had no work experience and even after her time in college she feels unprepared to continue her education alone abroad. Her plan is to stay in Lebanon for another year and gain some work experience. However, she has had little encouragement from her peers and family, they all insist that there is no employment for students with a degree in psychology. Undeterred by their pessimistic attitude Ghida decides she can not rely on them for guidance. She has enjoyed her courses and they have enriched her knowledge of human development. She is sure she wants to continue her Masters in this domain, but first she wants to give her degree a practical dimension by working.
Ghida was not discouraged by her family and friends. She did realize however that she should seek information from a better informed source. She turned to her professors for advice. First, she was told to think about possible work experience in the sectors of education and research since they are most connected to the knowledge she has obtained form her degree. Ghida felt that a job involving researching and compiling data in an office environment would enhance her social skills, and allow her to use some of her computer knowledge. Although she likes children she does not feel she is cut out for a job in teaching because she is not patient enough. Ghida had already decided that she would be willing to volunteer as long as she receives a reference and recommendation from her employers.
Ghida then contacted an agency she was familiar with from a job fair at college, they offered guidance to students looking for jobs. She was advised to compile an up to date C.V that presents a list of the papers and researches she has written, in addition to recommendations from her professors. They told her they would contact her if they found an appropriate opening. In the mean time Ghida decided that she should start searching for herself.
Ghida began to make contact with the various social institutions she was familiar with from the media, television advertisements, the radio, and newspapers. She made appointments and went for interviews, and she was slowly referred from one organization to another. If they had no place or were not in need of her skills she would ask them for a name of another agency that might be interested in her qualifications. Although it was tiring and not everyone was ready to help, but she stayed optimistic that she would find a potential place to work. A lot of her spare time was devoted to this search, but the most positive outcome was that meeting with these different non-governmental organizations made her more and more familiar with the different population groups that are in need of services.
It was not long before she discovered that she was most interested in women's issues. Women's rights, health care and education. They concerned her more than any of the other population groups she encountered. Working or volunteering for an agency that dealt with research on women would be most appealing to her. Eventually her sources led her to the Association for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. She was very happy when she discovered that they were searching for volunteers to help them research domestic violence here in Lebanon.
Ghida has offered to start working with them in the summer after graduation, and if it goes well she will continue through out the next year. She now feels she will have a chance to gain the experience she needs to take the next step in pursuing her education. She is also glad she made so many contacts with the various non governmental organizations in the country, this will give her some foundation and a place to start when she comes back after her Masters and needs to find work again .
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Irony Of The Metamorphosis.TXT
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1107
The Metamorphosis I have chosen The Metamorphosis as my subject for this paper; I will take a close look at how the death of Gregor Samsa opens the doors to understanding the story. I will give examples of irony through Gregor's metamorphosis and how this irony brings together the conclusion of the story. Through his death we see the truth behind his parents, which in it's self is ironic. It is difficult to pinpoint one specific thing to write about in the story; there are just so many things that can be brought to light. If I happen to lose sight of my topic bear with me, there is just so much to be discussed in the novella. In the opening lines of the story we are drawn into climax of the story. We are introduced to the main character, Gregor Samsa, and he has been transformed from a human to a bug. Gregor gives a long description of his looks and how he is trying to maneuver around. One peculiar thing is he does not panic, ironically he is more concerned with getting to work and hiding himself from his family. He is a hard working man that supports his parents and sister. The notion that he takes care of them seems to slip by the reader in the beginning of the story and does come up again until the end of the story. It is only then that everyone must go out a do something to support the family We finally see at end of the story how useful Gregor was to his family. By using the word useful I mean how many things he could be used for in advantage toward them. Gregor trapped himself in this world of sales because of his parents. He states "I'd be sacked on the spot. Anyhow, that might be quite a good thing for me, who can tell? If I didn't to hold my hand because of my parents I'd have given notice long time ago, I'd have gone to the chief and told him exactly what I think of him." They live in an upper class flat and they have hired help to wait on them, and Gregor is the one who supports it all. His father lost his business and his mother and sister do not work. The metamorphosis of Gregor is a dark blessing to him. It releases him from all of the pressures of daily life, his family, and at times he seems to enjoy being a bug. At one point he tells us how much he enjoys crawling up and down the walls and ceiling. Throughout the story there is a metamorphosis that is taking place in his home. He has traded places with the family and is now living the life they had previously embelished in. His father begins to work along with his sister and his mother must now work and do the cooking and cleaning. Gregor on the other hand does nothing but daydream, crawl, and nap through his days. One ironic statement from his sister "He must go, if this were Gregor he would have realized long ago human beings can't live with such a creature, he'd have gone away one his own accord. This creature persecutes us, drives away our lodgers, obviously wants the whole apartment to himself, and would have us all sleep in the gutter." How selfish of her, had he not taken care of them and he was not the only one working to make sure they were not sleeping in the gutter? As for him wanting the whole apartment, he lived in his tiny room until his death. I think he ventured out twice only to be scurried back in by threat. These people had paid as little attention to him as possible before and after the metamorphosis. In the last few pages we read of Gregor's death. The chairwomen spots the corpse and they come running as she yells to them. Grete does seem to be he most upset, but the fact that she is staring down at him could be disbelief. Disbelief that it is all over with just as she wanted. The parents do not seem affected at all, his father crosses himself and says "well, now thanks be to God." I though to myself as I was reading that it was ironic that he was giving up a prayer of thanks at his son's death. His mother questions the chairwomen "Dead?" she asks, almost as if she wants to make sure. She then walks away and turns to Grete to tell her to join them with a "tremendous smile." They really do not have any remorse about the situation at all; they are truly more concerned with themselves. Gregor is dead now and each can return to life. As if he were such a burden to them, they acted as if he were dead from the first morning the metamorphosis took place until the morning he took his last breath. It is almost evil the way they handled his death. "They decided to take the day resting and going for a stroll, for they had deserved such a respite from work."Such sarcastic undertones lie in that sentence, for they had not done anything to deserve a day off of work. Finally in the last paragraph of the novella we see truly how rotten Mr. and Mrs. Samsa really are. They are riding along divising a mentally scheme of what to do next in life. Now that the burden of Gregor was gone they would have to find someone else to mooch off of. They look at their daughter as their newest and last asset. "pretty girl with a good figure." They are unconsciously agreeing with each other, for nothing of this was being discussed out loud. The story excitedly states "soon it would be time to find a good husband for her. And it was like conformation of their new dreams and excellent intentions." Sick. My conclusion to this paper is short and sweet. Gregor escaped his hell and for awhile bore his parents into theirs. Mr. and Mrs. Samsa were rotten people down to the core. By the end of the story they are trying to erase any trace of him from their lives, he is simply not worth any thing to them now. The metamorphosis is a story of irony from start to finish. It begins with the climax, which is ironic, for most stories could not hold the reader's attention if they had done that. That is the beginning of an awkward and odd novella that is darkly humorous and remotely sad
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Island of the Blue Dolphins again.TXT
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	Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell, is an unforgettable tale about courage, hope, and discovery of yourself and the world around you. It deals with love and respect for animals and people. 
	The story takes place on an island in the Pacific Ocean that looks like a big fish sunning itself on the sea. It is called Island of the Blue Dolphins, and has dolphins, otters, and sea elephants swimming in the ocean around it. On the island is a little village called Ghalas-at, where a tribe of Indians lives. There is a strong wind that blows everyday, all through the year, leaving everything deformed and hills are polished smooth. A young girl stays on this island for many years in the story.
	Won-a-pa-lei, which means, The girl with Long Black Hair, is the main character in the story. Her secret name is Karana. Karana is a girl who lives on the island and has to survive by herself by making shelter, catching food, killing wolves, and making weapons. She is very brave and independent. She must prepare herself for when the Aleuts, unwanted people, return. Other supporting characters are her father, Chief Chowig, and her sister, Ulape. They taught her many things about being independent and taught her many skills she would need in the future. These characters were in the beginning of the story. Through the story she meets a dog when she is alone on the island and calls him Rontu. She also meets many other friends; birds, otters, and another dog. All these animals keep Karana's spirits high and keep her company.
     A major event in the story was when the Aleuts came to the island to hunt for otter, and in the end didn't pay their share. This resulted in many of the men from the Indian tribe being killed, and the Aleuts getting away. This was important to the story because the tribe decides to leave the island in case the Aleuts come again. This results in Karana and her brother being left on the island. She had to take care of herself and her brother, until her brother died. She had to live on the island until the ship returned. 
	The book was interesting in some parts of the book, but I didn't really enjoy the book. The value of reading it was that it taught me that you should respect the animals and can become friends with them. Don't trust anyone that you don't know really well, and it tells that if you really try and have hope and courage you can reach your goal. 
 	
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Island of the Blue Dolphins.TXT
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	Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell, is an unforgettable tale about courage, hope, and discovery of yourself and the world around you. It deals with love and respect for animals and people. 
	The story takes place on an island in the Pacific Ocean that looks like a big fish sunning itself on the sea. It is called Island of the Blue Dolphins, and has dolphins, otters, and sea elephants swimming in the ocean around it. On the island is a little village called Ghalas-at, where a tribe of Indians lives. There is a strong wind that blows everyday, all through the year, leaving everything deformed and hills are polished smooth. A young girl stays on this island for many years in the story.
	Won-a-pa-lei, which means, The girl with Long Black Hair, is the main character in the story. Her secret name is Karana. Karana is a girl who lives on the island and has to survive by herself by making shelter, catching food, killing wolves, and making weapons. She is very brave and independent. She must prepare herself for when the Aleuts, unwanted people, return. Other supporting characters are her father, Chief Chowig, and her sister, Ulape. They taught her many things about being independent and taught her many skills she would need in the future. These characters were in the beginning of the story. Through the story she meets a dog when she is alone on the island and calls him Rontu. She also meets many other friends; birds, otters, and another dog. All these animals keep Karana's spirits high and keep her company.
     A major event in the story was when the Aleuts came to the island to hunt for otter, and in the end didn't pay their share. This resulted in many of the men from the Indian tribe being killed, and the Aleuts getting away. This was important to the story because the tribe decides to leave the island in case the Aleuts come again. This results in Karana and her brother being left on the island. She had to take care of herself and her brother, until her brother died. She had to live on the island until the ship returned. 
	The book was interesting in some parts of the book, but I didn't really enjoy the book. The value of reading it was that it taught me that you should respect the animals and can become friends with them. Don't trust anyone that you don't know really well, and it tells that if you really try and have hope and courage you can reach your goal. 
 	
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Island.TXT
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416
I came to the conclusion that Langston was writing about te struggle to freedom for blacs. Lanston Hughes wrote about racism often in his poems, and this particular poem seems to follow that pattern. Hughes gives the feeling of loneliness and dismay at the fact that he is not considered equal to white people. The poem represents the struggle for freedom and to be considered equal. The speaker conveys a feeling of sadness and loneliness in the tone of their voice, as stated in the opening sentence of the poem. "Wave of sorrow", expresses the sadness, by the speaker who I interpret to be a black person caught up in the struggle to have equal right. Hughes uses language that is used in everday life. There are no obsolete of slang words incorporated in the course of the poem. The author uses static imagery, painting a picture of an island standing alone by itself off in the distance. I see a sunny, smoothe sandy island surrounded by cal waters and a warm atmosphere. Langston Hughes uses four stanzas which are all couplets written in closed form. The rhyme scheme is an end rhyme with the pattern ab cb cd ad. This is a unique poem structure with the first line reapeating itself again in line seven, and the third line repeating itself again in line five. This is a lyric poem, meditation, which in this case th physical object is the island. The rhythm is set to be short quck verses with pauses to lead into each couplet. The word choice of the poem is use to keep the poem's structure short and compact. The word order is slightly different from normal use. The unconventional syntax is used to create a rhyme scheme. I decided to do this poem because of the versatility of the meaning. The way Hughes writes "Island" it leaves the reader to develop their own opinions of the author's meaning. This poem can be interpreted in many different ways, for instance: I also thought that this poem could mean a person is close to reaching their goal and by saying "Wave of sorrow, Take me there", I interpreted that as meaning they needed some sort of motivation to point them in the direction of their island or goal. The vesatility of the poem is what makes the poem a success. It allows the readerto get involved in the poem and develop their own opinion and interpretations. My interpretation was influenced by otherpoems written by Langston Hughes. He has been known to write about racism in other works and that influenced my interpretation of this poem. This is a very short but powerful poem that provides motivation to keep our hopes alive to reach our dreams.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Jack London.TXT
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1745
Jack London fought his way up out of the factories and waterfront dives of West Oakland to become the highest paid, most popular novelist and short story writer of his day. He wrote passionately and prolifically about the great questions of life and death, the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity, and he wove these elemental ideas into stories of high adventure based on his own firsthand experiences at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California. As a result, his writing appealed not to the few, but to millions of people all around the world. Along with his books and stories, however, Jack London was widely known for his personal exploits. He was a celebrity, a colorful and controversial personality who was often in the news. Generally fun-loving and playful, he could also be combative, and was quick to side with the underdog against injustice or oppression of any kind. He was a fiery and eloquent public speaker, and much sought after as a lecturer on socialism and other economic and political topics. Despite his avowed socialism, most people considered him a living symbol of rugged individualism, a man whose fabulous success was due not to special favor of any kind, but to a combination of unusual mental ability and immense vitality. Strikingly handsome, full of laughter, restless and courageous to a fault, always eager for adventure on land or sea, he was one of the most attractive and romantic figures of his time. Jack London ascribed his literary success largely to hard work - to "dig," as he put it. He tried never to miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, and between 1900 and 1916 he completed over fifty books, including both fiction and non-fiction, hundreds of short stories, and numerous articles on a wide range of topics. Several of the books and many of the short stories are classics of their kind, well thought of in critical terms and still popular around the world. Today, almost countless editions of London's writings are available and some of them have been translated into as many as seventy different languages. In addition to his daily writing stint and his commitments as a lecturer, London also carried on voluminous correspondence (he received some 10,000 letters per year), read proofs of his work as it went to press, negotiated with his various agents and publishers, and conducted other business such as overseeing construction of his custom-built sailing ship, the Snark (1906 - 1907), construction of Wolf House (1910 - 1913), and the operation of his beloved Beauty Ranch, which became a primary preoccupation after about 1911. Along with all this, he had to continually generate new ideas for books and stories and do the research so necessary to his writing. Somehow, he managed to do all these things and still find time to go swimming, horseback riding, or sailing on San Francisco Bay. He also spent 27 months cruising the South Pacific in the Snark, put in two tours of duty as an overseas war correspondent, traveled widely for pleasure, entertained a continual stream of guests whenever he was at home in Glen Ellen, and did his fair share of barroom socializing and debating. In order to fit all this living into the narrow confines of one lifetime, he often tried to make do with no more than four or five hours of sleep at night. London was first attracted to the Sonoma Valley by its magnificent natural landscape, a unique combination of high hills, fields and streams, and a beautiful mixed forest of oaks, madrones, California buckeyes, Douglas Fir, and redwood trees. "When I first came here, tired of cities and people, I settled down on a little farm ... 130 acres of the most beautiful, primitive land to be found in California." He didn't care that the farm was badly run-down. Instead, he reveled in its deep canyons and forests, its year-round springs and streams. "All I wanted," he said later, "was a quiet place in the country to write and loaf in and get out of Nature that something which we all need, only the most of us don't know it." Soon, however, he was busy buying farm equipment and livestock for his "mountain ranch." He also began work on a new barn and started planning a fine new house. "This is to be no summer-residence proposition," he wrote to his publisher in June 1905, "but a home all the year round. I am anchoring good and solid, and anchoring for keeps ..." Born January 12, 1876, he was only 29, but he was already internationally famous for Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea Wolf (1904), and other literary and journalistic accomplishments. He was divorced from Bessie (Maddern), his first wife and the mother of his two daughters, Joan and Little Bess, and he had married Charmian (Kittredge). Living and owning land near Glen Ellen was a way of escaping from Oakland - from the city way of life he called the "man-trap." But excited as he was about his plans for the ranch, London was still too restless, too eager for foreign travel and adventure, to settle down and spend all his time there. While his barn and other ranch improvements were still under construction he decided to build a ship and go sailing around the world - exploring, writing, adventuring - enjoying the "big moments of living" that he craved and that would give him still more material to write about. The great voyage was to last seven years and take Jack and Charmian around the world. In fact it lasted 27 months and took them "only" as far as the South Pacific and Australia. Discouraged by a variety of health problems, and heartbroken about having to abandon the trip and sell the Snark, London returned to Glen Ellen and to his plans for the ranch. In 1909, '10 and '11 he bought more land, and in 1911 moved from Glen Ellen to a small ranch house in the middle of his holdings. He rode horseback throughout the countryside, exploring every canyon, glen and hill top. And he threw himself into farming - scientific agriculture - as one of the few justifiable, basic, and idealistic ways of making a living. A significant portion of his later writing - Burning Daylight (1910), Valley of the Moon (1913), Little Lady of the Big House (1916) - had to do with the simple pleasures of country life, the satisfaction of making a living directly and honestly from the land and thereby remaining close to the realities of the natural world. Jack and Charmian London's dream house began to take definite shape early in 1911 as Albert Farr, a well-known San Francisco architect, put their ideas on paper in the form of drawings and sketches, and then supervised the early stages of construction. It was to be a grand house - one that would remain standing for a thousand years. By August 1913, London had spent approximately $80,000 (in pre-World War I dollars), and the project was nearly complete. On August 22 final cleanup got underway and plans were laid for moving the Londons' specially designed, custom-built furniture and other personal belongings into the mansion. That night - at 2 a. m. - word came that the house was burning. By the time the Londons arrived on the scene the house was ablaze in every corner, the roof had collapsed, and even a stack of lumber some distance away was burning. Nothing could be done. London looked on philosophically, but inside he was seriously wounded, for the loss was a crushing financial blow and the wreck of a long-cherished dream. Worse yet, he also had to face the probability that the fire had been deliberately set - perhaps by someone close to him. To this day, the mystery remains unsolved, but there are strong indications that the fire started by spontaneous combustion of oily rags which had been left in the building on that hot August night. London planned to rebuild Wolf House eventually, but at the time of his death in 1916 the house remained as it stands today, the stark but eloquent vestige of a unique and fascinating but shattered dream. The destruction of the Wolf House left London terribly depressed, but after a few days he forced himself to go back to work. Using a $2,000 advance from Cosmopolitan Magazine, he added a new study to the little wood-frame ranch house in which he had been living since 1911. Here, in the middle of his beloved ranch, he continued to turn out the articles, short stories, and novels for which there was an ever-growing international market. From the time he went east to meet with his publishers in New York, or to San Francisco or Los Angeles on other business. He also spent a considerable amount of time living and working aboard his 30-foot yawl, the Roamer, which he loved to sail around San Francisco Bay and throughout the nearby Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In 1914 he went to Mexico as a war correspondent covering the role of U.S. troops and Navy ships in the Villa-Carranza revolt. In 1915 and again in 1916 Charmian persuaded him to spend several months in Hawaii, where he seemed better able to relax and more willing to take care of himself. His greatest satisfaction, however, came from his ranch activities and from his ever more ambitious plans for expanding the ranch and increasing its productivity. These plans kept him perpetually in debt and under intense pressure to keep on writing as fast as he could, even though it might mean sacrificing quality in favor of quantity. His doctors urged him to ease up, to change his work habits and his diet, to stop all use of alcohol, and to get more exercise. But he refused to change his way of life, and plunged on with his writing and his ranch, generously supporting friends and relations through it all. If anything, the press of his financial commitments and his increasingly severe health problems only made him expand his ambitions, dream even larger dreams, and work still harder and faster. On November 22, 1916, Jack London died of gastrointestinal uremic poisoning. He was 40 years of age and had been suffering from a variety of ailments, including a kidney condition that was extraordinarily painful at times. Nevertheless, right up to the last day of his life he was full of bold plans and boundless enthusiasm for the future.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\John Howard Griffin.TXT
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John Howard Griffin
Black Like Me John Howard Griffin was a journalist and a specialist on race issues. After publication, he became a leading advocate in the Civil Rights Movement and did much to promote awareness of the racial situations and pass legislature. He was middle aged and living in Mansfield, Texas at the time of publication in 1960. His desire to know if Southern whites were racist against the Negro population of the Deep South, or if they really judged people based on the individual's personality as they said they prompted him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. Since communication between the white and African American races did not exist, neither race really knew what it was like for the other. Due to this, Griffin felt the only way to know the truth was to become a black man and travel through the South. His trip was financed by the internationally distributed Negro magazine Sepia in exchange for the right to print excerpts from the finished product. After three weeks in the Deep South as a black man John Howard Griffin produced a 188-page journal covering his transition into the black race, his travels and experiences in the South, the shift back into white society, and the reaction of those he knew prior his experonce the book was published and released. John Howard Griffin began this novel as a white man on October 28, 1959 and became a black man (with the help of a noted dermatologist) on November 7. He entered black society in New Orleans through his contact Sterling, a shoe shine boy that he had met in the days prior to the medication taking full effect. Griffin stayed with Sterling at the shine stand for a few days to become assimilated into the society and to learn more about the attitude and mindset of the common black man. After one week of trying to find work other than menial labor, he left to travel throughout the Southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. November 14, the day he decided to leave, was the day after the Mississippi jury refused to indict or consider the evidence in the Mack Parker kidnap-lynch murder case. He decided to go into the heart of Mississippi, the Southern state most feared by blacks of that time, just to see if it really did have the "wonderful relationship" with their Negroes that they said they did. What he found in Hattiesburg was tension in the state so apparent and thick that it scared him to death. One of the reasons for this could be attributed to the Parker case decision because the trial took place not far from Hattiesburg. He knew it was a threat to his life if he remained because he was not a true Negro and did not know the proper way to conduct himself in the present situation. Griffin requested that one of his friends help him leave the state as soon as possible. P.D. East, Griffin's friend, was more than willing to help his friend out of the dangerous situation that he had gotten himself into and back to New Orleans. From New Orleans, traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi and began hitch hiking toward Mobile, Alabama. Griffin found that men would not pick him up in the day nearly as often as they would at night. One of the reasons being that the darkness of night is a protection of sorts and the white men would let their defenses down. Also, they would not have to be afraid of someone they knew seeing them with a Negro in their car. But the main reason was of the stereotypes many of these men had of Negroes, that they were more sexually active, knew more about sex, had larger genitalia, and fewer morals and therefore would discuss these things with them. Many of the whites that offered Griffin rides would become angry and let him out when he would not discuss his sex life with them. One man was amazed to find a Negro who spoke intelligently and tried to explain the fallacies behind the stereotypes and what the problem with Negro society was. Many Negroes he encountered on his journey through the Deep South were very kind and opened their hearts and homes to him. One example of this is when Griffin asked an elderly Negro where he might find lodging, the man offered to share his own bed with him. Another instance was when Griffin was stranded somewhere between Mobile and Montgomery and a black man offered him lodging at his home. The man's home was a two-room shack that housed six members of his family, but he accepted John into his home and refused any money for the trouble saying that "he'd brought more than he'd taken." In Montgomery, Alabama, Griffin decided it was time for him to reenter white society, but he also wanted to gain a knowledge of the area as a black man. So, he devised the technique of covering an area as a black and then returning the following day as a white. What he found was, as a black he would receive the "hate stare" from whites and be treated with every courtesy by the black community. As a white, it would be the exact opposite, he would get the "hate stare" from blacks and be treated wonderfully by the same people who despised him the previous day. After a few days of zigzagging across the color line, Griffin decided that he had enough material from his journal to create a book and enough experience as a black man so he reverted permanently into white society. Crossing over into the white world was unsettling to Griffin, if only because of the way he was treated by the same people who despised him previously due to his pigmentation. The sudden ability to walk into any establishment and not be refused service was also a shock after having to search for common conveniences days before. After returning to his hometown of Mansfield, Texas Griffin was not widely accepted back into the community he once knew. Many of the residents of the city were racists, therefore they considered him one of the 'niggers.' The racists even went as far as to hang Griffin in effigy from the town's stop light one morning. This prompted him and his family to leave the area until the situation considerably calmed down. Griffin was interviewed by various television and radio hosts as well as magazine and newspapermen after the book was made public. His main objective was to educate the public of the situation in the South and people couldn't help but hear about it. Wether or not they accepted the information was not up to Griffin, but he did his best to make the knowledge available. This book relates to American history because it takes the reader into the Deep South before the Civil Rights Movements took hold and shows what it was like to be black. In the Preface, the author states "I could have been a Jew in Germany, a Mexican in a number of states, or a member of any 'inferior' group. Only the details would have differed. The story would be the same." The details he mentioned were he being black and in the South, and the story is of hatred and racism directed toward him and others like him on account of those details. The account he related showed America and the world that race relations in the South was not the pretty picture it was painted as. Instead, he showed the daily struggle of the blacks to survive. Griffin's bias is that white Southern Americans of that period were racist toward the African American population. The only thing altered from before he entered New Orleans to after was his appearance. He dyed his skin a very dark brown and shaved his head, his clothing, speech patterns, and references had not changed and every question was answered truthfully. If people did judge others by their qualities and qualifications, his time in the Deep South should have been fairly uneventful. Instead, there were daily quests to find rest-room facilities, restaurants, stores, and various other 'conveniences' that he took advantage of before he crossed the color line. During his stay in New Orleans, blacks were forced to use specific facilities designated for them and they were usually few and far between. Other than the Greyhound station or other public buildings that blacks were allowed to enter, there were no facilities that were at par with the ones the whites had access to. His now black skin also prevented him from entering any store and purchasing something to drink, instead he would have to find a Negro Cafe. These Cafes were not nearly as numerous as the many places the lowliest white could acquire a drink. The color of his skin also prevented him from gaining anything other than menial labor job, although his qualifications could easily get him any number of positions if he were white. ". . . I walked toward Brennan's, one of New Orleans' famed restaurants . . . I stopped to study the menu . . . realizing that a few days earlier I could have gone in an ordered anything on the menu. But now, though I was the same person with the same appetite . . . appreciation . . . and wallet, no power on earth could get me inside this place for a meal. I recalled hearing some Negro say, 'You can live here all your life, but you'll never get inside one of the great restaurants except as a kitchen boy.'" The above passage represents just one of many instances where he was barred from entering an establishment solely based on his pigmentation. As stated before, Negroes were not permitted to enter many restaurants, but libraries, museums, concert halls, and other culturally enhancing places were also barred to him even though there was no formal law against them entering. The many stereotypes of blacks being intellectually inferior just made it easier to deny them access because they did not have the mental capacities to appreciate it. It became apparent to Griffin that because the black population was widely uneducated, they would never be able to succeed in life. One of the things inhibiting their education was the inferior quality of schools and the inability to enter establishments such as libraries and museums. The whites, usually knew this and used it to their advantage to keep the black population subordinate. Black Like Me John Howard Griffin was a journalist and a specialist on race issues. After publication, he became a leading advocate in the Civil Rights Movement and did much to promote awareness of the racial situations and pass legislature. He was middle aged and living in Mansfield, Texas at the time of publication in 1960. His desire to know if Southern whites were racist against the Negro population of the Deep South, or if they really judged people based on the individual's personality as they said they prompted him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. Since communication between the white and African American races did not exist, neither race really knew what it was like for the other. Due to this, Griffin felt the only way to know the truth was to become a black man and travel through the South. His trip was financed by the internationally distributed Negro magazine Sepia in exchange for the right to print excerpts from the finished product. After three weeks in the Deep South as a black man John Howard Griffin produced a 188-page journal covering his transition into the black race, his travels and experiences in the South, the shift back into white society, and the reaction of those he knew prior his experonce the book was published and released. John Howard Griffin began this novel as a white man on October 28, 1959 and became a black man (with the help of a noted dermatologist) on November 7. He entered black society in New Orleans through his contact Sterling, a shoe shine boy that he had met in the days prior to the medication taking full effect. Griffin stayed with Sterling at the shine stand for a few days to become assimilated into the society and to learn more about the attitude and mindset of the common black man. After one week of trying to find work other than menial labor, he left to travel throughout the Southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. November 14, the day he decided to leave, was the day after the Mississippi jury refused to indict or consider the evidence in the Mack Parker kidnap-lynch murder case. He decided to go into the heart of Mississippi, the Southern state most feared by blacks of that time, just to see if it really did have the "wonderful relationship" with their Negroes that they said they did. What he found in Hattiesburg was tension in the state so apparent and thick that it scared him to death. One of the reasons for this could be attributed to the Parker case decision because the trial took place not far from Hattiesburg. He knew it was a threat to his life if he remained because he was not a true Negro and did not know the proper way to conduct himself in the present situation. Griffin requested that one of his friends help him leave the state as soon as possible. P.D. East, Griffin's friend, was more than willing to help his friend out of the dangerous situation that he had gotten himself into and back to New Orleans. From New Orleans, traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi and began hitch hiking toward Mobile, Alabama. Griffin found that men would not pick him up in the day nearly as often as they would at night. One of the reasons being that the darkness of night is a protection of sorts and the white men would let their defenses down. Also, they would not have to be afraid of someone they knew seeing them with a Negro in their car. But the main reason was of the stereotypes many of these men had of Negroes, that they were more sexually active, knew more about sex, had larger genitalia, and fewer morals and therefore would discuss these things with them. Many of the whites that offered Griffin rides would become angry and let him out when he would not discuss his sex life with them. One man was amazed to find a Negro who spoke intelligently and tried to explain the fallacies behind the stereotypes and what the problem with Negro society was. Many Negroes he encountered on his journey through the Deep South were very kind and opened their hearts and homes to him. One example of this is when Griffin asked an elderly Negro where he might find lodging, the man offered to share his own bed with him. Another instance was when Griffin was stranded somewhere between Mobile and Montgomery and a black man offered him lodging at his home. The man's home was a two-room shack that housed six members of his family, but he accepted John into his home and refused any money for the trouble saying that "he'd brought more than he'd taken." In Montgomery, Alabama, Griffin decided it was time for him to reenter white society, but he also wanted to gain a knowledge of the area as a black man. So, he devised the technique of covering an area as a black and then returning the following day as a white. What he found was, as a black he would receive the "hate stare" from whites and be treated with every courtesy by the black community. As a white, it would be the exact opposite, he would get the "hate stare" from blacks and be treated wonderfully by the same people who despised him the previous day. After a few days of zigzagging across the color line, Griffin decided that he had enough material from his journal to create a book and enough experience as a black man so he reverted permanently into white society. Crossing over into the white world was unsettling to Griffin, if only because of the way he was treated by the same people who despised him previously due to his pigmentation. The sudden ability to walk into any establishment and not be refused service was also a shock after having to search for common conveniences days before. After returning to his hometown of Mansfield, Texas Griffin was not widely accepted back into the community he once knew. Many of the residents of the city were racists, therefore they considered him one of the 'niggers.' The racists even went as far as to hang Griffin in effigy from the town's stop light one morning. This prompted him and his family to leave the area until the situation considerably calmed down. Griffin was interviewed by various television and radio hosts as well as magazine and newspapermen after the book was made public. His main objective was to educate the public of the situation in the South and people couldn't help but hear about it. Wether or not they accepted the information was not up to Griffin, but he did his best to make the knowledge available. This book relates to American history because it takes the reader into the Deep South before the Civil Rights Movements took hold and shows what it was like to be black. In the Preface, the author states "I could have been a Jew in Germany, a Mexican in a number of states, or a member of any 'inferior' group. Only the details would have differed. The story would be the same." The details he mentioned were he being black and in the South, and the story is of hatred and racism directed toward him and others like him on account of those details. The account he related showed America and the world that race relations in the South was not the pretty picture it was painted as. Instead, he showed the daily struggle of the blacks to survive. Griffin's bias is that white Southern Americans of that period were racist toward the African American population. The only thing altered from before he entered New Orleans to after was his appearance. He dyed his skin a very dark brown and shaved his head, his clothing, speech patterns, and references had not changed and every question was answered truthfully. If people did judge others by their qualities and qualifications, his time in the Deep South should have been fairly uneventful. Instead, there were daily quests to find rest-room facilities, restaurants, stores, and various other 'conveniences' that he took advantage of before he crossed the color line. During his stay in New Orleans, blacks were forced to use specific facilities designated for them and they were usually few and far between. Other than the Greyhound station or other public buildings that blacks were allowed to enter, there were no facilities that were at par with the ones the whites had access to. His now black skin also prevented him from entering any store and purchasing something to drink, instead he would have to find a Negro Cafe. These Cafes were not nearly as numerous as the many places the lowliest white could acquire a drink. The color of his skin also prevented him from gaining anything other than menial labor job, although his qualifications could easily get him any number of positions if he were white. ". . . I walked toward Brennan's, one of New Orleans' famed restaurants . . . I stopped to study the menu . . . realizing that a few days earlier I could have gone in an ordered anything on the menu. But now, though I was the same person with the same appetite . . . appreciation . . . and wallet, no power on earth could get me inside this place for a meal. I recalled hearing some Negro say, 'You can live here all your life, but you'll never get inside one of the great restaurants except as a kitchen boy.'" The above passage represents just one of many instances where he was barred from entering an establishment solely based on his pigmentation. As stated before, Negroes were not permitted to enter many restaurants, but libraries, museums, concert halls, and other culturally enhancing places were also barred to him even though there was no formal law against them entering. The many stereotypes of blacks being intellectually inferior just made it easier to deny them access because they did not have the mental capacities to appreciate it. It became apparent to Griffin that because the black population was widely uneducated, they would never be able to succeed in life. One of the things inhibiting their education was the inferior quality of schools and the inability to enter establishments such as libraries and museums. The whites, usually knew this and used it to their advantage to keep the black population subordinate.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Johnny Tremain.TXT
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483
Imagine being back in the colony of Massachusetts before the Revolutionary war. As you walk down the streets of Boston, you meet a young man named Johnny Tremain. After listening to his story, you think of the different ways you could describe him. You could describe him by his looks, by his personality, and by the talents he portrays. His character is so interesting that it's hard to describe his skilled talents, his complex personality, and his adored physical features. As you remember the tale of his hardships and fate, you know that Johnny Tremain will stand in your mind forever. Standing alone on the wharf next to his magnificent house, you see a thin, light haired, light complected young man. There are many ways you can describe the way Johnny Tremain looks. You can tell by the way he stands, so proud, that he is around 15 years old. You can see that he's strong but he's also frightened. As you move your eyes towards what's behind him you notice that his hand is crippled and was probably burned. Your eyes meet his and they're a piercing blue. You are so struck by his looks you can't wait to go talk to him and find out about his personality traits. Johnny Tremain's personality was very fascinating, and it was most intriguing to read about how he changed from a bossy, impatient boy, into a thoughtful, patient gentleman. Even though he was a skilled worker, he was proud, and full of arrogance. But after his terrible tragedy, his rude character died in the birth and death room, and Johnny was reborn as a more patient and caring person. He still won't take pity from anyone, but on the inside he is probably crying out for help. Although he has no one to talk to, he does have special talents that help keep him going strong. Before Johnny burned his hand working on a sugar basin, he was a skilled silversmith. Imagine burning your right hand and losing many of your talents, such as writing or using an ax. After practicing, he painfully learned to use his left hand to use an ax. He also learned to legibly write, but it used to be better before his accident. Now Johnny diligently works for a newspaper called the Boston Observer. He regularly rides his horse, Goblin, and faithfully delivers the newspapers. Delivering notes for the British officers proved to be a profitable part of his routine. As the day ends, you have enjoyed spending time with Johnny. Now you know so much about him, you feel it impossible to name all of his qualities. But that only shows how complex he was. After Johnny's accident, he was able to compensate for his losses by practicing hard. Johnny likes to flirt with the girls, but Cilla is the one he really likes. Instead of learning to be a silversmith, he rides his horse, Goblin, and delivers newspapers for the Boston Observer. Johnny Tremain's personality was very intriguing and all of his talents and personality made you very interested in him. As you walk away you see him walking towards the west like a new sun rising.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Joni Book Report again.TXT
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Joni
   The book Joni is an autobiography by Joni Eareckson Tada. Zondervan publishes it.
Her story tells about the trials she went through after a tragic diving accident when she was seventeen. She was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of her breaking her neck. She spent months and years in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Her book shares how devastated she was when she discovered she would never walk again. Her last hope at an almost normal life was crushed when she realized she would never regain he use of her arms. It also tells how she over came thoughs obstacles with God's help. 
   Joni explains how her life was greatly impacted by God and how her faith in Jesus was what kept her emotionally alive. 
   This book really shows how God uses people to fulfill his will.
   I found this book to be spiritually uplifting. It's very interesting and has something in it for just about everyone. It also helped me to realize how blessed I am. I have four very capable limbs that I can use to fulfill God's purpose for my life.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story about Christian triumph and God's amazing grace.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Joni Book Report.TXT
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Joni
   The book Joni is an autobiography by Joni Eareckson Tada. Zondervan publishes it.
Her story tells about the trials she went through after a tragic diving accident when she was seventeen. She was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of her breaking her neck. She spent months and years in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Her book shares how devastated she was when she discovered she would never walk again. Her last hope at an almost normal life was crushed when she realized she would never regain he use of her arms. It also tells how she over came thoughs obstacles with God's help. 
   Joni explains how her life was greatly impacted by God and how her faith in Jesus was what kept her emotionally alive. 
   This book really shows how God uses people to fulfill his will.
   I found this book to be spiritually uplifting. It's very interesting and has something in it for just about everyone. It also helped me to realize how blessed I am. I have four very capable limbs that I can use to fulfill God's purpose for my life.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story about Christian triumph and God's amazing grace.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Julius Caesar.TXT
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293
In William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, there is a major difference between two of the characters, Brutus and Mark Antony. Brutus was very honorable and Antony was very persuasive. When Brutus spoke at Caesar's funeral, he appealed to the people's logic and Antony spoke to the emotions of the people. Antony is very smart and uses his brain frequently during the play and Brutus is very naive about many of things. Brutus was very honorable and Antony was very persuasive. Brutus was very honorable in the way that he always told people the truth. Antony was persuasive in the way that he used people to get whatever he wanted. For example, Antony used Lepidus to seek revenge on all of the conspirators to take the blame for their deaths. In the speech at Caesar's funeral Brutus spoke to the people's logical mind and Antony spoke to the emotions of the people. Brutus' speech was very short and to the point and spoke to the logic of the people in the crowd. For example, Brutus spoke in a detached way about Caesar's death while Antony spoke to the emotions of the crowd by crying and talking about all the good things that Caesar did for Rome. Antony's intelligence was very apparent throughout the play and Brutus appeared to be naive about many things. Antony is smart in the way that he manipulates people to his own advantage. For example, Antony was manipulative in his emotional approach to persuade people to become outraged at Brutus. Brutus appears to be naive throughout the whole play because he believed everyone was as honorable as he. Brutus did not question what he was told, assuming it was always true. In conclusion, in William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, there is a major difference between the two characters, Brutus and Mark Antony. The strongest contrast between the two characters appears to be their ability and inability to be both honorable and persuasive.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Julius.TXT
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Julius 
There have been many great leaders in our history, one of who is Julius Caesar.
Julius Caesar was born a leader and died a leader. From his uprising triumphs, which he
had many of, to his tragic down fall. A reason for his down fall was that he was too
ambitious. Another reason for his demise is the betral of his so-called best friend Brutus.
Envy and jealously which also was a factor of Caesar's death. He was a brave man and he
cared about what the society thought of him. He doesn't like to be thought of as a
coward. He does his best to keep his image. In the play Julius Caesar Caesar was
influenced by his wife, the messenger, and the pressure to keep up his good image.
 
Calpurnia, Caesar's wife was wealthy women who can't have babies. She has many omens which
 
Caesar thinks are silly and ignores them. The day of Caesars death she had an omen. Her omen was that
Caesar was going to turn into a statue and people will wash their hands with his blood. She pressured him
not to go to the meeting, afraid for Caesar's life. Her omen did come true. Caesar ignored her request for
 
him to stay and left. To Caesar, only superstitious people believed in omens. He went to
the meeting not knowing that his wife's omen would come true. He went to the meeting
because he didn't want people to think of him as a coward. Also, because he might have
been offered the crown for the fourth time.
 
The messenger who came to get Caesar to the meeting also was influence. Caesar
trusted the messenger and told him the real reason he wasn't going and the messenger
just laughed and said "I will not lie". He also told Caesar that " if you do not come I will
tell them the real reason you did not go". To Caesar he thought that the Romans would
think of him as a coward. Caesar said " cowards die many times before their deaths"
which meant that people who turn down fights and wars die before their time because
the Roman would think of them less and wouldn't bother to even look twice at that
person. To Caesar that was like he was already died and that you backed out of
something so important
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Jurassic Park.TXT
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Jurassic Park 
Jurassic Park, the novel by Michael Crichton had many rich, and interesting characters. Crichton seemed to be able to make them come alive and jump out of the pages into three-dimensional people. One such character was John Hammond. This man had dreams of greatness. He had monstrous plans and the money to back those plans up. He had always been a child at heart and he was in love with dinosaurs, much like I am and this is one of the reasons that he was one of my favorite characters. His company, The Hammond Foundation financed many different digs for paleontologists. When The Hammond Foundation finds amber with a mosquito locked in it, John Hammond realizes that perhaps his dreams of having a dinosaur park are possible. This is because the mosquito locked inside the amber contains the blood of a real dinosaur, complete with DNA. The finding of the amber is not shown in the movie. Instead all we see in the movie is the original amber his foundation found, attached to the top of his cane. The movie starts with John Hammond inviting Alan Grant and his understudy Ellie Satler to the park. John Hammond has to hire people to do all of the technical stuff, but it is he who envisions the park as a whole. He sees the public paying thousands of dollars to come and see his dinosaurs. He can see the astounded look on peoples faces when they see creatures that have been extinct for millions of years. He can see the happy faces of the children as well as the money he will be making from the operation. John Hammond's fault is that he refuses to believe that anything could go wrong. He has hired the best experts he could find, and he places all of his faith in them. When things do start to go completely awry, Hammond sees them only as minor problems; chinks in the system. John Hammond is too caught up with the glamour of the idea of Jurassic Park rather than with the minute details. In fact he refuses to even see the minute details, preferring to leave them to somebody else. He is content with his delusions of grandeur. I felt only mild remorse when he died at the end. It is hard to care about somebody who only cares for himself. Alan Grant was one of the more important characters of the story. He was a paleontologist who was initially hired by The Hammond Foundation to do a written report on the foods that a baby dinosaur might eat. Grant had no idea why he was being asked to do this, but he agreed to because Hammond was offering an astronomical amount of money for the job. As time went on, John Hammond invited Grant out to see the small Costa Rican island that was named Jurassic Park. By this point, the park was almost finished. Hammond wanted to get the opinion of a real paleontologist. Grant was literally blown away. He could not believe that there were real live specimens of the skeletons that he had been studying all of his life. Alan Grant was the person who made the crucial discovery that the dinosaurs were reproducing on their own. Grant found an egg shell that he immediately recognized as belonging to a velociraptor. At first this event seemed to be impossible because the animals were all hatched in a laboratory, and they were all supposed to be female. However, Grant realized that the dinosaur DNA that Henry Wu had been working with had not been all that complete. The missing parts had been filled in with frog DNA. Unfortunately Wu failed to realize that frogs sometimes have the ability to switch between being a male and a female. Because of this reason, the dinosaurs were able to reproduce. Grant was also an integral character because he was able to survive in the wilds of Jurassic Park and make his way to some form of safety. When all of the power went out, Alan managed to outsmart the incredibly ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex. Grant was also one of the few brave enough to go down into a velociraptor nest and count to find out how many unknown babies there had been. Grant is also special in that he was one of the few people to make it off that small Costa Rican island alive. Ellie Satler was a graduate student under Alan Grant. Her specialty is paleobotany. She travels to Jurassic Park along with Grant. She is extremely bright, and she knows volumes about prehistoric plants. She was the one who recognized that the authentic ferns that were planted throughout the park were extremely toxic to human beings. She also was the one who realized what was causing the stegosauruses so many problems. The problem was that the stones that the stegosauruses swallowed for gizzard stones were surrounded by berries. The animals swallowed these berries and these berries were very toxic to the animals. Another thing that Ellie did was comfort people. She made the kids feel better when they were really upset. She was the person who stayed and took care of Malcolm when the mathematician was really sick. The woman was also very self-sacrificing. She was willing to put herself out as bait to distract the raptors away from Malcolm. The mathematician named Ian Malcolm was also a very important part of this story. He was invited to preview Jurassic Park along with Grant and Ellie. Malcolm is a very interesting character because he predicted the downfall of Jurassic Park right from the very start. Malcolm is a strong believer in something called the chaos theory. Basically this theory states that in some systems there are minute unpredictabilities that get magnified and cause the system to take a completely different course of action. Malcolm claims that Jurassic Park cannot work because, although it seems to be a simple system, that this simplicity will not last forever. He claims that small unpredictabilities in Jurassic Park will soon magnify, and the entire park will never succeed. Ian Malcolm turns out to be right. This raises an interesting question. If he knew that the park was doomed to fail, then why did he go and put his life on the line? Perhaps Malcolm was not accepted from the desire of every human to see a real live dinosaur. Dr. Henry Wu was the man who was able to create the dinosaurs in the laboratory. This man was the person smart enough to make the dinosaurs. He took genetic information from amber and crushed up fossils and with a lot of experimentation was able to get a DNA strand and clone it to create a dinosaur. Dr. Wu is truly a brilliant man. He was smart enough to create safeguards to keep the dinosaurs from escaping. However, he gets so caught up in the excitement of it all, that he makes a few fatal mistakes. Because of his ignorance, the dinosaurs were able to reproduce. Dennis Nedry was also of importance to this story. This is that man who was hired to do all of the computer programming for Jurassic Park. He turns out to be a traitor, however. He shuts down all the power, including the electric fences. He then steals some of the dinosaur embryos to sell to another lab. However, Nedry was quite stupid. He gets killed because the dinosaurs are out of their fences and a dilphosarus kills him. Nedry was a rotten character and I had felt little to no remorse when he died. As I mentioned previously, the initial plan seemed very amazing. The Hammond Foundation would buy a Costa Rican island, hire the top people in their fields, and build an amusement park with dinosaurs instead of rides. The idea was to create a slice of history that people had never been able to be exposed to before. They had to use some frog DNA to supplement the blood found in the amber, but that was okay. After all, the frog DNA was so similar to the dinosaur DNA, that it really did not matter. Early indications that everything might not be perfect could be seen when babies and small children started being killed by small reptile-like animals that nobody had ever heard of before. Soon one of these animals was identified by Grant as a dinosaur. Just the fact hat dinosaurs had escaped from the park was a major indication that something was awry. Also, a few workers were getting mauled to death. This would lead one to believe that perhaps things were not as under control as Hammond and Wu thought they were. The actual genetics of the project was very interesting. In order to get the DNA to create the dinosaurs, Wu went to two sources. First he tried using ground up fossils. By this only had a 20 percent yield for the DNA that Wu needed. Wu had much better luck using mosquitoes and other biting bugs that had been fossilized in amber. Often these insects contained the blood of a dinosaur. With this blood, Wu had almost all of the genetic information that he needed in order to create a new dinosaur. In order to finish the job, Wu stuck frog and other amphibian DNA in many places where the strand was incomplete. Then Wu used some of the most powerful computers known to man to identify which genetic code he had. From that point, by replicating the molecule, Wu was able to create a dinosaur.
I had originally chosen to read this novel because of the fact that I have always enjoyed dinosaurs and they have always been one of my passions. I was told by one of my fathers friends around 1990, when I was so fascinated about dinosaurs and around the time of its first release, that this book was a very good read. I was only six then and I was more interested in books with pictures rather than a book with 400 pages of writing, so I never did read it until now. I am also in a Travel and Tourism course and we were currently working on amusement parks at the time. I had seen the movie adaptation of this book back in 1994, and its sequel which was released a few years afterwards, but one of my friends had told me that the novel was much more satisfying. I would have to agree with my friend. Personally, I thought this was a great book. When I saw the movie, it was a blast. I loved the movie, but when I read the book for the first time I was blown away. The story in the novel is somewhat different from that of the movie, including the outcome of most of the characters. Different people die and survive in the novel that didn't in the movie. One example is that there were no stegosauruses in the movie adaptation. These didn't appear until the sequel. In place of the stegosaurus was a triceratops, which was a good choice for the triceratops was Alan Grants favorite of all dinosaurs. If they had kept the exact same story for the movie, I believe it would have been much better. But I don't really have much authority in saying so. It is really hard for a director to keep a movie the same as the book for its much easier writing descriptions than displaying them on the screen. Michael Crichton, the author of the novel, did help produce it and Steven Spielberg directed the movie, so maybe they had changed it for the better. For one thing, I do congratulate them on is the cast. The actors in the movie suit the characters in the novel perfectly. Also having seen the movie, it made the novel a more fluent read than most books I have read because there was no need to learn all the characters. I did really enjoy this novel and would recommend both reading the novel and watching the movie. They are both great creations and I am going to read more novels by Michael Crichton and continue to watch Steven Spielberg films.
 
Little Lunitic
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Jurrasic Park.TXT
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1118
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton Kevin Number of pages: 399 Block B Plot Summary Introduction The Story takes place on an Island off the Coast of Costa Rica. Where A very wealthy man, John Hammond, Has set up A Genetically engineered Dinosaur preserve. Before he opens this living attraction to the public(only the people who can afford it) He needs people, who he thinks will be good judges of the Park. He brings them in and begins to awe them with the sights of real dinosaurs. One of the visitors, Ian Malcolm, predicts that this is impossible to accomplish. For he says there are flaws in the system, and according to his chaos theory these animals cannot be predicted. Activating Circumstance While they are in awe one of the computer programmers, Dennis Nedry, Is secretly planning to steal dinosaur embryos from the park and sell them to a company that is trying to stay in business with Hammond. The only way Nedry can obtain these embryos id to shut down the park power so he can sneak into the freezing chamber. Rising action He does while the other visitors are touring the park, and everything goes wrong from there. As he is racing to get to the dock, where a boat is waiting to take the embryos, He realizes that he has gone the wrong way. He gets out of the car to try and figure out where he is and he's attacked and killed by one of the dinosaurs. Climax Now the power is out and all the animals can get out of the no longer electrified fences. The others are stopped in front of the T-Rex holding area and he breaks through and attacks them. Everyone flees and is scattered through the park. The animals begin attacking the control building. Since all the power is out there is no way to stop them. One of the Scientists, Wu, finds that the once all female dinosaurs are beginning to breed. They think they got the power back on so they try to put all the animals back in their holding areas. Falling Action Little did they know that the whole time the park was running on auxiliary power, and once this power ran out they could not restore the main power. When all the power finally ran out the animals began attacking full forced now. The only way to get the park running again was to have someone manually turn on another auxiliary power generator so they could get the main power running again. Conclusion Two people died attempting this and finally one succeeded. They got power on and were able to call the Costa Rican government to come in and rescue them out. Once they were flying away bombs were dropped on the island and it was totally destroyed. Characters There were many main characters in Jurassic Park. First there was Alan Grant, a Paleontologist who was about 5' 11', thin, and was very interested in dinosaurs. He didn't have any strong opinion about the park except that he was so excited to see real dinosaurs. Next there was Ellen Sattler, She was Grant's partner in digs. She was very beautiful, but very active and strong. She seemed to be very interested in this amazing new world of the dinosaurs. Next there was Ian Malcolm, a tall mathematician who always wore black. He had very strong opinions opposing the park. He knew things would go wrong but no one listened to him. I enjoyed his way of proving everything he said. Next there was John Hammond, a very stubborn old man who insists that his park is fine. He constantly shuns away suggestions of how to make his park better. Next there are a brother and sister, Tim and Alexis. Tim is ten and very smart for his age. He tries to do what he can to help and stays out of the way when he can't. He said sister Alexis is just the opposite, She is young, immature, and is constantly getting in the way. She thinks this whole thing is a game and does whatever entertains her regardless of other people. Conflict The conflict was that man created dinosaurs without thinking. Now the dinosaurs were trying to live freely and in the process trying to destroy the barriers in the way which happen to be the men that created them. I believe that we should not temper with things that are living and unpredictable. I was not satisfied in the way this problem was solved. After the men created dinosaurs they were trying to survive on instinct and the men got scared and decided to obliterate the helpless dinosaurs. They didn't even think twice about killing them. Since they were a threat the needed to be eliminated. Men should before they act in a way that could come back to haunt them. Theme I believe the authors theme was that when you have the power do incredible things you need to be responsible and think about the out come. The purpose is to teach people that you can be affected by other people's choices and they can be affected by yours. Everyone needs to realize this and the world will come together easier. Setting This strory took place in an island off Costa Rica, in the late 1990's. My Critique This book opened my eyes as to what could happen in tough situations. During my reading I constantly became frustrated as the little girl, lex, would keep getting in the way during tough situations. In some places I couldn't stop reading because I felt the need to know what happened next. I wanted to tell the characters what to do or what they should watch out for. I felt like I was Tim when he was with the Raptors trying to outsmart them. The book satisfied me Thoroughly I loved how many things were happening at once and I had to read into the story to figure things out. I would recommend this great book to anyone, and everyone.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Killing Mr Griffin.TXT
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Killing Mr. Griffin 
 
I read the book Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan. There was an English teacher, Mr. Griffin, which nobody liked. Especially one particular group of friends. They disliked him so much that they wanted to try and scare him some how. He was a tough teacher, and didn't give anyone an A. Not even the smartest student, Susan McConnell.
One day after school, Mark told his friends his idea of what to do to take care of Mr. Griffin. He decided that they should threaten to kill him so he would give them better grades. But not actually kill him. After some convincing, all Mark's friends agreed to his plan.
The day came when they carried out their plan, and got Mr. Griffin where they wanted him. All alone, tied up in the mountains. Susan and David were worried about Mr. Griffin, so after a couple of hours they just went to check on him. But when they got there, they found and realized that Mr. Griffin was dead! They panicked, and didn't know what to do. They went back and told the others. They had to figure out something to do, but what?
They finally all promised each other that they wouldn't tell anyone what had happened. They just had to cover up all the evidence that my lead to them. Mark was willing to do anything to do that!
After a few days, Mr. Griffin's disappearance was on the news. Of coarse, no one knew where Mr. Griffin really was, and what had actually happened to him. It was hard for them to keep it in. They all felt so bad, except for Mark.
Mark was the leader of this plan, and he secretly did things to cover up evidence that his friends didn't know about. Not at first anyway. He killed David's, but Susan figured that out. He also tried to kill Susan because she was going to tell the police the whole story. She couldn't stand keeping it in anymore. But after a while, people started putting things together and figured out what had really happened. They knew who had actually killed Mr. Griffin. What was going to happen to them now? They didn't know! They all wished that they wouldn't have went along with Mark, but were glad they didn't have to hold this huge secret in anymore!
I would recommend you to read this book if you like mystery. I loved it and thought it was a great book. It keeps your attention through the whole thing with all the suspense.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\King Lear.TXT
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1800
King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, who's decisions greatly alter his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King he is, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him. This untimely abdication of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through a journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one man's journey through hell in order to expiate his sin. As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. The very first words that he speaks in the play are :- "...Give me the map there. Know that we have divided In three our kingdom, and 'tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths while we Unburdened crawl to death..." (Act I, Sc i, Ln 38-41) This gives the reader the first indication of Lear's intent to abdicate his throne. He goes on further to offer pieces of his kingdom to his daughters as a form of reward to his test of love. "Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love, Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters (Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state), Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend where nature doth with merit challenge." (Act I, Sc i, Ln 47-53) This is the first and most significant of the many sins that he makes in this play. By abdicating his throne to fuel his ego he is disrupts the great chain of being which states that the King must not challenge the position that God has given him. This undermining of God's authority results in chaos that tears apart Lear's world. Leaving him, in the end, with nothing. Following this Lear begins to banish those around him that genuinely care for him as at this stage he cannot see beyond the mask that the evil wear. He banishes Kent, a loyal servant to Lear, and his youngest and previously most loved daughter Cordelia. This results in Lear surrounding himself with people who only wish to use him which leaves him very vulnerable attack. This is precisely what happens and it is through this that he discovers his wrongs and amends them. Following the committing of his sins, Lear becomes abandoned and estranged from his kingdom which causes him to loose insanity. While lost in his grief and self-pity the fool is introduced to guide Lear back to the sane world and to help find the lear that was ounce lost behind a hundred Knights but now is out in the open and scared like a little child. The fact that Lear has now been pushed out from behind his Knights is dramatically represented by him actually being out on the lawns of his castle. The terrified little child that is now unsheltered is dramatically portrayed by Lear's sudden insanity and his rage and anger is seen through the thunderous weather that is being experienced. All of this contributes to the suffering of Lear due to the gross sins that he has committed. The pinnacle of this hell that is experienced be Lear in order to repay his sins is at the end of the play when Cordelia is killed. Lear says this before he himself dies as he cannot live without his daughter. "Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones. Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever! I know when one is dead, and when one lives. She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking glass. If that her breath will mist or stain the stone, Why, then she lives." (Act V, Sc iii, Ln 306-312) All of this pain that Lear suffered is traced back to the single most important error that he made. The choice to give up his throne. This one sin has proven to have massive repercussions upon Lear and the lives of those around him eventually killing almost all of those who were involved. And one is left to ask one's self if a single wrong turn can do this to Lear then what difficult corner lies ahead that ma cause similar alterations in one's life. Reference List Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Eric A. McCann, ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovick Canada Inc., Canada. 1988. There has been many different views on the plays of William Shakespeare and definitions of what kind of play they were. The two most popular would be the comedy and the tragedy. King Lear to some people may be a comedy because they believe that the play has been over exaggerated. Others would say King Lear was a tragedy because there is so much suffering and chaos. What makes a Shakespearean play a comedy or a tragedy? King Lear would be a tragedy because it meets all the requirements of a tragedy as defined by Andrew Cecil Bradley. Bradley states that a Shakespearean tragedy must have to be the story of the hero and that there is exceptional suffering and calamity slowly being worn in as well as it being contrasted to happier times. The play also depicts the troubled parts in his life and eventually his death that is instantaneous caused by the suffering and calamity. There is the feeling of fear in the play as well, that makes men see how blind they are not knowing when fortune or something else would be on them. The hero must be of a high status on the chain and the hero also possesses a tragic flaw that initiates the tragedy. The fall of the hero is not felt by him alone but creates a chain reaction which affects everything below him. There must also be the element of chance or accident that influences some point in the play. King Lear meets all of these requirements that has been laid out by Bradley which is the most logical for a definition of a tragedy as compared to the definition of a comedy by G. Wilson Knight. The main character of the play would be King Lear who in terms of Bradley would be the hero and hold the highest position is the social chain. Lear out of Pride and anger has banished Cordelia and split the kingdom in half to the two older sisters, Goneril and Regan. This is Lear's tragic flaw which prevents him to see the true faces of people because his pride and anger overrides his judgement. As we see in the first act, Lear does not listen to Kent's plea to see closer to the true faces of his daughters. Kent has hurt Lear's pride by disobeying his order to stay out of his and Cordelia's way when Lear has already warned him, "The bow is bent and drawn, make from the shaft." Kent still disobeys Lear and is banished. Because of this flaw, Lear has initiated the tragedy by disturbing the order in the chain of being by dividing the kingdom, banishing his best servant and daughter, and giving up his thrown. Due to this flaw, Lear has given way to the two older daughters to conspire against him. Lear is finally thrown out of his daughters home and left with a fool, a servant and a beggar. This is when Lear realizes the mistake that he has made and suffers the banishment of his two eldest daughters. Lear is caught in a storm and begins to lose his sanity because he can not bear the treatment of his two daughters as well as the error he has made with Cordelia and Kent. Lear also suffers from rest when he is moving all over the place and the thing that breaks him is the death of his youngest daughter Cordelia. This suffering can be contrasted with other happier times like when Lear was still king and when he was not banished by his two daughters. The feeling of fear is when Lear is in the storm raging against the gods, "I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness. I never gave you kingdom, called you children, you owe me no subscription.", telling them to rage harder since he has not done anything for them and that he didn't deserve what he has received from his two daughters. The fear is how Lear in a short period of time went from king to just a regular peasant and from strong and prideful to weak and unconfident. This shows that men do not hold their own destiny and that even though things may be great now you can be struck down just as fast as was to Lear. The fall of Lear is not just the suffering of one man but the suffering of everyone down the chain. Gloucester loses his status and eyes, Cordelia and Kent banished, and Albany realizing his wife's true heart. Everything that happened to these characters are affected by Lear in one way or another and that if Lear had not banished Cordelia and Kent then the two sisters would not be able to plot against their father. Without the plot of the two sisters then Gloucester would not of lost his eyes to Cornwall and his status because he was guilty of treason. There is an element of chance in the play in which Edgar meets Oswald trying to kill his father because he is a traitor. Oswald is slain asks Edgar, "And give the letters which thou find'st about me to Edmund Earl of Gloucester. Seek him out upon the English party." Edgar finds a letter to Edmund from Goneril about the conspiracy to kill Albany. This part in the play affects the outcome of Goneril and Edmund in which will lead to both of their deaths. The pain and suffering endured by Lear eventually tears down his strength and sanity. Lear is not as strong, arrogant, and prideful as he was in the beginning of the play instead he is weak, scared, and a confused old man. At the end of the play Lear has completely lost his sanity with the loss of his daughter Cordelia and this is the thing that breaks Lear and leads to his death. Lear dies with the knowledge that Cordelia is dead and dies as a man in pain. "And my poor fool is hanged! No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more, never, never, never, never, never!" King Lear has met all the requirements that Bradley has stated as a Shakespearean tragedy. Lear has a tragic flaw which is his pride that prevents him to see the true faces of people. He also initiates the tragedy by the banishment of Cordelia and Kent as well as dividing the kingdom. Lear has also suffered and endured the pains of his error which leads to his death and which is contrasted to that of happier times. There is the feeling of fear in the play which is of a King losing his crown and becoming a peasant. Lear has also created a chain reaction that affects everything down the chain. The element of chance is also introduced in the play with Edgar and Oswald, Oswald possessing the letter to Edmund. And the final part is the death of King Lear dying in suffering of the death of his daughter Cordelia.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Last Of The Mohicans.TXT
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528
"The Last of the Mohicans" The main difference between "The Last of the Mohicans" book version by James Fenimore Cooper and "The Last of the Mohicans" movie version, generally speaking, is that the book has a more adventurous theme and the movie has a more love and romantic theme. Never the less, both stories were extremely interesting. Main details that support this difference are that in the movie, Cora is supposed to wed with Heyward and Cora agreed with that. Then she met Hawkeye when he saved her from an ambush from the Hurons. From there they fell in love and Heyward was out of the picture as far as love is concerned. So, Cora is the one who is in love with Hawkeye and Alice takes the role of Cora. Another factor, dealing with the love theme differences is in the book, there was not a big love scene between Hawkeye and Alice as there was in the movie between Hawkeye and Cora. Thus making the movie a more romantic story. In the movie, key things that happen have different importance because the roles switch. For instance, towards the end of the book, Cora dies. In the movie, Alice dies. This is important because Alice and Cora have certain traits that make this more and/or less important to the story. Differences in the between Heyward are that in the book, Heyward does not play as an important role as he did in the movie. In the movie, he sacrifices himself to the Hurons, in exchange for Hawkeye and Cora. The Hurons put him under a fire as a sacrifice and is tortured. He is only tortured for a short amount of time because as Hawkeye runs away with Cora, he shoots Heyward in the head putting him out of his misery and torture. Another difference in the movie from the book is that Heyward and Hawkeye disliked each other more in the movie than the book. There are small but general differences between the book and the movie that are not really important but are differences, never the less. Such as, In the book, the main goal was to get everybody to the fort and make it alive. In the movie, the main goal was for Hawkeye and Cora to be together alive, and in love. Also, in the book, Hawkeye dresses up as a bear to sneak into and around the village and no one can tell its him except Uncas. In the movie, this never happened. Another small but visible difference was that in the book, it seemed like Magua had a lot to say. In the movie, he barely peeped a word. As far as people dying, in the movie Alice commits suicide after Uncas is killed and dumped off of the cliff. Actually, she is about to be killed by Magua, but she jumps before he can get to her. In the book, Alice doesn't die. In conclusion, the book and the movie were similar in many more ways than they were different. Both the movie and the book, although having semi-different themes, are excellent and I would recommend both of them to anyone interested.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Letters from a War Zone.TXT
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965
"Letters from a War Zone" deals with the controversy between men and women banning pornography. In this essay there are many strong personal views on pornography and the brutality of women in porn. Men and women have been at war for many years because of this. I agree with banning pornography because pornography lures men into disrespecting women. This essay makes me angry because it shows another part of life that is really not acknowledged. It seems realistic to me because many women in life are confronted with sex at an early age and become vulnerable. The unique thing that reaches me is how women do not have a choice, especially when it comes down to sex. Vulnerability is one of a woman's weaknesses. Pornography is degrading to women when it is forced upon them. If sex were done for pleasure or because the women wanted to, it would not be as bad. That is how many women are raped, killed or lose their confidence. Women in pornography were typically prostitutes at one-point. Due to statistics, more than half the women in a sex-related professions have been sexually abused, molested or raped at one time during their lies. The quote stated in this essay that really hits home is "Made in South America where life is cheap." I, as a Hispanic, am terribly offended by this statement. This statement basically says that South America has many lowlives', and that anything can happen to them because life there is worth very little. For example the women of South America are used in Snuff films and in explicit photographs. Snuff is a film that consists of a woman being sexually harassed, raped, and killed. In many of these films/photos the women are brutalized to the point where their breasts are dismantled and their bodies are urinated on after they are raped and killed. There are photographs in which women's breasts are slammed in rat traps, their vaginas are stuffed with knives, guns, and even glass, and then they are gang-banged, beaten, and tortured. Snuff films are usually made in South America because, as said in the statement above, life is not worth much there. "If you are going to hurt a women in the United States be sure to photograph it" is a controversial statement used in this essay. Its means that if you have slain, hurt, or abused a woman it is all right, as long you have taken a picture. The photograph expresses a point of view, sacrosanct in a free society. When these picture/films are being taken the woman is forced to smile. This will make the picture/films protected by the constitution, which makes it legal speech, or free speech. In the essay it is argued that men are pigs and love seeing women in pornography. Some women enjoy it too but men love to see picture/films even if it is a disrespectful film of women. This becomes a greater issue because almost all of the politicians are men, which means that it would be even harder to convict a man for maltreating a woman in porn, or even to ban pornography. The reason that pornography has not been banned is because the men refuse to ban it. It is unjust to see a woman being brutalized while a man sits and actually enjoys every part of the picture/films. "The war is against men and women," this quote is true because in this society men are dominant over women. Women have been trying for many years to go beyond the men in this chauvinistic society. Men have always been considered as superior while women are considered powerless and inferior. It is unacceptable to know that a man is able to get away with many things such as the snuff films/photography of women being tortured and killed. Women are treated as sex objects. Women are brutalized every hour, every minute. Women in the sex industry are treated like meat. "I can almost say categorically never have I had a client who has not been exposed to prostitution through pornography.For some young women that means that they are shown pornography, either films, video-tapes, or pictures as this is how you do it, almost as a training manual in how to perform acts of prostitution.In addition, out on the street when a young woman is [working], many of her tricks or customers will come up to her with little pieces of paper, pictures that were torn from magazines and say, I want this.it is like a mail order catalogue of sex acts, and that is what she is expected to perform.Another aspect that plays a bit part in my work.is that on many occasions my clients are multi, many rape victims. These rapes are often either taped or photographed. The young woman when she tries to escape [is blackmailed]," this is a testimony from a social worker who works exclusively with adolescent female prostitutes. In almost every case of adolescent prostitution a girl has been introduced to it through pornography. Everything done to a woman in pornography has been done to a woman in prostitution. There are not only films or pictures that introduce sex, but there are even games where a women of a particular race is being dealt with in an inappropriate manner. For example, the pornographic video game "Custer's Revenge" generated many gang rapes of Native American women. In the game, the "squaw" is captured by an American boy and are tied to a tree and raped. The game is sexually explicit, for example, the penis goes in and out, in and out. The feminist, Andrea Dworkin, wrote this essay to send an urgent dispatch from the frontlines of a national battle over pornography. Andrea Dworkin raised in New Jersey attended Bennington College. She was a free-lance writer and began her career in activism against pornography. Her first feminist book was Women Hating. Dworkin participated in the first "Take Back the Night" march to protest urban districts that harbor prostitution and pornography. It was a march held by feminists who believe pornography should be banned and that prostitution should be stopped. Dworkin says "feminism is magnificent and militant here because the most powerless women are putting their lives on the line to confront the most powerful men for the sake of all women." Men and women have been at war for many years, especially when it comes to sex.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Life On Land Compared To Life On The Mississippi.TXT
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773
In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck lives in two different settings. One of the settings is on land with the widow and with his father and the other is on the river with Jim. There are many differences of living on land as opposed to living on the Mississippi River. On land, Huck has more rules to live by and he has to watch himself so as not to upset the widow or his father. On the river, Huck didn't have to worry about anything except people finding Jim. He also had to worry about the king and the duke for a while. Even thought there are many differences of the two living styles, there are also some similarities. Life on land was filled with difficulties for Huck. There were many rules that Huck had to follow for both the widow and for his father. The widow didn't really have many rules. She just wanted to "civilize" him. The widow expected Huck to go to school, wear clean clothes, sleep in his bed, and go to church. She just wants him to be like a normal child of his age. Even though Huck bends the rules a bit, he eventually grows to like living with the widow. He proves this point when he says, "Living in a house, and sleeping in a bed, pulled on me pretty tight, mostly, but before the cold weather I used to slide out and sleep in the woods, sometimes, and so that was a rest to me. I liked the old ways best, but I was getting so I liked the new ones, too, a little bit." (Clemens 1211) Then Huck's father kidnapped him and took Huck to live in a cabin with him. Huck thought that it was fun, but he started to get sick of being locked up for long periods of time. He began to get sick of his father getting drunk and beating him. He says, "But by-and-by pap got too handy with his hick'ry, and I couldn't stand it. I was all over welts. He got to going away so much, too, and locking me in." (Clemens 1216) Life on the river was also good at first, but soon it became tiresome for Huck. He liked the sense of freedom that he had while he was on the river with Jim. He didn't have to go to school nor did he have any rules that he had to live by. He didn't have to worry about what his father was going to do to him. Jim and Huck could only travel at night because they were afraid of Jim being found and whenever they would stop for the day, they would have to cover up the raft with leaves and foliage. Huck did not like having to be the one that would have to go look for food and water for them and he didn't like having to use such precautions so that Jim would not be found. The main reason that Huck did not just turn Jim in is because Huck thought of Jim as a friend. These two living conditions were not very similar; there were a few similarities that can be found. The first similarity is how each living situation started out easy, but became hard and tiresome for Huck. Though living with the widow started out hard and became easy, the similarity is the change for the opposite difficulty than what the difficulty was to start with. Another similarity is that Huck is not happy with wherever he is. He was not happy at the widow's because of all the rules nor was he happy at his father's because of the beatings that he received. Though this could be said about any living situation, the problem is exaggerated in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Though there are many difficulties in all of the living situations that Huck has experienced, the easiest one for him to deal with was the one with the widow. Even though he did not like abiding by her rules, at least he had a place to sleep and food to eat. Huck liked being his own boss on the river, but he also liked the comfort that he got from the widow. He also liked the freedom that he thought he had at his father. However difficult each situation, the easiest and best situation is usually the most apparent one.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Lightning Dean Koontz.TXT
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350
On Wednesday January 12th 1955 Dr. Barkwell is going to deliver Janet Shane's baby. As soon as he hopped into his car he was held at gunpoint by a strong blond man and was told that he wouldn't be delivering the baby tonight. This incident allowed Laura Shane to be born a healthy young girl. When Laura was born her mother died at birth, but it only mattered that she lived. Ever before Laura was born she had a guardian looking over her making sure that she lived a long and happy life. When she was eight years old he saved her life for the second time at her fathers work. A madman was robbing them at gunpoint. They had already given the man all their money when he decided that he was going to rape Laura. The mad man would have had his way except for her guardian Stephan shot the man saving the day and then set there story strait for the police. She did not see her guardian again until her father died about four years later from a heart attach. He did not have to save her this time but he was just watching her. After the Grocery store incident she didn't see her guardian until twenty years later he stopped her in the middle of the road and took her and her family off the road to safety. He saved them from a drunk driver in an n out of control truck. That wasn't the only thing he saved her from that time but also from one of his former college named Cocauscha that he had crossed. In that act of saving Laura her husband Danny was killed from gunshot wounds in the back. Stephan killed Cocauscha by shooting him in the chest and once in the head but this was not the last he saw of him. Stephan traveled with a time belt that could only go into the future, his belt was unable to send him some where if he might create a paradox. He helps destroy a Natzie party that was using the power of time travel to conquer the world with nuclear weapons. In the end Stephan Saves Her and her son Chris a few more times and ends up falling in love.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Like Water for Chocolate.TXT
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Like Water for Chocolate 
Traditions
Does your family have any traditions? Do you eat certain foods for certain holidays? Traditional values and family are important in many cultures, but they seem to play an especially important role to Mexicans (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia). One of the most important parts of their culture is food. Much of Mexican's daily routines and traditions revolve around the ritual of preparing the food and eating it (Mexican Cuisine and Cooking). In Laura Esquivel's novel, Like Water for Chocolate, the food (recipes) and tradition are the main part of the book just as they are the main part of the Mexican tradition.
Esquivel's novel is very different from most books. Her novel incorporates recipes into the book in order to tell a story. These recipes, however, are not only formulas, but they are memories and traditions being passed down from generation to generation. Each chapter begins with a new recipe, and these recipes are used to tell Tita's life story, the main character and narrator in Like Water for Chocolate. Tita becomes the focus of her family. This occurs because she is most closely connected with food preparation. This closeness to the food is seen from the first "scene" in the book where she is born. "Tita made her entrance into this world, prematurely, right there on the kitchen table amid the smells of simmering noodle soup, thyme, bay leaves, and cilantro, steamed milk, garlic, and of course, onion." (Esquivel 5-6). This shows Tita's connection to food which grows through out the book. Tita prepares certain dishes for special occasions and at different times of the year.
Not only does Tita prepare certain dishes for different occasions, but Mexican's also prepare different dishes for certain occasions. For example, a tradition for a wealthy Mexican family is what is called a country gathering. This is a gathering of family members. At this gathering, they began with a breakfast of fruit, eggs, beans, chilaquiles, coffee, milk, and pastries. They would then go out on horseback after their typical breakfast (Lomnitz and Perez-Lizaur 187). Some of the holidays that they make special dishes for include: Dia de la Candelaria, day of the dead, and Christmas. Dia de la Candelaria is the day that marks the end of the Christmas season. On this day, it is a tradition to eat tamales and drink atole, a drink that goes with tamales and is made from cornstarch. This is not the only part of this tradition but it is what most Mexican's think of when they think of this day. The traditional Christmas Eve meal is usually turkey and other Mexican foods that go with it (Mexican Culture). Different dishes are also used for events such as pregnancy, sickness, marriage, and almost any event that could happen in a persons life.
In Esquivel's novel, the recipe that is made in each chapter is selected based on what happened in the chapter. Tita prepares turkey mole for Roberto's baptism (65). Then later on in the novel to help Tita's "sickness", Chencha prepares ox-tail soup to cure what no medicines had been able to cure (125). For marriage, Tita prepares a certain kind of wedding cake with icing and a certain filling. Tita takes her time in preparing each dish and makes sure to follow each recipe or formula carefully.
However, following the recipe may not ensure the dish turns out as it is intended to. Esquivel seems to believe that in the recipes, there are more than just tangible ingredients; there is something more to the recipes that is intangible. These intangible ingredients consist of love, patience, sorrow, and hate all of which are feelings that Tita has throughout the novel. These "extra" ingredients cannot be seen by just looking at the dish. They can only be "seen" when the meal or dish has been eaten. For example, the meal that Tita prepares with the rose petals. She prepares this meal with passion and love. However, this is not seen until Gertrudis gets in the shower and a soldier, Juan, smells the aroma that is coming from her. Esquivel elaborates,
The aroma from Gertrudis' body guided him. He got there just in time to find her racing through the field. Then he knew why he's been drawn there. This woman desperately needed a man to quench the red-hot fire that was raging inside her. A man equal to loving someone who needed love as much as she did, a man like him. (55)
This is a direct effect from the extra ingredient, passion which she felt for Pedro, that was added by Tita unconsciously. This new element gives the food a whole new meaning, one that only Tita and Nacha, the family cook and nanny, understand. A prime example of a character that has no familiarity with food preparation is Rosaura, which is seen when she tries to cook for the family. She follows the recipe exactly (as Tita would), however it tastes bad:
There was one day when Rosuara did attempt to cook. When Tita tried nicely to give her some advice, Rosaura became irritated and asked Tita to leave her alone in the kitchen. The rice was obviously scorched, the meat dried out, the dessert burnt. But no one at the table dared display the tiniest hint of displeasure, not after Mama Elena had pointedly remarked: "As the first meal that Rosaura has cooked it isn't bad. Don't you agree, Pedro?"....Of course, that afternoon the entire family felt sick to their stomachs. (50-51)
The sickness that the family felt was that of the hate in she prepared the meal with. The hidden ingredients can also be seen in the meals that Tita prepares for Mama Elena. The ingredients that Tita subconsciously adds to her food are partial done through Nacha.
Nacha might only be a cook and nanny to the De la Garza family, but she plays a much larger role as mother to Tita. Nacha is much more of a mother than Mama Elena could ever be to Tita. Through all the years that they spent in the kitchen, Tita was building a strong relationship with the food she prepared. This was more of an experience than anything else was for Tita. Susan Lucas Dobrian goes on to further explain this idea in her article "Romancing the Cook." She describes the meal preparation:
The kitchen becomes a veritable reservoir of creative and magical events, in which the cook who possesses this talent becomes artist, healer, and lover. Culinary activity involves not just the combination of prescribed ingredients, but something personal and creative emanating from the cook, a magical quality which transforms the food and grants its powerful properties that go beyond physical satisfaction to provide spiritual nourishment as well. (60)
The meal preparations that Dobrain describes are also linked to Nacha, Tita's mother figure.
Tita gets her great cooking skills from Nacha, this is there way of passing down the recipes from generation to generation. The recipes in Like Water for Chocolate are kept in the family. Tita then passes the recipes to Esperanza. Esperanza then passes them to her daughter who puts them in the book. The recipes that are passes down from generation to generation are also what tell us the story of Tita. The recipes are taught to the next generation. However, they are taught not only to be followed, but also how to know the different qualities of the ingredients that go into each dish. This is only something that can be passed down from generation to generation. In the book, The Mexican Elite Family, Larissa Addler Lomnitz and Marisol Perez-Lizaur state, "Her cooking is famous for the old-style Mexican recipes she uses, inherited from her mother and grandmother. She will share these recipes with no one but her own daughters." (97). This is a prime example of how Mexican's value food and the traditions they have within their blood family.
Throughout the book, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, food plays a main role, but not only does it play a main role in the novel, it also plays a large role in Mexican culture. The novel carries many of the culinary traditions that Mexicans find very important in their culture. Mexican women play a big role in domestic life and must know how to prepare food. The ability of Mexican women to create dishes (for every occasion) is one that has become a great tradition in Mexico. A tradition that I wish would be a part of the culture of America, because it seems to be
something that makes Mexican families closer (something American's need to learn).
 
Works Cited
Dobrain, Susan Lucas. "Romancing the Cook: Parodic Consumption of Popular Romance Myths in Como Agua Para Chocolate." Latin American Literary Review. July-Dec. 96: 55-66.
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. Trans. Carol and Thomas Christensen. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Lomnitz, Larissa Adler and Marison Perez-Lixaur. A Mexican Elite Family, 1820-1980: Kinship, Class, and Culture. Princton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987.
"Mexican Cuisine and Cooking." Inside Puerto Vallarta Travel Magazine: Puerto Vallarta, Mexica. <http://www.hypermex.com/html/pv_cook.htm>.
Mexican Culture. <http://mexicanculture.about.com/culture/mexicanculture>.
"Mexico." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 2000 ed. Microsoft Corp,
1999.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Lisa Bright Dark.TXT
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712
John Neufeld is the author of "Lisa Bright & Dark". He lives and works in New York City these days. He was educated at Yale. His style of writing are usually touching stories. Finding information about John Neufeld is quite difficult since the Internet nor the book has provided any help whatsoever. Lisa Shilling is the main character of this book. She is just sixteen as she slowly loses her mind. Lisa is quite an example of teenager with problems which is why she'd be classified as a very real character. Her dangerous state of mind reflects the realism that this does happen. Her moods are forever changing. Lisa's motivation as a teenager is to live her live normally. This is hard to do since she is in need of help. Many can relate to Lisa and her illness because it is among teenagers today. Her mother and father snub her off completely overlooking her serious unstableness. Luckily, she has friends that care enough to help her. The main conflict of this book is the struggle to convince Lisa's parents that she is ill and needs serious help. Her parents did not pay attention in the beginning when Lisa started to act a little different. This is rather understandable. Lisa was in school and pricked herself with a needle that drew blood. Many told Lisa's stubborn parents that she needed a psychiatrist. They simply refused to accept the fact that their daughter was in need of anything. When Lisa even screamed out that she needed help, they simply wouldn't understand. She even walked right through a glass window. Her parents didn't understand until it was almost too late. The conflict was finally resolved after they got her the help she was in need of. This is an example of man verse himself since the conflict deals with Lisa fighting her illness. This book type is about a social problem. This means that a dilemma occurred in the social area. In this case it involved Lisa Shilling and her struggle with society and her illness. One example of this social problem would be the fact that society such as Lisa's classmates were uneducated about her problem so they didn't understand her. Another example would be how Lisa's parents were too busy with their life to notice their daughter's plea for help. Yet another example would be how the teachers and guidance tried to look around the problem. Today, the same social problems are still faced. The book's them dealt with mental illness and treating it. It was about Lisa and her problems. This book showed that the perplexing problem could be treated right just as long as she got the right help. Her friends were the main people to help her overcome it all. It can be seen that this situation was very difficult then and now. The moral of this story is based on the illness of a girl and society's impact on her. It goes to show that she was helped and hurt at the same time. This passage caught my eye. It's a moment of shock and surprise caused by Lisa's illness. This is a sudden outburst no one was prepared for. They handled it well under those circumstances. Lisa had shoved Elizabeth toward the dying fire, and had jumped on her in one movement. She began hitting Elizabeth's face, then changed her attack and began punching Elizabeth everywhere she could - her sides, her stomach, kicking at her legs, grabbing her by he hair. It was terrifying. This is the list of ten vocabulary words that I didn't know as I read "Lisa Bright & Dark". Most of them deal with Lisa's illness is some way. 1. schizophrenia : a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder of feeling, thought (as in hallucinations and delusions), and conduct -- called also dementia praecox. 2. confidante : CONFIDANT especially : one who is a woman. 3. conscience : the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blame worthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good. 4. immobility : the incapability of being moved. 5. Mountie : a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 6. quarry : a diamond-shaped pane of glass, stone, or tile. 7. aquiline : curving like an eagle's beak. 8. analyst : a person who analyzes or who is skilled in analysis. 9. docilely : easily led or managed : TRACTABLE. 10. barbiturate : any of various derivatives of barbituric acid used esp. as sedatives, hypnotics, and antispasmodics.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Literary Analysis of The Scarlet Letter.TXT
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Literary Analysis of The Scarlet Letter
In chapter 20 of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Dimmesdale plan to leave the colony on the fourth day en route for the Old World. Dimmesdale's decision to leave with Hester fills him with a sense of freedom from his place of torture, Boston. By creating false hopes for the future, he relinquishes his suffering from his guilt conscience. When Dimmesdale returns from the forest, he is not sure that the recent event with Hester and Pearl was really true. But seeing and Hester and Pearl revives his dreams of a better future together. Their meeting has changed him; he sees everything differently. Suddenly he feels the freedom to do things that he might have done before. He meets several people along the way home in which he has impulses to do wick and evil things. The first person he meets is the one of the oldest Deacons of his congregation. He is tempted to say evil things about the Communion Supper, one of the most scared of Puritan churches. Dimmesdale continues onward and meets the eldest female member of his church. He again is tempted to tell her an unanswerable argument against the immortality of the human soul. The next person he meets is the youngest female member of his parish. He has to restrain himself from whispering wick and evil things that might mislead her. Next, he meets a group of young Puritan children. He must stop himself from teaching them "evil words." He walks onward and meets a "drunken seamen" from the ship on which he will sail. He wants greets the sailor and preach to him. He again restrains himself. The last person he meets is Mistress Hibbins. She wants know if he had been with the "Black Man" in the forest. Dimmesdale responds to her that he was with his friend, Apostle Eliot. Hibbins does not believe him. Dimmesdale arrives home and realizes his house looks strange and different. Moments later, Chillingsworth arrives at his door asking about his health. The minister informs the physician that he no longer needs his medical drugs. His tone of voice tells the old man that he no longer a "trusted friend" but how his "bitterest enemy." After Chillingsworth leaves, Dimmesdale composes an inspired sermon for the Election Sermon. Dimmesdale's wick and unusual actions comes from the sense of freedom he believes he has. His views of his surroundings are different because he believes he is different. He feels that since he is has broken some many laws, that it is his obligation to continue to be evil. And evil he became.
English III
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Literary Critique of the Great Gatsby.TXT
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Literary Critique of the Great Gatsby
The wealthy lifestyles of the Buchanans and Miss Jordan have morally corrupted their lives. Money has created boredom for them. Their ways of perceiving life and their altitudes towards other is vain. But each of them shows off their vanity in different ways. Tom Buchanan, for example, believes that white civilization is going to pieces and will be utterly submerged by the other races. The Rise of the Coloured Empires has reinforced his perception that his race is more civilized. This book has made Tom believe that it is all scientific and true. He does not realize that he is a racist. He thinks that just because the white race has more wealth, that they should be in control of society. Miss Baker shows off her vanity in her actions. In the vehicle with Nick, Jordan insisted she receive special privileges because of her wealth and celebrity status. Her comment, "They'll keep out of my way," implies that other drivers will keep out of her way. She has a spoiled altitude towards because she thinks she owns the road. She is also hypocritical because she hates careless people even though she is a careless driver herself. Daisy Buchanan expresses her vanity in the words she says. For example, she once said, "I've been everywhere and seen everything and love everything," implying that she has been around the globe and seen everything there is to offer. She thinks that she can solve the problems of the world because she has gone to a few more places than other people have and that she knows more than other people do. Her wealth has given her the opportunity to visit extraordinary places, but it has also given her boredom. She has taken her money for granted and now she has too much free time. Money has given the Buchanans and Miss Baker everything they had ever wanted. It has enriched their lives and their lifestyles. But it has also made their altitude towards others vain. Their wealth has revealed their vanity for the rest of the world to see.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Literay Critisim again.TXT
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Something about Charles Dickens and his ability to take his reader to unbelievable places with his imaginative powers allows him the honor of being the most popular English novelist of the 19th century.  Dickens has thrilled his readers for many years with his down-to-earth stories about real people forced into real situations.  Charles Dickens has the ability to tell his stories from personal experiences.  He fine-tuned his ability to tell his own story through the life of another character or cast of characters.
Born on the evening of February 7, 1812, Charles Dickens was the second child of his parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens.  His parents lived in Portsmouth, which is located on England's southern coast.  The family was in the lower division of the middle class.   Charles Dickens' father, John, was a clerk at the Navy Pay Office in Portsmouth.  Dickens's mother was very affectionate and rather foolish in practical matters.  John was a vivacious and generous man, but often lived outside the boundaries of his tight pocketbook.  Later in life Dickens used his father as the basis for his fictional character, Mr. Micawber and his mother as Mrs. Nickleby in the Brothers Cheeryble (Constable 25).
In 1814 John Dickens was transferred from the post in Portsworth to one in London.  Three years later the family moved to Chatham to be closer to their father who was working steadily at the post.  Charles Dickens's mother taught him to read when he was barely five and for the next few years Dickens lived wonderfully, reading every book he could get his hands on.  He quickly read through his father's collection of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Defoe, Smollett, Fielding, and Goldsmith.   Every one of these authors left a mark on the young mind of Charles Dickens which is easy to see in his style and attitude throughout writings (Carey 6).
During this time Dickens started attending school where he excelled and pleased his father greatly.  Although he was a solitary child, Dickens was observant and good natured and often participated in different comical routines for the class.  Looking back on this period of his life, Dickens thought of it as the golden age (Carey 6).  In the first novel that he wrote, The Pickwick Papers, Dickens tries to bring back the good old times as he remembers them with their picturesque nature.  Gary Carey believes that this novel displays the happiness of innocence and the playful spirit of the youth during the time of Dickens's youthful days (7).
Overtaken by financial difficulties, the Dickens family was forced to move into a shabby suburb of Camden Town.  This move must have shown the family how good they had it back in Chatham.  There Dickens was removed from school and forced to work degrading menial jobs in an effort to help his struggling father put food on the table.  Dickens was put to work in a blackening factory among many rough and cruel employees, probably the worst job in town.  Shortly after Dickens started working in the factory his father was thrown into jail for failure to pay his debts, only to be released three months later.  This period of time affected Dickens greatly as he went into a period of depression.  He felt abandoned and destroyed by this evil roller-coaster ride of life he was on.  From this time period come many of the major themes of his more popular novels.  Perhaps the most popular of these novels is David Copperfield.  In this novel Dickens depicts a young man who grows up in a very similar way to that of his own (Al
len 28).
Dickens' sympathy for the victimized, his fascination with prisons and money, the desire to vindicate his heroes' status as gentlemen, and the idea of London as an awesome, lively, and rather threatening environment all reflect the experiences he had during his time on his own.  On his own at the age of twelve, Dickens learned many necessary life skills which also developed in him a driving ambition and a boundless energy that transferred into every thing that he did (28).
It would be a mistake to think of Charles Dickens as an uneducated man just because he had little formal schooling.  Dickens did what everyone should do, learn from life.  His entire writing career was a continuing process of development and experimentation.  Many of his themes keep repeating themselves throughout his pieces and those themes most certainly stem from his early life.  From his early Pickwick Papers to his one of his last pieces The Mystery of Edwin Drood Dickens never ceased to develop his writing abilities and skill, establishing himself as the major and primary Victorian novelist (Bloom 189).
The journey from boyhood into manhood is a momentous one, and definitely something that has a lasting effect on one's person.  Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield describes the journey into manhood by telling a story similar to his own life through the life of "David Copperfield."  There isn't one underlining theme in this novel there are many.  The journey is one  that along with "David's" is longing for what is lost in the past and the humiliation he feels from being an orphan.  Dickens has written an excellent novel describing the troubles of growing up and the benefits of having a rough childhood.  Through the rough experiences that he had, Dickens was able to look back on his early life and write world-famous stories about them.  Calvin Brown feel that these experiences also helped shape the man the Dickens became, as do all experiences in life for everyone (Brown 144)
The structure of Dickens's Copperfield has the freeness and the unity of a wonderful journey.  As the scene moves from place to place in the story each move also represents a critical step in David's spiritual journey to manhood.  Dickens uses the pattern of changing scenes to provide both variety and contrast of mood.  The atmosphere changes as the story moves along from the Salem House to Blunderstone, giving the story diversity.  Dickens constantly shows how the life of David would have been much easier had he had a decent father figure in his home while he was growing up.
David is constantly searching for what he has lost in the past.  He recalls the beautiful world of the Peggottys when he says, "It seems to me at this hour that I have never seen such sunlight as on those bright April afternoons, that I have never seen such a sunny little figure as I used to see, sitting in the doorway of the old boat..."(Copperfield 7)  This  writing of Dickens binds the reader to the story.  David remembers the "olden" days and thinks of them as the "golden" days (Allen 28).
As the beginning of the story describes, David Copperfield has many hard childhood experiences, such as Dickens's own humiliating days spent working in the blackening factory in London.  The despair and humiliation that he suffered there and the rejection of his parents and the loss of all his hopes of self-fulfillment are relived through David in this book.  Dickens tells his own story well through the life of David Copperfield.  He isn't looking for the readers' sympathy.   He simply wants the reader to understand that just because he had a rough life doesn't mean it was a bad one.
A journey into adulthood, something that everyone must go through, although it may be easier for some than others.  Charles Dickens, in David Copperfield, describes this journey as he makes the reader a vital part of David Copperfield's life.  This journey is a theme in this novel as well as "David's" longing for what is lost in the past and the humiliation he feels from being an orphan.  Dickens has developed his character, David, into a hero much like he wanted to be remembered as (Andreola 3).  Many critics today think he achieved that goal!
Charles Dickens also wrote many other books throughout his creative writing career.   In his book A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens causes the reader to ask what the novel is really about, just what the driving theme is.  Although each reader will come up with a different answer to this question, most of the answers fall into one of three categories.  
Some readers will say that this novel is about the different personalities of the many different and well-described characters throughout his novel.  The story portrays a French physician, Dr. Manette, who has been wrongly put into prison in the Bastille for nearly eighteen years before the story even begins (Constable 24).  Because he witnessed the aftermath of a crime that was committed by two other fellows, the doctor was thrown into prison.  The entire prison experience is something that he can never fully shake free from.   In moments of stress throughout the novel Dr. Manette often goes insane, a result of his time in prison.  The story also concerns a man by the name of Jarvis Lorry, who, in the beginning of the book, is on his way to retrieve the doctor from the prison  (Constable 13).
Another group of readers will believe that this book is about the French Revolution.  Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities starts out in 1775 while the Revolution was still in its underground preliminary stages.  The book covers eighteen years ending with one of the bloodiest battles, the Reign of Terror in 1973.  Although most  of the major revolution events take place off stage in the novel, they do have a major effect on the lives of the characters in the story.   It would certainly be no error to say the events of the French Revolution, which make up so much of the setting in this novel, is what the theme of the novel really is (Carey 11).
The third category of readers will say the novel's theme is beyond the fictional characters and historical events and is more of a symbol.  These readers will see that the actions relate to Dickens's vision of life and the reason for it.  This group will say that the book presents a picture of human life using the dramatic language of characters and their actions (Carey 12).
Anyway  that a reader approaches A Tale of Two Cities, it is a hard book to read although it does become interesting at times and in the end brings the reader into an understanding of personal life trials during the time of the French Revolution.  Whether the reader believes that the novel is about its characters, historical events or symbolism, it doesn't matter.  Charles Dickens wanted the readers of enjoy this novel not fight over what the meaning behind it is (Carey 12).
Sadly, many of the greatest books that have strengthened and shaped Western civilization are drifting out of modern life and thought. But it doesn't have to be this way. Someone must responsibly keep the literary lights such as Charles Dickens burning brightly for the benefit of younger generations. (Andreola 2)
It is time to rescue Dickens from the attic and let him stir the hearts of people today. Dickens can challenge, motivate, and entertain in ways the Hardy Boys never could.  Dickens became famous writing stories that highlighted the difference between right and wrong in his own time. His stories invite readers to form an opinion and make decisions about a character's right or wrong actions. 
As only an artist could.  Dickens paints a moral picture of life.  To paint the moral for children is more effective than to "point" it.  Here lays the help the younger generation of today needs to develop a "moral imagination."
When reading episodes from Dickens's stories it is easy to get to know his characters more intimately than neighbors. The experience of life along with his characters is something that the readers feel. Feelings arouse for them as the characters struggle in difficult situations (Andreola 2).
In Terry W. Glaspey's Great Books of the Christian Tradition, he says, "Dickens could sometimes be faulted for being overlong and sentimental, but his novels seem to lodge in the memory long after they are read. His ability to create a multitude of memorable characters gave us the adjective 'Dickensian.' His staunch Victorian morality is a pleasant contrast to our modern sense of moral drift." And what wonderful characters they are! His heroes are people of everyday life who supply readers with a vision of goodness (Andreola 3)
Clearly without the writing of Charles Dickens the literary world of today would be suffering a great loss.  Dickens thought his many years of life experiences was able to use his talents as a writer to express to the everyday reader what the true meaning of life is.  Charles Dickens did for the literary world what stories like that of small town basketball sensation, Larry Bird, did for small town athletes around the United States.  Dickens helped readers understand themselves, those who are the common folk. Middle to lower class. 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Literay Critisim.TXT
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Something about Charles Dickens and his ability to take his reader to unbelievable places with his imaginative powers allows him the honor of being the most popular English novelist of the 19th century.  Dickens has thrilled his readers for many years with his down-to-earth stories about real people forced into real situations.  Charles Dickens has the ability to tell his stories from personal experiences.  He fine-tuned his ability to tell his own story through the life of another character or cast of characters.
Born on the evening of February 7, 1812, Charles Dickens was the second child of his parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens.  His parents lived in Portsmouth, which is located on England's southern coast.  The family was in the lower division of the middle class.   Charles Dickens' father, John, was a clerk at the Navy Pay Office in Portsmouth.  Dickens's mother was very affectionate and rather foolish in practical matters.  John was a vivacious and generous man, but often lived outside the boundaries of his tight pocketbook.  Later in life Dickens used his father as the basis for his fictional character, Mr. Micawber and his mother as Mrs. Nickleby in the Brothers Cheeryble (Constable 25).
In 1814 John Dickens was transferred from the post in Portsworth to one in London.  Three years later the family moved to Chatham to be closer to their father who was working steadily at the post.  Charles Dickens's mother taught him to read when he was barely five and for the next few years Dickens lived wonderfully, reading every book he could get his hands on.  He quickly read through his father's collection of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Defoe, Smollett, Fielding, and Goldsmith.   Every one of these authors left a mark on the young mind of Charles Dickens which is easy to see in his style and attitude throughout writings (Carey 6).
During this time Dickens started attending school where he excelled and pleased his father greatly.  Although he was a solitary child, Dickens was observant and good natured and often participated in different comical routines for the class.  Looking back on this period of his life, Dickens thought of it as the golden age (Carey 6).  In the first novel that he wrote, The Pickwick Papers, Dickens tries to bring back the good old times as he remembers them with their picturesque nature.  Gary Carey believes that this novel displays the happiness of innocence and the playful spirit of the youth during the time of Dickens's youthful days (7).
Overtaken by financial difficulties, the Dickens family was forced to move into a shabby suburb of Camden Town.  This move must have shown the family how good they had it back in Chatham.  There Dickens was removed from school and forced to work degrading menial jobs in an effort to help his struggling father put food on the table.  Dickens was put to work in a blackening factory among many rough and cruel employees, probably the worst job in town.  Shortly after Dickens started working in the factory his father was thrown into jail for failure to pay his debts, only to be released three months later.  This period of time affected Dickens greatly as he went into a period of depression.  He felt abandoned and destroyed by this evil roller-coaster ride of life he was on.  From this time period come many of the major themes of his more popular novels.  Perhaps the most popular of these novels is David Copperfield.  In this novel Dickens depicts a young man who grows up in a very similar way to that of his own (Al
len 28).
Dickens' sympathy for the victimized, his fascination with prisons and money, the desire to vindicate his heroes' status as gentlemen, and the idea of London as an awesome, lively, and rather threatening environment all reflect the experiences he had during his time on his own.  On his own at the age of twelve, Dickens learned many necessary life skills which also developed in him a driving ambition and a boundless energy that transferred into every thing that he did (28).
It would be a mistake to think of Charles Dickens as an uneducated man just because he had little formal schooling.  Dickens did what everyone should do, learn from life.  His entire writing career was a continuing process of development and experimentation.  Many of his themes keep repeating themselves throughout his pieces and those themes most certainly stem from his early life.  From his early Pickwick Papers to his one of his last pieces The Mystery of Edwin Drood Dickens never ceased to develop his writing abilities and skill, establishing himself as the major and primary Victorian novelist (Bloom 189).
The journey from boyhood into manhood is a momentous one, and definitely something that has a lasting effect on one's person.  Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield describes the journey into manhood by telling a story similar to his own life through the life of "David Copperfield."  There isn't one underlining theme in this novel there are many.  The journey is one  that along with "David's" is longing for what is lost in the past and the humiliation he feels from being an orphan.  Dickens has written an excellent novel describing the troubles of growing up and the benefits of having a rough childhood.  Through the rough experiences that he had, Dickens was able to look back on his early life and write world-famous stories about them.  Calvin Brown feel that these experiences also helped shape the man the Dickens became, as do all experiences in life for everyone (Brown 144)
The structure of Dickens's Copperfield has the freeness and the unity of a wonderful journey.  As the scene moves from place to place in the story each move also represents a critical step in David's spiritual journey to manhood.  Dickens uses the pattern of changing scenes to provide both variety and contrast of mood.  The atmosphere changes as the story moves along from the Salem House to Blunderstone, giving the story diversity.  Dickens constantly shows how the life of David would have been much easier had he had a decent father figure in his home while he was growing up.
David is constantly searching for what he has lost in the past.  He recalls the beautiful world of the Peggottys when he says, "It seems to me at this hour that I have never seen such sunlight as on those bright April afternoons, that I have never seen such a sunny little figure as I used to see, sitting in the doorway of the old boat..."(Copperfield 7)  This  writing of Dickens binds the reader to the story.  David remembers the "olden" days and thinks of them as the "golden" days (Allen 28).
As the beginning of the story describes, David Copperfield has many hard childhood experiences, such as Dickens's own humiliating days spent working in the blackening factory in London.  The despair and humiliation that he suffered there and the rejection of his parents and the loss of all his hopes of self-fulfillment are relived through David in this book.  Dickens tells his own story well through the life of David Copperfield.  He isn't looking for the readers' sympathy.   He simply wants the reader to understand that just because he had a rough life doesn't mean it was a bad one.
A journey into adulthood, something that everyone must go through, although it may be easier for some than others.  Charles Dickens, in David Copperfield, describes this journey as he makes the reader a vital part of David Copperfield's life.  This journey is a theme in this novel as well as "David's" longing for what is lost in the past and the humiliation he feels from being an orphan.  Dickens has developed his character, David, into a hero much like he wanted to be remembered as (Andreola 3).  Many critics today think he achieved that goal!
Charles Dickens also wrote many other books throughout his creative writing career.   In his book A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens causes the reader to ask what the novel is really about, just what the driving theme is.  Although each reader will come up with a different answer to this question, most of the answers fall into one of three categories.  
Some readers will say that this novel is about the different personalities of the many different and well-described characters throughout his novel.  The story portrays a French physician, Dr. Manette, who has been wrongly put into prison in the Bastille for nearly eighteen years before the story even begins (Constable 24).  Because he witnessed the aftermath of a crime that was committed by two other fellows, the doctor was thrown into prison.  The entire prison experience is something that he can never fully shake free from.   In moments of stress throughout the novel Dr. Manette often goes insane, a result of his time in prison.  The story also concerns a man by the name of Jarvis Lorry, who, in the beginning of the book, is on his way to retrieve the doctor from the prison  (Constable 13).
Another group of readers will believe that this book is about the French Revolution.  Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities starts out in 1775 while the Revolution was still in its underground preliminary stages.  The book covers eighteen years ending with one of the bloodiest battles, the Reign of Terror in 1973.  Although most  of the major revolution events take place off stage in the novel, they do have a major effect on the lives of the characters in the story.   It would certainly be no error to say the events of the French Revolution, which make up so much of the setting in this novel, is what the theme of the novel really is (Carey 11).
The third category of readers will say the novel's theme is beyond the fictional characters and historical events and is more of a symbol.  These readers will see that the actions relate to Dickens's vision of life and the reason for it.  This group will say that the book presents a picture of human life using the dramatic language of characters and their actions (Carey 12).
Anyway  that a reader approaches A Tale of Two Cities, it is a hard book to read although it does become interesting at times and in the end brings the reader into an understanding of personal life trials during the time of the French Revolution.  Whether the reader believes that the novel is about its characters, historical events or symbolism, it doesn't matter.  Charles Dickens wanted the readers of enjoy this novel not fight over what the meaning behind it is (Carey 12).
Sadly, many of the greatest books that have strengthened and shaped Western civilization are drifting out of modern life and thought. But it doesn't have to be this way. Someone must responsibly keep the literary lights such as Charles Dickens burning brightly for the benefit of younger generations. (Andreola 2)
It is time to rescue Dickens from the attic and let him stir the hearts of people today. Dickens can challenge, motivate, and entertain in ways the Hardy Boys never could.  Dickens became famous writing stories that highlighted the difference between right and wrong in his own time. His stories invite readers to form an opinion and make decisions about a character's right or wrong actions. 
As only an artist could.  Dickens paints a moral picture of life.  To paint the moral for children is more effective than to "point" it.  Here lays the help the younger generation of today needs to develop a "moral imagination."
When reading episodes from Dickens's stories it is easy to get to know his characters more intimately than neighbors. The experience of life along with his characters is something that the readers feel. Feelings arouse for them as the characters struggle in difficult situations (Andreola 2).
In Terry W. Glaspey's Great Books of the Christian Tradition, he says, "Dickens could sometimes be faulted for being overlong and sentimental, but his novels seem to lodge in the memory long after they are read. His ability to create a multitude of memorable characters gave us the adjective 'Dickensian.' His staunch Victorian morality is a pleasant contrast to our modern sense of moral drift." And what wonderful characters they are! His heroes are people of everyday life who supply readers with a vision of goodness (Andreola 3)
Clearly without the writing of Charles Dickens the literary world of today would be suffering a great loss.  Dickens thought his many years of life experiences was able to use his talents as a writer to express to the everyday reader what the true meaning of life is.  Charles Dickens did for the literary world what stories like that of small town basketball sensation, Larry Bird, did for small town athletes around the United States.  Dickens helped readers understand themselves, those who are the common folk. Middle to lower class. 
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Title: Little Women Number of Pages: 562 Original Copyright Date: 1868 Date Completed: February 23, 2000 Author: Louisa May Alcott Publisher: Scholastic Inc. Plot Summary: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are the March sisters. Their father is off to war and they rely on their mother, Marmee, to see them through the hard times of the Civil War. In the first part of this book the reader is introduced to the characters. Meg is the sensible one, Jo is the tomboy , Beth is the sweet one, and Amy is the artistic and feminine one. The girls are all generous and even give their own Christmas dinner to a poor family. Meg has her first dance and brings Jo along. At the dance we meet Laurie, the mysterious grandson of the Old Mr. Laurence living next-door. His real name it Theodore, but he prefers Laurie because he was teased in school by the girls. The girls all spend a lot of time at the Laurences home, all excepting Beth. Because she is afraid of Old Mr. Laurence, she stays away. Mr. Laurence asks if he could have Beth over to play for him. When she does, it creates a lasting bond between them. Old Mr. Laurence loves her playing so much that he gives her a small piano that had belonged to his deceased granddaughter. The girls have a secret club called the Pickwick Club in which each of the girls undertakes a separate identity. Amy is punished at school for having pickled limes in the classroom and Marmee decides to school her at home. One night Laurie invites the older girls to come see a play at his house and Amy wants to come along. Jo puts her off and leaves with an attitude. When Jo returns, her precious diary has been burned spitefully by Amy. Jo holds a grudge but it is all resolved when Amy is almost lost in an accident on the ice. It is hard for Jo to handle that her sister has a boyfriend. When she and Laurie exchange secrets, it is revealed that Mr. Brooke, Laurie's tutor and friend, has been given one of Meg's gloves. One thing the movie leaves out is a camping trip that the girls take with Laurie where they talk about their dream castles and Meg tells Laurie to go to college and respect his grandfather's wishes. One day a letter arrives telling the girls that their father has taken ill and Marmee desperately wants to be at his side, but doesn't have the means to do so financially. Jo knows that her father needs Marmee so she sells her hair to get the 25 dollars needed for her mother to take the trip. While she is gone, Beth visits a poor family and takes care of the sick baby. As she is there holding it, the baby dies of scarlet fever and Beth catches it. Meg and Jo care for her and send Amy to stay with Aunt March. Amy loathes it there, but talks a lot to the maid who tells her of all the things Aunt March will leave her when she passes on. Amy decides to write her own will in which she leaves something to each of her sisters. Marmee is called for because the doctor fears that Beth will die. When Marmee comes, Beth seems to improve. When their father comes home, Beth is eve able to play the piano and sing with the family. Mr. Brooke asks Meg to receive his love and she refuses. When Aunt March is consulted on the matter, Meg is told that if she were to marry Mr. Brooke, she would be cut off and stricken from the will. Meg decides to love Mr. Brooke to spite her Aunt. Laurie tells Jo that she will be the next to marry and Jo says that she never will. Meg finds married life a difficult juggling act as she brings twins into the world and has arguments with her understanding spouse. Aunt Carrol decides to take Amy to Europe with her to study art. (In the movie Amy accompanies Aunt March) Jo is upset because she had longed so desperately to let out of the house, but is contented by the happiness of her sickly sister, Beth, at her staying. Amy writes the family of her meeting a friend of Laurie's in Europe and hoping that he will propose so that she doesn't make a "poor match" like Meg did. Jo decides to go to New York to get Laurie to forget about her, but as she says her good-byes, he makes it amply clear that it won't be so easy for him to be without her. While Jo is staying with Mrs. Kirke she meets a German professor, Freidrich Bhaer. She and Professor Bhaer form a friendship as he teaches her German. When Jo returns for the summer, she and Beth go to the beach and Beth reveals the feeling that she will soon die. Beth is put in a nice room so she can spend her last days with the things and people she loves. One day while on a walk with Jo, Laurie divulges to her his true feelings of love and asks her to marry her. Jo refuses saying that she will never love him that way and that she will never marry him. Beth dies in her mother's arms. Jo is devastated by the death of her favorite sister. One day Professor Bhaer comes by the house and tells Jo that he will be in town on business for a few days. In hopes of seeing him, Jo goes for long walks. On one such walk in the rain, she meets him under an umbrella where she consents to marry him. When Aunt March dies, her estate is left to Jo, who makes it into a home for wayward boys. Characters: Meg - Meg is a sensible girl who is very matronly and maternal. She is like everyone's mother, Always thinking of appearances. While she may yearn for material things, she certainly know that she doesn't need them. Jo - Jo is headstrong and boyish. Almost the complete opposite of Meg. She doesn't care for anything conventional or feminine. She keeps an unruly appearance and is very much a tomboy. Beth - Beth is the only character that had hardly any faults. She was a peacemaker. She was gentle, loving, suppotive and the sweetest character, though Jo is my favorite. She was so sweet that it stands to reason that she would be that one to die. Amy - Amy is prim and proper and always lady-like. She doesn't care much for love and romance like Jo, she cares more for the financially advantagious match. She is the tattle-tale of the group. Laurie - Laurie has a temper but is none the less a good man. He is a big brother to the girls and he watches out for them. He loves a good laugh and is very fun-loving. Marmee - Marmee is a feminist and it rubas off on her daughters. She is so sweet and such a perfect mom that she is endearing. Conflict: The main conflict of the story is simply growing up. Insode each of the girls is a desire to grow up and a desire to keep things the same. They know that when they grow up things will inevitably change and that scares them. The struggle is within each of them
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Living And Dying Tuesdays With Morrie was an excellent book in many ways. It opened my eyes up to how I would like to die and what I would like to pass on to my loved ones. I don't always tell my parents and brother that I love them, although very rarely do I tell my closest friends. After reading this book it has helped me be more open with my feelings. After all I will never know when I will die; it could be today or it could be in 70 years. I need to start living life like there may not be a tomorrow. If I do this, even half the time, then it will make me a better person. There are several topics of life that I need to start doing to make sure that when I die I feel complete. When I die I would like to know that I have done most everything that I would like to have done. Obviously, I will have some regrets but who doesn't. I would like to make sure that my family is taken care of. That my grandkids have enough money to pay for college. I liked when Morrie talked about how people are always buying new cars, but all they really need is people to love them. Before I die I would like to make sure that my friends and family know how much that I care for them. In order to do this I need to make sure that I communicate to them. I shouldn't be afraid to share my feelings. But for some reason it is hard for me to express what I feel. Although I'm working on it, it will take some time. My attitude on the baseball field is the same as it is in life. I give it my all every day and all day. I think of every at-bat as if it were my last. In life I try my best every day and think of each day as it were my last. If I keep on taking this attitude then when I die I will feel satisfied with my life. When I die I would like to be remembered and not just forgotten. I would like to be remembered for baseball and also for being a nice person. I want people to say that I was one of the nicest guys they've ever met. I think that is a huge compliment. It is hard for me to accept that not very many people will remember me. Sure maybe for ten years or so, but after that they will forget. That is why I need to surround myself in as much family as I can, just like Morrie did. He knew that his family and friends wouldn't forget him so he surrounded himself with them. It would comfort me to know when I die that some people still think about me. When I die I definitely do not want to be in a lot of pain. I think that physician-assisted suicide is not wrong. Why let someone suffer? If I'm suffering I would want them to pull the plug on me. What upsets me is when I hear of stories about people who have been attached to life support for months. If it is someone's time to die then I think you should let them die. There is a lot of debate on the use of medical marijuana. I feel that if someone is going to die and they are suffering, then they should be able to use marijuana to ease there pain. I don't understand why its not legalized. I think it would put a lot of drug dealers out of business. I would also like to have my organ's donated. If I can help someone out, then I definitely would do that. Dying should not be something that is dragged out over several years. When I go I want to go in peace and not be attached to a machine for years. Morrie's perfect day seemed so simple to me at first, but actually it makes a lot of sense. When you ask most people what there perfect day would be, they would tell you that it consists of; sky diving, going to Paris, watching a rock concert, etc...... Morrie's perfect day was just doing what he normally did. He wanted to go dancing and spend some quality time with his friends. He knew this was what was important. Spending quality time with your loved ones. My perfect day used to be wild like most people's but after reading this book I changed my day. I would like to wake up to the smell of my mom and dad fixing my brother and I breakfast. It would be a huge plate of bacon and eggs. After spending some time with my family I would like to go watch the Mariners play baseball. I would have all of my closest friends there and sit in luxury booths. During the game I would buy a five dollar beer and a four dollar hot dog. After this I would like to go home and throw a big party with all my friends and family. Because this is what is really important. These are my true loves in life, my family and baseball. I need to live life to the fullest all day and every day. I will die happily if I do this. I need to try and have more of my perfect days before I cannot have them anymore. There are only two certainties I can control in my life and that is attitude and effort. Everything else is just a variable. But my point is if I have a good attitude and effort then that will in turn satisfy my life. I will have lots of close friends and family. And that is what is important.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Lord of the Flies 2.TXT
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In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Simon is the most powerful character. Although he is peaceful and shy, Simon closely resembles the role of Christ in many of his ways. He tries to show the boys there is no monster on the island except the fears that the boys have created in their minds. During a meeting, Simon shares what he believes is the truth by saying the beast, "Is only us." When he makes this announcement, he is ridiculed by the boys, "The laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away defenseless to his seat." This is an uncanny parallel to the misunderstanding that Christ had to deal with. Later in the story the savage hunters are chasing a pig. Once they kill the pig, they put its head on a stick and Simon experiences an epiphany in which he comes to understand the truth of his theory. As Simon rushes to the campfire, "Stumbling through the thick sand," to tell his discovery to the boys, he is hit in the side with a spear, his prophecy rejected and the word he wished to spread ignored. Simon falls to the ground and dies. The description of his death, the manner in which he died, and the cause for which he died are remarkably similar to the circumstances of Christ's life and ultimate demise. The major difference is that Christ died on the cross, while Simon was speared. However, a reader familiar with the Bible may recall that Christ was stabbed in the side with a spear before his crucifixion. A Link to the Outside World In the novel, Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, a large spiral shaped sea shell, known as a conch shell, became crucial for society developed by the surviving boys. Similarly, in Greek mythology Triton, the son of Neptune, uses the conch shell to stir or calm the seas. Here, Ralph, following the instructions of Piggy, uses the shell to subdue and control the animal spirits of the boys. Living on a small, unnamed island, with no adult figures, the conch shell became their symbol of authority. The influence of the conch kept the children's hopes of being rescued going, for it reminded them of the order there was in the world where they had come from. It seemed to be the only link to the world of order and civilization. Events that went along with the finding of the conch shell started with Ralph being named the chief of the island because he was the first boy to blow into it, "Making a mooeing noise," he called the first meeting. Next came the rule, "Whoever held the conch could speak." This gave some organization and structure to the meetings. Soon the small society started to separate and chaos was becoming the consequence. As a result of confusion and violence in the society, "The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments," accompanied by Piggy's death. With the conch shell destroyed it seemed to mean the end of all their ties to the outside world and the beginning of the reign of savages. As Jack said, "There isn't a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone."
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Lord of the Flies 
 
In his first novel, William Golding used a group of boys stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the malicious nature of mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with changes that the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the isolated freedom from society. Three main characters depicted different effects on certain individuals under those circumstances. Jack Merridew began as the arrogant and self-righteous leader of a choir. The freedom of the island allowed him to further develop the darker side of his personality as the Chief of a savage tribe. Ralph started as a self-assured boy whose confidence in himself came from the acceptance of his peers. He had a fair nature as he was willing to listen to Piggy. He became increasingly dependent on Piggy's wisdom and became lost in the confusion around him. Towards the end of the story his rejection from their society of savage boys forced him to fend for himself. Piggy was an educated boy who had grown up as an outcast. Due to his academic childhood, he was more mature than the others and retained his civilized behaviour. But his experiences on the island gave him a more realistic understanding of the cruelty possessed by some people. The ordeals of the three boys on the island made them more aware of the evil inside themselves and in some cases, made the false politeness that had clothed them dissipate. However, the changes experienced by one boy differed from those endured by another. This is attributable to the physical and mental dissimilarities between them.
Jack was first described with an ugly sense of cruelty that made him naturally unlikeable. As leader of the choir and one of the tallest boys on the island, Jack's physical height and authority matched his arrogant personality. His desire to be Chief was clearly evident in his first appearance. When the idea of having a Chief was mentioned Jack spoke out immediately. "I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy."  He led his choir by administering much discipline resulting in forced obedience from the cloaked boys. His ill-nature was well expressed through his impoliteness of saying, "Shut up, Fatty." at Piggy. (p. 23) However, despite his unpleasant personality, his lack of courage and his conscience prevented him from killing the first pig they encountered. "They knew very well why he hadn't: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood." (p. 34) Even at the meetings, Jack was able to contain himself under the leadership of Ralph. He had even suggested the implementation of rules to regulate themselves. This was a Jack who was proud to be British, and who was shaped and still bound by the laws of a civilized society. The freedom offered to him by the island allowed Jack to express the darker sides of his personality that he hid from the ideals of his past environment. Without adults as a superior and responsible authority, he began to lose his fear of being punished for improper actions and behaviours. This freedom coupled with his malicious and arrogant personality made it possible for him to quickly degenerate into a savage. He put on paint, first to camouflage himself from the pigs. But he discovered that the paint allowed him to hide the forbidden thoughts in his mind that his facial expressions would otherwise betray. "The mask was a thing on its own behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness." (p. 69) Through hunting, Jack lost his fear of blood and of killing living animals. He reached a point where he actually enjoyed the sensation of hunting a prey afraid of his spear and knife. His natural desire for blood and violence was brought out by his hunting of pigs. As Ralph became lost in his own confusion, Jack began to assert himself as chief. The boys realizing that Jack was a stronger and more self-assured leader gave in easily to the freedom of Jack's savagery. Placed in a position of power and with his followers sharing his crazed hunger for violence, Jack gained encouragement to commit the vile acts of thievery and murder. Freed from the conditions of a regulated society, Jack gradually became more violent and the rules and proper behaviour by which he was brought up were forgotten. The freedom given to him unveiled his true self under the clothing worn by civilized people to hide his darker characteristics.
Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy whose self-assured mad him feel secure even on the island without any adults. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his pleasant nature as he did not call him names with hateful intent as Jack had. His good physique allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence to speak out readily in public. His handsome features and the conch as a symbol of power and order pointed him out from the crowd of boys and proclaimed him Chief. "There was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerful, there was the conch." (p. 24) From the quick decisions he made as Chief near the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that Ralph was well-organized. But even so, Ralph began repeatedly to long and daydream of his civilized and regular past. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose clarity in his thoughts and speeches. "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come down." (p. 156) He started to feel lost in their new environment as the boys, with the exception of Piggy began to change and adapt to their freedom. As he did not lose his sense of responsibility, his viewpoints and priorities began to differ from the savages'. He was more influenced by Piggy than by Jack, who in a way could be viewed as a source of evil. Even though the significance of the fire as a rescue signal was slowly dismissed, Ralph continued to stress the importance of the fire at the mountaintop. He also tried to reestablish the organization that had helped to keep the island clean and free of potential fire hazards. This difference made most of the boys less convinced of the integrity of Ralph. As his supporters became fewer and Jack's insistence on being chief grew, his strength as a leader diminished. But even though Ralph had retained much of his past social conditioning, he too was not spared from the evil released by the freedom from rules and adults. During the play-fight after their unsuccessful hunt in the course of their search for the beast, Ralph for the first time, had an opportunity to join the hunters and share their desire for violence. "Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering." (p. 126) Without rules to limit them, they were free to make their game as real as they wanted. Ralph did not understand the hatred Jack had for him, nor did he fully comprehend why their small and simple society deteriorated. This confusion removed his self-confidence and made him more dependent on Piggy's judgement, until Piggy began prompting him on what needed to be said and done. Towards the end of the novel, Ralph was forced into independence when he lost all his followers to Jack's savagery, and when Piggy and the conch were smashed by Roger's boulder. He was forced to determine how to avoid Jack's savage hunters alone. Ralph's more responsible behaviour set him apart from the other savage boys and made it difficult for him to accept and realize the changes they were undergoing. Becoming lost in his exposure to their inherent evil, Ralph's confusion brought about the deterioration of his initial self-assurance and ordered temperament, allowing him to experience brief outbursts of his beastly self.
Piggy was an educated boy rejected by the kids of his age group on account of his being overweight. It was his academic background and his isolation from the savage boys that had allowed him to remain mostly unchanged from his primitive experiences on the island. His unattractive attributes segregated him from the other boys on the island. He was not welcomed on their first exploratory trip of the island. "We don't want you," Jack had said to Piggy. (p. 26) Piggy was like an observer learning from the actions of others. His status in their society allowed him to look at the boys from an outsider's perspective. He could learn of the hatred being brought out of the boys without having to experience the thirst for blood that Ralph was exposed to. Although he was easily intimidated by the other boys, especially by Jack, he did not lack the self-confidence to protest or speak out against the indignities from the boys as the shy former choirboy Simon did. This self-confidence differed from that of Ralph's as it did not come from his acceptance by their peers nor did it come from the authority and power Jack had grown accustomed to. It came from the pride in having accumulated the wisdom that was obviously greater than that of most of the other kids at his age. Piggy not only knew what the rules were, as all the other boys did, but he also had the patience to at least wonder why the rules existed. This intuition made Piggy not only more aware of why the rules were imposed, thereby ensuring that he would abide by them even when they were not enforced. When the boys flocked to the mountaintop to build their fire, Piggy shouted after them, "Acting like a crowd of kids!" (p. 42) Piggy was a very liable person who could look ahead and plan carefully of the future. He shouted at the boys' immature recklessness, "The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach... Then when you get here you build a bonfire that isn't no use. Now you been and set the whole island on fire." (p.. 50) Like Ralph, his sense of responsibility set him apart from the other boys. The author used the image of long hair to illustrate Piggy's sustenance of his civilized behaviour. "He was the only boy on the island whose hair never seemed to grow." (p. 70) The author's description of his baldness also presented an image of old age and made Piggy seem to lack the strength of youth. The increasing injustice Piggy endured towards the end of the novel was far greater than any that he had encountered previously. In his fit of anger, Piggy cried out, "I don't ask for my glasses back, not as a favour. I don't ask you to be a sport, I'll say, not because you're strong, but because what's right's right." (p. 189) This new standard of harshness brought tears out of him as the suffering became intolerable. For a brief moment, Piggy's anger at the unfairness and his helplessness robbed him of his usual logical reasoning, which returned when he was confronted with his fear of the savages. Piggy was an intelligent boy with a good understanding of their situation on the island. He was able to think clearly and plan ahead with caution so that even in the freedom of their unregulated world, his wisdom and his isolation from the savage boys kept him from giving into the evil that had so easily consumed Jack and his followers. The resulting cruelty Jack inflicted upon him taught Piggy how much more pain there was in the world.
Lord of the flies used changes experienced by boys on an uninhabited island to show the evil nature of man. By using different characters the author was able to portray various types of people found in our society. Their true selves were revealed in the freedom from the laws and punishment of a world with adults. Under the power and regulations of their former society, Jack's inner evil was suppressed. But when the rules no longer existed, he was free to do what malice he desired. Ralph had grown so used to the regularity of a civilized world, that the changes they underwent were difficult for him to comprehend. He became confused and less capable of thinking clearly and independently. Although he too had experienced the urge for violence that had driven Jack and the hunters to momentary peaks of madness, his more sensitive personality and his sense of obligation saved him from complete savagery. These two traits also helped to keep Piggy from becoming primitive in behaviour. He was made an outcast by his undesirable physique and his superior intelligence. This isolation and wisdom also helped Piggy to retain his civilized behaviour. As well, he was made painfully more aware of the great amount of injustice in the world. From these three characters, it could be seen that under the same circumstances, different individuals can develop in different ways depending on the factors within themselves and how they interacted with each other. Their personalities and what they knew can determine how they would interpret and adapt to a new environment such as the tropical island. Not everyone has so much malevolence hidden inside themselves as to become complete savages when released from the boundaries of our society. Some people will, because of the ways they were conditioned, remember and abide by the rules they had depended on for social organization and security.
 

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Symbols Imagine a bunch of young children's lives changed by being trapped on a island with no civilization around. William Golding shows how terrifying it can be in Lord Of The Flies, the novel that brings symbolism above all to the emotions of all that read it. The symbols that bring out the meaning the best are the leadership skills, the fire and the conch. First, are the leadership skills, as are shown in the book, Ralph has. Ralph in the novel has many ideas, leadership skills, and has the force he needs to create a better place and try to get them all home. There are three major quotes that prove that Ralph has what it takes. This first one shows he has good ideas and can enforce what he thinks should happen. "Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seem to me we ought to have a cheif to decide things(#22)." He also shows he can be a good cheif and make them listen with a wave of a hand. "Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence(#23)." Lastly, when Ralph blows the conch, as though a force is pulling them nearer, the children go to him. "By the time Ralph had finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded(#32)." Next, one of the bigger symbols is the fire. Enforcing the rules is one thing, but the children would rather play than keep the fire going. Ralph gives the idea for the fire, but can they keep it going? " There's another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they might not notice us. We must make a fire(#38)." Jack has a great idea to use Piggy's glasses to light the fire." Jack pointed suddenly. "His specs-use them as burning glasses (#40)!" Jack has a obsession of hunting and it turns to the choir as well. They have the responsibility to keep the fire going, but they get side tracked, go hunting and the fire goes out. "There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!" He took a step towards Jack who turned and faced him. "They might have seen us. We might have gone home(#70)." As you can see a bunch of children are not ready for that kind of responsibility. Finally is the conch, it shows the start of a civilization and rules, but the chjildren can't make a civialized place without orderness which they don't have. Piggy knew what the conch was at first and knew they should blow on it but all was taken credit for by Ralph. When they first found it Ralph thought it was a stone in the water but Piggy saw it as the shell and explained what he knew about it. "A stone." "No. A shell." Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement. " S'right. It's a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone's back wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It's ever so valuble-(#15)." The shell emites a deep harsh note boomed. Ralph was amazed at the sound. "Gosh!(#17)." He was amazed at the sound. It was a calling of the islands children. Later in the story, everyone would be talking at the same time so Ralph said he would give it to a person and they were the only ones to speak. "Conch?" "That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking (#33)." Golding does a magnificent job of symbolism in his novel. Already proven are three of the main symbols. Golding brings emotion, thought, and symbolism together in Lord Of The Flies. Those kid's lives were severed, some lives perished, others dreaded by the nightmares of their memories.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Lovely People Do Stupid Things.TXT
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Lovely People Do Stupid Things How is love to influence our lives? Love-struck people do crazy things to express how they care for that particular person yet it is a long and windy road to these actions. It is down this path that experience spawns and trouble and happiness are felt. Janie Crawford of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, shows the road through the steps of her three relationships. These relationships, though not fulfilling ones, conclude in bettering Janie's search and understanding of life. Johnny Taylor, Janie's first kiss and gatekeeper to her future, When Janie was sixteen, she embarked on a sexual awakening. Johnny Taylor was a poor young man who lived in the Florida area. Janie allowed him to kiss her over the fence. Unfortunately, Nanny saw everything. With Nanny's horrendous background of sinful deeds done to her, she wanted the best for Janie. As she saw the kiss, the doors of life opened for Janie and Nanny wasn't going to have her make the same mistakes that she had. Yet, Nanny had been impregnated under the circumstances of being a slave and this was not the case for Janie. Nanny stated that "black women were the mules of the world", but she didn't want Janie to be a mule. She wanted to see Janie in a secure situation before she died, and Logan Killicks could provide that. Janie did not want to marry Logan, but she did so because Nanny told her "that she would eventually come to love him." Ironically, Logan wanted to force Janie into the servitude that Nanny feared. Also, he was disappointed that Janie never returned his affection and attraction. If he could not possess her through love, he would possess her by demanding her submission. At heart, his actions arose from the fear that Janie would leave him. Two months after her marriage to Logan, Janie visited Nanny to ask when she would start loving him. Nanny berated Janie for not appreciating Logan's wealth. Although Logan pampered Janie for a year, he began complaining that she was spoiled. That night, Logan criticized Janie for being spoiled and lazy. Janie voiced his deepest fears when she suggested that she might leave him. Logan reminded her of her family's reputation, hoping to hurt her feelings. Turning to these drastic of measures blew Janie into a frenzy and she left with a smooth-talking gentleman that very next day. Janie chose to leave Logan for Jody because he revived her dreams of love in marriage. Her first marriage had taught her that marriage and love do not go hand in hand. However, she still believed that love was the best motivation for marriage. Jody promised that he would never turn Janie into a common pack mule. He promised her that she would reap all the benefits of his work. His words eerily echo Nanny's dream of respectability and financial security for Janie. However, Janie didn't marry Jody because of these promises. She married him because he inspired the feelings she had experienced while sitting under the blossoming peach tree when she was sixteen and the moment her womanhood became crystal clear. Ironically, Janie's marriage to Jody was the very embodiment of Nanny's dreams for her. Unlike Logan, he did not make her a pack mule. He gave her financial security and respectability. However, the marriage was largely an unhappy union. Janie could not be herself around Jody. Moreover, Jody still used Janie as a garbage even though he gave her wealth and respectability. So it seems that Nanny's worst fears and her highest hopes were realized in Janie's second marriage. It was until one afternoon in the store that she met a lofty yet handsome young man who went, strangely enough, by the name of Tea Cake. Tea Cake's courtship was different from that of Logan and Jody. Janie's first marriage was more of a contract of sale between Nanny and Logan than anything else. Janie's second marriage was an escape from the first one. Moreover, it was based on disappointed dreams. Jody courted her by talking about himself and his dreams. Tea Cake, on the other hand, pursued Janie with a more romantic flair. Also, he allowed her equal footing in negotiating the terms of their relationship. Gaining personal freedom was a two-fold process. First, she had to be free in her private life, but she also had to free herself from restricting social attitudes. Only then could she begin to heal the rift between her outside self and her inside self. She feels that what she has learned from her relationship with Tea Cake cannot be conveyed through words. Self-realization is a personal journey that can only be made through gaining life experience. Therefore, Janie acknowledges the flaws inherent in retelling her life, but she does not necessarily undercut the importance of having found her voice. Neither does she undercut the benefit of sharing her story with others. She doesn't believe that her story should be the single, authoritative guidebook to self-realization. It can, however, inspire others to re-examine their lives.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\MacBeth 2.TXT
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In Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, the characters and the roles they play are critical to its plot and theme, and therefore many of Shakespeare's characters are well developed and complex. Two of these characters are the protagonist, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth. They play interesting roles in the tragedy, and over the course of the play, their relationship changes and their roles are essentially switched. At the beginning of the play, they treat each other as equals. They have great concern for each other, as illustrated when Macbeth races to tell Lady Macbeth the news about the witches and she immediately begins plotting how to gain for her husband his desire to be king. At this point, Lady Macbeth is the resolute, strong woman, while Macbeth is portrayed as her indecisive, cowardly husband. He does have ambition, but at this point, his conscience is stronger than that ambition. Lady Macbeth explains this characteristic of her husband in Act I, Scene v, when she says, "Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." The next stage of change developing in the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is in Act II. This is the act in which Macbeth kills King Duncan. Macbeth's character change is apparent because it is obvious that he has given in to his ambition and has murdered the king. He is not entirely changed, though, because he is almost delirious after he has committed the crime. He exclaims, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." He believes that instead of the ocean cleaning his hands, his hands would turn the ocean red. Macbeth's role has changed somewhat but not entirely, since he has committed the crime but his conscience is still apparent after the murder. Lady Macbeth's role similarly changes somewhat in Act II. The reader sees a crack in her strong character when she tells Macbeth in Scene ii of Act II that she would have murdered Duncan herself if he had not resembled her father as he slept. Her boldness is still evident, though, when she calms Macbeth after the murder and believes "a little water clears us of this deed." Unlike the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, their relationship remains unchanged from Act I to II. Their relationship is still very close as seen through Duncan's murder - a product of teamwork. At the end of Act III, both the roles and the relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have reached the final stage of their change. Now that Duncan is dead and Macbeth is hopelessly headed toward a life of immorality, Lady Macbeth fades into the background. Macbeth takes it upon himself in Act III to plot Banquo's murder without consulting his wife because he wants to protect her from the corruption that he has involved himself with. His role is now completely changed and there is no turning back for him. As Macbeth goes off on his own course during this time, Lady Macbeth's guilt is overwhelming and, cut off from him, she descends into madness. Her guilt emerges in Act III, Scene ii when she says she would rather be dead, and it grows from then on until her death. Lady Macbeth's character change is also evident in Act III, Scene ii when she backs out of Macbeth's mysterious murder plan and tells him, "You must leave this." The relationship between the couple is being torn apart by this time in Macbeth. They are headed in separate directions - Macbeth towards a life of evil and Lady Macbeth towards insanity and grief. As Shakespeare developed the characters of Macbeth and his wife, their changing roles ironically ended up resembling the other one's role. At the beginning of the tragedy, Macbeth was the hesitant character with a strong conscience, while Lady Macbeth was powerful and firm. However, by the time these two characters were completely changed, Macbeth ended up being decisive and greedy, as Lady Macbeth turned out to be weak since her guilty conscience drove her insane. Shakespeare's exchange of roles in Macbeth is clever yet unusual, but after all, "things aren't always what they seem."
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\MacBeth Analysis of Fear.TXT
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Fear, this motivates us to do many things no matter if they are right or wrong. In the play Macbeth it was fear that was the main motivating factor that influenced the outcome of the play. This can be proved by the subsequent murders that followed after Duncan's, why were these committed? Because Macbeth was scared of being caught and having to pay for the wrongs he had done. Also look at Lady Macbeth, he constant washing of her hands, sleepwalking and other behaviour like this. All done out of fear, and like her husband fear of being caught. The final piece of proof I offer is Macbeth's actions, they were all due to fear, not only of being caught but of the witches' prophecies, he was scared of them coming true and tried to stop them from happening. This whole play was inspired by fear and what it and do to a person. To begin, we'll address Macbeth's subsequent murders, following Duncan's. For Macbeth, he's just killed the King of Scotland and blamed it on his son. It worked and he became King, however he remembered the witches' prophecies. They claimed that Macbeth would be King, but it would be Banquo's children that would follow after him. This made Macbeth very angry, he risked everything to become King and after him none of his family will follow. Only for them; and mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man, To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings! [Act III, S I, L 72-75] Here Macbeth realizes that if something is not done to Banquo, then his sons will become King. Macbeth can't have this, he's already worried that his soul will go to hell for what he's already done. His fear become evident in this scene also, "But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo Stick deep;" [Act III, S I, L 53-54] Macbeth then has Banquo murdered, however his son Fleance escapes in the attack. Next Macduff refuses to accept Macbeth as king and flees to England to join Malcom. And also the witches tell him to beware of Macduff, which angers Macbeth and drives him to kill Macduff's family. More fear of losing the impending battle with England, makes Macbeth start doing anything that will give him an edge in the final battle. Macbeth's fear is starting to consume him, he can no longer sleep and is ravaged by guilt over what he's done. As well Lady Macbeth is being comsumed by fear and guilt, she is slowing losing her sanity. This is a result of her not being able to handle what she has done to Duncan. As shown in this quote Out, damned spot!out,I say!One;Two:why, then 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? [Act V, S I, L 32-35] Here Lady Macbeth is trying to wash out what she sees as being blood on her hands. As well she mentions hell an obvious fear of going there for what she has done. At the start Lady Macbeth was the one pushing on Macbeth to kill Duncan but as the play goes on she becomes weaker as Macbeth becomes stronger, Macbeth isn't troubled by what he has done to the extent Lady Macbeth is. Her role in the play slowly becomes smaller and smaller as she ends up being driven mad by the guilt and soon can no longer take, and ends up taking her own life hoping that her torment will end now that she is dead. "The Queen, my Lord is dead" [Act V, S 5, L 18], Lady Macbeth takes her life right before the battle against the english is about to begin. This taking of her own life demonstrates her fear and in the end what that fear can do to a person. Now we come to the witches prophecies, these are a main source of fear for Macbeth, after all where has he learned everything from. With each new vision, Macbeth falls deeper and deeper into an evil spiral. From the witches first prediction of Macbeth being king, which made Macbeth kill to become king. As well as Banquo's children becoming kings, this scared Macbeth as I previously mentioned. Also when he went back to see the witches he gained some more knowledge, "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; Beware the thane of Fife." [Act IV, S I, L 77], well now that Macbeth has heard this, he believes that he must kill Macduff, however he learns that Macduff has fled to England, so Macbeth desides to kill his family. Next in the cave Macbeth is told he can't be killed by any man born of woman, well this gives him confidence that no matter what the English will not defeat him. And he is also told that he will not be defeated until the trees of Birnam Wood move towards his castle. He has put all his faith in these prophecies, what the witches say must be true because of the first prediction. In conclusion you can see what fear can do to a person, it made Macbeth mad for power which he ended up getting. But after the first of his crimes the rest became easier for him, pretty soon he'd just order it and not think twice. That was not the case when he first murdered Duncan. All though the play his fear of being caught, and the witches prophecies coming true make him do all these evil deeds. Fear had become the main movating factor in the play. Hopefully you have a better understanding of the play from all this.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Macbeth Power.TXT
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There are many different types of power which a person may have. Some of the time, however, the person in that power is not the best person to be in that power. This is especially true in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Throughout the course of the play, the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth are the people with the most power over Macbeth's life. The more power that a person has, the more corrupt they become. Many different people in Macbeth have power, and there are different ways to be powerful, Usually, men are the ones who are outward and aggressive about it, and women are more subdued about it. Lady Macbeth has a great deal of power over Macbeth the power which she holds over him, is the fact that she possesses more of the "manly" quality than Macbeth himself does. Because of this, Macbeth is ashamed of himself. As a result of Macbeth's shame, he attempts to do everything in his power to prove himself to Lady Macbeth. He is attempting to prove himself to Lady Macbeth, because she obviously has her doubts, "When you durst do it, then you were a man,/ And, to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man." (1,7,54-56). As a result of Lady Macbeth's doubts and mocking, Macbeth finally murders Duncan in a final attempt to prove himself to Lady Macbeth. Although Lady Macbeth was successful at convincing Macbeth to murder Duncan, the Three Witches were the people who made it all possible. The Three Witches hold the ultimate power. If the Three Witches had indeed not informed Macbeth about what was to be, then be would not have repeated the Three Witch's prophecies to Lady Macbeth, "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/ All hail, Macbeth!/ hail to thee, thane of/ Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter." (1,3,50-53). In turn, if Lady Macbeth had not been informed about the prophecies, she would have never expected Macbeth to murder Duncan in a desperate attempt to fulfill the prophecies. On the other hand, the Three Witches not only gave Lady Macbeth the opportunity to alter Macbeth into the tyrant which he now is the Three Witches also led Macbeth to his downfall soon after Macbeth came into power. How the Three Witches accomplished this, was they made Macbeth feel over-confident, "Be lion- mettled, proud, and take no care/ Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:/ Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until/ Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill/ Shall come against him." (4,1,98-102). In other words, the Three Witches were able to bring Macbeth into power, but in contrast to this, they were also able to take him out of it. The only way that they were able to take him out of it, was by deceit. While Macbeth was in this power, he had power over the common people's lives, even though he used this power ruthlessly, "Send out moe horses, skirr the country round:/ Hang those that talk of fear." (5,3,40-41). He had power over these common people, even though it was only for a minuscule amount of time. What Shakespeare suggests about power, is that the more power a person has, the more corrupt they become. This is what Shakespeare attempted to communicate to the readers throughout the entire play. Macbeth changed from a man with high morales and values, "We still have judgement here that we but teach/ Bloody instructions, which being taught return/ To plague the inventor." (1,7,8-10), to the merciless and over-confident murderer which he now is, "I will not be afraid of death and bane,/ Til Birnam forest come to Dunsinane." (5,3,68-69). In conclusion, the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth were the people with the most power over Macbeth's life. This is especially true for the Three Witches. The more power that Macbeth came into, the more corrupt he became.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Macbeth Silioquy analization.TXT
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The opposition of light and dark as symbols for life and death is the foundation upon which much of Shakesphere's Macbeth is built. In Act V Scene V of Macbeth, strong words covey all of these thoughts to the reader. The tone for Macbeth's speech is immediately set after hearing of the death of Lady Macbeth. Having lost his queen, and seeing his hopes turn to ashes, the bitter Macbeth now comments on life in caustic words. "Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace." The basic feel of this brings a negative connotation to tomorrow. Iit keeps coming slowly and slyly as if to attack. What exactly does this petty pace refer to? It is the progression of life, as Macbeth now sees it. This negative and dark imagery continues to grow because tomorrow is unrelenting. "[T]ommorow creeps...To the last syllable of recorded time." With these dreary remarks Macbeth presents his hopeless outlook. He feels the only way to end the pain of life is through death. "And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death." What can be taken from this is that from our earliest recollection, we are constantly being guided forward from yesterday to our death. If light is life, then the light just leads us to death. When these lines are read together it enables the reader to see the despair and agony Macbeth is now suffering. The past is pushing him ahead and the future is creeping in on him. He has nowhere in time or space to escape. Death is the only place left to go. "Out, out brief candle!" Lady Macbeth's candle has burnt out and soon his will also. Although he talks here about life being light (the candle flame), light is not desirable to him. He wants to extinguish it. Macbeth is at the point in his life where he is now trapped by his fate. The consequences of his actions have caught up with him. This may very well be why he has such a dreary outlook on life. Life is associated with light but Macbeth is at a state where he sees no significance in having lived. " Life's but a walking shadow." Macbeth is saying here that one's life is dark and dreary, and that the light of life only serves to cast a dark shadow . " [A] poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more." A person lives his life like a bad actor. He only get one chance on the stage, and he does a terrible job. "Struts and Frets his hour" says that everyone overdramatizes events. Life according to Macbeth is like this and it ends.... "Signifying nothing." We can easily distinguish between what is life and what is death in the world of Macbeth through the interpretation of light/dark imagery. Towards the end of this play, however, it becomes difficult for me to relate to the character because he presents ideas in the direct opposite of what I generally associate with life and death. His feelings at this dismal point are that life is pain and he presents life with the imagery of darkness. The general connotation of death is one of darkness and sorrow. However, he now views it as an escape or an end to the darkness, possibly light. This reversal of the light and dark imagery Shakesphere uses causes me to have to stretch to relate to the character. By reaching to try and relate to Macbeth's agony, I see how Darkness/Evil blinded Macbeth and when he was no longer blinded, it was to late. The use of light and dark imagery brings a heavy tone to this play. Although the traditional values of light for life and dark for death are used by Macbeth, as he starts to see that neither life nor death hold any meaning for him, the light becomes darker ( a shadow) and the opposition becomes weaker. His struggle for life ends and he starts to see life and death as a single tone of darkness. We feel his strong emotions, the heaviness of his heart and his sense of despair as he expresses that everything has lost it's light. When the opposition The opposition of light and dark as symbols for life and death is the foundation upon which much of Shakesphere's Macbeth is built. In Act V Scene V of Macbeth, strong words covey all of these thoughts to the reader. The tone for Macbeth's speech is immediately set after hearing of the death of Lady Macbeth. Having lost his queen, and seeing his hopes turn to ashes, the bitter Macbeth now comments on life in caustic words. "Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace." The basic feel of this brings a negative connotation to tomorrow. Iit keeps coming slowly and slyly as if to attack. What exactly does this petty pace refer to? It is the progression of life, as Macbeth now sees it. This negative and dark imagery continues to grow because tomorrow is unrelenting. "[T]ommorow creeps...To the last syllable of recorded time." With these dreary remarks Macbeth presents his hopeless outlook. He feels the only way to end the pain of life is through death. "And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death." What can be taken from this is that from our earliest recollection, we are constantly being guided forward from yesterday to our death. If light is life, then the light just leads us to death. When these lines are read together it enables the reader to see the despair and agony Macbeth is now suffering. The past is pushing him ahead and the future is creeping in on him. He has nowhere in time or space to escape. Death is the only place left to go. "Out, out brief candle!" Lady Macbeth's candle has burnt out and soon his will also. Although he talks here about life being light (the candle flame), light is not desirable to him. He wants to extinguish it. Macbeth is at the point in his life where he is now trapped by his fate. The consequences of his actions have caught up with him. This may very well be why he has such a dreary outlook on life. Life is associated with light but Macbeth is at a state where he sees no significance in having lived. " Life's but a walking shadow." Macbeth is saying here that one's life is dark and dreary, and that the light of life only serves to cast a dark shadow . " [A] poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more." A person lives his life like a bad actor. He only get one chance on the stage, and he does a terrible job. "Struts and Frets his hour" says that everyone overdramatizes events. Life according to Macbeth is like this and it ends.... "Signifying nothing." We can easily distinguish between what is life and what is death in the world of Macbeth through the interpretation of light/dark imagery. Towards the end of this play, however, it becomes difficult for me to relate to the character because he presents ideas in the direct opposite of what I generally associate with life and death. His feelings at this dismal point are that life is pain and he presents life with the imagery of darkness. The general connotation of death is one of darkness and sorrow. However, he now views it as an escape or an end to the darkness, possibly light. This reversal of the light and dark imagery Shakesphere uses causes me to have to stretch to relate to the character. By reaching to try and relate to Macbeth's agony, I see how Darkness/Evil blinded Macbeth and when he was no longer blinded, it was to late. The use of light and dark imagery brings a heavy tone to this play. Although the traditional values of light for life and dark for death are used by Macbeth, as he starts to see that neither life nor death hold any meaning for him, the light becomes darker ( a shadow) and the opposition becomes weaker. His struggle for life ends and he starts to see life and death as a single tone of darkness. We feel his strong emotions, the heaviness of his heart and his sense of despair as he expresses that everything has lost it's light. When the opposition
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\MacBeth.TXT
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1183
History is made up of many time periods, many of these periods had a certain norm, and a way of thinking that was accepted and adopted by the majority of the people. In the Elizabethan/Jacobean time period the notion accepted and in place at the time was that of a great chain of being. This notion in which God is at the top, then comes the planets, the angels, human kind and finally the animal kingdom. In fact, it was based on psalm 8 and placed God, the all-powerful being, on the uppermost link of the chain and gave him all the power. In order for any other being or thing to possess power he/it could do so only with the permission of God or in accordance to the will of God. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare, pushes the concept of primogeniture and also the fact that the king is put into power by the will of God and anyone opposing the king would not only cause a great disturbance in the great chain of being but would likewise be going against the will of God. In doing this, is Shakespeare convincing enough or is this idea hype and without substance? To explore this notion we must first look at the characters Shakespeare uses to promote this notion. An obvious character to start with would have to be the one who is king at the beginning of the play. Duncan is a righteous king, one who is greatly respected by many of his subjects. Even the man, who killed him, did so, not because of Duncan's unjustly ruling but rather out of personal greed. Before Macbeth's greed for power consumed him, he praises Duncan during his struggle with the decision of whether or not to usurp the throne and in doing so, cause great chaos according to the great chain of being. We see this when Macbeth says: "... This Duncan hath born his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the deep damnation of his taking off...." Yet in all his greatness and although chosen supposedly by God, Duncan was only human and possessed negative qualities as well. The king, Duncan, was not in battle (along side his Generals), he is at a nearby camp (I: II, p1). This suggests that the king is dependent of other for his own protection. We see the naivete that Duncan possesses when he says: "He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust." (I: IV; 15-16, p.11) In fact he complete trust in a man who was in an enemy. This also demonstrates his lack in character judgment. Duncan, as all humans, has his weaknesses but to impartially judge him we must look at him on a broader spectrum. Duncan is regarded as a good king by most of his subjects including Macduff when he says to Malcolm: "Thy royal father was a most sainted king...." (IV: III; 122-123f, p.71) And rightly so for he surly possesses worthy king-like qualities, he is not perfect, but one could conceive how God might give him power. Shakespeare again, presents his notion of primogeniture when we see the usurped throne as the cause of this chaos. In order for this notion to truly work we must now look at the character that should rightfully be king but because of Macbeth does not become so until the ending of the play. Malcolm, the elder son of Duncan, a noble man who, unlike his father, is not dependant on others to protect him; he has been out fighting but may not be the greatest war hero. This is seen when he says: "This is the sergeant who like a good and hardy soldier fought 'gainst my captivity." (I: II; 4-6f, p.2) He reveals a cleaver war maneuver that proves to be very successful; he has every soldier cut down a tree and disguise himself with it so when they approach Dunsinane and are spotted they could not be justly counted. We see this when Malcolm says: "Let every soldier hew him down a bough and bear't before him. Thereby shall we shadow the number of or host and make discovery err in report of us." (V: IV; 6-9, p.84) He shows he is a virtuous and noble man when at the end of the play he becomes king and promises to repay their debt (everyone who helped him rightfully gain the throne). He is appreciative to all these men who helped him in doing so. We see this when he says: "We shall not spend a large expense of time before we reckon with your several loves and make us even with you...So thanks to all at once...." (V: VII; 71-73f...85f) Despite his cleverness and royalty of nature, Malcolm too has his negative qualities. Upon seeing the tragic scene of his father's death, Malcolm is scared because he sees his father's death and is not sorrowful. He flees to England because "To show an unfelt sorrow is an office which the false man does easy" (II: III; 159-160f, p.34) which leads you to believe that Malcolm did not care for his father. Again, upon a situation of grief Malcolm shows little to no emotions but manipulates Macduff; this last has just received word of the massacre of his family and Malcolm manipulates his emotions by saying: "Dispute it like a man." (IV: III; 257, p.76) Furthermore: "Be this the whetstone of your sword. Let grief Convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it" (IV: III; 266-267, p.76) Malcolm is clearly manipulating Macduff and using his misfortune to prime him for battle. Again, we must judge Malcolm not just upon a few qualities and weaknesses but on an overall point of view. Malcolm is the first born son of Duncan, the former king of Scotland. By birthright alone he is the heir to the throne, not to mention his various leadership qualities and that at this particular time just about any one who replaced Macbeth would do a better job than him. In fact, Malcolm was just about the complete opposite from Macbeth. We get the notion that he will reign justly for he has already promised to repay all the men who helped him regain the throne. Of coarse sometimes he uses may use conniving ways to control others; for the most part he is a decent man. Malcolm starts his reign on a positive note, which leads us to believe he was given the throne because he was a just man and it was the will of God. Shakespeare's notion of primogeniture, influenced by the great chain of being and in turn the Elizabethan/Jacobean times, is strongly suggested in this novel. Shakespeare clearly supports this notion through his portrayal of Duncan and Malcolm. The fact that Macbeth's reign caused misery and death. "I think our country sinks beneath the yoke; it weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds" (IV: III; 45-47f, p.69), in the words of Malcolm. This leads me to believe that God is punishing him, in accordance to the great chain of being. If we look at this in a modern way of thinking we would say that maybe it was fate or the notion of what goes around comes around or something in that nature and blame this for Macbeth's down fall. Shakespeare is seemingly preoccupied with honor, heroism leadership, and human identity, in doing so he may well be creating a purely brilliant piece of literature for dramatic reasons alone, which may lead to hype. However he supports his notion of primogeniture thoroughly in Duncan and Malcolm. In the end, it is much to close to call on way or the other.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Machiavellian Politics in The Prince.TXT
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Machiavellian Politics in The Prince
        The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, is one of the 
first examinations of politics and science from a purely scientific 
and rational perspective. Machiavelli theorizes that the state is only
created if the people cooperate and work to maintain it. The state is
also one of man's greatest endeavors, and the state takes precedence
over everything else. The state should be one's primary focus, and
maintaining the sovereignty of the state one's most vital concern. The
state is founded on the power of its military. Therefore, a strong
military is vital to maintaining the state. Machiavelli believes that
men respect power, but they will take advantage of kindness. He
believes that when given the opportunity one must destroy completely,
because if one does not he will certainly be destroyed. The prince
should lead the military, and he has to be intelligent. An effective
politician can make quick and intelligent choices about the problems
that constantly arise before him. He must also have virtue, which 
means he is strong, confident, talented, as well as smart. A prince 
cannot be uncertain, because uncertainty is a sign of weakness. 
Fortune controls half of human's actions, and man's will control the 
other half. Virtue is the best defense for fortune, and virtue must be 
used in order to keep fortune in check. The prince must take advantage 
of situations based solely on if it is best for the state. He should 
choose his decisions based on contemporary and historical examples. A 
prince cannot consider whether his acts are moral or immoral, and he 
instead must act in an unbiased manner for the state. Also, it does 
not matter how the state achieves its goals, as long as these goals 
are achieved.  Finally, regardless of the personal morality involved, 
the prince should be praised if he does good for the state and berated 
if he hurts the state. Machiavelli's principles have widespread 
influence, and they are quite similar to some of Thomas Hobbes ideas 
in Leviathan.
        Machiavelli has a very low opinion of the people throughout 
history.  In general, he feels that men are "ungrateful, fickle, 
liars, and deceiver." "They shun danger and are greedy for profit; 
while you treat them well, they are yours. They would shed their blood 
for you ... but when you are in danger they turn against you." 
Machiavelli basically has little respect for the people, and he feels 
as though they have not earned much either. He uses this as 
justification for the use of fear in order to control people. He also 
feels that men are "wretched creatures who would not keep their word 
to you, you need not keep your word to them." This sense of fairness 
justifies breaking one's word to men. Machiavelli also writes about 
how hard it must be for a prince to stay virtuous. He concludes that 
with so many wretched men around virtue is hard to create in oneself. 
"The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way 
necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous." 
Overall, Machiavelli is very pessimistic about the abilities of the 
people. He feels that after examining people through history, his 
conclusions of wretched men are correct.
      Machiavelli tells us that the sovereign must take whatever 
action is necessary to maintain order in society. In time this will 
result in the most compassionate choice too. Machiavelli explains 
that, Cesare Borgia, by using cruelty was able to achieve order and 
obedience in Romangna. This contrast with the inaction of the 
Florentines, who allowed internal conflict to develop in Pistoia, 
resulting in devastation of the city. Therefore, a number of highly 
visible executions can be a very effective means of controlling the 
people and in preventing a major out break of violence and murder. 
Machiavelli also cites the tremendous military successes of Hannibal. 
Even though Hannibal led an army of different races over foreign soil, 
he never had any dissension because of his reputation of extreme 
cruelty.  Machiavelli further concludes that it is difficult to be 
loved and feared simultaneously. Hence, one should always prefer to be 
feared than to be loved. During adverse times, the fear of punishment 
is far more effective in maintaining control than depending people's 
goodwill and love. Finally, excessive leniency will lead to ruin, 
because leniency is seen as a sign of weakness. A good historical 
example was when Scipio's armies mutinied against him in Spain.
      Machiavelli talks consistently about the Roman empire and its 
rulers. Particularly, he stresses the importance of having a strong 
army and popular support by the army and people. The Roman emperors 
proved to us many times that a ruler who is perceived to be weak is 
the most vulnerable to attack. Alexander Severus was controlled by his 
mother and considered feminine by his troops. He was a good ruler, but 
it was this appearance of weakness that led his troops to kill him. 
Antonius Caracalla is another example of an erroneous ruler. He was a 
very strong military leader who was a great fighter. Unfortunately, he
became an incredibly cruel and harsh ruler over time, and he was hence
killed by a centurion. Machiavelli also includes the country of Italy
into much of his writings. He hopes to reclaim the land which has been
taken away from them. He feels that Italian princes have lost their
states because they have not had armed people. Machiavelli tells us
that an "armed population is a stable population". The Italian princes
also have not acted quickly, like a real prince should act. Julius II
did act quick, and Machiavelli attributes this to his success. In
reality, the whole purpose behind Machiavelli writing The Prince was 
to try and help Italy free itself from foreign domination.
      The Prince has been an incredibly important book. It was written 
in the 1500's, but much of it still applies today. The book also has
influenced many people in history. Many philosophers credit 
Machiavelli with leading the way in political science. They say this 
because he was the first person to take a rational approach at 
analyzing government and politics. Many of Machiavelli's critics would 
say that he is to harsh in his ideas, and that he even seems immoral. 
The truth is Machiavelli is only being honest with what he has 
observed consistently in history to be true. The effect of his writing 
are still found today too. People still need virtue in order to be a 
good ruler or manager. Success is still to those who can make quick 
and intelligent choices. The government is still supported most by it 
amount of power. However, countries are held accountable today, and 
few would agree that the end justifies the means as Machiavelli wrote. 
Overall, Machiavelli's work has lasted through the years, and it has 
proven to be a classic piece of literature by standing the test of 
time.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Madness in King Lear.TXT
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Madness in King Lear: Act 4
Madness in King Lear: Act 4 In Shakespeare's play King Lear, Shakespeare introduces many themes. The most important theme shown in King Lear is the theme of madness. During the course of this play madness is shown in the tragic hero, King Lear. King Lear develops madness right in the beginning of the play but he actually shows it in Act 4. In this act, King Lear is not only at the peak of madness but it is also shown him coming out of his madness as well. This act is likely to be the most important act because it shows the phases King Lear goes through, from complete madness to him coming out of his madness and realizing his mistake, the point of tragic vision. The theme of madness in King Lear is first shown in the act through Cordelia's statement to the guards about the condition her father is in. Cordelia says "Alack, 'tis he! Why, he was met even now as mad as the vexed sea, singing aloud, crowned with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, with hardocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow in our sustaining corn." [Act iv, iv, 1-6]. This gives a great description of King Lear's state of mind. Cordelia gives a description of King Lear dressed in flowers, and weeds, and she explains to the guards that he is singing aloud. All of these characteristics are unfit for a king, thus, leaving one reasonable explanation of him being mad, which Cordelia states in her speech to the guards. King Lear's madness is further illustrated in act 4, scene 6. Although King Lear had shown signs of madness in other act's such as 3, he had really shown the extreme of his madness in this scene. King Lear is shown completely insane, through his garments and his speeches to Gloucester and Edgar. In one of his speeches, King Lear makes comments about a mouse and a bird that are not present. "..Look look, a mouse! Peace, peace; this piece of toasted cheese will do it...O, well flown, bird!" [iv, vi, 88-91]. This statement was the first sign of him being mad. At the beginning of Act 4, it was just mentioned that King Lear was gone mad, this was the first sign of proof that he was indeed mad. Although King Lear shows signs of being mad, he also shows signs of being sane. This is shown through him knowing the cause of him being mad. If King Lear was completely mad he would not be able to justify the reason for his madness. In [iv, vi, 96-105] he states that his daughters' have done him wrong and shows signs of insanity when he calls Gloucester Goneril. "Ha! Goneril with a white beard? They flattered me like a dog, and told me I had white hairs in my beard ere the black ones were there. To say 'Ay' and 'no' too was no good divinity...Go to, they are not men o' their words! They told me I was everything. 'Tis a lie- I am not ague-proof." This quote shows Lear's sanity. Lear may have qualities in him to make him seem mad but he possess sanity, enough to know the cause of his madness. This possession of sanity soon brings King Lear to his moment of tragic vision. King Lear's moment of tragic vision comes when he is rescued by Cordelia and wakes up in her presence. At first King Lear shows signs of sanity through his speech to Cordelia and Kent about his recognition of him being mad. " I feel I am not in my perfect mind." [iv, vii, 63] King Lear than recovers enough to know that he is in the presence of his daughter Cordelia, which he did not know before. "Do not laugh at me; for (as I am a man) I think this lady to be my child Cordelia." [iv, vii, 67-69]. The phase of the end of King Lear's madness is when he finally admits he was wrong and asks for forgiveness. "Pray you now, forget and forgive. I am old and foolish." [iv, vii, 84]. This is the moment of tragic vision or demonic epiphany because King Lear confesses to his mistake but it is too late because he has already lost everything. But in order for King Lear to finally admit to his mistakes, he has to be sane. A person has to be in a clear state of mind in order to come up with the notion that they have done something wrong, and being a King with such hubris, to admit that they have done a mistake. To conclude, Act 4 was an important act in King Lear. This is because it showed all three phases of madness that the King had gone through. The phase of him being mad, which was shown through his garments and hallucinations, the phase of him coming out of his madness, by knowing the means of his madness and lastly the phase of him overcoming his madness, shown through his tragic vision.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Maigret And Then Toy Village.TXT
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Maigret And Then Toy Village
I read the book Maigret And Then Toy Village. I really liked this book. The Hound of the Baskervilles and Maigret And The Toy Village were very different. I liked Maigret And The Toy Village better than The Hound of the Baskervilles because it had more of a mysrery to it and it was more interesting. In the story The Hound of the Baskervilles the story hooked me because I learned the mystery in the beginning of the book. It made me want to learn more clues and more about the murder. In the story Maigret And The Toy Village it also hooked me right at the beginning because the story started while Maigret was just starting to solve the mystery and it made me want to learn what the mystery was. I prefer Maigret And The Toy Village way to hook the reader. I think the plot of The Hound of the Baskervilles is not possible because a person can not take a normal hound and make it breathe fire and have red eyes. I also think that if you let a hound smell something that belongs to a person you want to kill will let the hound track down the person and chase after him. In the book Maigret And The Toy Village the plot is very realistic. A man is murdered and a detective is hired to solve the case. This happens all the time. Maigret and Sherlock Holmes are very different. Sherlock Holmes is rich. He is not married. He likes to do drugs, smoke and drink. He thinks he is the best. He is very conceted. Sherlock Holmes is always pytting down his helper Watson. I think he should start to appreciate Watson because without him he would not be able to solve any of his mysteries. Sherlock Holmes never questions any people who might be able to help him solve his mysteries. Maigret is very nice. He is friendly with
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Management Theory.TXT
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Management Theory
"Mintendo Versus SEGA: The video game Industry"
Mid term case questions
Introduction:
 
The video-game Industry has been a fast growing business since 1985, reaching on over all size of 15$ billion for the year 1994 alone.
This industry has been characterized by ups and downs along with few new entries such as Nintendo in 1985 and Sega in 1986.
As the size of the industry was growing, rivalry among existing companies grew fast, combining new technologies with more and more sophisticated soft wares and designs.
Ans 1.
The video game Industry started in the mid-seventies with Magnavox and Atari as a new emerging industry. The success of these brands were highly related to the "hits" or in other words the new releases of games.
As we can notice that this industry consists of 2 main parts.
1- Soft ware
2- hard ware
Which in turn was directly related to the technology available in the market. The manufacturers of platforms for video games did not anticipate the software side of the industry, leading to a sharp decrease in sales in the Mid 80's and a rapid death of the whole industry.
2.   
3. Two companies - Nintendo and Sega decided to enter the American crashing market of video - games in 1985, learning valuable lession from the failure of previous companies by
*  1) Controlling supply of game cartridges to insure quality and prevent fierce price competition. 
2) Establishing one of the strongest brand names in the industry and maintaining customer loyalty.
3) Developing an extensive library of games which was successfully used as core competency for the market leader.
Later growth in the industry was subject to technological advancement by introducing the 8-bits plat forms followed by the 18 bits, 32 bits, 64 bits and finally the CD - Rom. In addition, sega focused on adults as well as teenagers, by providing violent game.
Ans. 2
The video- game industry was highly competitive business that was characterized by high rivalry among existing companies, as well as many new entries due to the fact of attractiveness of this Industry (high profit margins).
The five - competitive forces that influenced the video-game industry were as follows:
1) Rivalry among competitors:
*  It was particularly influenced by the product differentiation through the introduction of a new advanced systems of software and interactive entertainment Experiences.
2) Potential new entrants:
*  The video game industry experienced relatively few entries in the 1980's due to the fact of capital requirements and economics of scale, in addition to high development costs.
3) Bargaining power of the buyer:
*  Buyers of the video-game products are not price sensitive, they rather look for high quality entertainment experiences. This could be seen in the fact that 23% of software sales consists of the top 5 hits, which in turn are 3 to 4 times more expensive than regular games.
4) Threat of substitute product:
*  Examples are the multi-media form of entertainment like the interactive coin-operates arcade games and the typical personal computer existing devices had not achieved full mass market penetration.
5) Bargaining power of suppliers:
*  The challenge for software developers and publishers was to produce compelling products that took advantage of playing capacity and could determine the failure or success of a particular plat form. Example: the 16-bits Sega Genesis couldn't achieve high sales until the release of the popular sonic the Hedgehog.
Ans 3
The driving forces of the video-game industry were a combination of technology and creative talent.
*  1) Technology: we have 7-generations of hardware plat forms in today market, 8-bits, 16 bits, 32 bits, 64 bits, CD-Rom systems, PC and portable systems.
CD-Roms are expected to replace the cartridge based product in the coming few years. This will narrow the differences between video game hardware and personal computers.
CD-base delivery systems will have sophisticated graphics and interactive capabilities.
It is noticed that rivalry among companies is fueling the rapid technological advancements for instance, Sega has to develop the 16-bits. Console in order to have a competitive advantage since Nintendo had the upper hand on the 8-bits Markets for several years.
Ans 4
 
Broad Cost
Narrow
Cost
Broad Cost
Narrow Cost
Differentiation
Broad differ
Narrow differ.
The video-game industry lies on the broad differentiation quadrant. Since customers were not price sensitive, rather they were interested in high quality entertainment experiences companies had not to worry about cost issues, they focused on product differentiation through continuos technological advancements, extra features and creative new games. This differentiation strategy typically needed strong marketing abilities and creative flair and a reputation for leader ship.
Ans 5
Nintendo and Sega are the key competitors in the video-game industry, included are Sony, 3 Do, Atari, and Philips electronics N.V.
1) Nintendo
Was the 1st company to join the modern video game industry and succeeded in Establishing one of the strongest brand names. This was coupled by a large library of games and rapid technological advancement in order to keep its market share. Nintendo was committed to being socially responsible in the types of games it offered for children and adolescents.
As an early mover, It gained advantage such as being first to achieve economies of scale, reducing cost through cumulative learning, establishing brand names and customer loyalty without direct competition.
The innovation itself may be copied, but the other competitive advantages will remain.
2) Sega
Although Nintendo had an 85% share of the market industry, Sega managed to compete aggressively by introducing the 16-bits system Sega targeted a broader market focusing on adults as well as teenagers.
It was hard for Nintendo to perceive the significance of 16-bits system and wanted 18 months to respond to it.
Thus this new technological change for Sega created new possibilities for the design of the product and the accompanying services providing. Sega by introducing the violent version of Mortal Kombat sacrificed its social responsibility in Exchange of a more market share.
Although considerable amount of money were dedicated to help create a strong, health a well educated youth which reflected Sega real vision of social responsibility.
3) 3Do
This company joined the interactive entertainment business and tried to differentiate it self by providing high quality plat forms in collaboration with Panasonic co. It offered lower licensing fees in order to attract developers and increase available titles for their plat forms.
4) Sony
Sony joined the video -game industry in 1994 when the company set up a new division Sony computer entertainment of America". The Sony place station adopted the CD technology to provide 3-dimensional animation with quality sound and digital full motion video despite Sony lack of history in video - game hardware the co. Software because of its well known brand name and image and its access to film libraries (an important source for game scenarios).
5) Atari
It had a long experience in the video game industry after the sharp decrease in sales. The company had after to reintroduce itself in the market by developing the 64 - bits video-game system called Taguar. It was the most advanced of all yet it couldn't achieve the desired results Atari announced a deal with Sega that included a licensing agreement which will give both companies the opportunity to publish on each of their respect game plat forms.
6) Philips
It was one of the 1st companies in the world to market a CD-based interactive entertainment system that could play interactive movies video-games and music CD's.
It had on its side a strong brand name and an economy of scale that could ensure high profit margins for the company.
As we head towards the new millenium the development of new video-game cosdles should be under way. The next generation systems should integrate true 3 -dimensional real time play and internet connection.
Companies like Nintendo and Sega should team up with high - tech companies to enhance the interactive entertainment experience this could be reached by releasing games that could be played on multiple plat forms. Atari and 3Do on the other hand should adopt a focus differentiation strategy that will insure competitive advantage by providing hardware and soft ware that meets a specific customer needs.
A good idea is to develop software's that meets females players interest, Since no successful approaches has yet been developed by the market leader.
Sony and Philips on their turn should focus on their cure competencies lying in the strong brand names and economy of scale. They have achieved over their long existence.
Achieving thus competitive advantage such as combining DVD, CD and video - games into one set that will deliver premium quality entertainment experience.
 
References
*  1) Management theory Book "Management" Richard L. Daft, 4th Edition Dryden press, 97.
2) Competitive advantages of Nations by Michael porter.
3) Web sites : www.Mintendo.com
www. Sega.com.
4) Assignment: Nintendo versus Sega. A: The Video game industry.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Mansfield Park.TXT
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Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park
This novel, originally published in 1814, is the first of Jane Austen's novels not to be a
revised version of one of her pre-1800 writings. Mansfield Park has sometimes been
considered atypical of Jane Austen, as being solemn and moralistic, especially when
contrasted with the immediately preceding Pride and Prejudice and the immediately
following Emma. Poor Fanny Price is brought up at Mansfield Park with her rich uncle
and aunt, where only her cousin Edmund helps her with the difficulties she suffers from
the rest of the family, and from her own fearfulness and timidity. When the
sophisticated Crawfords (Henry and Mary), visit the Mansfield neighbourhood, the moral
sense of each marriageable member of the Mansfield family is tested in various ways,
but Fanny emerges more or less unscathed. The well-ordered (if somewhat vacuous)
house at Mansfield Park, and its country setting, play an important role in the novel,
and are contrasted with the squalour of Fanny's own birth family's home at Portsmouth,
and with the decadence of London.
Readers have a wide variety of reactions to Mansfield Park-most of which already
appear in the Opinions of Mansfield Park collected by Jane Austen herself soon after the
novel's publication. Some dislike the character of Fanny as "priggish" (however, it is
Edmund who sets the moral tone here), or have no sympathy for her forced inaction
(doubtless, those are people who have never lacked confidence, or been without a
date on Friday night!). Mansfield Park has also been used to draw connections between
the "genteel" rural English society that Jane Austen describes and the outside world,
since Fanny's uncle is a slave-owner (with an estate in Antigua in the Caribbean;
slavery was not abolished in the British empire until 1833). Like a number of other
topics, Jane Austen only chose to allude glancingly to the slave trade and slavery in
her novels, though she was aware of contemporary debates on the subject. Mansfield
Park was one of only two of Jane Austen's novels to be revised by her after its first
publication, when a second edition came out in 1816 (this second edition was a failure
in terms of sales).
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Marketing Problem.TXT
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Marketing Problem (Case # 2)
a.      Contribution per CD units =?
Contribution per unit = selling price per unit - variable cost per unit
But it is given that the selling price is per unit = $9
1.25 + 0.35 + 1 = 2.6
The contribution per unit = 9 - 2.6 = $ 6.40 per unit
 
b) Breakeven volume =?
BE volume = total fixed cost / selling price per unit - variable cost per unit
BE volume = total fixed cost / contribution margin
TFC = studio recording inc. overhead + advertising and promotion
250000 + 275000 = $525000
Contribution margin = $6.4 per unit
Therefore BE volume = 525000 / 6.4
= 82031 units
Now we have to find BE$:
BE$ = total fixed cost / contribution %
TFC = $525000
Contribution % = 9 - 2.6 / 9 = 0.71
BE$ = 525000 / 0.71 = $ 738281
 
c) Net profit if 1 million CDs are sold
Cost = $9 * 1000000 - 525000 - (2.6 * 1000000)
= 9000000 - 525000 - 2600000
= $ 5875000
 
d) Necessary CD unit volume to achieve a $200000 profit =?
If 1000000 units sold had a net profit of $ 5875000 then how many units should be sold to get $ 200000
525000 + 200000 / 6.4 = 113281 units
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Marketing Report.TXT
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 Marketing Report
General Electric (Lighting System)
GE Lighting Systems is a world leader in new product innovation and the production of energy-efficient, high intensity discharge (HID) lighting fixtures and applied systems from their plant in Hendersonville, NC, USA.
GE Lighting Systems designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of lighting fixtures for illuminating: roadways, streets and highways, industrial and hazardous-location facilities, and outdoor areas such as sports fields, work/storage areas, parks, walkways, parking lots, and building facades. They engineer and manufacture components and fully assemble lighting fixtures using processes like aluminum die-casting, precision reflector forming/finishing, ballast manufacturing, injection molding, and product assembly/testing operations. Their engineering facility features an extensive research and development laboratory; fully accredited for UL and CSA testing.
GE Lighting Systems also has an outstanding staff of experienced application engineers who employ state-of-the-art lighting software and computer technology to provide customers with complete lighting systems design and application services including user-friendly ALADAN(r) software for quick and easy lighting layouts. A vision for the future and "World Class" team members in engineering, manufacturing and marketing helps maintain GE Lighting System's reputation with customers as being number one in product quality, number one in customer service and number one in customer satisfaction in the HID lighting industry.
Every day GE is working to produce new innovations in the lighting industry. They are trying to bring products more efficient and more convenient, product that fit our life. The GE latest stuff is the "Enrish". This unique blue glass bulb brings out vibrant colors in furnishing and decorations by heightening color contrast. The result is clear, crisp lighting that enhances family rooms, bedrooms, living room
and all the other living and entertaining areas of our home. Research shows that consumer find Enrish with its ability to heighten color contrast and vibrancy, claming, cheerful, and natural.
These days, it's more important than ever to lower our energy bills with cost-efficient lighting. GE Compact Fluorescent bulbs help you conserve energy without sacrificing the warm, white color we love.
Whether preparing food, cooking, serving or cleaning, the kitchen is probably the busiest room in our home. For this, GE recently has introduced new lighting styles to help lighten up these activities. The GE unique Halogen-IR lamps are the best way to brighten the kitchen. GE's exclusive halogen-IR technology introduces a new generation in light sources. This unique multi-layer coating of Silica and Tantala on the bulb wall converts IR energy (heat) into usable light energy making it the highest-efficiency tungsten halogen technology available in the world. This new Halogen technology includes the following features:
* High temperature resistance
* High shock and mechanical stress resistance
* Extremely efficient ellipsoidal design
 
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Marketing.TXT
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Marketing
Chapt 1 A99. P. 32:
      Discuss these some five stages in the context of four year private liberal arts colleges that are facing declining enrollments.
      Private liberal arts college were not considered as part of the educational sys. These colleges were thought to be only for those strange and add artist - Moreover, the thought goes to the extent that we believed that in those colleges you do not learn anything, there is no techniques nor methods to follow you only express yourself in your unique and maybe strange way.
      As a result, private liberal arts colleges pace declining enrollment and therefore rising costs; this would definitely be the consequence to their little concern to the marketing concept. By gaining an understanding of how these private liberal arts colleges reached their present position we might develop some insight to help them in deciding how to proceed in the future.
 
1- Marketing is Advertising, publicity:
	The most important task of advertising is not to increase profit or market share, its ultimate goal is to inform - Actually, these colleges have to communicate effectively and efficiently "about their identity" what they are, what do they offer. The publicity and ads. Should allow student to perceive the value, they should not think that paying the 4 years fees is nonsense.
	In addition, to the awareness that ads offer, these college should establish some promotional campaign. For instance, special discounts on museums, exhibition, on materials used...
Furthermore, these colleges should offer to their students some good work opportunities for their future.
2- Marketing is a friendly atmosphere:
	Attracting students is done by well informing them, by wisely advising them. All teachers and advisors should be cooperative with all the potential students sharing a particular need to learn more about these colleges.
3- Marketing is augmentation and innovation:
	These colleges never segmented the market, they not even know their target market. Segmentation is a must, they should well define target market in order to specify the needs and wants of your future students and then prepare a tailored marketing plan.
	By well segmenting the market, these colleges could find different and new groups who particular needs or wants to enroll and who might be willing and able to engage in an exchange to satisfy that need. For instance, we should take into consideration not only high school students put also, old people who enjoy art and want to self express self actualize themselves. Or in addition to that's we have the other part of people who like to have on idea about liberal art, and which constitute for them an erosion of the hectic environment were they live.
	Market could be segmented according to different variable: Social, cultural, psychological, life cycle... etc.
So a result, of a good an efficient segmentation these colleges could elaborate new work rehedules, different way of teaching, different themes (history of art..) new techniques...
Parallel to all that, these colleges should be always aware of the changing dynamic environment. They should always adjust with it, innovate, use new technologies methods....
 
4- Marketing is positioning:
	Actually al colleges advertise, promote, segment, innovative, so in other words these liberal art colleges should have something more then that to offer some competitive advantages. These colleges should discover and produce solutions that students did not ask for but to which they enthusiastically respond. Actually these colleges should establish certain identity, certain good impression that evokes positive association. It must have a positioning statement that tells, in one sentences what field the college is in for example they could ?? on the  creativity side of the field of liberal art, focus on the fact it has high opportunity of growth in the future... etc.
	Al this should be done in order to raise the poor reputation of these colleges.
	This will be an attempt to distinguish themselves, to make students aware of the offer so that they can match themselves to the college that can satisfy their needs best.
 
5- Marketing is Marketing Analysis, planing, implementation and control.
	Attempts to revive a service go beyond simply relying on adv., positioning etc. These colleges should carry out marketing research, planing, implementation and control. Within marketing plan, marketers must make decisions on target markets, market positioning, service dev. Pricing, place communication, and promotion.
	The Marketing management will have the task of influencing the level, timing, composition of demand in a way that will help the colleges achieve their objective, of reversing their declining demand by well competing for students and funds. Chap 3. P 105 Concept 7:
	In the road to high performance, this medical center should precisely define its marketing network which consists of itself and all of its supporting stakeholders: patients, employees, doctors, suppliers, university scientists, administration employees, ad agencies... etc     After defining them, the medical center strategy should strive to satisfy the minimum expectation of each group because only by building good networks of relationships with stakeholder your medical center will increase your profits.
Let us now examine the environment where your center operates:
 
 
I. The microenvironment is constituted by:
a- Demographic and economical environment:
      People make up the market, that's why we should consider the size, growth rate, age distribution, educational level of the population.
	In addition to that, you should know that market require a purchasing power as well as people. The available purchasing power depends on current income, prices, ??. In your case, you should consider the customer spending power, in other words how much he is able and willing to enter to your medical center and not choose for example a public medical center which is less expensive.
b-  Technical and physical environment:
	Your medical center should be always updated in terms of equipments, strategies... you should always be awoke of new technologies due to the fact that they offer superior values in satisfying needs.
All the technological innovations help increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your center and therefore its credibility among other competing centers. For example, when someone is sick he will choose the center that is most developed, that is well equipped, that is related to the rest of the world.
c- Political / legal environment:
Your center is strongly affected by the political and legal environment. You should be aware of the laws and the government agencies that influence your center. You should put in mind that these bus legislation and its laws create sometimes some new opportunities.
 
d- Social / Cultural environment:
	People vary in their attitude to wards medical centers n general people always seek what is best to them and what is best to the socially as whole.
	Your medical center should review every procedure to  make sure that everything is honest and human because you are dealing wit lives and not something else.
	Your organization should try always to improve their image performance with their big and huge public.
      We emphasized "huge and big public" because our market is every human being who has a problem being who has a problem in his health. We will focus to the human side not to the culture they belong to "you shouldn't have any kind of discrimination or ?? in the treatment of your patients"
 
II- Going into more details, you specify your micro environment
a. The competitors: In your competitive env. , the key to competitive advantage is your service differentiation.
You should differential yourself among others by providing certain features that do not exist in public medical center, nor in other private medical  center. You should have a good personnel ,image, the best doctors the most comfortable atmosphere, good pricing strategies, good channels of communication security, cleanliness. You should establish a more able and reliable patient-contact people, 3 listen to their complaints, treys to serve them quickly.
Your medical center should have more attractive physical environment (beautiful room, clean, vast..) comfortable. You have to get good food tailored to each patient... good nurses responsiveness. In other words, position yourself through your high quality services.
b. Suppliers and intermediaries: you work in coordination with them in order to get the best they offer at an affordable cost.
c. Customer, public: is the your target. Every thing should be done in the light of his expectation, of this well being. Your ultimate goal is to turn a usual patient to a loyal one who really want "your" service.
	Actually, your medical center should aim to delight its patients; it could perform well to its employees and deliver a threshold level of satisfaction to its suppliers.
	Moreover, we should mention the fact that by also improving and well managing its' work process, and by establishing good cross functional teams. All this could only be achieved by selecting, training, directing, motivating and evaluating your staff.
	In addition to that your mttg information system. Should be highly developed so that the planning system be a good and effective one. After well planning, you should have a good marketing organization and implementation system followed an evaluative system that measures the profitability and efficiency.
	After deciding about your market strategy you have to transform it into a marketing program, you must make basic decision about the set of tools that your medical center should use to peruse its marketing objectives.
This marketing should deliver a customer benefit.
It should satisfy the patient needs and wants, with affordable cost, with convenient service and good communication. You should always put in mind that people nowadays are well-informed, and have many choices and alternative to choose from in addition to that the competitors are here waiting for the slight little mistake to capture your customers or more specifically your patients.
 Chapt 3 p 105 Concept 8:
	Perform ? analysis for the industry and make a recommendation based on your analysis to greyhound lines.
Market situation:
	The Greyhound market account primary for the low and middle income consumers all ages but specifically those who do not have a license and those who are old enough to drive.
 
?? Analysis:
	In 1960 the bus industry accounted for 30 % of interstate transportation but by 1994 its share had draped to 6 %.
      This big drop 24% is due to several reason such as high competition owner of cars and discount on airlines tickets.
 
The main opportunities that greyhound lines faces:
1- Consumer are shoeing more concern about the cost side of every product or service they need.
2- Consumer are willing to use the service if it provides certain level of comfort and security.
3- less responsibility for the individual to use the bus lire, than to have a private car, that needs to be parked, mainlined...
4- A major proportion of people are willing to use the service of new and very defined schedules are elaborated.
5- These buses are environmentally friendly since they pollute less the atmosphere
 
The main threats facing greyhound lines
1- An increasing number of consumers prefer to use their individual cars or airlines especially that these last offer some discount on their ticket. So in other words the competition is high.
2- People are more health aware for example they prefer to walk or use a bicycle.
3- The cost of buying a private car is in a way decreasing especially by using credit facilities. In other word the idea of purchasing a ear at a convenient price is more and more common.
	In addition to opportunities and threat of the external environment, we have identify our service strength and weaknesses:
	The main strength of greyhound lines are as follows:
1- Our buses are new ones, they are well equipped with innovative features.
2- Our bus line has good image: It's quick and safe.
3- All drivers are well trained, and knowledgeable in the ears and bus motors.
4- Our bus is clean, do not allow to be over crowded a limited amount of passengers are allowed to use the service.
5- All form of security are present.
 
The main weaknesses seem to be:
1- The buses are not always on time sometimes they are late.
2- Greyhound can't afford to budget any amount of its revenue to promotion and advertising, while some of its major competitors are spending huge amount of their revenues to this end.
3- People are not that satisfied by the pricing because it is not being supported by a real perceived difference.
 
Recommendations
*        Greyhound should better position themselves in the market by making people aware of their service quality, effectiveness, security.
*        They should also perhaps make a kind of deal with certain ads agencies. This deal will be vice versa, agency will advertise the Greyhound lines and the Greyhound will carry on them certain posters from the agencies.
*        Establish a good network b+/W buses so all of them could be on time in certain places, in addition, to that, by doing so yams could be avoided.
Establishing and special pricing ?? for example to students perhaps that those will build a certain loyalty future wise with the service offered.
 Chap 5 Concept 7 p 168
	The potential impact of each of Popcorn's 10 trends on Minolta product; specially, how will each trend affect product development, features and marketing?
Many opportunities are found by identifying trends. Actually the Popcorn's to tends have a big impact on Minolta product.
1- Cashing out: when some ones needs a more relaxed atmosphere, more rewarding pace and as result quit the hectic urban life and its jobs. During this process a Minolta Camera could be a good friend, we an take pictures of the most beautiful part of the nurture the camera could be easy to use, practical, easy to carry.
2- ?? is when people have an impulse to stay inside when the outside gets too tough and scary. A picture taken by a Minolta camera could be of great entertainment and good memories a waking.
3- Down aging: is the tendency to act and feel younger them one's sage. Old people need also sophisticated cameras by  which they photograph new look: youthful clothes hair colors, new facial plastic surgery.
4- Economics is people's desire to develop an individuality so that they are seem and treated as different than anyone else Minolta could offer a customized product that pit with need of a specific customer.
In addition to that it could offer to its customer a training classes of photography.
5- Fantasy adventure meets people's growing need for emotional escapes to ?? their daily routines. Minolta camera cold add fantasy touches to its product, it cold put an alarm, a colorful package..
In addition to that a Minolta camera is a great way to remember the Disney Land, the color of the exotic good...
6- 99 lives: is the desperate state of people who must jungle many roles and responsibilities. It is really good to noir a memory of each role we have accomplished. Minolta will draw us as a Mum, cook, teacher, as a wife, as a manager help. "common feature to all role will be Minolta"
7- 80s: is the drive of a growing number of people to make society a more socially responsible. By Minolta with its recyclable material we could stay get mice picture of nature.
"to preserve nature use Minolta"
A- Retain good memories of the past
B- All the material used by a Minolta camera are recyclable and easily degradable.
8- Small indulgences: stressed out consumers need occasional emotional fixes.
      These consumers might not be able to buy a very well know branded camera but they can afford a good quality camera like Minolta.
9- Staying alive: is about people's drive to live longer and better.
      This does not have a direct impact on the camera market. However an ad. Could target this need unconsciously by focus on the fact that you will live for long and long generation if you use Minolta cameras.
10- The vigilante consumer:
Minolta camera should take into consideration in banging higher standard product good services, maintenance and warranties. And in this way position them selves. Chap 10 Concept 10 p 200.
      Describe the consumer market for briefcases, using the "Seven ??" framework. The aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers needs and wants. In order to reach this ultimate goal, managers must understand the consumer behavior.
      Let us analyze these variable accordingly to the market of briefcase using the 70s framework.
1- Occupants: Who constitutes the market?
The market is constituted by all current and potential customer who are willing and able to buy these briefcases.
We have in this case different segments:
a- Briefcase for business people
b- Briefcase for students
c- Briefcase for workers laborer, and engineers.
d- Briefcase for travelers.
 
2- Object: what does the market buy?
The buyer search for example for high quality, medium quality with tow price, branded briefcases, colorful briefcase, the buyer should decide on the variety of the product features he wants and the cost of each kind of briefcase.
 
3- Objectives: Why does the market buy?
A normal person buys something to satisfy a need and want.
In other words this person is stimulated by the product itself or perhaps by its price by the promotion staffers.
We shouldn't forget other stimuli such as cultural social, personal....
For instance, holding a meat expensive will infer to us certain characteristic of the holder, of his belonging to a certain social doss, educational background...
4- Who participates in the buying? Organization.
5- How does the market buy? Operation
When a problem is recognized the buyer start search for the outlet that satisfy its needs best. After the information search we reach the time of evaluating alternatives and then making our decision of buying.
6- When does the market buy: occasion to pending on the kind of briefcase we should decide when it is most demand. For example school briefcase are mostly demand at the beginning of the year however travelers briefcase are demand at the beginning of the sum??
7- Where does the buyer by: Outlet.
If these briefcase are well distributed, their place does not constitute a problem they can be assessable in stationaries, briefcase stores by malls... clothes stores sometime.
 

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Martian Chronicles
The Issues of Past and Present!
If the Martian Chronicles had been written in the 1999's instead of fifty years ago, many issues and problems would change. Ray Bradbury wrote his book in 1946. In it he wrote about problems such as censorship, man's cruelty to man, and loneliness. Each issue shows up in one or two of his chronicles. All of his issues affect every one of his characters in many different ways.
Censorship is a main problem or issue today, and in the book it shows up in one of his chronicles, "Usher II". In this chronicle, a man builds a house of Usher. One man points (he was from a group that was against all forms of imagination) out, "No books, no houses, nothing to be produced which in any way suggests ghosts, vampires, fairies, or any creature of imagination." Yet in this house he saw all of these things and more. The chronicle also brings up the issue of censoring certain books by authors such as Edgar Allen Poe. The house that is built is based on a house that is in one of Poe's books. The unimaginative man is ignorant to the facts of Edgar A. P.'s books and does not even recognize the kind of death he was about to face that was directly copied out of a book. If it were to happen today and now, the only books that would be allowed would be schoolbooks, and even those books could not contain theories. That is the way censorship is brought up in the book. Today, however, it affects more than just books. It is used in movies, TV, news, magazines, and the Internet. Words, obscenity, and some vulgar things can be kept from the viewing audience. They can keep certain people, those seventeen and younger from seeing movies, TV, or Internet sites. In the book one character makes a point of saying, "ignorance is fatal."
Man's cruelty to man is another issue in the Martian Chronicles that is and was a problem in the real world. In the book, it shows up in three chronicles, "Ylla", "The Off Season", and "Way in the Middle of the Air". "Ylla" and "The Off Season" are more of family cruelty, while "Way in the Middle of the Air" deals more with racism. Both are reasons that people get hurt and even die for no reason. Or for a stupid reason like color or gender. In "Ylla", Ylla, or Mrs. K., is noticing that her marriage is not as fun as it used to be and her and her husband don't go out anymore. But one day she has a dream or people from earth (she lives on Mars) coming to visit Mars. She wants to meet the earthmen, but makes the mistake of telling Mr. K., or Yll. Yll gets jealous and demands that Ylla not leave the house. He thinks that she has fallen in love with the earthling. While she is at home waiting like a good wife, he goes out and shoots the men, not even thinking of his wife.
The form of cruelty in that chronicle is less physical and more on the note of just trying to keep your wife happy. Yll did not even regard his wife and only had his own intentions intended upon. In "The Off Season" it is more of not listening to your wife when she is right and even a little bit of physical violence. In "The Off Season", Sam Parkhill pushes his wife down and won't listen to her when they are in trouble, even though she was right most of the time. The entire time, she tells him what she thinks he should do, and he doesn't listen to her. One incident happened when aliens (who were really nice) were chasing them and the wife told him to stop and talk to the aliens. He just pushed her down and kept on going, and when he finally did stop, the aliens gave him a present. Proving that the wife was right the entire time.
Today, family cruelty happens more often than it should. Husband on wife, wife on husband, or parents on children are the most common. Abused children are likely to grow up to abuse their children too. Family members can even be taken advantage of, too. Sometimes it can be an illness that makes them abuse others, or alcohol. Most of the time, the person who is being abused can't do anything to help the situation.
In "Way in the Middle of the Air", Teece, a white racist man, finds out that all of the African Americans are going to Mars. This upsets Teece because he uses the African Americans for work and torture. One boy asks Teece what he will do nights now that his African Americans are leaving whom will he rape, lynch, or hunt after? Who will do his work by force? Who can he laugh at when he is bored? This upsets Teece very much. He considered the African Americans his, like property even though slavery had already been abolished.
Even now, almost fifty years later, racism is a huge problem. In probably every city, suburb, town, or village there is at least one racist person who lives there. And now you can be racist against not only people who look different then you, but also people who choose a different living style then you. And the killings still happen too. Just because someone is different then you. There are huge groups like the K. K. K. (Klu Klux Klan) and neo nazis. Even high-school hate groups. This is one issue that concerns the entire world. This is not just happening in America, it is happening everywhere!
Loneliness shows up in two chronicles, "The Silent Towns" and "The Long Years". In "The Silent Towns" Walter and Genevieve and are the last people on Mars. When they find each other Walter described Genevieve as "Her fingers, cuddling it, were plump and pallid. Her face, as he stepped into the light was round and thick, and her eyes were like two immense eggs stuck into a white mess of bread dough." So even though they found each other, Genevieve disgusted Walter in every way. Walter left in frustration and disgust. Both, Walter and Genevieve, never saw a human again. In "The Long Years", Mr. Hathaway and his family robot family live on Mars. His real family had died years before. He was so lonely that he created robots to replace his dead family. He could not handle the fact that his family had died and left him to live alone. Many people, if they could, would bring back their diseased family members, loved but unforgotten.
Most people miss family and friends that have moved or died. Some just may be shy and not have friends. Loneliness is something one can't do anything about. It will happen. You can't even make a law against it because it is a feeling. Some get over there loneliness by meeting new people, but still others never get over it and live lonely.
All of these issues mentioned are important today and it the book. Some have become better of over the last fifty years; some have become worse. Other issues not chosen affect life and the world too. Although these issues are still a problem, the world is what it is because of the, be that good or bad. Censorship, man's cruelty to man, and loneliness will affect us even if we are on another planet. However that does not mean that we shouldn't try to stop the problem. If we work together we can abolish the wrongs of this world!
 

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Mattimeo
Author: Brian Jacques Publisher: The Putnam & Grosset Book Group Date of Publication: December 1991 Setting: The story takes place in Mossflower, a forested area where the animals of Redwall live. It takes place in fantasy times. There are no humans, just animals roam the earth. The Main Characters: The main characters are Mattimeo who is the son of the great warrior mouse of Redwall, Matthias. Matthais is the great warrior of Redwall whose son has been taken captive by Slagar the Cruel. Jess squirrel is a normal Redwall inhabitant whose son has also been taken by Slagar. Orlando the Ax is a huge badger and his daughter Jube has been captured by Slagar. The last main character, Basil Stag Hair, is a veteran foot fighter rabbit who has an enormous appetite. Summary: This is a story of a boy becoming a man. It is told through animals and fantasy. It starts with the animals of Redwall having a peaceful celebration of the new season. Slagar and his evil henchmen came to the celebration disguised as entertainers. They spiked the animals¹ drinks with a sleeping potion and kidnapped all of the children of Redwall, including Mattimeo, son of the great warrior mouse Matthias. When they awaken they send out a search party to find the children. Matthias, Jess, and Basil discover the trail of the missing children. On their way they met Orlando the Ax who was also looking for his daughter, Jube. They found out that Slagar was kidnapping children and taking them as slaves in a slave train to an unknown realm. They finally caught up to Slagar and were going to rescue their children but were fooled into going into a cave. Slagar then dumped huge rocks over the entrance to the cave. It took the animals days to get out of the cave. Slagar took the slaves to an underground kingdom where they would work for an evil ruler. The slaves were then put in a cell without anything to eat or drink. Matthias and his companions thought they had lost their children forever because they couldn¹t find an entrance to the underground kingdom. Finally, while sitting on a rock, the rock slid away to reveal a staircase into the ground. They went down the staircase and then were attacked by rats. By mistake they found the children who joined with Matthias in fighting the rats. At the end they defeated the rats and the evil emperor. They went home and Mattimeo had finally after experiencing these events become a man. He took over his fathers place as the warrior of Redwall. Impression: I really liked this book because of all its suspense. The author kept my attention constantly. For example, in the book the author would cut off right at a very suspenseful part and switch to another part. From a scale of one to ten I would give this book a ten. I recommend it to whoever likes fast moving stories and suspense.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Merchant of Venice.TXT
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Merchant of Venice
Many people are villainous in the way they act, and their villainous acts may be rooted in the desire to destroy others, or in the hopes of elevating themselves. Many people may only act "villainous" in reaction to the way they have been treated in the past. Shylock the Jew is the villain or antagonist in the play The Merchant of Venice. Shylock mistreats Antonio the Christian, his daughter, Jessica and Launcelot. The first person Shylock mistreats, is Launcelot. He mistreats this servant by complaining behind Launcelot's back of his laziness. Shylock says, "The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder, Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day More than the wildcat. Drones hive not with me.. ..His borrowed purse." 1 Shylock also acts villainous towards Launcelot by acting belligerent towards him. "Who bids thee call? I do not bid thee call." 2 Shylock mistreats this man because of his poverty, and because Launcelot is socially beneath him. You also start to wonder about how fair Shylock is, when Launcelot is deciding whether or not to leave him. Shylock also mistreats his own daughter, Jessica. He mistreats her by keeping her as a captive in her own house, not letting her out, and not letting her hear the Christian music around her. He orders her to: "Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum... ..But stop my house's ears-I mean casements. Let not the sound of shallow fopp'ry enter My sober house." 3 Jessica considers her home to be hell, and she calls Launcelot, a "merry little devil". She even states that her father is Satan. Shylock also mistreats his own daughter, by not loving her enough, even to the point where he complains about all of the money he's spending in a search to find her. "Why, there, there, there, there! A diamond gone cost me two thousand ducats in Frankford! The curse.. ..ill luck stirring but what lights o' my shoulders; no sighs but o' my breathing; no tears but o' my shedding."4 Salerio makes the audience wonder about Shylock, when he raves about when Shylock was calling out, "Oh my ducats, my daughter, my ducats, my daughter.." This makes you wonder which he misses the most. This proves that he mistreats, even his own daughter. He values his money more than his own blood. Shylock mistreats Antonio. He does so by talking behind Antonio's back, and he reveals his hatred of Antonio, when he says, "How like a fawning publican he looks! I hate him for he is a Christian; But more for that...Cursed be my tribe If I forgive him!" 5 Shylock feels justified in exacting revenge for all the ills Antonio causes him. He then draws up an unbelievable bond. He blames Antonio for all of his problems, even his race's problems are blamed on people like Antonio, and he feels Christians have persecuted his race when he says, "To bait fish withal. If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge...The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction." 6 He shows that he will copy the example of Christians. Shylock becomes the true villain when he atkes Antonio to court. These actions prove that Antonio is mistreated by Shylock, the villain. Shylock is the villain of The Merchant of Venice. He mistreats too many people, and then asks for mercy in a court. Shylock is mad for revenge towards all Christians, especially Antonio. He is such a villain that even his daughter and servant are eager to escape him. Villains are oftenly antagonists in story plots and normally are a threat to the main character. Villains normally have motives behind their evil doings.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Metamorphosis.TXT
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Metamorphosis
 
"Metamorphosis" By: Franz Kafka What is reality? Every person has his or her own "reality" or truth of their existence. For some it may be nothing they expected while others can just be successful in anything. The true reality is that regardless of what direction is taken in life a person brings the same inner self, motivational levels and attitudes. As followers of literature we often escape our own "reality" and experience life through the imagination of the author's we read. By doing so, many people find themselves gaining information about themselves. In Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis," Gregor Samsa's reality changes indifferently in spite of his drastic physical changes. Before the Metamorphosis, Gregors life consisted of working and caring for his family. He led a life of a traveling salesman, working long hours, which didn't permit to him living his own "life". He reflects his own life as "the plague of traveling: the anxieties of changing trains, the irregular, inferior meals, the ever changing faces, never to be seen again, people with whom one has no chance to be friendly" (Kafka 13). Working to pay off his family's debt, Gregor never left anytime for himself. Kafka himself counterparts this sentiment in a quote taken from his diaries; "no matter how hard you work that work still doesn't entitle you to loving concern for people. Instead you're alone, a total stranger, a mere object of curiosity" (Pawel 167). So in-depth with his work, Gregor becomes unknown to himself and to life. In Gregor's life he had no room for anyone other than his family which in the end left him without love or caring or any other kind of companionship. He worked so industriously for his family that this became his only goal in life. They became so dependent on Gregor to support them but did nothing for him in return. Up until now Gregor was living a life of obligations, he came home every night to an empty hotel room to ensure his family was taken care of. His parents and "their dominance thus extends to the system which deprives him of creative life and married love" (Eggenschwiler 54). Apparent to everyone, Gregor was no longer thought of a member of the family but nothing more than a "support system." The fact of the matter become, "everyone had grown accustomed to it, his family as much as himself; they took the money gratefully, he gave it willingly but the act was accompanied by no remarkable effusiveness" (Kafka 48). Gregor still "believed he had to provide his family with a pleasant, contented, secure life"(Emrich 149). Before the metamorphosis, Gregor's existence was much like it was after it. After being transformed into a cockroach Gregor lived in isolation with his family. In a "dark bedroom, in the jumble of discarded furniture and filth, monstrous vermin, a grotesque, hidden part of the family"(Eggenschwiler 211). Gregor's sister was the only one who helped poor Gregor, in his time of transformation. She was frightened but managed to put her fears aside, she even got angry with others for trying to help. Upon his sister taking care of him, the rest of Gregor's family would not associate with him. "No one attempted to understand him, no one, not even his sister, imagined that she could understand him"(Kafka 45). Before long, Gregor noticed that through his metamorphosis he had not lost nor gained anything. "The actual metamorphosis symbolizes a rebellion assertion of unconscious desires and energies" (Eggenschwiler 203). After the metamorphosis, Gregor's family undergoes some pretty harsh changes. For after the change, Gregor would not be able to support his family's lazy asses. He went to his boss and begged him to "please sir, spare my parent" (Kafka 24). Strangely, after what his family put him through he still looked vigorously for a way to help his parents, "his duty was to remain docile and to try to make things bearable for his family"(Kafka 42). As time passes, Gregor realizes that his family doesn't need his help and support and that he is nothing more than a burden to them. The family never realized the strain that the transformation had put Gregor through, and now they have cut off relations instead of supporting Gregor they desert him. Even his sister had gotten to the point of no longer feeding or cleaning Gregor's room, she might stop in and give him a piece of bread but not stay and talk to him. The thing that really got to Gregor is the memories of all the things he had done for his family and now here he is being shoved into some room and given nothing in return. Thinking of his family Gregor decides he must go. Gregor died that night and when his family found out they mourned for only a minute and went about their sick ways. Did responsibility prove to be too much for the family Gregor had taken care of for so many years? The true reality of Gregor and his family can be seen through the resulting condition of the family itself. For five years Gregor had remained a slave to his own family not finding out they could have taken care of themselves until it was too late. Now Gregor realized he was forced to live a life of not loving anyone and basically just a life of loneliness. Upon hearing that his family could have taken care of themselves, Gregor was not angry but glad that his father had made his understand what life was about. After observing a family who lived on in the comfort of someone else, we are shown a "family exhausted and depressed form laboring at menial jobs-messengers, seamstress, and salesgirl. In this story the "Metamorphosis", we tend to believe that Grego's change into a cockroach is the main purpose of the story but after close consideration I believe it was a story of the transformation of the family. Franz Kafka asks us to fathom if only for a moment the thought of our lives changing due to some radical change. Do we feel like Gregor? Would we be better off as a "cockroach?" I believe the answer is no. Through the "Metamorphosis" we observe as one man's life is proven to be in vain and no better as a cockroach than a human. Can anyone be sure that their lives are good and perfect and that their family's would understand and accept any change that could arise? However selfish this may seem, the fact is that above and beyond all things a person must consider his/her self first. Sense of self will keep you through all the adverse times in life and be a companion to rely on when no one else cares.
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f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Miceandmen.TXT
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391
The book that I have read that has really stayed with me is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I really enjoyed reading it which is unusual because I usualy don't enjoy reading to much. There was something about George and Lennie's friendship that really made me think. Seeing how they were and how they shared life was really intresting. George didn't have to bother with Lennie, he could have abandoned him and gone on his own way. But he did not do that, he stayed with Lennie watching over him almost like a parent to a child. Even though Lennie always got Georege in trouble, George never stoped loving him and always stood by him. The friendship they shared went beyond what was transparent they each shared a dream and both knew they ment the world to each other. I felt that if these totaly different people could get along and look out for each other, why can't we get along with people who are differnt than us. They made me realize that I could learn something from how to treat people who are differnt than me. What I also liked about it was the way they never stopped trying to reach their dream. This made me think that if they could work hard for there dream why can't I. It showed me that it does not matter were you come from or what you do, it is okay to dream and work as hard as you can to reach it . For all it shows for friendship and loyalty it also shows how sometimes you have to do things you never thought you would do. For example in the end when George is forced to shoot Lennie in the head you would never have thought he would do that, but you can see that under the circumstances he had no other choice. He only had two choices let the other people get to him first and watch them torture Lennie while he died a long horrible death or do it himself and get it over quick were Lennie did not know what hit him. This is also true in life, many times we are faced with tuff choices and even though they may be the hardest you will have to go through, you know that that is the only way. You come to the realization that everything you thought you was about, can all change with a blink of the eye.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Michaelangelo.TXT
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1474
In the time of the Renaissance there were many artists but one really stood out to me, he was Michelangelo. He stood out the most to me because he had some of the most beautiful work I have ever seen. He painted some of the most beautiful building that is still around today. One of the most that I enjoyed looking at was the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. It took him a lot of time to paint the entire building. I feel this was his best piece of art ever. He had many accomplishments that were outstanding. The second of five brothers, Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, at Caprese, in Tuscany, to Ludovico di Leonardo di Buonarotto Simoni and Francesca Neri. The same day, his father noted down: "Today March 6, 1475, a child of the male sex has been born to me and I have named him Michelangelo. He was born on Monday between 4 and 5 in the morning, at Caprese, where I am the Podestà." Although born in the small village of Caprese, Michelangelo always considered himself a "son of Florence," as did his father, "a Citizen of Florence." Buonarroti's mother, Francesca Neri, was too sick and frail to nurse Michelangelo, so he was placed with a wet nurse, in a family of stonecutters, where he, "sucked in the craft of hammer and chisel with my foster mother. When he told my father that he wished to be an artist, he flew into a rage, 'artists are laborers, no better than shoemakers." Buonarroti's mother died young, when the child was only six years old. But even before then, Michelangelo's childhood had been lacking affection, and he was always to retain a good position in his father's heart. Touchy and quick to respond with fierce words, he tended to keep to himself, out of shyness according to some but also, according to others, a lack of trust in his fellows. His father soon recognized the boy's intelligence and "anxious for him to learn his letters, sent him to the school of a master, Francesco Galeota from Urbino, who in that time taught grammar." While he studied the principles of Latin, Michelangelo made friends with a student, Francesco Granacci six years older than him, who was learning the art of painting in Ghirlandaio's studio and who encouraged Michelangelo to follow his own artistic vocation. Michelangelo studied the human anatomy in order to make his painting more life like. In doing things the pictures looked and made the viewer feel that the picture was looking back. Studying the human anatomy was very typical among the Renaissance time period. To study the human anatomy he went a step further to study the corpses of the dead which was forbidden by The Church), the prior of the church of Santo Spirito, Niccol? Bichiellini, received a wooden crucifix from Michelangelo, it was a detailed view of Christ's face. But his contact with the dead bodies caused problems with his health, obliging him to interrupt his activities periodically. Michelangelo produced at least two relief sculptures by the time he was 16 years old, the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna of the Stairs which show that he had achieved a personal style at a precocious age. In Michelangelo's personal diary he recounts his first two works: "My first work was a small bas-relief, The Madonna of the Stairs. Mary, Mother of God, sits on the rock of the church. The child curls back into her body. She foresees his death, and his return on the stairway to heaven. "My second work, another small relief. My tutor read me the myth of the battle of the Lapiths against the Centaurs. The wild forces of Life locked in heroic combat. "Already at 16, his mind was a battlefield: his love of pagan beauty, the male nude, at war with his own religious faith. A polarity of themes and forms...one spiritual, the other earthly, I've kept these carvings on the walls of my studio to this very day." I feel that Michelangelo had many great pieces of art, The Pieta, The David sculpture, and Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. I liked this piece the best because of the size and time it took to create the masterpiece. In 1508, Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to paint the enormous building. Michelangelo devoted four year to the task spending up to four hours each day. Four hours a day he lay atop a scaffold on his back and painted scenes from the bible. Some scenes were god creating the world and Noah and the Flood. The work was exhausting, but the final product has been admired for almost 500 years. The painting was very bad on his health and causes him to become very sick from being so high on his back for the very long period of time. I feel Michelangelo did a superior job and I would love to go myself and view the magnificent artwork of this skilled artisan. Michelangelo had a lot of other pieces of work that were magnificent in their own ways. Before the assignment of the Sistine Ceiling in 1505, Michelangelo had been commissioned by Julius II to produce his tomb, which was planned to be the most magnificent of Christian times. It was to be located in the new Basilica of St. Peter's, then under construction. Michelangelo enthusiastically went ahead with the challenging project, which was to include more than 40 figures, spending months in the quarries to obtain the necessary Carrara marble. Due to a mounting shortage of money, however, the pope ordered him to put aside the tomb project in favor of painting the Sistine ceiling. When Michelangelo went back to work on the tomb, he redesigned it on a much more modest scale. Nevertheless, Michelangelo made some of his finest sculpture for the Julius Tomb, including the Moses, the central figure in the much-reduced monument now located in Rome's church of San Pietro in Vincoli. The muscular patriarch sits alertly in a shallow niche, holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments, his long beard entwined in his powerful hands. He looks off into the distance as if communicating with God. As you can see Michelangelo was one of the most skilled artisans in the time of the Reniassance. He had a way of making the sculptures and pictures look real. He was so good he had way of really making the human in the piece look real but carving individual muscles and showing the way the human body is connected. He was the best at showing reality in all of his work. Michelangelo was so into doing the best work he could do; he studied human corpses to see the way joints and muscles connected. This seemed kind of crazy but it paid off. His work was beautiful. -Additional Information- Loneliness and sorrow were Michelangelo's companions in the last years of his life. His younger friends, Vittoria Colonna and Luigi del Riccio were already dead, and in 1556 his faithful servant Urbino died too. In this period, he insistently produced studies and drawings of the Crucifixion and the Lament over the Dead Christ. They were also the years of his last sculptures, including the Florentine Pieta, carved for his own tomb. Dissatisfied with his work, Michelangelo attacked the sculpture with a hammer, breaking off a leg and an arm from the figure of Christ and one of the Virgin Mary's hands. Another sculpture the so-called Rondanini Pieta, consisting solely of the figures of the Madonna and Christ, may have been begun by Michelangelo before 1550 but had remained unfinished. Now his friends - we are told by Vasari - had asked him to start work on it again "so that he could continue using his chisel everyday." Still perfectly lucid, the almost ninety-year-old Michelangelo created one of his most spiritual images, in which the Mother and Christ almost interpenetrate in an indissoluble union, beyond passion and physical death. While residing in Florence for this extended period, Michelangelo also undertook-between 1519 and 1534-the commission of the Medici Tombs for the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo. His design called for two large wall tombs facing each other across the high, domed room. One was intended for Lorenzo De' Medici, duke of Urbino; the other for Giulinao De' Medici duke of Nemours. The tombs of the Medici were of a completely new form. Michelangelo abandoned the use of architecture and arabesques that decorated all Florentine tombs, and that he himself had widely used in his designs for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Here, he wanted no accessory forms, and only the statues were to express the thoughts of his soul.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Minority Rules.TXT
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636
In the novel A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, the author uses many minor characters. Although labelled "minor", these characters contribute fully, and are essential to the depth and excitement of the novel. Three such characters are: Miss Pross, Gaspard, and Jerry Cruncher. These three characters take on a couple different roles, depending on what point in the novel one is at. From the beginning, and throughout the novel, Miss Pross plays a simple role. She takes care of Lucie Manette. A simple role it may seem to be, but she adds humor to the story from the offset. Once Lucie and Dr. Manette have returned to England, after Dr. Manette's imprisonment, Miss Pross continues to take an influential role in the story. She is constantly looking after Lucie and this includes Miss Pross attempting to discourage any suitors. Miss Pross is quite successful at appearing and acting in a commanding and intimidating manner. An example of this is when Mr. Lorry came to visit at the Manette's home; "...Miss Pross, the wild red woman, strong of hand...`I don't want dozens of people who are not all worthy of Ladybird, to come looking after her....to take Ladybird's affections away from me.'" Miss Pross being part of the novel deepens the plot by providing some humor and giving the reader another side to consider when thinking of Lucie and her several relationships. Gaspard's purpose in the novel is dissimilar to that of Miss Pross. Gaspard is used to help the reader understand how the majority of the French population was feeling prior to the revolution. Gaspard and the other peasants were treated, by the aristocracy, as if they were disgusting rodents. When Gaspard's son is run over by the Marquis, all the Marquis is worried about, is if his horses or his coach were hurt or damaged. Gaspard's anger and realization of how he is being treated causes him to rebel and kill the Marquis. The one murder symbolizes the animosity of all the peasants and is a taste of what is to come with the revolution. Gaspard was therefore used to foreshadow what is to happen in the future, this is auvioce especially after Gaspard is captured and hung. He is left hanging with a knife in him so that he poisons the water. Later that afternoon the Jacquerie are talking in Defarge's wine shop of how "the chateau and all the race..." are doomed for "...Extermination." Jerry Cruncher is a minor character who serves two purposes. What seems to be his primary purpose at the beginning of the novel is very different from his purpose towards the end. At the beginning he is usually mentioned to provide humor in a realistic fashion. This is done when Dickens shows Jerry's level of intelligence by describing how he confuses and twists things that people say. Jerry Cruncher's second purpose is not illustrated until very late in the novel. This second purpose is to display how viewing the vile revolution made him change his ways so that he was no longer a "resurrection man." This helps support the graphic detail Dickens is already using in describing the horrors of the revolution. After all, if a man who made a living by robbing graves is sickened by the ghastliness of the revolution then it must have really been awful. Miss Pross, Gaspard, and Jerry Cruncher all are minor characters that contribute to the depth of the plot, and the humor and excitement of the novel. If Dickens had written the novel without using such characters, I doubt that he would have been so successful because the plot would have been extremely dull.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Moby Dick.TXT
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Moby Dick is an extremely long novel written by Herman Melville. This book is an epic tale of a crazed sea captain hunting the whale that bit off his leg told through the eyes of a school teacher. As the story begins Ishmael is at the local boating dock looking for work. Ishmael being a school teacher has allot of time off as of the moment because the school is at recess, for what reason i don't know. He is in a tavern talking amongst the whalers. He asks if they know of any ships on witch he could board as a hand for the captain. One of the stories he receives is of a man named Ahab. He is offering good pay and good work for any man who wants to join him on his ship. the only problem is that people say that he is a rather evil man. Ishmael shes one of the ships hands and boards for a trip witch he will never forget. The ship sets sail and every thing seems to be going smoothly. Everything except one tiny detail, Ishmael hasn't seen the captain Ahab. He knows hes there because he has heard men talking to him, but Ishmael has yet to see him. When Ishmael finally dose see captain Ahab he is shocked. The man is a very evil looking person. Ishmael can see the fire in his eyes. He is shocked by the pure hatred of witch Ishmael speaks of Moby Dick, the whale who took his leg. Because Ahab comes off as such an evil man Ishmael doesn't want to become any sort of a friend of him. He develops a slight dislikement of him and begins to call him Stubb when he isn't around. As the story goes on it describes in very good detail what happens on their whaling trip. I don't know if this is a normal whaling trip or not because i don't do much whaling myself. Ishmael describes in great detail all actions taking place on the ship that he sees. Until one day. One day as this ship is sailing along a whale is spotted. It isn't just any whale though, it is Moby Dick. Ahab becomes what seems to be almost possessed. He is so enraged with the whale that he orders everything to be stopped and every man is to concentrate on killing the whale. He has every man loaded in to the whaling boats and he begins his chase. He shouts at his men, and screams at the whale. He curses it as if it were from hell. Captain Ahab chased the whale for three days. he tried to harpoon the whale several times but missed with each. Finally on the third day the whale rammed the main ship while all of her men were in the whaling boats. The ship sunk. Now that the ship was gone the whale turned its self on the whalers. The whale thrashed about and broke up the boats with the men in them drowning them. During this time Ahab harpooned the whale but it had no effect. The whale was enraged at Ahab for trying to gain revenge. Finally The whale smashed all the boats. With all the boats smashed all the men died except one. Ishmael.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\More Hamlet.TXT
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Within the play Hamlet there exists many puns and phrases, which have a double meaning. Little ploys on words which tend to add a bit of entertainment to the dialogue of the play. These forked tongue phrases are used by Shakespeare to cast an insight to the characters in the play to give them more depth and substance. However, most importantly these phrases cause the reader or audience to think. They are able to show a double meaning that not all people would pick up on, which is the purpose of the comments. Little is known about Shakespeare's life, other than he was a great playwright whose works serve to meld literary casts for ages to come. This was his occupation, he wrote and directed plays to be performed. This was his sole form of income that we know of, it was his way of putting the bread on the table. If people did not like what Shakespeare wrote, then he would not earn any money. If the people didn't like what they saw, he became the starving artist. Shakespeare wrote these dialogues in such a manner as to entertain both the Nobility, as well as the peasants. The Shakespearean theater is a physical manifestation of how Shakespeare catered to more than one social class in his theatrical productions. These Shakespearean theaters have a unique construction, which had specific seats for the wealthy, and likewise, a designated separate standing section for the peasants. This definite separation of the classes is also evident in Shakespeare's writing, in as such that the nobility of the productions speak in poetic iambic pentameter, where as the peasants speak in ordinary prose. Perhaps Shakespeare incorporated these double meanings to the lines of his characters with the intent that only a select amount of his audience were meant to hear it in either its double meaning, or its true meaning. However, even when the tragic hero Hamlet's wordplay is intentional. it is not always clear as to what purpose he uses it. To confuse or to clarify? Or to control his own uncensored thoughts? The energy and turmoil of his mind brings words thronging into speech, stretching, over-turning and contorting their implications. Sometimes Hamlet has to struggle to use the simplest words repeatedly, as he tries to force meaning to flow in a single channel. To Ophelia, after he has encountered her in her loneliness, "reading on a book," he repeats five times "Get thee to a nunnery," varying the phrase very little, simply reiterating what was already said by changing "get" to "go." This well known quote, to this day cannot be deciphered in its entirety, for nunnery is a place where nuns live, yet it is also a brothel. Hamlet seems to knowingly cast a shade of confusion into the minds of the audience or is it in fact clarity within confusion. That is, the audience is able to better understand the thoughts and inner struggle of Hamlet via these conflicting terms. After Hamlet has visited his mother "all alone" in her closet and killed Polonius, after she has begged him to "speak no more", and after his father's ghost has reappeared, Hamlet repeats "Good night" five times, with still fewer changes in the phrase than "Get thee to a nunnery" and those among accompanying words only. So Hamlet seems to be struggling to contain his thoughts even by use of these simple words, rather than enforcing a single and simple message as a first reading of the text might suggest; and the words come to bear deeper, more ironic or more blatant meanings. It is from these phrases, which even manage to confuse the complex mind of Hamlet that we begin to get a glimpse into the intentions of Hamlets mind, and seeing just exactly the way he ticks. Much of the dramatic action of this tragedy is within the head of Hamlet, and wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking nature of that mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation within a world he perceives to be against him. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also playing polite and sane. The narrative is a kind of mystery and chase, so that, underneath the various guises of his wordplay, we are made keenly aware of his inner dissatisfaction, and come to expect some resolution at the end of the tragedy, some unambiguous "giving out" which will report Hamlet and his cause aright to the unsatisfied among the reader. Hamlet himself is aware of this expectation as the end approaches, and this still further whets our anticipation for what is to become. A commonly recurring theme throughout the play is that of honesty. It is introduced in the beginning of the play and as the play continues, its use becomes more and more common, as well as more and more ironic. This theme within the play itself is ironic, for as Marcellus said "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" and this corruption we see so exhibited in the play is far from honest. When Hamlet applies the word honest to the main characters of the play, his use of becomes undeniably ironic, and much of the dark humor of the play derives from Hamlet's wordplay. Polonius marks that though Hamlet's insults seem to make no sense, "yet there is method in 't." In Act II, it is Polonius that is the first target of Hamlet's irony of the use of honest. Hamlet calls him first a "fishmonger" which it has many meanings, including the implication that Ophelia is a whore and Polonius is her pimp. And of course, Polonius has employed his daughter in his plot to discover the depth of Hamlet's "madness." When Polonius says he is not a fishmonger, Hamlet replies "Then I would you were so honest a man." In other words, he wishes Polonius was as honest as a simple fish seller, or even more insulting, as honest as the pimp Hamlet insinuated he was. In this scene, Hamlet also uses this ironic meaning of honesty against Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he tells them "...I will not sort you with the rest of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended." He seems to mean that he cannot speak to them with honesty, because they themselves are dishonest in their intents. Honesty resonates as a theme in Hamlet because nothing is, as it seems in Denmark. The King deceives the world and pretends a legitimacy he does not have; Hamlet deceives the court by feigning madness; Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all try to deceive Hamlet into revealing why he is distraught, and no one knows what is truth and what is a lie. The world has not grown honest, as Rosencrantz claims, but dishonest, and no one who lives in it can keep his honesty pure from the corrupting air. Hamlet seems to be the character that uses the majority of such puns and phrases in the play. These phrases, which have double meaning, could represent the inner turmoil, which seems to be tearing Hamlet apart. By seeing a definite double meaning to many phrases in the play, we are able to easily see that all is not as it should be. Hamlet's personality is thrown into chaos. He is in mourning the death of his father, and then his mother marries his uncle. He is enraged at her, and on top of all of this he sees the ghost of his father commanding him to avenge his wrongful murder. Yet, amongst all this turmoil, I believe that Hamlet was only playing the part of being crazy. He speaks in riddles and plays on words in order to create a certain suspicion about his sanity. This abnormal activity gives him the ability to sneak a few insults by without having to directly confront his enemies. It seems to be quite a bit worse if the person who was insulted isn't exactly sure whether or not they were just insulted. Hamlet is able to interject these insults without even the other character noticing, which is the art of insult it is this unpredictability of action, this sporadic bouts of insanity and sanity, the inner turmoil brewing within Hamlet, which keeps the audience's interest. Nobody is really sure whether or not Hamlet was insane. Many have theories and beliefs, but Shakespeare never came out and said he definitely is or definitely is not sane, he only hints. There are valid arguments on either side, for Hamlet Himself said "I am mad but north-northwest"; that is he is only mad about one thing in particular. The wordplay in Hamlet is a representation of the complexity of the minds of the characters that Shakespeare created. It is a depiction of the inner turmoil within a character struggling with sanity. However, more importantly it is necessary to keep in mind that Shakespeare was a playwright and that the play on words did one thing in particular, which is why Shakespeare lived to write so many plays, Hamlet, because of its wording is entertaining and that made all the difference. Within the play Hamlet there exists many puns and phrases, which have a double meaning. Little ploys on words which tend to add a bit of entertainment to the dialogue of the play. These forked tongue phrases are used by Shakespeare to cast an insight to the characters in the play to give them more depth and substance. However, most importantly these phrases cause the reader or audience to think. They are able to show a double meaning that not all people would pick up on, which is the purpose of the comments. Little is known about Shakespeare's life, other than he was a great playwright whose works serve to meld literary casts for ages to come. This was his occupation, he wrote and directed plays to be performed. This was his sole form of income that we know of, it was his way of putting the bread on the table. If people did not like what Shakespeare wrote, then he would not earn any money. If the people didn't like what they saw, he became the starving artist. Shakespeare wrote these dialogues in such a manner as to entertain both the Nobility, as well as the peasants. The Shakespearean theater is a physical manifestation of how Shakespeare catered to more than one social class in his theatrical productions. These Shakespearean theaters have a unique construction, which had specific seats for the wealthy, and likewise, a designated separate standing section for the peasants. This definite separation of the classes is also evident in Shakespeare's writing, in as such that the nobility of the productions speak in poetic iambic pentameter, where as the peasants speak in ordinary prose. Perhaps Shakespeare incorporated these double meanings to the lines of his characters with the intent that only a select amount of his audience were meant to hear it in either its double meaning, or its true meaning. However, even when the tragic hero Hamlet's wordplay is intentional. it is not always clear as to what purpose he uses it. To confuse or to clarify? Or to control his own uncensored thoughts? The energy and turmoil of his mind brings words thronging into speech, stretching, over-turning and contorting their implications. Sometimes Hamlet has to struggle to use the simplest words repeatedly, as he tries to force meaning to flow in a single channel. To Ophelia, after he has encountered her in her loneliness, "reading on a book," he repeats five times "Get thee to a nunnery," varying the phrase very little, simply reiterating what was already said by changing "get" to "go." This well known quote, to this day cannot be deciphered in its entirety, for nunnery is a place where nuns live, yet it is also a brothel. Hamlet seems to knowingly cast a shade of confusion into the minds of the audience or is it in fact clarity within confusion. That is, the audience is able to better understand the thoughts and inner struggle of Hamlet via these conflicting terms. After Hamlet has visited his mother "all alone" in her closet and killed Polonius, after she has begged him to "speak no more", and after his father's ghost has reappeared, Hamlet repeats "Good night" five times, with still fewer changes in the phrase than "Get thee to a nunnery" and those among accompanying words only. So Hamlet seems to be struggling to contain his thoughts even by use of these simple words, rather than enforcing a single and simple message as a first reading of the text might suggest; and the words come to bear deeper, more ironic or more blatant meanings. It is from these phrases, which even manage to confuse the complex mind of Hamlet that we begin to get a glimpse into the intentions of Hamlets mind, and seeing just exactly the way he ticks. Much of the dramatic action of this tragedy is within the head of Hamlet, and wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking nature of that mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation within a world he perceives to be against him. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also playing polite and sane. The narrative is a kind of mystery and chase, so that, underneath the various guises of his wordplay, we are made keenly aware of his inner dissatisfaction, and come to expect some resolution at the end of the tragedy, some unambiguous "giving out" which will report Hamlet and his cause aright to the unsatisfied among the reader. Hamlet himself is aware of this expectation as the end approaches, and this still further whets our anticipation for what is to become. A commonly recurring theme throughout the play is that of honesty. It is introduced in the beginning of the play and as the play continues, its use becomes more and more common, as well as more and more ironic. This theme within the play itself is ironic, for as Marcellus said "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" and this corruption we see so exhibited in the play is far from honest. When Hamlet applies the word honest to the main characters of the play, his use of becomes undeniably ironic, and much of the dark humor of the play derives from Hamlet's wordplay. Polonius marks that though Hamlet's insults seem to make no sense, "yet there is method in 't." In Act II, it is Polonius that is the first target of Hamlet's irony of the use of honest. Hamlet calls him first a "fishmonger" which it has many meanings, including the implication that Ophelia is a whore and Polonius is her pimp. And of course, Polonius has employed his daughter in his plot to discover the depth of Hamlet's "madness." When Polonius says he is not a fishmonger, Hamlet replies "Then I would you were so honest a man." In other words, he wishes Polonius was as honest as a simple fish seller, or even more insulting, as honest as the pimp Hamlet insinuated he was. In this scene, Hamlet also uses this ironic meaning of honesty against Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he tells them "...I will not sort you with the rest of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended." He seems to mean that he cannot speak to them with honesty, because they themselves are dishonest in their intents. Honesty resonates as a theme in Hamlet because nothing is, as it seems in Denmark. The King deceives the world and pretends a legitimacy he does not have; Hamlet deceives the court by feigning madness; Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all try to deceive Hamlet into revealing why he is distraught, and no one knows what is truth and what is a lie. The world has not grown honest, as Rosencrantz claims, but dishonest, and no one who lives in it can keep his honesty pure from the corrupting air. Hamlet seems to be the character that uses the majority of such puns and phrases in the play. These phrases, which have double meaning, could represent the inner turmoil, which seems to be tearing Hamlet apart. By seeing a definite double meaning to many phrases in the play, we are able to easily see that all is not as it should be. Hamlet's personality is thrown into chaos. He is in mourning the death of his father, and then his mother marries his uncle. He is enraged at her, and on top of all of this he sees the ghost of his father commanding him to avenge his wrongful murder. Yet, amongst all this turmoil, I believe that Hamlet was only playing the part of being crazy. He speaks in riddles and plays on words in order to create a certain suspicion about his sanity. This abnormal activity gives him the ability to sneak a few insults by without having to directly confront his enemies. It seems to be quite a bit worse if the person who was insulted isn't exactly sure whether or not they were just insulted. Hamlet is able to interject these insults without even the other character noticing, which is the art of insult it is this unpredictability of action, this sporadic bouts of insanity and sanity, the inner turmoil brewing within Hamlet, which keeps the audience's interest. Nobody is really sure whether or not Hamlet was insane. Many have theories and beliefs, but Shakespeare never came out and said he definitely is or definitely is not sane, he only hints. There are valid arguments on either side, for Hamlet Himself said "I am mad but north-northwest"; that is he is only mad about one thing in particular. The wordplay in Hamlet is a representation of the complexity of the minds of the characters that Shakespeare created. It is a depiction of the inner turmoil within a character struggling with sanity. However, more importantly it is necessary to keep in mind that Shakespeare was a playwright and that the play on words did one thing in particular, which is why Shakespeare lived to write so many plays, Hamlet, because of its wording is entertaining and that made all the difference.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Much Ado About Nothing.TXT
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457
How is Dogberry the fool or jester of the play? What is the significance of Dogberry's discovery about the plot against Hero? Do you think that Dogberry's ignorance is actually knowledge about life? Support your answers with details from text. "Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and, to conclude, they are lying knaves (5.1.225-233)." I don't think anyone could read these lines without a smile. Not only Dogberry can't count, but he repeats the same accusation, without realizing that it's all one crime. Dogberry's stupidness brings him a role of a jester in the play, providing comic relief in the event of Hero's tragedy. Dogberry has a great significance in the play. Although, Dogberry's presence is a lampoon of authority, by uncovering the plot, he proves that even people like him can be somewhat of importance, because their simple foolishness and "dumbness" can catch very important points. "What your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light...(5.1.242-244)." If Dogberry has not had the control, Hero, most likely, would still carry the false accusations. I think that Dogberry could be the real hero of the play because out of his ignorant, pompous and stupid character comes an individual with the ability to discover the truth of deception of Claudio and Hero. "Dost thou not suspect my place? Dost thou not suspect my years? O, that he were here to write me down an ass! But masters, remember that I am an ass, though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass.--No, thou villain, thou are full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness. I am a wise fellow and, which is more, an officer and, which is more, a householder and, which is more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any is in Messina, and one that knows the law, go to, and a rich fellow enough, go to, and a fellow that hath had losses, and one that hath two gowns and everything handsome about him.--Bring him away.--O, that I had been writ down an ass!(4.2.76-89)" We laugh at Dogberry because he is primitive and self-important - yet he commands the respect of his underlings and knows when to defer to those above him. The watch listen to his order to pay attention at the activity around Leonato's house, and consequently catch the villains. For Dogberry's respect of those higher of him, he gets thanked and rewarded. ("I thank thee of thy care and honest pains.(5.1.329)") Dogberry proves that we should listen to people like him, and, perhaps, sometimes try to be people of lower class. We should try to see things from the "lower-class-point-of-view, we can actually get rewarded, by others for seeing importance and rewarded with knowledge.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Murder Must Advertise.TXT
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829
When advertising executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the stairs at Pym's Publicity, Lord Peter Wimsey is asked to investigate. It seems that, before he died, Dean had begun a letter to Mr. Pym suggesting some very unethical dealings at the posh London ad agency. Wimsey goes undercover and discovers that Dean was part of the fast crowd at Pym's, a group taken to partying and doing drugs. Wimsey and his brother-in-law, Chief-Inspector Parker, rush to discover who is running London's cocaine trade and how Pym's fits into the picture--all before Wimsey's cover is blown. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leserrezensionen Durchschnittliche Leserbewertung: Zahl der Rezensionen: 4 Eine Leserin oder ein Leser aus New York City, USA , 1. Dezember 1999 Bravo! Knock-out Mystery! I must preface this review by confessing a bias - I'm a huge fan of Dorothy Sayers and consider it a tragedy that she did not write more detective fiction. This is definitely one of the strongest entries in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, both for mystery and entertainment value. An interesting tactic used by Sayers is to point in the direction of the culprit about three-fourths of the way through the book and then lead the reader through the detection process that actually leads to his/her unmasking. We saw this used in "Unnatural Death", also in "Whose Body?" Surprisingly, the resulting lack of suspense at the end does not deter from the mystery at all as it is fascinating to see the patient unraveling of clues and pulling together of threads that lead to evidence against a killer. It is also a better reflection of what usually happens in reality, as opposed to a lot of detective fiction where the most unlikely person did it! While we all find whodunits interesting, the reality is that the police and private eyes are usually smart enough to figure out the most likely candidate fairly early and thus narrow their investigations. In this book, the fun is added to by the setting in an ad agency. Sayers had worked in an ad agency at some point in her career and you can see that she really knows her stuff. The interplay between the various characters is very funny and surprisingly not dated in feel, considering the book was written 70 odd years ago! I found the cricket match scene to be the most fascinating part as well the sense the reader gets that with every page, the hangman's noose is slowly closing around the killer. Richly detailed and very descriptive, this is a book you'll want to go back and re-read many times - there will always be something fresh to see! d_e_wright@hotmail.com aus Vancouver, Canada , 4. Juli 1999 Vintage Sayers, a great intro to the Peter Wimsey books This is the best Wimsey book not featuring sometime-fellow-sleuth Harriet Vane which Sayers ever wrote. Not terribly serious, but great entertainment. I've read this book 6 times because it's just so much fun. Written in 1933, IMHO Sayers' prime, Wimsey is far more human and less of a caricature than in the early books, but much less goopy than in her latest books. The dialogue is a treat, even minor characters are exquisitely drawn, and the in-jokes at the advertising biz (Sayers worked as a copywriter herself for a while) are utterly hilarious. Plus, there's a puzzling, neatly-solved mystery. And even though I don't play cricket and don't understand the game, I adored the pivotal cricket game scene: Sayers at her best. My only complaint is the total absence of the delightful Bunter. THis is definitely the book to read first if you'r e interested in Sayers. Then read the Strong Poison-Have His Carcase-Gaudy Night trilogy. These are, IMHO, her four best books, and of the four, Murder Must Advertise is definitely the most charming and light-hearted. Eine Leserin oder ein Leser aus New Zealand , 29. Juni 1999 Sayers at her best This has to be my favorite Dorothy L. Sayers mystery. It is Sayers at her most witty and amusing. She has cleverly weaved several threads of storyline into one perfect book, building up the suspense into a neat ending. She manages to make Lord Peter Wimsey still human and realistic, despite being amazingly good at everything he turns his hand to. There are lots of great twists on words and phrases, which make the book fun to read more than once, less for the murder mystery than for the savouring of all the little details and dialogues. Enjoy! amomruby@aol.com aus Seattle, WA , 21. November 1997 Dorothy Sayers' Most Entertaining Mystery Murder Must Advertise is Dorothy Sayers at her best. This storet in a London advertising agency, is a hoot to read - especially if you've ever had the misfortune to churn out ad copy for a living. Some people would tell you to start at the beginning of the Peter Whimsey series, but I say start here. This is vintage Sayers.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Murder on the Orient Express.TXT
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 Murder on the Orient Express 
Do you like murder, mystery, and suspense? Well if you do Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie, is the book for you. This novel portrays the trials and tribulations of Hercule Poirot, a talented and experienced detective. Within the first few chapters the reader is already caught in a web of deceit and lies. Though this specific case seems utterly unsolvable, Poirot is able to see through the deception and figure out the unbelievable solution.
It all begins when Monsieur Poirot boards an unseasonably crowded train, the Orient Express. In the winter, the Orient Express is usually lucky to accommodate ten passengers all season. Though, on this specific voyage, every single compartment is mysteriously full. From an alight princess to a common maid, a wide variety of people are aboard the train at this time. Everything seems to be going routinely until a dead body is discovered in one of the compartments. This individual is a passenger on the train, Mr. Ratchett. Since the Express was barricaded by snow the entire night, it is an inevitable fact that the murderer has to be someone on the train. Thus, EVERYONE is a suspect.
Coincidently, there is a doctor on board the Orient Express. After he exams the body and Hercule Poirot searches the compartment, they find certain inconsistencies. Mr. Ratchett has been stabbed twelve times. This seems very normal, but each stab is completely different. A few are very strong blows, while some are incredibly weak. Not to mention the fact that a few stabs are performed with the left hand while others are clearly done with the right. In Mr. Ratchett's compartment, Poirot too finds things to be amiss. He discovers a mysterious piece of paper with the word Armstrong faintly inscribed...
Poirot turned this name round and round in his mind. Finally, after numerous hours, he remembered a case, a kidnaping and murder. Hercule then realized that this dead man was not Mr. Ratchett at all. He was actually, Cassetti, a notorious gangster, and little Daisy Armstrong's kidnapper. Now, all Poirot had to do was figure out whom on the train was close to Daisy Armstrong and her family.
After interviewing all the passengers, he found that no one knew the Armstrong family personally. He also found that every single passenger had an alibi, and none seemed too concerned with the entire case or their own personal innocence. Either everyone on the train was innocent, or someone was telling a web of lies.
With all the evidence collected, Poirot now had the duty of sitting down, laying back in his chair, closing his eyes, and solving this case. After about half an hour, the incredible Belgian detective found his answer. Though, no one could quite understand how EVERY passenger on the entire train was guilty!
If you want to find out what happens to the passengers on the train, read Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\My Antonia.TXT
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1498
My Antonia by Willa Cather Author: Willa Sibert Cather, Nebraska's most noted author was born in Virginia. At the age of ten she moved with her family to Webster County, Nebraska. Many of Cather's acquaintances and Red Cloud area scenes can be recognized in her writings. Cather wrote poetry, short stories, essays and novels, winning many awards. In 1920 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel One of Ours, about a Nebraska farm boy who went off to World War I. Willa Cather's reputation as one of America's finest novelists rests on her novels about Nebraska and the American Southwest. These novels express her deep love of the land and her distaste for the materialism and conformism of modern life. Devoted to values such as the importance of family and the need for human courage and dignity, she created strong female characters whose sort of strength and determination had previously been attributed to only men. My Antonia, one of Cather's best works, is an unconventional, romantic novel of prairie life. It tells the story of a remarkable woman whose strength and passion epitomize the pioneer spirit. Characters: Jim Burden - The man narrating the story. Antonia Shimerda -The daughter of Bohemian immigrants and the heroine of the story. Ambrosch Shimerda - Antonia's mean brother Marek Shimerda -Antonia's mentally disabled brother. Yulka Shimerda - Antonia's younger sister. Mr. and Mrs. Shimerda - Antonia's gently father who committed suicide, and her bitter, complaining mother. Larry Donovan - The man Antonia thought was going to marry her. Lena Lingard - A girl that Jim grew up with and was successful. Anton Cuzak - Antonia's husband. The Book The book begins with an introduction. In the introduction it tells about James Quale Burden (Jim Burden) and how the story came to be written. The introduction is written by a woman who is an old friend to Jim and who grew up in the same Nebraska town as he did. They are both now living in New York where Jim is a successful lawyer. She tells about Jim's wife, Genevieve, who she does not like, and doesn't think she is well suited for Jim. They start talking about Antonia, who they both knew and admired, and wondering why something wasn't written about her. Months later, Jim brings her what he had written and She writes the narrative as Jim had written it. The story begins with ten year old Jim Burden traveling from Virginia to Nebraska to live with his grandparents after losing his parents. They live on a prairie farm and Jim enjoys the land and doing chores and being with his grandparents and their hired help. The author shows her love of the land by the way she has Jim to describe it: "The new country lay open before me: there were no fences in those days, and I could choose my own way over the grass uplands, trusting my pony to get me home again. . . . I used to love to drift along the pale-yellow cornfields, looking for the damp spots one sometimes found at their edges, where the smartweed soon turned a rich copper colour and the narrow brown leaves hung curled like cocoons about the swollen joints of the stem. Sometimes I went south to visit our German neighbours and to admire their catalpa grove, or to see the big elm tree that grew up out of a deep crack in the earth and had a hawk's nest in its branches" He soon met the Bohemian immigrants, the Shimerdas, who had come out on the same train as he had. He soon became friends with their daughter, Antonia, whom he thought was very pretty. "I remember what the conductor said about her eyes. They were big and brown and full of light, like the sun shining on brown pools in the wood. Her skin was brown too, and in her cheeks she had a glow of rich, dark color." The Shirmadas had been conned into buying their place. They lived in a dingy, dirt floor cave and were very poor. They didn't speak English. Jim started teaching Antonia English, and she was a good learner. Antonia's father felt that he couldn't deal with the strains of his new life and support his family so he committed suicide. She is forced to do the work of a man and turns from a gentle young lady into a man, in some ways. The elements of fun in her childhood were few and far in between. 'Antonia's life is full of disappointment and she is forced to grow up much too quickly. The road she takes is full of ditches and bends but it clears and straightens in the end. As soon as her father is buried, Antonia realizes that she now has a heavy burden on her shoulders. Since she is one of the eldest in the family, she must now work to put food on their table. Her mother is a complainer and can't speak English, her oldest brother, Ambrosch, is strong, mean and not well liked, the second oldest brother, Marek, is mentally and physically disabled and her sister, Yulka, is still a youngster. With the help of their neighbors, the Burdens, 'Antonia is able to establish a meager living for her family. She does this by working on her farm as well as the other farms in the area. While this work is very beneficial for the family, 'Antonia is turned into a rough and wild creature. When she is old enough, 'Antonia leaves the prairies and goes in to town to find work. She becomes what we would call today, a live-in housekeeper. She works hard and sends all of her wages home to help her mother and siblings on the farm. The hours were long and the breaks few so when she did get to go out, 'Antonia and her friends create quite a reputation for themselves. She somehow gets mixed up with the wrong crowd and slowly begins to lose the honor and respect she worked so hard to gain. 'Antonia leaves to marry a " no-good " and comes home alone, sorrowful and dejected. Her fiancée had told her that they had been married but then ran off without her. 'Antonia later gives birth to a girl, the illegitimate child of this supposed marriage. She takes great pride in her daughter but with her birth, she loses whatever respect she had left. Years later, 'Antonia is found in Hastings, Nebraska, married with eleven children. Her dream has come true, to have land of her own and many delightful little children running wild all over the place. She works hard and is weary but has been repaid as her wish has been fulfilled. She has her land, her family, her garden and she still has the fire of life within her. 'Antonia's life was a difficult one. The burdens that she had to carry were not meant for her shoulders. All through her life's difficulties she remained devoted to whatever family she had. Thoughts of her family always came before thoughts of herself. "She lent herself to immemorial human attitudes which we recognize by instinct as universal and true. . . She was a battered woman now, not a lovely girl; but she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that somehow revealed the meaning in common things. She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last. All the strong things of her heart came out in her body, that had been so tireless in serving generous emotions." Jim Burden makes an important sociological observation when he notes that the town boys admire the Bohemian girls, but won't marry them; while the hard-working Bohemian women help to make their farms profitable, and the "refined' town girls don't. He then lives out this observation by marrying 'well', a woman whose wealth and family connections help establish him in business (as marrying Antonia would not - would, in fact, have prevented him from ever achieving the status he has acquired at the beginning of the book), but who brings him neither happiness nor children. Antonia, in spite of her difficulties with her family and her first attempt at marriage, does achieve a real and satisfactory life. Comments When I finished this book, I realized how many lessons I had learned about life. For instance, life may be hard but it's the hard times that make us stronger. It is a wonderful story of a strong woman who builds a great life out of a bad situation.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\My Brother Sam.TXT
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1795
My Brother Sam is Dead Author: by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier Category: Historical Fiction Summary: It starts out in the 1770's during the Revolution War and Samuel Meeker or Sam for short just interred the room of the tavern and he chimes in to everybody who is waiting to eat, he comes in saying where beating the Lobster Backs. His father, Eliphalet Meeker but called Life for short, starts arguing with son. After a while they calmed down and change the subject. Finally Tim Meeker or sometimes called Timmy, the narrator and one of the main two character's of the story in the story goes out to the barn to milk the cow Old Pru. Witches are one of his daily chores and ask Sam to join him. While Tim is milking Old Pru he's talking to Sam about how has he been lately and what is he doing back at home. And Sam tells him truth why he is back at home, and it's to get the Brown Bess. Which is the family's gun and Tim swears that he can't tell Mom or Dad. Well in the morning when Sam try's to get the Brown Bess his father catches him and they get big fight whether he's going to fight the British or not and finally his dad throws him out the house. While the Meeker's are at Church, Sam goo's back to the Tavern, where his family lives and work's and he stills the Brown Bess. Well later on the Rebel's or the patriot's or now called the American's. Went threw the town of Redding. Which is where the Meeker's live. They where going door to door. Taking peoples guns and goods. When they came to the Tavern they where demanding for there gun. They wouldn't believe that there son stole it and took it with him to the Rebel's camp and they wouldn't believe him cause it was Tori territory and that they where threatening to kill Life if they didn't give them there gun. Then Tim ran out the door and he ran to go get Colonel Read. Since he knew that Sam was a Rebel and colonel read was a colonel for the Rebel's, but when he got to where he was he saw Sam with the Gun sleeping with it. Then he snatched it and started running back to his house and when he was half way there Sam woken up and was yelling him to stop but he wouldn't stop, but since Sam was older and bigger he caught Tim right as they reach the town of Redding. Then Tim had to explain what had happen and Sam didn't want to go back but he went with Tim just in case. When they got back his dad was all right just beaten up a little bit. Sam ran out there like a bad out hell and when he was far enough from Tim and his Dad. he looked at them from top of Rock and waved and left. later on the seasons pass by and in the Winter Tim and his Dad have to go down to Verplanks to exchange cattle for money and goods. when they where half way there they run into some Cowboys ,(Cattle thieves) and they say there Rebel's and notice that Life is trying to sell Beef to the Tori's. so they threaten to kill Life and his son, and also take their goods. well there luck comes in and some Escort's come along and scared off the cowboys and the cowboys very where pissed. While they get up to Verplanks, which is by Hudson River, Life makes his trades. On there way back Life is very catious about the Cowboys, but on way there it starts to snow, and it makes it hard for them and it takes them and extra day. next day Life is on the horse and he and Tim leave. about every five minutes or so he goo's up and down to check to see if there's cowboys coming. after a while Tim notices that it's been a long time since his dad came back so Tim gets to worry. so finally he gets going again and starts thinking what is he going to do if the cowboys come up to him with out an escort or his father with him to protect him. Finally when he's coming along he sees the Cowboy's. he out smarts them by acting like he thinks their escorts and asking questions to throw them off. while the Cowboy's are trying to play along and he starts acting like he has no food and ask if they got some and says he needs some goods. then the cowboys get pissed off cause they don't know if the boy is pulling there chain or that he really has no goods. some are thinking its not worth it and some are saying come on lets take this punk well after them all arguing for a long time. they start haring dogs barking and they think it's the escorts. So they leave the boy there. when there finally gone Tim is so happy that he out smarted the cowboys and was thinking Sam would be proud of him. Then he gets back on the wagon and heads home. When he gets home he tells his mother what happen to his father and that he's been kidnapped and probably taken to prison and its down to Susanah and Tim to run the Tavern and do all chores. Later they find out that Life dies from being sick in the prison ships and him and fifty others died from the common Flu. After that the lobster Backs come threw the town of Redding and nobody knows what there doing. Then later they knock down the door of a Rebel's house and take all Rebel's that where hiding in there and they take them away. While leaving the town Tim follows them and when they where almost out of the area. they were ambush. by this old farmer's house and about six Rebels's where in it. They started shooting at all of the British troops, the British retaliate by breading down wall killing all the men and burned down the house. After all of that Sam's troop set up an encampment in there area not far from town, while they where there Tim found Sam and they where happy to see each other since its been like two years and they had a get together. While he visits them he tells them they should butcher the cattle and save the meat before any of the Rebel's take it. Even though if anybody gets caught stealing they will be hanged. But still Tim wanted to hold on to them and try to sell them to somebody cause that all they had that could make them money. While Sam was visiting Tim again they notice the cows where making some noises. Ran out the door and Tim got all but the missing cow back into the barn and Sam went chasing after the thief, when he caught up to them they knocked Sam out. They accused Sam was the guilty one and they caught him, after the whole family trying to convince that he didn't do it the court decided that Sam should be shot. Tim was so mad that he took his bayonet and sharpens it as much as he can and he went after Sam. When he got to the prison area he charged the guarded with the sword and when guard woke up he got his gun up and Tim threw his bayonet over the wall and said "Sam catch!" Then Tim took off running and trying to dodge all the shots that where fired at him. When he was going up the hill he felt a tug in his left shoulder. It was a shot, but he kept on going. When he was far enough he relies Sam wasn't in his cell, it turns out nobody was and they move everybody out of there. Finally Execution Day came and everybody in the crowd was watching first there where two men who got hundred lashings, then there was man who was hanged. Then Sam was next they put a pillow case over his face the three men hold there guns to him and they where so close that the guns where almost touching. BOOOOM!!! The guns went off , but Sam wasn't dead they were so close that the explosion from the guns caught am on fire. He was squirming around and finally another man shot him. He stopped moving and Tim was very mad. After the war, Tim and his mother moved out town they hated and moved to Pennsylvania. Tim got married and started his own tavern. he got married with children. Susanah would never ever talk or even be nice to any American cause she lost a son and her husband cause of this war. But she was a strong woman. Settings: It took place during the Revolutionary War from about 1776 to 1778 in Redding Connecticut but there where some parts in New York in other small towns but almost everything happen in Redding. Main Character: Even though the book was named after Sam it all came from his younger brother Tim. It came from Tim's point of view and he did all the narrating, and you saw every thing threw his eyes. He was a twelve year old boy and by time book was over he was a fourteen year old young adult. Who was bright and smart just like his brother but had better matters. He was timid when it came down to scary things in the begging but when he grew older you can see he became braver. For example when he charge the guard trying to kill him so he could rescue Sam. When he was younger he always wanted to do what Sam did but when he became maturer he started to rely that he can think for himself. In the end he is a mature young adult who always did what had to be done with out playing games with his mother just to get out of chores instead he got down and dirty and did what work needed to be done. Evaluation: I though this was a well written book it was very detail and good storywriter but the end didn't have a big enough bain. Like it just made it like a dull ending but all the way up to where Tim goes crazy on the Rebel's. He also kind of fueled you which is kinda good when u first read this tittle you think the British killed Sam when it was Rebel's. what kinda sucked about it is that they dragged out to the end. which made you know what's going to happen when ending came. that's why it was so dull cause I was on the last page and Sam still hasn't been killed yet so I knew right away what was going to happen. Recommendations: I would recommend this if you want to study the sight affects of the war. but if your like me and you're proud to be an American, Patriot, or a Rebel then I wouldn't read this it talks about how bad it was for the Rebel's to go war for no good reason. When in fact it was cause later we became the greatest country in the whole wide world. Everything about this country is so much better than anything else so that's why IM proud to be an American. Copyrights: 1974 to James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. # of Pages: 211 pages including the Epilogue
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Mystery book report again.TXT
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Book Report - Mystery
Setting:
The story takes place in several places in England in the early 20th century. The places are:  Enderby Hall, an old mansion in the countryside, Lychett St. Mary, a small English village, and London.  
Many descriptions of the homes and countryside and city are given which makes it believable.
Crime:
There are two deaths in the book.  The first is the death of Richard Abernethie who lived in Enderby Hall.  He died in his sleep.  His death was quite unexpected even though he had been unwell.  The second death is the brutal murder of Cora Lansquenet, the sister of Richard Abernethie.  She was killed in her house in Lychett St. Mary the day after she returned from Richard Abernethie's funeral. Cora's death was discovered by ber companion and housekeeper, Miss Gilchrist. Miss Gilchrist had gone to the library to return some books.  When she came back, she went to Cora's room to tell her that she was back, and found her dead, horribly cut up with a hatchet.  She immediately called the police and reported the crime. The killer had broken the kitchen window to enter the house; a few cheap pieces of jewelry had been stolen.
Victim:
The victim is Cora Lansquenet.  We do not find out until the end why she was killed.  She is a kind old lady, but also very outspoken.  She has a habit of blurting things out which are often true.  At Richard Abernethie's funeral, she blurts out that she thinks he was murdered.  This comes as a shock to everyone, since they all thought that he had died in his sleep.  Cora also has a habit of tilting her head to one side, like a bird, whenever she talks.
Clues:
There are no clues like fingerprints, etc.  The murderer is a very clever person!  There are plenty of red herrings.
Suspects:
There are many members of Richard Abernethie's family, and they are all suspects.  His sister Cora, a brother, two sisters in law, and several nieces and nephews.  All of them are poor and desperately need money.  When Richard dies, all of them get a lot of money from his will. This is their motive.  They all have alibis since all of them were at home at the time of his death.  Cora's death is more puzzling since nobody really gains anything from it.
Detective:
The person solving this mystery is Hercules Poirot, the famous Belgian detective.  He is famous for his big mustache (which he is very proud of) and his very smart brain cells!  He believes in observing human nature and doing a lot of thinking to solve crimes.
Perpetrator:
The murderer is Miss Gilchrist, Cora Lansquenet's housekeeper and companion.  Absolutely nobody suspects her - she is a frail, middle-aged lady who nobody pays much attention to.  Her motive in killing Cora is to get one of Cora's paintings, which is actually a very valuable Vermeer, but which Cora thinks is just some cheap painting. 
Hercules Poirot solves the case by not believing obvious things.  It is quite a complicated mystery with lots of red herrings!  What really happened is that Miss Gilchrist pretends to be Cora Lansquenet at Richard Abernethie's funeral.  She could do that because no one had seen Cora for twenty years.  However, she made one mistake, which got her caught in the end.  Cora (the real one) had a habit of tilting her head to the right whenever she spoke.  Miss Gilchrist turned her head to the left when she pretended to be Cora. Her sister in law felt that something was wrong, but could not figure out exactly what.  Hercules Poirot figured it out with his brain cells!
Personal response:
This is a great story.  You will never guess who committed the murder till Hercules Poirot solves it for you.  You will never think that Miss Gilchrist is the murderer because the author leads you on a completely different path.  There are lots of details and descriptions given about people and places which make it interesting.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Mystery book report.TXT
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Book Report - Mystery
Setting:
The story takes place in several places in England in the early 20th century. The places are:  Enderby Hall, an old mansion in the countryside, Lychett St. Mary, a small English village, and London.  
Many descriptions of the homes and countryside and city are given which makes it believable.
Crime:
There are two deaths in the book.  The first is the death of Richard Abernethie who lived in Enderby Hall.  He died in his sleep.  His death was quite unexpected even though he had been unwell.  The second death is the brutal murder of Cora Lansquenet, the sister of Richard Abernethie.  She was killed in her house in Lychett St. Mary the day after she returned from Richard Abernethie's funeral. Cora's death was discovered by ber companion and housekeeper, Miss Gilchrist. Miss Gilchrist had gone to the library to return some books.  When she came back, she went to Cora's room to tell her that she was back, and found her dead, horribly cut up with a hatchet.  She immediately called the police and reported the crime. The killer had broken the kitchen window to enter the house; a few cheap pieces of jewelry had been stolen.
Victim:
The victim is Cora Lansquenet.  We do not find out until the end why she was killed.  She is a kind old lady, but also very outspoken.  She has a habit of blurting things out which are often true.  At Richard Abernethie's funeral, she blurts out that she thinks he was murdered.  This comes as a shock to everyone, since they all thought that he had died in his sleep.  Cora also has a habit of tilting her head to one side, like a bird, whenever she talks.
Clues:
There are no clues like fingerprints, etc.  The murderer is a very clever person!  There are plenty of red herrings.
Suspects:
There are many members of Richard Abernethie's family, and they are all suspects.  His sister Cora, a brother, two sisters in law, and several nieces and nephews.  All of them are poor and desperately need money.  When Richard dies, all of them get a lot of money from his will. This is their motive.  They all have alibis since all of them were at home at the time of his death.  Cora's death is more puzzling since nobody really gains anything from it.
Detective:
The person solving this mystery is Hercules Poirot, the famous Belgian detective.  He is famous for his big mustache (which he is very proud of) and his very smart brain cells!  He believes in observing human nature and doing a lot of thinking to solve crimes.
Perpetrator:
The murderer is Miss Gilchrist, Cora Lansquenet's housekeeper and companion.  Absolutely nobody suspects her - she is a frail, middle-aged lady who nobody pays much attention to.  Her motive in killing Cora is to get one of Cora's paintings, which is actually a very valuable Vermeer, but which Cora thinks is just some cheap painting. 
Hercules Poirot solves the case by not believing obvious things.  It is quite a complicated mystery with lots of red herrings!  What really happened is that Miss Gilchrist pretends to be Cora Lansquenet at Richard Abernethie's funeral.  She could do that because no one had seen Cora for twenty years.  However, she made one mistake, which got her caught in the end.  Cora (the real one) had a habit of tilting her head to the right whenever she spoke.  Miss Gilchrist turned her head to the left when she pretended to be Cora. Her sister in law felt that something was wrong, but could not figure out exactly what.  Hercules Poirot figured it out with his brain cells!
Personal response:
This is a great story.  You will never guess who committed the murder till Hercules Poirot solves it for you.  You will never think that Miss Gilchrist is the murderer because the author leads you on a completely different path.  There are lots of details and descriptions given about people and places which make it interesting.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Never The Twain Shall Meet Book Report.TXT
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1927
Throughout the ITP program and the lower level ASL classes the name Gallaudet is driven into our heads. We know of the University named after him and how he was the man to bring education to the Deaf in America. What was not before mentioned is that there were two Gallaudets. The first thing I learned from this book is the importance of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and his son Edward Miner Gallaudet. I fact I had believed for some time now that E.M. Gallaudet was this extraordinary man that everyone loved and the named a university after him. It is unfortunate that this was not made clearer in the past. Now all I see is a man who took the only path that he knew how to take. E.M. Gallaudet had very little choice but to instruct in the way that he did. It is true that it was ultimately his choice but I believe that nurture is much more powerful than nature. E.M.'s mother was taught sign and communicated in sign to her husband and child. Naturally E.M. would think this is the best method of instruction. To think other wisely would be to say that his mother was inadequate. In turn this would mean that his upbringing was inadequate which would lead to the conclusion that he himself was an inadequate person. For his own salvation and peace of mind E.M. was given his path at birth. For him to have strayed from this would have ended up being a long and lonely road cutting all ties with the past. So E.M. like any normal man of that time chose to follow the path that was set out for him. T.H. Gallaudet was himself a teacher and I am sure passed on many of these traits to his son if not genetically then in his upbringing. It was no surprise to me after finding out that T.H. was himself a teacher that E.M. would be a teacher. This was further specializing in that T.H. was a teacher of the Deaf, which was to be the life long profession for E.M. In the beginning E.M. wanted to be a business man and make lots of money. This is probably attributed to the life he must have had with his father living the lifestyle of a minister. His dreams were of course cut short when his father died. E.M. tried his hand at some business in the bank but deciding on an education went to college. To pay for this venture E.M. did the only thing that he knew how to due and that was work in the Deaf world. In the book it is mentioned that he received the job through family ties. I can accept the obvious in that his father used to run the school. Looking more deeply into that sentence I believe that the underlying meaning holds more information. The ties to E.M.'s family lied not in the school board but rather in him. I believe that he felt tied to the Deaf world and in a sense felt that by his fathers early death E.M. needed to carry on the family name in educating the Deaf. I sense that E.M. was finishing what his father had started. E.M. did find a way to differ himself from the past in one distinct way. In his first marriage the author made it clear that E.M. was not all too involved. With his second wife he apparently loved her but still he was not so devoted to her. With the amount of time they were separated and their odd relationship. I wonder, wether or not this was a desired union as well. The book mentioned E.M. possible homosexuality I propose that E.M. wanted to be with the Deaf and not the hearing. Perhaps he wanted at the same time to educate and become more intimately involved with the Deaf. As his father before him was. One thing I found surprising was that E.M. did not enter religion. In a way though he learned to proper method of preaching. In that preaching is a method to bring others to see and agree with your point of view. E.M. demonstrated this with his exceptional talent in dealing with congress and procuring funds for the school. Alexander Graham Bell before I read this book was nothing more than the inventor of the telephone. Which that too, has been diminished. I once had a science teacher that said once all the information exists the inevitable conclusion must be reached and many times by more than one person at various locations. The book touched briefly that Bell was not the only person to have created this invention. That was the only mention of this claim to fame for Bell the rest of the book describing Bell was new information to me. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately for Bell he was stuck in the same predicament that E.M. was stuck in. Bell Like E.M. had a deaf mother and Bell like E.M. had an instructor for a father. Bell differed from E.M. in that his family was focused on speech. For the same reason Bell had to Follow oralism to save his own self image. This is an odd reason but if thought about and placed in their time it is a sound reason. Men had to believe in themselves and Bell was a man. The man that Bell had to model himself after was his father. This is slightly different from E.M. in that Bell did not lose his father early on. The reasons for him following in his fathers foot steps is demonstrated in the mentioning of Bell's Grand father. There must have been enormous pressure for Bell to enter the field of Speech therapy in one form or another. Bell unlike E.M. was a genius, he had many different ventures in the world that he participated in. Bell shooting to be who he wanted to be made good money. Were as E.M. shooting to make good money ended up being where he wanted to be. I was not aware as I am sure most are not that Bell played such a large role in the education of the Deaf. When First I read the topic of the book, I imagined it to be a logical progression from one philosophy to another. As shown in human history when a new philosopher reads the works of another than modifies it to include the present knowledge and this person becomes the father of a new philosophy. This was what I imagined the communications debate to be. With Bell starting off with oralism then years later E.M. modifies this to include sign and a few people fight to maintain the old but the new and obviously improved method wins out and all is fine. Imagine my surprise when I found that both philosophies emerged at the same time. Rather than one established method being modified, the process became the attempt for dominance by two apparently different methods This Debate that still rages on today. I cannot attribute this to either Bell or E.M. but rather I must attribute this to their parents. It was mere circumstance that both of them were brought to the forefront of the battle between oralism and sign language. I think that Bell in the beginning was for both sign and speech as he himself learned to sign and use it to deliver a speech at E.M. school. I believe also that E.M. would have gone for both methods as he was a main advocate for speech therapy in schools for the deaf. If only Bell had lived, I think that schools today would be taught in sign with the mandatory education in speech therapy. This is very similar to what we call partial main streaming in today's public schools where they are beginning to adopt the Bi-Bi method. In turn I think that if E.M. were the only person to battle for Deaf education than the schooling would be the same. The problem is that neither man was given the opportunity to explore fully the other half of their profession as they were forced to take sides and fight a battle. Bells battle for speech really built it self from an unlikely place. The courthouse is were Bell learned that man cannot be trusted. I think that bell was more mad at himself for not keeping better records to prove that he was the first to invent the telephone. Bell learned here that one needs to pick a topic and argue for it directly. This was the beginning of the end for Bell. E.M. had his down fall in his inability to commit. E.M. may have believed that a man's word was all that was needed but in truth this is not so. I agree with Bell in that if E.M. was not willing to state it in front of congress then he was probably not willing to hold true to his word. The debate in congress for E.M. to establish a school for teachers of the Deaf is where I would mark the beginning of the battle between oralism and sign. Up until this down fall between friends I think that each was beginning to see the importance of what the other was saying. These two men let their differences in one matter cloud their judgment in other matters. At this point in their lives I think that E.M. chose to battle for sign because Bell was battling for oralism and the same goes for the reciprocal. These two men could have been both the great founders of modern Deaf education both using speech and sign while still maintaining a normal public atmosphere. This would have allowed the debate to be where to instruct the Deaf rather than how to instruct them. It is apparent from modern research and was probably apparent to both men of the past that the best method of instruction is not one or the other but both which would eventually develop into the Bi-Bi method. The education for the Deaf could have become something great if these two men had stopped their arguing before it started and allowed what they knew was right to win out over their pride. All the information had been gathered and they were both heading to the same and only conclusion until they stopped caring and started bickering. Looking back at both men's past, I can see where the down fall was. Both of them had to start on their road to educating the Deaf because their pride showed them the starting point. Either man, given no competition would have arrived at the obvious conclusion for using both methods. Both men once entered into competition were driven to rely on their instincts and revert back to what they knew best which unfortunately for us today were opposing views. Still, the battle rages on. Winefild, Richard, Never The Twain Shall Meet, Gallaudet University Press, Washington ,D.C. 1949
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Night by Elie Wiesel.TXT
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Night by Elie Wiesel 
In reading, Night by Elie Wiesel and A Man's Search For Meaning by , many stories of the torturous life in the concentration camps during the second world war. In each book, the reader gets a different point of view from each book because in Night, you get to read about a teenager's view and in the book, A Man's Search For Meaning, you get to read about a middle aged man's view. In the book, Night, Elie, his family and his community go through a system of indoctrination which in each step it makes you seem less and less of a human.
The first step is that the Hungarian police made all the Jewish people wear yellow stars, so they could be picked out easily. The next step is that all the Jewish people had to get rid of all their valuable belongings. The next step in the system is moving all the Jewish people to the ghettos either in the large one or the small one. Elie and his family was moved to the large one. The next step is that Elie and his family had to move to the small ghetto where they were getting ready to leave or be sent some where else. The following step of the system is everyday they take a certain amount of Jewish people into the center of the town square and then they let them sit there for a while.
The next step was that they had to walk to the synagogue and then they had to walk to train after being in the synagogue for a day. Once they reach the train, the Hungarian police put eighty people in a thirty person train car. The next step is the long trip on the train, where people start going crazy, people not getting fed well and no room to sit. Life in the camp, the next step is when the train arrives at Auschwitz and then SS men ordered everyone out and makes them leave their personal stuff behind.
In the next step they separated the men from the women and children, this was a point where families were separated and most of the families never saw each other again. Elie never saw his mother and his sisters again. He could have stay with his mother but he told the SS men that he was eighteen years old and that was better because the most people they killed were children. The older people got to live longer because they thought that they will all die because of the way they were treating them bad, by not feeding and making them work longer hours.
The next step was to separate the handicapped from the normal. After that the young and old are separated. The next step is all the men had take of the clothes and be shaven and cleaned. The doctor went around check all the people for any diseases and or handicaps. The next step is that all the people had to get tattooed and the tattoo was that of a number and that number now replaced your name. Then after that the sent you into room and they
gave you the same clothes. After that moment you definitely lost your individuality because you looked like everyone else and everything about you has been taken away so you start to think that you a just one of a million. These ideas are taken from pages 8 to 39 in the book, Night. The concentration camps seemed to bring out the worst in people because what happen was that all the people there reverted to animals and they only thought on their minds was me. Most of them wanted to survive as an individual rather than helping out and surviving as a group. The issue of primary importance for the prisoners was survival by any means necessary. Either young or old, everyone wants to get out the concentration camps alive. Everyone had a different method of
survival, one example of that is that some people step over other people to survive but others actually tried to be social and helpful, so that family and friends of theirs could survive also. There is a four point methodology that can be used to understand more the situation that both authors were in.
The nature of the universe is life in the concentration camp for men. Our role is that we have to do everything in our power to survive the concentration camps. The flaw is that not everyone wants to do everything in their power to survive the concentration camps. The remedy is that you would have to give the people that do not want to live a reason for living. You can tell them that their family members are waiting for them when they get out or someone needs them to be alive, so they could survive another day. Wiesel talks about how everyone has something inside them that they want to live for, but if they cannot see that then someone will have tell them about it. Wiesel believes that we should all see our something that makes us want to live because life is very valuable and you cannot just let it go like that. In the reading of both these books, I have learned many things about the human race. I learned how cruel it can be and how fragile it can be.
I believe that if I was in a position of either being a prisoner, a SS man or a Kapo, I really do not know how I would act. If I was a SS man, I probably would have listen my conscience and done everything in my power to get out of that position. If I was a prisoner, I would probably do everything in my power to live and survive the camps. If I was a Kapo, I would not treated my follow men bad so that I will not face any harm. Even though I think I would have done these things if I was in those positions, I probably would have done something else because I can never really understand the situation and the experience of it.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Night.TXT
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1131
Without a doubt, one of the darkest episodes in the history of mankind involved the systematic extermination of Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and gays by Nazi Germany. In order to get a good sense of the horror and despair that was felt by the interned, one simply needs to read the memoirs of Elie Wiesel in his "Night", as translated from French by Stella Rodway and copyrighted by Bantam Books in 1960. Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Transylvania. His parents ran a shop and cared for him and his three siblings, Hilda, Bea, and Tzipora. Early on, the Jewish community of Sighet payed little heed to the stories of what had happened to foreign Jews that were expelled. By the time Germans had entered Sighet, it was too late for the people to escape their fates. At first, they were made to give up all of their valuable possessions and move into makeshift ghettos. Next came deportation of the entire community to the Auschwitz internment camp. The way that the people were piled into cattle wagons was only a precurser of appalling events that were to come. The horror really dawned on Elie when he realized that the large smokestacks that he saw were from crematoriums that were set up to burn the bodies of the thousands upon thousands of Jews that were killed in the gas chamber. Elie paints a portrait of life in the camp, which included hours of back-breaking labor, fear of hangings, and an overall theme throughout the book: starvation. The prisoners were given only black coffee in the morning, and soup and a crust of bread in the evening. The most terrifying aspect of the entire experience was the "selection", the picking out of those that were to sick, old, or weak to be useful. These unfortunate souls were thrown into the fires. The one constant in Elie's life was his father, who along with his son and all other prisoners, were later forced to evacuate to trains that would bring them to the Buchenwald internment camp deep in Germany, under the pressure of the Allied forces on the area. The final horrific scene in this book was how the interned, in mass, were forced to run full speed for hours on end, the people that lagged being shot on sight. The story culminated in the death of Elie's father, and the eventual freedom of the Survivors of these death camps. The way that Elie describes the people and events around him brings to life the suffering and heartache that surrounded him. He was able to catch the essence of the people discussed in the book, from the cruel Hungarian police in Sighet, to the broken down shell of his dying father, who needed to be looked after like a little child before his death. In describing how starving men fought to the death over tiny scraps of bread, he allows us to grasp the very nature of hunger, and how it can affect anyone. In talking about the children, Elie really develops the abhorrence of the whole situation. His vivid description of a child being hanged, how he was still alive, "struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes", truly captured the ghastly occurrences of the death camp. His own discussion of how he had lost faith in a God, and how other sons were leaving or even beating their fathers with no care enlightened me to the true despair that surrounded the people that inhabited these camps. His defiance to his religion at the solemn service of Rosh Hashanah is the culmination of his unbelief of his life's ambitions to learn the cabbala. On the physical shape of the survivors, he sums it up with the description of himself in a mirror as "a corpse" that "gazed back at me". This alone installed in me the overwhelming sense of how this event so completely ravaged the human soul. When looking into the book's historical accuracy, it is not difficult to come to the conclusion that the events told , no matter how unbelievable, truly did occur. The Holocaust was the culmination of Nazi-German resentment towards European Jews. This genocide of staggering proportions was carried out with meticulous efficiency by a well-coordinated German bureaucracy in which nothing was left to chance. This is what the Nazi leaders considered the "final solution" to the problem of the Jewish problem. Between 1941 and 1945 in the death camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Belzec, an estimated 6 million Jews living in German-occupied Europe were exterminated. The most effective method of exterminating people was in specially constructed gas chambers, into which victims were packed wall to wall. After the gassing the bodies were then moved to the furnaces to be burned. Up to 10,000 victims were gassed to death daily. Having experienced the great hopelessness of the victims and the extreme cruelty that man is capable of, I have gained a much greater appreciation of the plight of human rights. What really surprises me about the situation was the mild response from Countries such as Italy and Romania to the reports of these outrages There was almost no organized opposition to what was happening, even on the part of most of the churches. Only the Danish protected the Jews in their country, sending them to neutral Sweden. The other day, Pope John Paul II apologized for the past sins of the church, but did not address the way that Pope Pious VII threw a deaf ear towards the Holocaust. What is more disturbing than the fact that their was not opposition to the Nazis by other European countries is the fact that something as horrible as this could happen again. In Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990's, the "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims and Croats by Serbs led to the removal of 2.5 million people from cities and villages, mass murders, and the internment of men and boys in as many as 100 concentration camps. Although the situation did not escalate to the point of the Holocaust, it showed the ignorance of people as to past events. To conclude, Elie Wiesel's "Night" is a haunting and accurate account of the cruelty that man can inflict on man. The lessons learned from this account cannot be forgotten. If they are, then they are sure to be repeated. Works Cited "Ethnic Cleansing." The Complete Reference Collection. 1998ed. CD-ROM. The Learning Company, Inc., 1998. "Holocaust." The Complete Reference Collection. 1998ed. CD-ROM. The Learning
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Odyssey 
Master of many exploits" (387), and "The master improviser"
(395). These all have to do with how ingenious Odysseus is
when he needs something. All he does is tell some
outrageous stories and he can get out of any tough spot and
even receive prizes for his story telling. In chapters nine
trough twelve, all Odysseus does is tell stories to the
Phaeacians. In fact he tells ten very outlandish and
descriptive tales. The first was the journey to Ismarus
(211-214). Odysseus "sacked the city, killed men, but as
for the wives and plunder, that rich hall we dragged away
from the place-" (212). His men then wanted to celebrate
their "booty" so they stayed and that proved to be fatal to
his men. Many of them died because they were very conceded,
but Odysseus sat and watched in disgust of their big heads,
because he knew that they should have left right away.
Odysseus prove to be, in this story, very intelligent
because he knew that the Cicones' would recover and
reattack, and they did and his men had a great loss of life.
Also because he sacked this city, for no reason, it shows
him to be "a raider of cities" (472).
They next reached, "the land of the Lotus-eaters,
people who eat the lotus, mellow fruit and flower" (214).
The Lotus-eaters had no interest in attacking them, but they
just gave them some Lotus to eat (214-215). The lotus was
a, "honey-sweet fruit," (214) and because it was so good,
his men no longer yearned to return home. So, Odysseus had
to drag them back to the ships. This proves Odysseus to be
smart and willful because he was the only one who knew that
they had to go home. (Cyclops story: See above)
They went sailing once again and landed upon the Aolian
island (231-233). Odysseus sent his men to go search out the
island and all of Odysseus's men's ships were in the harbor
except for his. So, all of a sudden a bunch of huge giants
come out from all over the place and eat all of Odysseus's
men except for his ship because he says, "put your backs in
the oars-now row or die!" (234) This proves Odysseus to not
be the best leader, because he allowed his men to be eaten
and destroyed.
They then landed at the Aeaean island (233-248). So
once again he sent his men to go check out the island. They
found the house of Circe and she fed them food that made
them fall asleep and she turned them into pigs. One of
Odysseus's men escaped and told Odysseus what had happened
and Odysseus set off to retrieve them. Hermes stopped him
along his tracks and gave him an herb so that he would not
fall asleep and he told him to threaten to kill her and that
would make her want to sleep with him. So, that's what
happened and Odysseus retrieved his men back to original
form and then they stayed at her house for a year. This
adventure shows him to be great (190,208,288) and clever
(437,296)
He then went to the House of the Dead (Chapter 11).
Hades is a place where , "their realm and city shrouded in
mist and cloud. The eye of the Sun can never flash its
rays...deadly night overhangs those wretched men." (250).
He then made his sacrifice, " first with milk and honey and
then a mellow wine, third water and last, and sprinkled
glistening barley," (250). The dead came swarming around
and they all had to take out their swords to defend the
blood because they needed Tiresias to come. It was for him.
But they just kept on coming, "blanching terror gripped me!"
(250) Tiresias came later and told Odysseus how to get home.
In this chapter it shows Odysseus to be a "battle-master"
(440, 441, 439) for defending the blood and sacrifice. This
also proves him to be "long-enduring" (341, 344, 459, 485)
because he will do and take what ever he has to, to get home
to Ithica.
These are just a few of the stories Odysseus told to
the Phaeacians. As seen here, these stories were very
elaborate. Needless to say the Phaeacians loved him. So,
when he asked for gifts and for them to take him home, they
agreed. The king of the Phaeacians said, " Come each of us
add a sumptuous tripod, a cauldron!" (286). Therefore
Odysseus returned to Ithica with numerous riches. This also
makes Odysseus out to be a "master of subtlety" (397)
because he may not have even taken all these outrageous
trips but, he subtlety got them to believe and to shower him
with riches, because he could not go home empty-handed.
As you can see, Odysseus has many characteristics. He
is sly, cunning, great, a master story teller, and a master
at battle. Obviously when Homer wrote this story, he
thought Odysseus, as a character, had to have these
consistent traits to be able to make it through those twenty
years. He was correct, because in the end, all of
Odysseus's men were not as cunning and tactful as he, and
they all died in the end. That therefore, makes Odysseus a
great and powerful man.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Oedipus Essay.TXT
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710
Sophocles "Oedipus the King" is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well known to the athenian's. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus' life and to futher characterized him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?" Oedipus correctly answered "Man" and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius who was taken to the mountain by a shepard to be killed so the omen of the god apollo that Laius' son would kill him and lay with Jocasta would not come true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. If it has not been for the shepard spairing his life and giving him to Polybus to raise as his own Oedipus would have died. Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. This is a metaphor for Oedipus when he reaches adulthood and leaves Corinth to escape the oracle. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in a rage kills them. Inadvertently Oedipus has killed his own father. Oedipus then answers the riddle of the sphinx and becomes king of Thebes. By becoming king of Thebes he marries Jocasta the Queen of thebes and his own mother. Many years later after bearing children with Jocasta a plague kills many of the inhabitants of Thebes. Oedipus is told by the gods to find the killer of Laius. He is very dilligent in the inquiriy and finally comes to the horrible truth that he himself is the murderer. Jocasta kills herself at the horrible realization that she has layed with her son and Oedipus puts out his eyes at finally seeing the truth. This fulfills the final part of the Sphinx's riddle for Oedipus will have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life because of his blindness, this will give him the 3 feet which man walks with at the end of his years. Oedipus used his intellect and diligence to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. Many of the most intelligent young men of thebes has been killed attempting to answer the riddle but Oedipus proved his intelligence superior to theirs. Oedipus uses the same intelligence and perseverence to find the killer of Laius. He does not give up his search even when Jocasta warns him to stop and let the matter rest. He calls the shepard and interrogates him till he discovers the horrifying truth that he is the killer. Oedipus' intelligence was ultimately his flaw. Also, if Oedipus had not had been as coarageous he would have have never ventured to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. Thus even though he had killed his father he would have never become king of Thebes and laid with his mother. In addition, if Oedipus had had the courage but not the intelligence the Spinx would have killed him for answering the riddle incorrectly. Sophocles used this to characterized Oedipus as a tragic man for he came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. Oedipus traits which gave him riches and power ultimately led to his tragic ending. Also, the god apollo did not predestine that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother by the oracle, he only stated what he knew was inevitable because of who Oedipus was. The sphinx's riddle was used by Sophocles to characterize Oedipus as a tragic man and as a parallel to his life. The riddle describes the 3 stages which Oedipus went through in his life. Also in answering the riddle Oedipus inevitable brought about his own tragic ending by a horrible discovery.
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Fate is an issue that is mentioned in almost every religion. The majority of people living since the beginning of time up until the present, have had a some sort of opinion on the subject. Oedipus Rex is a story that is held together by the fact that fate is more powerful than anyone's free will. On this strong basis of fate, free will doesn't even exist. This is a belief that can be accepted or denied, but in Oedipus's story, fate is proved inevitable. In the very beginning of the story, before we hear from the oracle, there is already foreshadowing of Oedipus' impending doom. He himself states to the people, "Sick as you are, not one is as sick as I" (Sophocles 5). This statement is almost eerie when looking back upon it. Alone, it seems as if he knows that he is ill-fated, but reading on he clarifies his pain in this way; "Each of you suffers in himself alone/His anguish, not another's; but my spirit/Groans for the city, for myself, for you" (Sophocles 5). His pain is not his future, it is the plague of the country. The same basic prophecy of Oedipus is proven in many characters. No matter how many times a specific character tried to play off fate and try to get rid of the situation it stayed exactly the same. Teiresias, the oracle, knows the end of all fate. He knows that fate controls every minute of an individual's life; "How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be/When there's not help in truth!" (Sophocles 16) Oedipus was told by Teiresias that in his later years he would be the killer of his own father, and would marry his own mother. In his attempt to avoid this situation, he left both of his parents and traveled to a far away city called Thebes. Once there he was married to a woman, that he himself was positive was not his mother, for his mother was the woman that he had left back in Corinth. Also, being so far from his known home, there was no chance that he could kill his father whom he had also left behind. Oedipus thought he was safe, but he was not. Oedipus is not the only one that tries to escape the curse. Iocastê also tried to escape the curse. She knows about it before Oedipus himself knows. She first hears the prophecy just days after Oedipus is born and cannot stand to live with him any more. She sends him off to be killed, thinking that she had stopped the prophecy from happening, she worries no more. Iocastê does not know the whole truth though. She does not know that the shepard had actually disobeyed her. The shepard in which she gave the baby to disobeyed her, and didn't kill the child. Instead, in pity, he sent the baby away far enough that he thought the foretelling would not be in effect. Again this did not stop fate. Once Oedipus found out that the people he had known as his parents were not his blood relatives, Iocastê found out what had actually happened. "For God's love, let us have no more questioning!/Is your life nothing to you?/My own is pain enough for me to bear" (Sophocles 55). These were a few of her last words. Fate took her life. Laïos the king was also not free of the curse. He had found about it first and was the person that ordered Iocastê to get rid of the child. This did not work, because the child was still alive, and Oedipus did end up killing his true father unknowingly. In Oedipus's conscience, he truly didn't think that he had killed his own father, because his father was far away. In the same way, Laïos did not believe that it was his own son that had killed him. Rather, he thought that his pursuer was an angry highwayman; a stranger. All of these unproven solutions seemed very likely to avoid the curse, yet none of them worked. In Iocastê and Laïos's attempts, their true son lived instead of being killed, and was brought to another family, in which he would grow up royally as well. When he moved away from the parents he thought was his true family, he was trying to attempt to avoid the curse by distance. In doing this, he ended up moving back to where he had been born, killing his blood father in an argument during his travels and once arriving at his destination in which he thought was distant enough, married his own mother and served in his father's position as King. In this story, fate definitely could not be denied. Sophocles probably had a strong belief in predestiny and he demonstrated this in his story of Oedipus. Oedipus Rex is one play that is held together by the fact that fate is more powerful than anyone's free will. In conclusion, fate is the only true evil. Everything that happens is somehow meant to be. Lastly, a little advice, "Let every man in mankind's frailty/Consider his last day; and let none/Presume on his good fortune until he find pain/Life, at his death, a memory without pain" (Sophocles 78).
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In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self, but neither the grandiose nor the depressive "Narcissus" can really love himself (Miller 67). All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according to Aristotle's ideas about tragedy, and a narcissist according to Alice Miller's The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self. Using Oedipus as an ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be an important or influential man who makes an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the consequences of his actions. Those actions are seen when Oedipus forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny and his father's name. When Teiresias tries to warn him by saying "This day will give you parents and destroy you" (Sophocles line 428), Oedipus still does not care and proceeds with his questioning. The tragic hero must learn a lesson from his errors in judgment and become an example to the audience of what happens when great men fall from their lofty social or political positions. According to Miller, a person who is great, who is admired everywhere, and needs this admiration to survive, has one of the extreme forms of narcissism, which is grandiosity. Grandiosity can be seen when a person admires himself, his qualities, such as beauty, cleverness, and talents, and his success and achievements greatly. If one of these happens to fail, then the catastrophe of a severe depression is near (Miller 34). Those actions happen when the Herdsman tells Oedipus who his mother is, and Oedipus replies "Oh, oh, then everything has come out true. Light, I shall not look on you Again. I have been born where I should not be born, I have been married where I should not marry, I have killed whom I should not kill; now all is clear" (Sophocles lines 1144). Oedipus's decision to pursue his questioning is wrong; his grandiosity blinded him and, therefore, his fate is not deserved, but it is far beyond his control. A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. But when it is prophesized to Oedipus, he sets forth from the city of his foster parents in order to prevent this terrible fate from occurring. Oedipus's destiny is not deserved because he is being punished for his parent's actions. His birth parents seek the advice of the Delphi Oracle, who recommends that they should not have any children. When the boy is born, Laius is overcome with terror when he remembers the oracle. Oedipus is abandoned by his birth parents and is denied their love, which is what results in what Miller calls "Depression as Denial of the Self". Depression results from a denial of one's own emotional reactions, and we cannot really love if we deny our truth, the truth about our parents and caregivers as, well as about ourselves (Miller 43). The birth of Oedipus presets his destiny to result in tragedy even though he is of noble birth. In tragedies, protagonists are usually of the nobility to make their falls seem greater. Oedipus just happens to be born a prince, and he has saved a kingdom that is rightfully his from the Sphinx. His destiny is to be of noble stature from birth, which is denied to him by his parents, but given back by the Sphinx. His nobility deceived him as well as his reflection, since it shows only his perfect, wonderful face and not his inner world, his pain, his history (Miller 66). When he relies on his status, he is blind, not physically, but emotionally. He is blind in his actions; therefore he does not see that the questioning would bring him only misery. Later, after his self-inflicted blinding, Oedipus sees his actions as wrongdoing when he says "What use are my eyes to me, who could never - See anything pleasant again?" (Sophocles line 1293) and that blindness does not necessarily have to be physical as we can se when he says, "If I had sight, I know not with what eyes I would have looked" (Sophocles line 1325). In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays the main character, Oedipus, as a good-natured person who has bad judgment and is frail. Oedipus makes a few fatal decisions and is condemned to profound suffering because of them. I agree with Aristotle that Oedipus' misfortune happens because of his tragic flaw. If he hadn't been so judgmental or narcissistic, as Miller would characterize a personality like Oedipus, he would never have killed King Laius and called Teiresias a liar. In the beginning, Teiresias is simply trying to ease him slowly into the truth; but Oedipus is too proud to see any truths, and he refuses to believe that he could have been responsible for such a horrible crime. He learns a lesson about life and how there is more to it than just one person's fate.
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The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is truth, it is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have. Oedipus goes on with his journey not knowing about what he is going to do next. Oedipus runs into some people at a crossing on this journey and quarrels with them to there death. After this, he goes along to a city named Thebes where he outsmarted a beast that was cursing the city. He received praise and joy. While gaining the trust of all that lived there he quickly became King of Thebes. The people loved him because he was such a great leader. He was such a great king because he had a lot of love for his people and would do anything in his power to make them happy. As a result of this, Oedipus finds out that the city is in trouble unless the killer of their late king is found and punished. Little does Oedipus know that he is the killer of their late King or that the King was actually his father. Oedipus will strive for awnsers even though he has been warned not to dig to deep, for he will regret it. Being the stubborn person that he was, he forced everyone to tell what they knew about the Kings death. Forcing and forcing more, the King found out all about his childhood. He ended up with different parents after his mother abandoned him at birth because of the Oracle that they received telling them that there son would end up killing his father, which he did anyway. Oedipus's mother has the same blindness that he has, she thinks that she can change fate. Oedipus was found to be guilty of killing the late King, also his father. His mother, now his wife, was proof that you cannot change fate no matter what you do. In disgust, Oedipus physically blinded himself so he can never see what he has done again and banishes himself from civilization forever. Sophocles uses the word blindness in many different ways. He makes it a big part of the play. It is ironic that a blind person can see the future and the real meaning of life while Oedipus only sees what he wants to see and blinds himself mentally of what he does not want to see. Oedipus is a man ignorant to the true appearance of things. Towards the end of the play things change for him. Everything is too clear of what the truth is and he shows that he is a coward by trying to avoid his fate once more by blinding himself physically. "Oedipus Rex" was one of the greatest plays ever written. The major themes in the play were outstanding and it makes you think about truth and how important and strong it really is. The way Sophocles uses the word blind in the story made it worth while. Piecing it all together made the play a lot more interesting than most other plays. "The truth will set you free" is a famous saying that Oedipus should have not listened to and should have not looked for.
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Sophocles "Oedipus the King" is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well known to the athenian's. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus' life and to futher characterized him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?" Oedipus correctly answered "Man" and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius who was taken to the mountain by a shepard to be killed so the omen of the god apollo that Laius' son would kill him and lay with Jocasta would not come true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. If it has not been for the shepard spairing his life and giving him to Polybus to raise as his own Oedipus would have died. Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. This is a metaphor for Oedipus when he reaches adulthood and leaves Corinth to escape the oracle. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in a rage kills them. Inadvertently Oedipus has killed his own father. Oedipus then answers the riddle of the sphinx and becomes king of Thebes. By becoming king of Thebes he marries Jocasta the Queen of thebes and his own mother. Many years later after bearing children with Jocasta a plague kills many of the inhabitants of Thebes. Oedipus is told by the gods to find the killer of Laius. He is very dilligent in the inquiriy and finally comes to the horrible truth that he himself is the murderer. Jocasta kills herself at the horrible realization that she has layed with her son and Oedipus puts out his eyes at finally seeing the truth. This fulfills the final part of the Sphinx's riddle for Oedipus will have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life because of his blindness, this will give him the 3 feet which man walks with at the end of his years. Oedipus used his intellect and diligence to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. Many of the most intelligent young men of thebes has been killed attempting to answer the riddle but Oedipus proved his intelligence superior to theirs. Oedipus uses the same intelligence and perseverence to find the killer of Laius. He does not give up his search even when Jocasta warns him to stop and let the matter rest. He calls the shepard and interrogates him till he discovers the horrifying truth that he is the killer. Oedipus' intelligence was ultimately his flaw. Also, if Oedipus had not had been as coarageous he would have have never ventured to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. Thus even though he had killed his father he would have never become king of Thebes and laid with his mother. In addition, if Oedipus had had the courage but not the intelligence the Spinx would have killed him for answering the riddle incorrectly. Sophocles used this to characterized Oedipus as a tragic man for he came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. Oedipus traits which gave him riches and power ultimately led to his tragic ending. Also, the god apollo did not predestine that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother by the oracle, he only stated what he knew was inevitable because of who Oedipus was. The sphinx's riddle was used by Sophocles to characterize Oedipus as a tragic man and as a parallel to his life. The riddle describes the 3 stages which Oedipus went through in his life. Also in answering the riddle Oedipus inevitable brought about his own tragic ending by a horrible discovery. Oedipus the King by Sophocles is more than just a plain tragedy. This play is a suspense thriller, where every character involved with Oedipus learned that fate is determined only by the gods. In this specific play, Apollo was deciding god that predicted the fate of every person in the city of Thebes. This book represents a symbol of the lives of many, showing that you can not run away from fate because it decision that will forever remain. It was written in the honor of, the god of theater, Dionysos. Also, for the annual festival where playwrights competed for prizes. It was a major public occasion, with immense attendance expected. This theatric happening was written in the turning point of the war that saved Greece from a huge Persian invasion. The actual time period when this play was performed was not recorded. But, it was when mythology and tragedy in theatre became very interesting and popular to watch. There were two main settings. A town in main Greece called Thebes and another place called Corinth. At Thebes the play is mainly located in the exterior of Oedipus' palace at Thebes. The main characters in this book are Oedipus, Tiresias, As the story progresses, however, Oedipus' power and pride are broken down. Some readers imagine a broken, pitiful old man who's been crushed by the avenging gods. From the script, it is clear that Oedipus is apparently handsome and well built. He is described as a "tower of strength," and has a sharp way of looking at people. He is quick-tempered, and often acts recklessly and violently. His followers love him, and consider him a brilliant ruler because he solved the riddle of the Sphinx and brought ease to the city of Thebes as Oedipus became their savior. Oedipus also shows wisdom, love for his children and a reputation for high moral standards. We've come to this conclusion because even when the threat, of whoever killed Lauis would suffer, applied to him he still followed through with the punishments. He has a passion for truth, and shows courage in the face of disaster or conflict. These same noble qualities, however, lead to his tragic flaw and brought upon his downfall. His wisdom became hypocritical, and he refused to believe anyone who didn't agree with him. His love for his children becomes obsessive, and he refuses to see that he's married his own mother. His passion for the truth and high moral standards trapped him into a deadly quest for the murderer of Laius, which resulted in being him. The one trait of Oedipus that did not change in the course of the play, was his strength and courage in the face of disaster. Every step he took to solve the mystery of Laius' murder brings him closer to being revealed, yet he never stops searching for the truth. But his courage and strength help him endure the pain and suffering that come with knowledge of what he has done. Tiresias is a wise, old man who has supernatural powers to interpret the past and predict the future. The fact that Tiresias is blind makes his imaginary abilities even more mysterious. This may also lead Oedipus to deny Tiresias' ability to "see" the truth. At first Tiresias refuses to answer Oedipus' questions about the prophecy. He appears as a character that was always a messenger for the gods. Therefore, when Oedipus insulted Tiresias, in the first scene, and accused him of being a false prophet. Oedipus, however, did not realize that he was also attacking the gods while he was attacking Tiresias. Although his appearance in the play was short, Tiresias sets the tone of the moral and religious beliefs of the gods. He was interrogated by Oedipus, yet, withheld the important information in which he was not to reveal. Creon is Oedipus' brother-in-law and a trusted assistant of the king. He is also third in command of Thebes as a political leader. The Chorus mentions that he is an honest man who is reliable, trustworthy, and sensible. When Creon has returned from the oracles at Delphi was when he was first seen in the play. But honor is important to him- he is quick to defend his reputation and protest his innocence. Jocasta is the wife of Oedipus and his mother. She was first married to Lauis but then her son killed him. Early in Oedipus the King we realized that she was trying to mediate between Oedipus and Creon when they quarreled. She appeared to us to be a kind, gracious, and caring wife. When Laius was murdered she asked her brother, Creon to share her rule of Thebes. Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx and became her second husband. The second half of the book begins after a priest confronts Oedipus asking for his help. Oedipus needed to help the city from dying. Then, Creon, Jocasta's brother, appears with a message. The message was an order from Apollo stating that "in order for the city to rid themselves from the plague, they had to punish the beings involved in the murder of King Lauis." Although there is arguing within this matter, Oedipus promises to solve this horrific mystery. Then the question arose, who could the murderer be? Oedipus was talking to the chorus and at the same time trying to solve the mystery. Then, Tiresias entered the scene with important information that he withheld. He was insulted by Oedipus and told everyone that they were very ignorant. He knew whom the murderer was but refused to tell. He said that "what will come will come, even if I shroud it in silence" At this moment Oedipus was very frustrated and scorned Tiresias. This resulted in Tiresias yelling out who the murder was. It was Oedipus. But as unenlightened as Oedipus is, he refused to believe Tiresias. They verbally fought back and forth and insulted each other. Then, Creon enters the scene. And as the search continues, Oedipus and Creon get into a disagreement. Oedipus tells Creon that he is a traitor. Oedipus questions the messenger, and found out that the messenger had been herding sheep and had met a shepherd who had found Oedipus, had taken the baby, had taken the pin out of his ankles, and had given him to the king and queen of Corinth to raise as their own. Oedipus says, "It's time to clear this up. Send for the other shepherd." Jocasta realized exactly what has happened. Jocasta begged Oedipus not to pursue the matter of searching for the murderer. Oedipus said he had to know only because the city was relying on him. Jocasta ran out horribly upset. Hours later, the other shepherd was brought in. He had already figured things out of why he was there, but pretended he did not remember a thing. Then, he begged the other messenger to also stay quiet. However, Oedipus insisted on the truth. It was revealed that Oedipus was the murder of Lauis, his father. Oedipus learned that long ago...Jocasta and Laius crippled their baby and put it in the woods to end the prophecy before it began. Now everybody knew the truth. The baby of Jocasta and Lauis was Oedipus. He now realized that Creon and Tiresias were correct in their beliefs. Oedipus rushed out. The next scene was an extremely graphic anecdote. Jocasta ran into the bedroom, screaming. She locked the door from inside. A few minutes later, Oedipus came in, and broke down the door with what seemed to be supernatural strength. He found Jocasta dead, hanging. Oedipus took the body down, and quickly removed the pin that held up her dress. He stabbed it again and again into his eyes, saying he has looked at his mother's naked body when he shouldn't have, and he has learned what he now wishes he had not. It was said that Oedipus had actually torn the globes from their sockets. Oedipus then begged to be taken out of the city of Thebes to end the plague. Yet he had no strength and no guide. Oedipus comes in. Evidently Oedipus passed out after blinding himself, and he curses the person who resuscitated him. The Chorus asks, "How were you able to rip out your eyeballs?" Oedipus replies, "Apollo gave me the strength to do it." Oedipus felt that any man who committed the crimes of which he commited should suffer greatly or be exiled. As you can see, Oedipus was a victim of fate and Apollo's prophecy had been solved by the city of Thebes. Which theme seems most important to you: the dangerous effects of power, or the need for a nation to reform itself? In all three plays you are repeatedly asked if Creon is a cruel or a fair ruler, a cruel or a fair human being. - the plays trace the downfall of Oedipus from a position of wealth and power to a position of despair and sorrow to a position of inner peace. In the beginning Oedipus seems to be a child of fortune who gained a kingdom by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. In the middle he appears to have been irrevocably doomed by a prophecy before he was even born. And by the end he has found a sort of contentment as he dies with his beloved daughter Antigone by his side. Oedipus' unforeseen reversal of fortune suggests we cannot accurately predict our future- or escape our past. - The exact nature of fate, the uncontrollable forces that influence us, is clearly shown in the role that the gods play in revealing the truth of the oracle's prophecies to Oedipus. Although he does all he can to live honestly and avoid the crimes prophesied for him, Oedipus can't escape the relentless fate that pursues him. Creon tries to manipulate fate in his favor, but he fails. Inevitably the oracle's prophecies are fulfilled. - Oedipus' downfall symbolizes the spiritual bankruptcy of the state. Sophocles meant this to pertain not just to the Thebes of the play, but also to his contemporary Athens. The plague that begins the play is viewed as a punishment from the gods, and only when the sins of Oedipus have been punished and purged is Thebes restored- for a time- to spiritual harmony. The loss of the city's spiritual faith is seen in Oedipus' denial of Teiresias' power to predict the future, and in Iocaste's refusal to believe in the ability of prophets to speak for the gods. - Oedipus and Creon share the same tragic flaw. They refuse to compromise or to humble themselves before others. They stubbornly refuse other characters the right to express opinions different from their own, and they abuse their power to force others to accept their points of view. Oedipus is so arrogant and self-confident that he even challenges the will of the gods. This leads directly to his downfall, and he is harshly punished. - All the characters in the plays search for a final truth of some kind to guide their lives. The most obvious search for truth is Oedipus', but even the minor characters are looking for answers to the meaning of life. The herdsman, for example, has waited many years to reveal the truth of Laios' murder, and is finally given the chance to tell his story when Oedipus summons him to Thebes. Even Iocaste is given the opportunity to discover the truth of Oedipus' early years before he became king of Thebes. The Chorus, too, is searching for a truth- the moral lesson to be learned from Oedipus' tragedy. Teiresias alone stands as a figure who can see truths hidden from all but the gods. - Several characters are willing to sacrifice themselves to save Thebes from destruction or for what they believe is right and just. Creon, for example, is ready to die in order to save the city. Teiresias offers to have himself killed when Oedipus suspects him of betraying the trust of the sacred city of Delphi. Iocaste hangs herself to save her honor. Oedipus blinds himself for murdering his father and marrying his mother, but will not die until he has paid for his sins, to save the city. Antigone dies because she insists on giving her brother Polyneices a proper burial. - Another theme is that suffering leads to wisdom and self-knowledge. Although the ways of the gods are sometimes harsh and cruel, Oedipus finally recognizes and accepts the oracle's prophecy as it was predicted at his birth. You hear the wisdom he gained from his suffering when he prays to the gods for forgiveness and humbly asks for mercy at the conclusion of Oedipus the King. The four themes in this play are religion, geographic influences, economic development, and society. The first of the four is religion. Religion was very substantial to the citizens in Thebes. They believed in many gods, which made them believe in Polytheism. An example of this was that they talked about more than one god in the play. They thought that each god had their own superiority. Like, Apollo, who was the god of the sun, was looked up to by many. People believed his prophecies and respected him. And like Zeus, who was father of the gods, was called upon Oedipus. In addition to those two themes, the third one is economic development. One big economic deveoplemt was when Creon became king. When Creon became king the plague had vanished since the city had found the murderer of Lauis. This allowed crops and livestock to prosper along with jobs. Hopefully Creon could improve the cities condition and get them back on there two feet. Last but not least of the four themes was the Society, which was very significant to the city. The society was the most important part because it was made up of gods. From the incident of Oedipus and the wrongdoing of Lauis and Jocasta the society of Thebes learned that fate cannot be maneuvered. They learned this the hard way by suffering the plaugue which was brought by Oedipus but caused by Apollo's property. They controlled everything along with fate. Society included everyone. The men had the most important role. Oedipus' search for the truth lead him to the discovery that he was not a "child of luck," but a "man of misfortune." His fate was determined years before his birth, as proven by the prophecy of the oracles. All he could do was live out his destiny, but he did this with such dignity and heroism. Oedipus showed great nobility even in suffering and despair. At the end of Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus pursued the truth to its horrible conclusion. Having blinded himself, Oedipus was a broken and shaken man. But he also became a model for people to imitate. He has shown what it means to endure in the face of defeat. He has shown what it takes to survive in a world that is ruled by unpredictable fate. He has shown the true meaning of suffering and despair. When you think of Oedipus, remember that he suffered for all of us, so that everyone can know the truth about ourselves in a world that will always be hostile and cruel.
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The Excruciating Truth of Oedipus Oedipus is a man of integrity and passion whose goal in life was to seek the raw truth. Throughout the story, he constantly tried to obtain that goal, but at times he tried to swallow his tongue because he sometimes had the inclination way down in his gut, he might be a killer. Worse then the fate of a killer, would be the reality of being married to his mother. If fate/destiny determines everything a person will do before they are born, as it suggests by the play, then what crime is Oedipus guilty of? I will answer that, MURDER. In my mind, when a person describes a pacific place, time, and event, and I was there, I would probably remember. "A land called Phocis, at a spot where the road from Delphi meets the road from Daulia. (Sophocles 41)" And with this, it really narrows it down to either knowing that you were a murderer, or wanting to deny being a murder. On the other hand, for a short time after he killed his father, Laius, I do not believe that he knew he was marrying his mother or that he killed his father. As a newborn, he was brought up by the king and queen of Cornith, where he was told by the Oracle of Delphi, that he would someday kill his father and marry his mother. Therefore, after this, he led himself to believe that he would never return to this town due to the fact of killing his father, but most of all, marring his mother. At this point, he was thinking just like any other human. Get out. Leeman 2 "Indeed I shall. I do. I vent it all on you. Yes, you, you planned this thing, and I suspect you of the very murder even, all but the actual stroke. And if you had your eyes I'd say you played the chief part to. (sophocles 20.)" And with this I come to a conclusion that he is not a cold-blooded murder, but a murder. He did a great cover up job, and do to the fact that he married his mother, shows that he didn't know that he killed his father at first, or did he?
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Of Mice and Men 
" The journey in between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place"(unknown). Life is all about making choices. One is born, as his or her own person, and it is up to her to decide who she wants to be and become. In life, opportunities play their role. One can choose what she wants to do with her life and how big of an impact their decision can make. The choices and the paths one takes can change a person's life now and forever. In Of Mice and Men characters can change their identity, but that does not mean they can change the basis of who they are. Decisions are a big part of life; they will take you where one needs to go to succeed (not succeed) in the real world. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, many important lessons are learned that can and will take us through life. For example, people cannot simply just run away from problems. Also, when people try's to set unrealistic goals, they don't experience success. Lennie can never change and he will always be the same guy who is unable to control his own strength. People who try to change their destiny often fail because they can't change their identity. In general, people are born with certain personality traits, which stay with them for their entire lives.
Changing one's identity doesn't change their personality. Moving away and starting a new life can be an attempt to change one's identity. Starting over can be for the better, but people stay the same more often than not. In the very beginning of the novel, George and Lennie are in a bar. In the bar Lennie sees a little girl with a bright, red dress. Lennie's attracted to the color, and he has a tendency to touch what he see's. He therefore approached the girl and starting feeling her dress. She tried to leave but Lennie anxiously got a quick grabbing of the dress. This frightened the girl, which therefore lead to her screaming and yelling rape. While all of this was going on Lennie was so scared and confused that he just kept a tight grab on the girls dress. Lennie being that who he is did not know any better, " Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse. She yells and we got to hide in an irrigation ditch all day with guys looking' for us, and we must sneak out in the dark and get outta the country." pg24. The incident that occurred exemplifies Lennie's behavior. Lennie is a man of unlimited intelligence who seems unaware of its massive strength. After all of this has happened, Lennie and George decide that the best thing would be to change their identity and leave the town as soon as possible. As the novel progresses Lennie's change of identity does not change who he really is. Towards the end of the book after Lennie had just killed a pup:
" God damn you, " he cried." Why do you have to get killed? You aren't so little as mice." He picked up the pup and hurled it from him. He turned his back on it. He sat bent over his knees and he whispered; " Now I won't get to tend the rabbits. Now he wont let me." Pg88
Once again Lennie doesn't comprehend the affect of his strength on lesser beings. Lennie could never change. He will never understand his size and strength in comparison with an average person or animal. It's fatalistic, but Lennie is who he is.
Another example of someone attempting to change her identity is Curley's wife. Curley's wife feels she could have been someone else, someone different, who would have been a better person then she is now. She thinks by marrying someone she will not still be that same "tramp" that she is:
" I tell you I ian't used to living' like this. I could made something' of myself." She said darkly, "Maybe I will yet, " I lived right in Salinas, " she said. " Come there when I was a kid. Well, a show came through, and I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my old' lady wound' let me " I don't like Curley. He isn't a nice fella. And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him. " Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes- all them nice clothes like they wear." Pg90
Here Curley's wife thinks that if she would have been in that play or with the guy she met at the movies that her life would be different. She will always be the person she was born to be, a woman extremely out of touch with reality. She seems nothing but a tramp that just goes from one man to the next thinking each one will be something newer and better. Her identity may vary, but her personality will always be the same. Curley's wife vision of who she could have been was all a fantasy. To dream is a wonderful thing. However, everyone must learn how to deal with reality.
When setting unrealistic goals, one rarely experience success. In Of Mice and Men, there are a lot of instances where people set unachievable goals. They feel that once they attaine their goals their lives will change forever. There are some goals that are just unrealistic. An example of this is when Crook tries to defend Lennie:
Crook stood up from his bunk and faced her." I had enough, " he said coldly. " You got no rights common' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus get out and get out quickly. If you don't, I am gonna tell the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more." She turned on him, " Listen, Nigger " she said." You know what I can do to you if you open your trap? She closed on him, " You know what I could do," "crook grew smaller." " Yes, ma' am" " Well you keep your place them, Nigger. I couild get you strung up on a tree so easy, it ain't even funny." Pg63
Crooks try to change the culture of the day. Black people had no rights even if a white person walked in their very own home. He thinks that he could override Curley's wife and get her in trouble. As sad as it appears that can never happen. Back in those days, they were treated as less than human. By Crooks trying to protect and defend Lennie, he only got himself into a lot of trouble. What he did was a nice thought but was not well thought out. Another member in this dream world is Candy. Candy also develops an unrealistic goal of joining the dream.
" Candy sat on the edge of his bunk. He scratched the stump of his wrist nervously. " I got hurt four years ago, " he said, "They'll can me pretty soon. Jus' as soon as I can't swamp out no bunkhouses they'll put me on the country. Maybe if I give you guys my money, you'll let me hoe in the garden even after I am not that good at it. When they cant have me here I wish somebody's shoot me" pg88
Candy tries to join their dream. He thinks that by joining this dream and leaving the farm that he will be able to take care of himself. But in reality that becomes a long shot. When you try to change things that are just not made to be it does not work out. Candy takes another tack to achieve an unrealistic goal and attempts to buy his way in. What he does not understand is no amount of money will help Lennie and George achieve their dream. Lennie and George seem to be doomed from the beginning. Even if money could help them buy a farm, the venture would ultimately fail due to the personality traits of George, Lennie, and Candy.
In conclusion, people who often try to change their lives fail because they can't change who they are. In the novel, people set unrealistic goals that did not allow them to experience success. Also, trying to change an identity will never change a personality. Steinbeck tells us in the book, that a person can never change what God has made him or her to be. Though Lennie, George, Curley's wife, Crook, and Candy have hopes and dreams; we are made to understand that life is not that easy. The quote, " If wishes were horses, beggars would ride"(unknown), simply states Steinbecks theme. There are so many things we would all like to change, but not all of them are realistic.
 

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The book that I have read that has really stayed with me is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I really enjoyed reading it which is unusual because I usualy don't enjoy reading to much. There was something about George and Lennie's friendship that really made me think. Seeing how they were and how they shared life was really intresting. George didn't have to bother with Lennie, he could have abandoned him and gone on his own way. But he did not do that, he stayed with Lennie watching over him almost like a parent to a child. Even though Lennie always got Georege in trouble, George never stoped loving him and always stood by him. The friendship they shared went beyond what was transparent they each shared a dream and both knew they ment the world to each other. I felt that if these totaly different people could get along and look out for each other, why can't we get along with people who are differnt than us. They made me realize that I could learn something from how to treat people who are differnt than me. What I also liked about it was the way they never stopped trying to reach their dream. This made me think that if they could work hard for there dream why can't I. It showed me that it does not matter were you come from or what you do, it is okay to dream and work as hard as you can to reach it . For all it shows for friendship and loyalty it also shows how sometimes you have to do things you never thought you would do. For example in the end when George is forced to shoot Lennie in the head you would never have thought he would do that, but you can see that under the circumstances he had no other choice. He only had two choices let the other people get to him first and watch them torture Lennie while he died a long horrible death or do it himself and get it over quick were Lennie did not know what hit him. This is also true in life, many times we are faced with tuff choices and even though they may be the hardest you will have to go through, you know that that is the only way. You come to the realization that everything you thought you was about, can all change with a blink of the eye.
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Of Mice and Men: Movie Vs. Book 
The movie 1992 movie version of Of Mice and Men shows differences along with similarities to the book written by John Steinbeck. Differences were common mainly within the plot of the story. The first notable variation was in the beginning. The book started off with George and Lennie walking on a dirt road near a swamp while the movie started off with George on a train with a flashback. This shows how the movie differs by starting off in a different time frame than the book. Another case in point of a small but noticeable plot change was when Lennie kills the puppy. The book states that Lennie is sitting on the ground of the barn crying with the puppy lying in front of him. On the contrary, the movie shows Lennie standing up with the puppy in his hands pacing back and forth while worried yet not crying. Hence, the movie provides a different picture for the viewer than Steinbeck gives for the reader. In the last instance, which possibly shows the greatest contradiction between the two, is the ending. The novel illustrates the ranch workers coming and finding that George had just killed Lennie. Slim tries to comfort George while they move away from the scene as Carlton says "Now what do ya 'spose is eatn' them two?" In sharp contrast to this, the movie ends with George on a train once again, possibly to make it a traditional denouement, and visualizing him working on the ranch with Lennie walking off into the sunset. Indeed, two completely dissimilar endings plot wise. Along with those differences there are aspects in the movie that show a strong resemblance to those in the book. For example, Lennie's characteristic of being childlike shows in the movie as well as in the novel. John Malkovich who plays Lennie does a great job at showing a glimmering expression on his face when he looks at George as well as a playful expression when he is playing with the puppies. This is parallel to Steinbeck's description of Lennie's facial expressions. By the same the token, George's character keeps his characteristic of being a father figure towards Lennie. George, played by Gary Sinise, does this primarily with his tone of voice by varying it from strict, such as when he is scolding Lennie about Curley's wife, to more compassionate, for instance when he is cleaning the blood off Lennie's face after the fight with Curley. The tone characteristics coincide with those described in the same situations in the book. A correlation is shown between the book and movie as well with the basic mood of the story. The dismal ambiance is illustrated through George's look of helplessness and grief from Lennie's mistakes. The sense of a righteous closure is also felt at the end due to the fact that even though Lennie had been shot point blank by the only person in the world that had an ounce of care or affection for him, the feeling that it was the only suitable action for George to take resides in the movie in an almost equivalent way to Steinbeck's novel. To recapitulate, John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men possesses aspects of resemblance as well as discrepancy to the 1992 film version of the classic narrative.
 

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Of Mice & Men compared to My Brother Jack 
Sow how the personalities of the principle characters have affected their relationships and the power they have been able to exert in those relationships.
In society, the identity/personality of people often affects their relationships and the power they have within those relationships. The issue of power varies considerably in law and moral values, and the amount of power obtained varies in accordance to the position of whom in the relationship it is held by. It is then dependent on the personality of the person as whether the power is exerted or not, and if so how it is done. Through the novels 'Of Mice and Men' and 'My Brother Jack' parallels can be drawn between principle characters in reference to their personalities and how this affects their relationships and the power they have been able to exert in those relationships. There are many similarities between the characters of both novels such as George and Lennie with Jack and Davy, Curly and his wife with Jack Senior and Min, also the relationship that Curly and Davy had with those in the workforce and the power they exerted through that. From these examples you will discover the affect of power one has through their personalities and the relationships they have.
In 'Of Mice and Men' the two main characters, George and Lennie, have a very close relationship. George and Lennie were best friends and went everywhere together, always looking after each other.
George was a character with leadership skills, he was the one who provided for the two, and this was mainly due to the fact he was the brains out of the pair. He was responsible, alert and very smart, and it was because of these factors that made him a very cunning sort of person. In their friendship George was the parental figure to Lennie as it is demonstrated in the following quote:
" George undid his bundle and bought out three cans of beans. He stood them
about the fire, close in against the blaze, but not quite touching the flame"
(Page 11)
Here George cooks tea for Lennie, just like a parental figure. Through the portrayal of a parental figure, George had power over Lennie. Lennie looked up to George and as a result he would do what George told him. George used his power over Lennie to control him, controlling what he said and did. This control was used to George's advantage as it was through his power over Lennie that George was able to find work, with only a main concern for himself. Despite all that George was, Lennie also had power in their relationship. Lennie can be described as being dumb, irresponsible, of child innocence, hopeful, dependent on George and physically very strong. His power in the relationship, surprisingly, did not lie in his physical strength, it lay in his ability to manipulate George through his characteristic of a child like innocence. Lennie's power was emotional power, and he used it to manipulate George into having pity for him by way of guilt.
"Cause I can jus' as well go away, George, an' live
in a cave" (page 17)
As Lennie was dumb, his physical power was not used properly to his best advantage. Lennie only used his physical power to protect George and himself, and it was even at these times that he used it on command from George.
The relationship George and Lennie had was very similar to that of Jack and Davy. Though George and Lennie were not brothers like Jack and Davy, they had a brotherly relationship between them. In " My Brother Jack" Jack and Davy shared a brotherly relationship. It wasn't one that was not overly close but it was one where the younger brother looked up to the older one, when they were young. Though as time went on and they grew into adults with their own families the position each of them held swapped, having the older brother looking up to the younger one as situations changed. Jack was a very loud person, who was very confident in himself for the first half of the book. He was straight forward- never beating around the bush, humorous, bold/brave, strong willed, very loyal and open. From these traits Jack became a very popular boy in his childhood, something Davy was not, making him want to be even more like his older brother. This strong influence was very powerful in the relationship between the two brothers, so powerful that Davy wanted to prove he could be just as good- if not better than his big brother. Such a feeling, as this, led Davy to beat up a "special" child.
" I hit him and hit him and hit him until his face was covered with blood...I saw Jack approaching. I looked across for his approbation, but hi face was hard set."
(page 45-46)
Davy, in comparison to Jack, was quite the opposite. Davy was quiet, was devious, had selfish motives, lacked in loyalty, and was a follower with no real goals or opinions- similar to Lennie only much smarter and alert. Davy was easily manipulated, which is particularly demonstrated through his relationship with Helen. Helen told Davy what to do, how to run his life etc, and Davy chose not to do anything about it. Again in this relationship Davy is the follower, but he remains powerless in this relationship throughout the novel where it is not the case in the relationship between Jack and Davy.
When the two brothers became adults Davy became the more popular one out of the two. It was through Davy's work that he was able to achieve public recognition and hence popularity, whereas Jack hadn't become more than a husband with a family to support. Jack now looked up to Davy and all his success, which led him to later live his life through Davy.
"... he had invested all his brave pride and passion and purpose in me.
I had become his vicarious adventure" (Page 365)
Davy, and what he had become now had power over Jack's life. Davy hadn't obtained this power over Jack's life intentionally, it wasn't until toward the end that Davy realised the impact he had on his brother, and the same can also be said for Jack when he and Davy were young.
 
The relationships above are ones of friendship and kinsman, both of which are common in both novels. Another type of relationship commonly found in both novels is the relationship between husband and wife. In " Of Mice and Men" Curly and wife had a very unstable marriage. It lacked communication, love and respect. Curly was manipulative, intimidating, ignorant and very insensitive. All of these characteristics were taken into the marriage, and affected his wife who was a very lonely young women with dreams and the need to be loved. She was also very devious and was not the least bit stupid. It is obvious to say that Curly had power over his wife in their marriage as she never once attempted to leave Curly this could be due to the fact that she was married to a man with a house, a great job and money. Possessions like this added to the power Curly had over her. The only type of power Curly's wife had, which is recognised through the text, is power over Curly's mind. Curly's wife often would wander off and flirt with the male workers on the ranch, and being the beautiful woman that she was, men would take notice. The thought of this scared Curly and would often stress him out, resulting in him constantly looking for her.
" 'You seen a girl around here?' he demanded angrily." (Page 39)
In the novel "My Brother Jack" the marriage relationship between Jack Senior and Min has similarities to that of Curly and his wife. These similarities only cover the fact that the husband is the most dominant and powerful in the relationships and that the personalities of them are also very much the same. Jack Senior had the same characteristics as Curly, he was a chauvinist, authoritative, self centered, insensitive, and insocialable. He had physical power over his children also which is seen when he beat Jack and Davy. A lot of Jack Senior's traits are responsible for his power and the difficult marriage. Min, his wife, was a very loving, family orientated, self-sacrificing person- the complete opposite to her husband. She loved Jack Senior very much and that is why she stayed with him, she probably couldn't bare the thought of leaving him to fend for himself. Min didn't have much power, and the power that she did possess was used not for her own benefit but for the benefit of others. Min was a very reserved person. Overtime she had found a way to neutralise herself from the power Jack senior had over her so that she felt safe and protected.
"... Dad was powerless to hurt or intimidate or frighten her" (Page 216)
In both novels there was at least one character that through their personalities, and relationships with those in the work force, they were able to exert power.
The characters I am referring to are Curly, "Of Mice and Men", and Davy, "My Brother Jack". Both these characters, through their personalities, in some way abused or took advantage of the power they had in the relationships with fellow workers. The workers did not respect Curly, having his personality already been described above. He only had power over weak people that could not stand up for themself. Using the tool of manipulation he would get his own way. Curly loved to control people and it was these factors which were the main reason why Curly's relationship with the other workers was not well established, he never allowed himself to be brought to their standard. Davy had similar characteristics but wasn't as controlling. Davy kept to himself and done his job, though when he went over seas Davy used his friends. Again here it was in his personality to be lazy and use others. A lot of what Davy wrote about wasn't written at first hand, he gathered information from those who had been in the incident or at it when it occurred. He took the information, wrote it up and put his name on it. It was very deceiving as it led people to believe that he was there in the action, when he wasn't. Davy obtains power through the recognition of his pieces of work, and from the fame that came with it. This fame was not gained fairly; the same too for the power Curly had because he gained his through his father being the head boss of the ranch.
Clearly from the personalities of the principle characters from the novels "Of Mice and Men" and " My Brother Jack" their relationships and the power they exerted from those relationships were affected in one way or another. Through the relationships of brothers to husband and wife to work colleges, the personality of a person will determine the types of relationships they will have and the power they will exert within them, whether it be for beneficiary reasons or not. What type of relationships do you have, based on your personality?

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Old Man And The Sea.TXT
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This part of the story has to do with Santiago against nature and the sea. In this part of the story, he goes out and fights nature in the form of terrible forces and dangerous creatures, among them, a marlin, sharks and hunger. He starts the story in a small skiff and moves out in a journey to capture a fish after a long losing streak of eighty-four days. Unfortunately his friend must desert him due to this problem and a greater force, his parents. Santiago must go out into the danger alone. For three harsh days and nights he fights a fish of enormous power. This is the second form of nature he must conquer. Earlier in the story, the first part of nature is himself, for which he must fight off his hunger. This is a harsh part of the story. He manages though to get a few bites in the form of flying fish and dolphin of which he would like to have salt on. This part of the story tells of a cold and harsh sea, that is, one that has value and mystery as well as death and danger. It has commercial value as well as the population of life in it. It is dark and treacherous though, and every day there is a challenge. A similar story tells about a tidal pool with life called `Cannery Road'. This part of the story has to deal with figures of Christ. It mainly deals with Santiago as being a figure of Christ and other characters as props, that is, characters which carry out the form of biblical themes. On the day before he leaves when he wakes up, Manolin, his helper, comes to his aid with food and drink. Also a point that might be good is that he has had bad luck with his goal for a great period of time and is sure it will work this time. Later, though, when Santiago needs him for the quest he sets out to do, Manolin deserts him, although he may not have wanted to at this time. In the novel Santiago comes upon a force bigger than his skiff, the marlin which misleads him out far past his intended reach. This is where he starts to lose his strength against something which seems a greater force. Santiago has a struggle of three days, which is significent because of the three days in Easter, and continues to fight on though his goal may not aquire anything. This is another idea through which Christ did, a struggle to get a goal done even though it may mean certain destruction to himself. This might accomplish nothing but the satisfaction of doing this and also has great risks. Finally he comes upon a painful experience with his hand which is in great pain and won't move. This is useful in the place where Christ loses his physical self and has less to deal with. On the third day, he recovers himself and returns to his home even though his only remaining treasure was a broken skiff, experience, and a torn up marlin. And in the final conclusion, you can see him dragging the mast of his skiff, a cross-like object, in his hand. This story has a certain sequence of events, first it has a hunter vs. his prey. This hunter does respect th e prey. Throughout the book it has this series of events: encounter, battle, defeat, and respect for the prey. This is Hemmingway's `Code of Honor'. This part of the novel has to do with relationships between two characters. The first to discuss are Santiago and Manolin, Manolin being the small follower of the old man named Santiago. Manolin is a small person that follows Santiago and listens to his wisdom. They treat each other unfriendly though for Manolin calls the Santiago 'old man' and he calls Manolin `boy' which seems to be absurd. In that situation I would consider both of them to go see a doctor. The next relationship to talk about would be that between Santiago and the village, which seems to be much better. He is given credit for food and he also is waiting to show his greatness to the villageby catching a great fish as soon as he can. His thought on that, though, is that any fisherman can ctach it during the easy season but only a few can go out and catch one during the hard season. He has no consideration for the luck, and would rather try to fish through being exact rather than being lucky. The other relationship in this story has to do with Manolin and his parents. Manolin seems to be very rebellious against his parents, although he does submit to their demands. Santiago's greatest link to the village is the boy. Santiago may be poor in the story, yet is proud. This story when compared to being imaginative is good, but in real life is somewhat of a `Fish Story'. The part where an old man being able to load in a ton of fish is very unimaginable. The scenario, though, is very interesting for the part of the old man. He goes out all alone into the depths of the ocean without an idea for what is in store. This story has good points, for when it comes to the better parts of the story, it emphasizes by placing in mind step by step of the way he does certain actions. The part of the story which, to the best of my belief, had no part or reference in the story was the dream of lions on a beach of Africa, which this fisherman probably had never even visited much less seeing lions on a beach. This was like most stories in the main plot. First characters are introduced, then a threat reveals itself, showing true natures of all the characters, and finally the threat is fought off or it remains, leaving the reader in suspense. This had a good plot but needed more to go on in my opinion. Hemingway's strong parts of this story are emphasized on vocabulary. He probably learned these fisherman terms for he once was a fisherman in Cuba. There is one problem to this, though. Throughout the story he uses these terms over and over although the ordinary person, like me, would forget them after the first use of them and unfortunately he doesn't ever re-coin the terms again throughout the book. Some vocabulary he uses stands for sharks or the sea itself. Others he uses for bait. The main idea though in this part is to let the reader get the feel for the life, setting and character of the fisherman himself. This is a great move to place yet is also very hard to co-exist with the average reader. This has some good points, though, and among them is review. The reader must review the story and skim it in order to rethink the concept of the word. Then he or she must return to the current position in the book and place it into the text. The concept of vocabulary is a standard not to live by, and should not be placed into most books unless the terms are to be used many times throughout the book. Hemingway has merged three themes already mentioned above successfully unto this book. Among them are figures of Christ, Nature (the sea), and a code of honor. This was challenging. The obvious ones were nature, it's cruelty and compassion. Nature caused his hand pain yet healed it, caused hunger yet satisfied it, and gave the fish yet reclaimed it. This is the way nature works. Nature is actually more luck than a set of rules, for it can shift back and forth with the greatest of ease. The second theme, religion, could not be easily pulled from the text. The best clue to where it happens is the falls of Santiago as well as his carrying the mast. This symbolizes the end of Christ, although Santiago on the other hand is just retiring for the night. But it could be interpreted as the end of the book for which it is. The code of honor is not actually probably the hardest to interpret. It can only be pulled from context, which is the hardest to do. It has mainly to do with the rise, battle and fall of the prey and respect following. The problem in this is that Santiago was at fault for expanding out so far, and it was dangerous. This is similiar to the book A Journey to the Center of the Earth, which I recently read.
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I	Content - Characterizations
	Oliver Twist - A loving, innocent orphan child; the son of Edwin Leeford and
	Agnes Fleming. He is generally quiet and shy rather than aggressive.  Oliver's
	affectionate nature, along with his weakness and innocence, earn him the pity and
	love of the good people he meets.  Dicken's choice of Oliver's name is very
	revealing, because the boy's story is full of "twists" and turns.  Dickens uses his
	skills at creating character to make Oliver particularly appealing.
	Mr. Bumble - The parish beadle; a rat man and a choleric with a great idea of his
	oratorical powers and his importance.  He has a decided propensity for bullying. 
	He derived no inconsiderable pressure from the exercise of petty cruelty and
	consequently was a coward.  Halfway through the book, Bumble changes.  When
	he marries Mrs. Corney, he loses authority.  She makes all the decisions.
	The Artful Dodger - A talented pickpocket, recruiter, cheat and wit.  Jack
	Dawkins, known as the artful dodger, is a charming rogue.  Fagin's most esteemed
	pupil.  A dirty snub-nosed, flat-browed, common-faced boy (short for his age). 
	Dickens makes Dodger look more appealing by describing his outrageous clothes
	and uninhibited manners.
	Fagin - A master criminal, whose specialty is fenang (selling stolen property).  He
	employs a gang of thieves and is always looking for new recruits.  He is a man of
	considerable intelligence, though corrupted by his self-interest.  His conscience
	bothers him after he is condemned to hang.  He does have a wry sense of humor
	and an uncanny ability to understand people.  He's a very old shrivelled Jew, whose
	villainous looking repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair.
	Mr. Brownlow - A generous man, concerned for other people.  A very
	respectable looking person with a heart large enough for any six ordinary old
	gentleman of humane disposition.
	Bill Sikes - A bully, a robber and a murderer.  He is an ally of Fagin.  Fagin plans
	the crimes and Sikes carries them out.  Sike's evil is so frightening because it is so
	physical.  He is compares to a beast.  A stoutly built fellow with legs that always
	look like they are in an unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to
	garnish them.
	
	Monks - Also known as Edward Leeford (son of Edwin Leeford and his legal
	wife).  	Oliver's half brother.  He wants to destroy Olivers chance of inheriting their
	fathers estate.  Monks is a stock villain, lurking in shadows and uttering curses
	with a sneer.   He lacks family love and moral upbringing.  He is a tall, dark
	blackguard, subject to fits of cowardice and epilepsy.
	Nancy - She is the hapless product  of the slums, the pupil of Fagin, and the
	abused mistress of Sikes.  Although she is a prostitute and an accomplice of
	crooks, she has the instincts of a good person.  She is part of a few of the most
	memorable scenes (when she visits Fagin's Den, when she waits for Bill to come
	home or when she meets with Rose Maylie and Brownlow to help save Oliver). 
	She is untidy and free in manner, but there was something of the woman's original
	nature left in her still.
	Rose Maylie - On the surface, Rose is very different from Nancy.  Both were
	orphans, but Rose grew up secure and protected.  She is compassionate to Oliver,
	but unlike Nancy, rose is innocent of the evils of the world.  Dickens makes clear
	that she is a pure flower.  Agnes Flemings younger sister, thus Oliver's aunt. 
	Accepted as Mrs. Maylie's niece: later becomes her daughter-in-law.
	
	Sally Thingummy - A pauper, nurses Oliver's mother.  She steals the locket and
	ring that holds the key to the oprhans identity.
	
	Agnes Flemming - Oliver's mother; daughter of a retired naval officer.  She left
	home in shame and died when her illegitimate son was born.
	
	Mr. Sowerberry - An undertaker; He accepts Oliver as an apprentice mourner. 
	He is forced by his wife's cruelty to abuse the boy until Oliver runs away.
	
	Noah Claypolea - Charity boy.  He torments Oliver.  He is employed by Fagin,
	under the alias of Bolter, and spies on Nancy.  He ends up as a police informer. 
	
	Charley Bates - He belongs to Fagin's gang.  He is so disgusted by Sike's evil
	ways that he gives up crime and becomes a farmer.  
	Bet -  Her full name is Betsy.  She is required to identify Nancy's corpse.
	
	Fang - A police magistrate and represents the worst abuses of judicial power.  A
	lean long-backed, stiff-necked, middle-sized man, with no great quantity of hair.
	Mrs. Bedwin - She is Brownlow's housekeeper.  She cares for Oliver and
	provides his first real mothering, when Brownlow rescues him from Fang.
	Mr. Grimwig - He is Brownlow's friend.  He has a tender heart under his gruff
	exterior and joins the effort to secure Oliver's inheritance after initially doubting
	the boy.
	Toby Crackit - A house breaker who works with Sikes.  
	Mrs. Corney (later Mrs. Bumble) - She runs the workhouse where Oliver was
	born.  A greedy person, she retrieves Agnes Flemings treasures from Old Sally and
	sells them to Monks.
	Dr. Losberne - The Maylies's physician.  He is part of the group that insures
	Olivers future.  He has grown fat, more from good humor than from good living.
	Henry (Harry) Maylie - He loves Rose and wants to marry her, but she refuses
	because she believes she is illegitimate and therefore might hurt his chances to win
	elections.  To win Rose, Henry gives ups a political career and becomes a
	clergyman.
II	Content - Setting
	The major action of Oliver Twist moves back and forth between 	two
worlds:  The filthy slums of London and the clean, 	comfortable house of
Brownlow and the Maylies.  The first 	world is real and frightening.  While
the other is idealized, 	almost dreamlike, in its safety and beauty.   The world of
	London is a world of crime.  Things happen there at night, in 	dark
alleys and in abandoned, dark buildings.  You can find 	examples of this (in
the book) in Chapter XV, when Oliver is 	kidnapped and then again in Chapter
XXVI, when Fagin meets 	Monks.  Such darkness suggests that evil dominates
this world.  	Dickens often uses weather conditions to aid in setting a scene. 
	In Oliver Twist, bad things happen in bad weather.  In contrast 	to
Fagin's London, the sunlit days and fragrant flowers of the 	Maylies cottage or the
handsome library at Brownlow's teem 	with goodness and health.
III	Critical Observations - Style
	Dickens uses lots of symbolism in this book.  One use is the allusion 	to
obesity, which in an inverse way, symbolizes hunger by calling 	attention to its
absence.  It is interesting to observe the large number 	of characters who are
corpulent.  Those who may be considered 	prosperous enough to be reasonably well fed
pose a symbolic contrast 	to poverty and undernourishment.  For example, the parish
board is 	made up of "eight or ten fat gentleman"; the workhouse master is a 	"fat,
healthy man"; Bumble is a "portly person"; Giles is fat and 	Brittles "by no means of a
slim figure"; Mr. Losberne is "a fat 	gentleman"; and one of the Bow street runners is "a
portly man".  	Other uses are how evil people are described as dangerous animals or
	as typical stage villains.  The weather is usually cold and rainy when 	bad
things happen.
IV	Critical Observations - Audience and Diction
	
	Most of the language may seem stilted and artificial because there are 	long,
winding sentences full of colons, semicolons, and parentheses.  	Dicken's language can
also be very sentimental.  For example; the love 	scenes between Rose and Henry or
the description of Oliver at the 	beginning of Chapter XXX.  though Dickens was
trying to describe the 	world realistically, the language doesn't always show how people in
the 	slums talked.  Not even Sikes uses four-letter words.  Explicit sexual 	scenes
are left out too.  Dickens wanted Oliver Twist to appeal to as 	wide an audience as
possible, and he didn't want to offend his readers.  	On the otherhand, Dickens uses some
street slang, especially the slang 	of thieves, which adds a distinct flavor to the story. 
For example; look 	at the way the Artful Dodger talks and the way Oliver Twist talks. 
	Oliver isn't hard to understand.  
V	Content
	
	What is the author's attitude in presenting males, females and or 	minorities?
	Charles Dickens presents the women in the story as varieties of things.  	For
example: whores, barmaids, thieves and housekeepers.  There is 	such a diversity, but
most are compassionate at some point.  The men 	were also very diverse.  Fagin and all
his gang of thieves has little 	regard to anyone or anything.  Fagin's red hair links him to
descriptions 	of Judas, the betrayer of Jews.  To Victorian readers, the fact that he is
	a Jew would have indicated that he was greedy, alienated and 	unsympathetic. 
to modern readers, it may just mean that he's been a 	victim of prejudice.
VI	Content - Interesting Incidents
	There are two bold things that change Olivers life and thus change the 	book. 
The first is:  At the workhouse, when he asks for more food.  	The second is: when
he's an apprentice, he beats up Noah Claypole and 	runs away.  After those incidents,
most of the things that happen to him 	are out of his control.  In the first incident,
Dickens focuses on the 	inadequate diet of the youngsters in the parish's care to
suggest a whole 	range of mistreatment.  Not only in this chapter, but ion the ones
that 	follow.  If Oliver didn't run away, than he would never have met Fagin 	or any
of his gang.
	
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Oliver Twist and the Victorian Era.TXT
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Oliver Twist and the Victorian Era 
Introduction
The novel, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens draws many parallels to the Victorian Era. Charles Dickens, was one of the main writers to emerge from the Victorian Era. Dickens style and understanding of the period, allow Chesterton to believe that he is "Victorians king of literature." (236). Oliver Twist is a perfect example on how Dickens uses his great skill.
In Oliver Twist, young Oliver is an illustration of the harshness that is evident during this time. The treatment of adolescence, child labor, British Laws, and British society all are examples of the Victorian Era that Dickens makes reference to in Oliver Twist. Even through the reality to the time, Oliver is still able to find happiness.
Dickens
Charles Dickens was born February 7, 1812, in Portsea on the south coast of England. Dickens family was of the lower middle class. John Dickens his father, was a clerk in the navy pay office. "In 1814 John Dickens was transferred to London for a tour of duty of unknown duration. By 1817 the family was established in Chatham near the naval dockyard." (Allen 23) From there on came the happy years of Dickens childhood.
Young Dickens received his first education from his mother and later attended regular schools in Chatham. He soon became intimate with his father's small collection of literary classics. (Allen 34) Dickens also revealed early signs of being a genius. John Dickens was delighted in his son's exhibiting talents, "...thus reinforcing the nudgings of young ambition." (Johnson 10) But, the pleasant times came to end in 1822 when John Dickens was ordered back to London.
The now older Dickens' improvident fondness for convivial living had by then got him into financial straits from which he could not extricate himself, and the situation was alarmingly precarious. Mrs. Dickens made a feeble and foolhardy attempt to conduct a school to augment the family resources but only succeeded in further diminishing them. (Forster 13)
To lessen the strain, Dicken's was put to work in a blacking warehouse at minimal wages. Two weeks afterward, his father was incarcerated in a debtor's prison, where the whole family joined him. During the incarceration, Dickens had irregular relations with his family. The next six months were a painful ordeal to the family. In addition to the labor, Dickens endured the indignities of malnutrition, indecent housing, and the hostile living companions. This was a humiliating time that left an incredulous impression on the proud and sensitive Dickens. (Allen 49) We know this because of Dicken's later novel David Copperfield. It is likely that the implication and consequences of poverty were instrumental in shaping the patter of his life. Dickens became distinguished by furious energy, determination to succeed, and an inflexible will, said Allen. (52)
After his father's had been imprison for months, his mother passed away. "The legacy that he received was sufficient to effect his release and to relieve his immediate financial embarrassments." (Forster 22) The only thing that was uplifting to Dickens during this time was that he was taken out of the warehouse and put back into school. He spent the next three years at the academy, completing all of the formal education that was to receive.
In 1827, Dickens entered a solicitor's office. While applying himself to the law, he managed in his spare time to master shorthand. About two years later, Dickens felt ready to hazard a less tedious and more promising occupation, and he became a free-lance court reporter. (Johnson 19) Which started Dickens illustrious journalistic and writing carrier. For over three years, the future novelist was brought into close contact with grim facets of the city life as exhibited in the courts. His work was seasonable and to some degree sporadic, so he was able to spend much time reading in the British Museum. (Forster 26)
In March of 1832, Dickens became a journalist. After serving on two newspapers and acquiring experience as a parliamentary reporter, in 1834 he joined the staff of the prominent Morning Chronicle. (Allen 64) Dickens gained the reputation of being one of the fastest and most accurate reporters in London. "In addition to his metropolitan activities, his assignment took him all over England, mainly to cover political events." (Bloom 65) With this exposure to the prevailing realties of political life, in Parliament and around the nation, the writer's apprenticeship was receiving its finishing touches.
During his expeditions, Dickens had begun to compose sketches of London life. The first of these was published unsigned in the Monthly Magazine of December 1833. In August 1834, the signature 'Boz' made its first appearance, and Dickens' anonymity evaporated. (Forster 28)
Dickens composed numerous sketches while continuing his journalistic career at the newspaper. The records of the reporter's keen observances that were preserved in the vivid pieces later found their way into a profusion of celebrated novels. Finally, on Dickens twenty-fourth birthday, "Sketches by Boz, Illustrative of Everyday Life and Everyday People was published in book form." (Allen 69) A second series came later, and the complete edition was issued in 1839.
The following month an even more significant literary event occurred:
The first number of The Postumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was offered to the public. Instead of being first serialized or released in its entirety, the work came out in individual numbers that were sold separately from March 1836 thru November 1837. Only four hundred copies were printed of the first installment, and the initial reception was inauspicious. (Johnson 32)
But later the sales rose and printings reached 40,000.
The success of the Sketches by Boz had elevated Dickens' confidence in the future and sufficiently improved his income to enable him to assume the responsibilities of matrimony. On April 2, 1836, two days after the first of the Pickwick Papers went on sale, Charles Dickens and Catherine Hogarth were married. (Nelson 20) The bride was the oldest daughter of George Hogarth, the editor of the Evening Chronicle, an affiliate of the newspaper for which Dickens wrote. The couple had ten children, but after twenty-two years the marriage ended in separation. (Forster 34)
After the success of the Pickwick Papers, Dickens resigned from the Morning Chronicle. Within months, he became editor of Bentley's Miscellany. "The February, 1837, issue began with the serialization of Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy's Progress by Boz, even though the busy editor was still at work on the Pickwick Papers." (Wilson 76) Before Oliver Twist had all appeared, several numbers of Dicken's next novel, Nicholas
Nickleby, had been printed. Oliver Twist was completed in September 1838, and was issued in book form before the end of the year.
Oliver Twist conclusively demonstrates that Dickens accepted the prevailing doctrine that the novel should be directed toward social reform. Bloom believes that Dickens was "not a propagandist espousing utopian panaceas for the ills of the world." (48) Dickens bitterly attacks the defects of existing institutions: government, the law, education, penal system. He also exposes the injustice and wretchedness inflicted on the people. But Dickens does not suggest the overthrow of government; nor does he offer a resolution.
"Dickens relinquished the editorship after a couple of years, but his astounding literary productivity went on with few intermissions until the day of his death." (Nelson 79) Dickens published book after book: The Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge, American Notes, Martin Chuzzlewit, Domebey and Son, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, and the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He also wrote miscellaneous sketches, travel accounts, articles, and dramatic pieces, as well as A Christmas Carol and The Cricket on the Hearth. Dickens assumed the editorship of Household Words and edited the periodical All the Year Round. (Forster 51)
"Beginning with his early success, Dickens' literary career was an unbroken triumphal procession." (Nelson Introduction) His popularity grew enormously and everywhere he came to be regarded with almost reverence. His cosmopolitan to his writing was awaited with wild expectation. Dickens was universally beloved as probably no other living writer has ever been. On June 8, 1870, Charles Dickens, working on the manuscript of his last book The Mystery of Edwin Drood, wrote longer than was his usual practice. At dinner time he collapsed and sank into a comma; he died in the evening of the following day. The news of Dickens' death was carried on a shock wave of grief to many regions of the earth. As his body was interred in Westminster Abbey, the whole world mourned. (Chesterton 236)
Oliver Twist
The story of Oliver Twist is a dark tale generated by vice, degradation, and terror. Accordingly, it takes place against a suggestively unwholesome background. "Slime and filth seem inescapable." (Johnson 196) Even the elements conspire to accentuate the dismal atmosphere; the weather is often bitterly cold, and rain and fog are frequent. It is important to note that the large amount of significant action takes place at night. The criminals are creatures of nocturnal habits. "Sunlight penetrates their gloomy world but seldom, and then perhaps only to mock-as on the morning that Nancy is slain." (Bloom 82) The only period of sustained brightness is during the summer months when Oliver stays with the Maylies at their rural cottage. Even then, black shadows are around by Rose's near-fatal illness and the chilling intrusions of Monks and Fagin.
The novel deals mainly with poverty and crime. The outcasts of society lurk amid crumbling ruins that are expressive of the tottering institutions that have helped to deform their lives. "In the author's descriptions, the words 'neglect' and 'decay' recur insistently." (Nelson 77) And it has been the neglect of human values that has fostered the spiritual decay that is so aptly reflected in the odious surroundings.
The plot of Oliver Twist is the same as a typical Dickens novel. It is fashioned around the core of tangled intrigue that brings together a large number of people. The characters are of "desperate origins and diverse background." (Wilson 88) On the surface it would appear that their paths should ever cross, but they are all inexorably drawn into the same web of circumstances. Dickens seems to be conveying that the lives of men of all stations may become intertwined and none is exempt from being impinged upon by the actions of others.
"The characteristic distinguishing ingredient of the plot is conflict and resolution." (Johnson 76) In Oliver Twist there are dual conflicts: the one between Monks and Oliver; the other between Fagin and Sikes. Through his conspiracy with Monks, Fagin is involved in both conflicts and is the agent whose decisions precipitate the two lines tumultuous action that subsequently converges.
The crisis in Oliver's trials entails no volition on his part. The critical decision is Fagin's, when he maneuvers Oliver into the Chertsey fiasco. (Nelson 98) the abortive burglary is the climax in the boy's misadventures. In the animosity between Sikes and Fagin, the crisis is reached when the old thief resolves upon the destruction of his detested antagonist. Fagin's preliminary step of having Nancy spied upon leads directly to the climax of the girl's murder. "The final denouement comes with Sikes perishing in his own noose, at the end of the day when the gang has been demolished." (Wilson 91) Both exposition of the complications and the unraveling is accomplished by means of a complex mosaic of "back-illumination." (Bloom 89) this technique offers several distinctive advantages. It facilitates raising suspense to a high pitch and maintaining interest at a lively level. In order to draw the numerous people into the current of events, the author is forced to make liberal use of accident and coincidence. These are, however, obscured by the method of telling the story, so that credibility is not overtaxed.
Other violence to probability is likewise bewilder. For example in Chapter 49, Brownlow undermines Monks' resistance with the startling words "the only proofs of the boy's identity lie at the bottom of the river, and the old hag that received then from the mother is rotting in her coffin." (Dickens 324) These are the exact words that Nancy claimed to have overheard Monks utter while the girl was engaged in her risky game of eavesdropping on his private parley with Fagin.
The novel also exhibits many characteristics of melodrama. "The quality of pathos is freely injected, most gratuitously in the case of 'little Dick.'" (Chesterton 238) The portrait of Oliver's mother and Monks' scar are signs used as recognition devices. Other examples of standard melodramatic apparatus include the machinations of the evil brother, a destroyed will, assumed names, and the discovery of unknown relatives. The romantic subplot itself partakes of melodrama. In the contest between the dark and light forces of the book, the maiden stands out in dazzling white purity. Although the romance is hardly integral to the plot, it does defer to established literary tradition and provides a center of interest for bringing the book to a conclusion. (Bloom 227)
A novel may have many levels of symbolism. Setting and characters may convey symbolic meaning aside from their plot functions. Some traitor gesture of a person may symbolize an aspect of his character, as Bumble's fondness for his three-cornered hat serves to illuminate his devotion to an empty authoritarianism. (Wilson 251)
A purely symbolic character is one who has no plot function at all. The chimney sweep, Gamfield, may be looked upon in this light. He contributes nothing to the development of the plot but stands forth as a consummate representative of unprovoked cruelty. Ordinarily, symbolic statement gives expression to an abstraction. In spite of his conspicuous role in the plot, Brownlow exemplifies at all times the efficacious virtue, benevolence. (Nelson 206)
A note that pervades the novel of allusion to obesity, which in an inverse fashion symbolizes hunger by calling attention to its absence. It is interesting to observe the large number of characters who are corpulent. (Cruikskank 88) Regardless of station, those may be considered prosperous enough to be reasonably well-fed pose a symbolic contrast to poverty and under-nourishment. For example:
...the parish board is made up of 'eight or ten fat gentlemen'; the workhouse master is a 'fat healthy man'; Bumble is a 'portly person'; Giles is fat and Brittles 'by no means of a slim figure'; Mr. Losberne is 'a fat gentleman'; one of the Bow Street runners is 'a portly man.' (Wilson 290)
The setting is also charged with symbolism in Oliver Twist. The external evidences of neglect and decay are expressive of their counterparts in society and in the hearts of men. The dark deeds and dark passions are concretely characterized by dim rooms, smoke fog, and pitch-black nights. The governing mood of terror and merciless brutality may be identified with the frequent rain and uncommonly cold weather.
Victorian Era
To read Oliver Twist is like looking down a dirty alley in the light of six o'clock of a March morning. "The dustbin, the dead cat, the scattered filth, the broken bottles, the forsaken old granny huddled up in her rags on a doorstep, the bully skulking home, casting a look over his shoulder at every step, are perceived as in a hard light before sunrise." (Cruikskank 166) This was the Victorian times. The French Revolution was finally over leaving men either dead or unemployed. Crime became a harsh reality that leads to death. Juveniles were born criminals or born to work in the factories. Society was just beginning to recover.
A new concept was adopted to deal with the vexing issue of pauperism. "The Poor Law of 1834 provided that all able-bodied paupers must reside in a warehouse." (Chesterton 330) Inmates of the warehouse became objects of public stigma, and to further heighten the unpopularity of the institutions, living arrangements in them were deliberately made harsh. The plan was successful from one standpoint, for within three years the cost of poor relief was reduced by over one-third. However, the system was sharply censored, and the increased prevalence of crime has been attributed to it. "Dickens made the Poor Law of 1834 a conspicuous target of denunciation in Oliver Twist." (Chesterton 331)
Oliver Twist is an example of the Poor Law. He was thrown into a warehouse while he was an infant, and worked through his childhood. He was thrown out after asking for more food, and sold to an undertaker. During the Victorian Era, youths were sold for nothing. Since there was only education for the upper class, Twist was not literate. He soon ran away from the undertaker, and pursued to London.
In London scanty wages given to forms of labor, as well as high rent and provisions, made it almost impossible for man to support their family. This led to father and son teaming up to pick pocket the wealthy. Oliver learned how to pick pocket from a new friend, Dodger, on his first day in the city. Dodger worked for Fagin, who in return for wallets, gave food and shelter. Fagin grew a liking to Oliver, and figured that he would learn to be a skilled thief. Dickens made evident to the reader about Victorian life in the city. (Cruikskank 163) The upper class ruled over the entire city. The middle class was emerging and the lower class was shunned upon. That is why there was so much crime and little control. Most crime was sent before a judge and then executed, until the late nineteenth-century.
Oliver had to deal with a large number of criminal acts, but luckily was able to have a sound mind. Monks and Fagin were evil to the adolescents, like the villains they were. The only one that was kind to them was Nancy, who had taken the wrong path in life. She saved Oliver's life in return for her. Being a woman, and having no rights, no one would listen to her.
The harshness of the Victorian Era had most "enslavement." (Cruikskank 168) Men worked in the mills, children worked in the factories, and women were treated with no rights. If one was not the upper class, one had to steal to live. This is what Dickens makes apparent throughout Oliver Twist from all sides. Oliver had lived a terrible life, but still had the will to make it through and find happiness. Dickens understood the Victorian Era so well, which brought out many parallels, in all of Dickens works.
Conclusion
Oliver's life is one that no one would want to live. Luckily, through the rough times, Oliver still found happiness thanks to Brownlow. Dickens did a remarkable job making parallels between Twist's life in the Victorian Era. Being an orphan, thrown into a warehouse to work, sold, and learning to be a criminal, all where aspects of the Victorian Era which Dickens makes apparent to the audience. He also makes an effort to point out that the class system was ruling the time, and woman had no say in any matter. Dickens lived up to his name as the king of the Victorian Era in Oliver Twist, possibly because of the strong parallels to the time.
 

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I	Content - Characterizations
	Oliver Twist - A loving, innocent orphan child; the son of Edwin Leeford and
	Agnes Fleming. He is generally quiet and shy rather than aggressive.  Oliver's
	affectionate nature, along with his weakness and innocence, earn him the pity and
	love of the good people he meets.  Dicken's choice of Oliver's name is very
	revealing, because the boy's story is full of "twists" and turns.  Dickens uses his
	skills at creating character to make Oliver particularly appealing.
	Mr. Bumble - The parish beadle; a rat man and a choleric with a great idea of his
	oratorical powers and his importance.  He has a decided propensity for bullying. 
	He derived no inconsiderable pressure from the exercise of petty cruelty and
	consequently was a coward.  Halfway through the book, Bumble changes.  When
	he marries Mrs. Corney, he loses authority.  She makes all the decisions.
	The Artful Dodger - A talented pickpocket, recruiter, cheat and wit.  Jack
	Dawkins, known as the artful dodger, is a charming rogue.  Fagin's most esteemed
	pupil.  A dirty snub-nosed, flat-browed, common-faced boy (short for his age). 
	Dickens makes Dodger look more appealing by describing his outrageous clothes
	and uninhibited manners.
	Fagin - A master criminal, whose specialty is fenang (selling stolen property).  He
	employs a gang of thieves and is always looking for new recruits.  He is a man of
	considerable intelligence, though corrupted by his self-interest.  His conscience
	bothers him after he is condemned to hang.  He does have a wry sense of humor
	and an uncanny ability to understand people.  He's a very old shrivelled Jew, whose
	villainous looking repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair.
	Mr. Brownlow - A generous man, concerned for other people.  A very
	respectable looking person with a heart large enough for any six ordinary old
	gentleman of humane disposition.
	Bill Sikes - A bully, a robber and a murderer.  He is an ally of Fagin.  Fagin plans
	the crimes and Sikes carries them out.  Sike's evil is so frightening because it is so
	physical.  He is compares to a beast.  A stoutly built fellow with legs that always
	look like they are in an unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to
	garnish them.
	
	Monks - Also known as Edward Leeford (son of Edwin Leeford and his legal
	wife).  	Oliver's half brother.  He wants to destroy Olivers chance of inheriting their
	fathers estate.  Monks is a stock villain, lurking in shadows and uttering curses
	with a sneer.   He lacks family love and moral upbringing.  He is a tall, dark
	blackguard, subject to fits of cowardice and epilepsy.
	Nancy - She is the hapless product  of the slums, the pupil of Fagin, and the
	abused mistress of Sikes.  Although she is a prostitute and an accomplice of
	crooks, she has the instincts of a good person.  She is part of a few of the most
	memorable scenes (when she visits Fagin's Den, when she waits for Bill to come
	home or when she meets with Rose Maylie and Brownlow to help save Oliver). 
	She is untidy and free in manner, but there was something of the woman's original
	nature left in her still.
	Rose Maylie - On the surface, Rose is very different from Nancy.  Both were
	orphans, but Rose grew up secure and protected.  She is compassionate to Oliver,
	but unlike Nancy, rose is innocent of the evils of the world.  Dickens makes clear
	that she is a pure flower.  Agnes Flemings younger sister, thus Oliver's aunt. 
	Accepted as Mrs. Maylie's niece: later becomes her daughter-in-law.
	
	Sally Thingummy - A pauper, nurses Oliver's mother.  She steals the locket and
	ring that holds the key to the oprhans identity.
	
	Agnes Flemming - Oliver's mother; daughter of a retired naval officer.  She left
	home in shame and died when her illegitimate son was born.
	
	Mr. Sowerberry - An undertaker; He accepts Oliver as an apprentice mourner. 
	He is forced by his wife's cruelty to abuse the boy until Oliver runs away.
	
	Noah Claypolea - Charity boy.  He torments Oliver.  He is employed by Fagin,
	under the alias of Bolter, and spies on Nancy.  He ends up as a police informer. 
	
	Charley Bates - He belongs to Fagin's gang.  He is so disgusted by Sike's evil
	ways that he gives up crime and becomes a farmer.  
	Bet -  Her full name is Betsy.  She is required to identify Nancy's corpse.
	
	Fang - A police magistrate and represents the worst abuses of judicial power.  A
	lean long-backed, stiff-necked, middle-sized man, with no great quantity of hair.
	Mrs. Bedwin - She is Brownlow's housekeeper.  She cares for Oliver and
	provides his first real mothering, when Brownlow rescues him from Fang.
	Mr. Grimwig - He is Brownlow's friend.  He has a tender heart under his gruff
	exterior and joins the effort to secure Oliver's inheritance after initially doubting
	the boy.
	Toby Crackit - A house breaker who works with Sikes.  
	Mrs. Corney (later Mrs. Bumble) - She runs the workhouse where Oliver was
	born.  A greedy person, she retrieves Agnes Flemings treasures from Old Sally and
	sells them to Monks.
	Dr. Losberne - The Maylies's physician.  He is part of the group that insures
	Olivers future.  He has grown fat, more from good humor than from good living.
	Henry (Harry) Maylie - He loves Rose and wants to marry her, but she refuses
	because she believes she is illegitimate and therefore might hurt his chances to win
	elections.  To win Rose, Henry gives ups a political career and becomes a
	clergyman.
II	Content - Setting
	The major action of Oliver Twist moves back and forth between 	two
worlds:  The filthy slums of London and the clean, 	comfortable house of
Brownlow and the Maylies.  The first 	world is real and frightening.  While
the other is idealized, 	almost dreamlike, in its safety and beauty.   The world of
	London is a world of crime.  Things happen there at night, in 	dark
alleys and in abandoned, dark buildings.  You can find 	examples of this (in
the book) in Chapter XV, when Oliver is 	kidnapped and then again in Chapter
XXVI, when Fagin meets 	Monks.  Such darkness suggests that evil dominates
this world.  	Dickens often uses weather conditions to aid in setting a scene. 
	In Oliver Twist, bad things happen in bad weather.  In contrast 	to
Fagin's London, the sunlit days and fragrant flowers of the 	Maylies cottage or the
handsome library at Brownlow's teem 	with goodness and health.
III	Critical Observations - Style
	Dickens uses lots of symbolism in this book.  One use is the allusion 	to
obesity, which in an inverse way, symbolizes hunger by calling 	attention to its
absence.  It is interesting to observe the large number 	of characters who are
corpulent.  Those who may be considered 	prosperous enough to be reasonably well fed
pose a symbolic contrast 	to poverty and undernourishment.  For example, the parish
board is 	made up of "eight or ten fat gentleman"; the workhouse master is a 	"fat,
healthy man"; Bumble is a "portly person"; Giles is fat and 	Brittles "by no means of a
slim figure"; Mr. Losberne is "a fat 	gentleman"; and one of the Bow street runners is "a
portly man".  	Other uses are how evil people are described as dangerous animals or
	as typical stage villains.  The weather is usually cold and rainy when 	bad
things happen.
IV	Critical Observations - Audience and Diction
	
	Most of the language may seem stilted and artificial because there are 	long,
winding sentences full of colons, semicolons, and parentheses.  	Dicken's language can
also be very sentimental.  For example; the love 	scenes between Rose and Henry or
the description of Oliver at the 	beginning of Chapter XXX.  though Dickens was
trying to describe the 	world realistically, the language doesn't always show how people in
the 	slums talked.  Not even Sikes uses four-letter words.  Explicit sexual 	scenes
are left out too.  Dickens wanted Oliver Twist to appeal to as 	wide an audience as
possible, and he didn't want to offend his readers.  	On the otherhand, Dickens uses some
street slang, especially the slang 	of thieves, which adds a distinct flavor to the story. 
For example; look 	at the way the Artful Dodger talks and the way Oliver Twist talks. 
	Oliver isn't hard to understand.  
V	Content
	
	What is the author's attitude in presenting males, females and or 	minorities?
	Charles Dickens presents the women in the story as varieties of things.  	For
example: whores, barmaids, thieves and housekeepers.  There is 	such a diversity, but
most are compassionate at some point.  The men 	were also very diverse.  Fagin and all
his gang of thieves has little 	regard to anyone or anything.  Fagin's red hair links him to
descriptions 	of Judas, the betrayer of Jews.  To Victorian readers, the fact that he is
	a Jew would have indicated that he was greedy, alienated and 	unsympathetic. 
to modern readers, it may just mean that he's been a 	victim of prejudice.
VI	Content - Interesting Incidents
	There are two bold things that change Olivers life and thus change the 	book. 
The first is:  At the workhouse, when he asks for more food.  	The second is: when
he's an apprentice, he beats up Noah Claypole and 	runs away.  After those incidents,
most of the things that happen to him 	are out of his control.  In the first incident,
Dickens focuses on the 	inadequate diet of the youngsters in the parish's care to
suggest a whole 	range of mistreatment.  Not only in this chapter, but ion the ones
that 	follow.  If Oliver didn't run away, than he would never have met Fagin 	or any
of his gang.
	
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\On MY Honor.TXT
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455
Marion Dane Bauer, On My Honor. Clarion, 1986. 90pp. Marion Bauer certainly followed in the tradition of great novels. On My Honor is set in the hot summer of a small city. It explores the stress we put on ourselves to express blame and feel guilt when blamed. The biggest heartache is when you blame yourself for things that could not be prevented, or were not your fault. That is what Joel did. The setting was the Vermillion. Tony called it Old Man River, which is a nickname for the Mississippi. Bauer described the river as " the reddish brown water slithering far beneath the bridge." Bauer also described it as full of sinkholes, current, and whirlpools. It was polluted with chemicals and sewage that were invisible. The main characters were Joel and Tony. They were born three weeks apart and had been neighbors and friends all their lives. Joel was cautious but still adventurous. He was reliable and trustworthy. He was also a good swimmer. Tony was more of a risk taker. Always up for an adventure without bringing to mind the consequences of his actions. He wasn't as trustworthy. He proved that by lying to Joel's father's face and not admitting to being scared of anything. Bauer's main purpose for writing this novel was to show how our fears can get in the way of our responsibilities. Bauer also related to the importance of blame and guilt associated with blame in life. It's a way to lift responsibility off of our own shoulders and put it on someone else. It's also a way of coming to terms with tragedy. Bauer showed this when Joel put blame on his dad. She also showed it by the way the father dealt with Joel after Joel hit him and ran off. His father was very supportive. He took the blame to help his son deal with it. The strengths of this novel were that it had a good plot, an excellent theme, and it demonstrated the family roles. It showed how the father was supportive and understanding. The weaknesses were few but important. I don't believe that a teenage boy and his girlfriend would just leave a kid to ride into town and notify the police about his friend drowning in the river. I also think that Joel would have drowned when he went looking for Tony at the bottom of the river. Overall I recommend that you read this novel because it is extremely interesting. It is also fast reading. The novel caused me to question my own morals. It made me think of what I would do in that position. I decided that I would have done the same thing as that scared little boy.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\On The Road.TXT
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298
On The Road The novel On The Road is based on one mans true stories about his craziest adventures through the United States and Mexico. This is one of the greatest novels of all time and nothing I have read so far seems so realistic. Jack Kerovac, who is the author of the book, places himself as the narrator. Sal paradise (jack Kervac) and his best companion dean Morioty start of in New York and travels ton California to live life to its fullest. While in California Sal and Dean encounter some people that they knew. The hopes and aspirations of these guys are to find the ultimate type of euphoria. The one thing they do encounter on their road trip is the lack of responsibility that Dean had for life. He had numerous sexual partners that at one time and ended up getting them pregnant because of it. Sal Paradise is a man who likes to do things spontaneous. Just picking up his clothes and taking off is his passion in life. Dean had met o woman by the name of Marylou in Colorado and from that he traveled with her off and on. Dean was a wild and rambunctious guy who lived by his own rules and heard nothing from anyone else. This comical yet very interesting book captures the time period in which crazy people were doing this all over. No need to worry about diseases or if you got a girl pregnant because stuff like hat was virtually non existent. You could get a girl pregnant but you can just run away so you have nothing to do with it, kind of what Dean had done.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest.TXT
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485
Kesey's characterization of women is by no means fair. He perceives one type to be the bossy domineering woman, and the other type to be submissive whores. He is subjective to the inmates being futile, perceiving us to think that their wives and especially Big "Powerful" Nurse took away their manliness. Kesey tries to imply that whores such as Candy Starr, contradict that, and offer them courage and pleasure. In this book, there are no regular women, just these two extremes. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest does not seem to intentionally degrade women. Although Kesey may not have, there is a shadow of doubt in how he illustrates it. The Nurse's name itself symbolizes this. A Ratched is perceived to sound like a wretched conniving drill sergeant, with no feelings or personality. Although described as an attractive arousing lady, she is a power hungry monster, trying to hide her sexuality under her uniform. She drives to control the ward, even overpowering Dr. Spivey, finding his morphine weakness. She is opposed to male sexuality in its entirety, and thinks upon it as evil. Her only weakness is her own sexuality, and falls prey to it when McMurphy strips her clothes off, and she becomes powerless. Another figure of female dominance is Billy Bibbit's mother. She visualizes Billy, at 31 years old; still to be an adolescent probably because of his stuttering. She has controlled him all his life, and because of that, does not trust him as an adult. He is then committed to this asylum so his mom doesn't have to take care of him, but is then treated the same way by Nurse Ratched. As he defies Big Nurse, by loosing his virginity and becoming a man, she finds his weakness. Disgracing him with the risk of telling his mom, he kills himself from the humiliation of not being a man. Dale Harding is another victim fallen prey to supremacy. His wife has controlled him and he has become self indulged in an unmanly state. He is weak and feeble and unable to control it. Although appearing as one of the strongest patients beside McMurphy, he endures countless attacks about his wife from Ms. Ratched, during group therapy. This lowers his morale, but he follows McMurphy on his way to being cured. He soon demonstrates control, by waiting for his wife to sign him out, instead of abiding by McMurphy's plan to escape. Kesey's portrayal of women in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is still conceived as being biased. Even though this kind of female dominance can happen in the real world, he does not bring up the issue of male dominance and how it affects women too. He only emphasizes on the point of view of the male being completely taken over by the female. This certainly persuades the reader that his characterization of women was not fair.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Ordinary People.TXT
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1337
Ordinary People by Judith Guest is the story of a dysfunctional family who relate to one another through a series of extensive defense mechanisms, i.e. an unconscious process whereby reality is distorted to reduce or prevent anxiety. The book opens with seventeen year old Conrad, son of upper middle-class Beth and Calvin Jarrett, home after eight months in a psychiatric hospital, there because he had attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. His mother is a meticulously orderly person who, Jared, through projection, feels despises him. She does all the right things; attending to Jared's physical needs, keeping a spotless home, plays golf and bridge with other women in her social circle, but, in her own words "is an emotional cripple". Jared's father, raised in an orphanage, seems anxious to please everyone, a commonplace reaction of individuals who, as children, experienced parental indifference or inconsistency. Though a successful tax attorney, he is jumpy around Conrad, and, according to his wife, drinks too many martinis. Conrad seems consumed with despair. A return to normalcy, school and home-life, appear to be more than Conrad can handle. Chalk-faced, hair-hacked Conrad seems bent on perpetuating the family myth that all is well in the world. His family, after all, "are people of good taste. They do not discuss a problem in the face of the problem. And, besides, there is no problem." Yet, there is not one problem in this family but two - Conrad's suicide and the death by drowning of Conrad's older brother, Buck. Conrad eventually contacts a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger, because he feels the "air is full of flying glass" and wants to feel in control. Their initial sessions together frustrate the psychiatrist because of Conrad's inability to express his feelings. Berger cajoles him into expressing his emotions by saying, "That's what happens when you bury this junk, kiddo. It keeps resurfacing. Won't leave you alone." Conrad's slow but steady journey towards healing seems partially the result of cathartic revelations which purge guilt feelings regarding his brother's death and his family's denial of that death, plus the "love of a good woman. Jeannine, who sings soprano to Conrad's tenor..." There is no doubt that Conrad is consumed with guilt, "the feeling one has when one acts contrary to a role he has assumed while interacting with a significant person in his life," This guilt engenders in Conrad feelings of low self esteem. Survivors of horrible tragedies, such as the Holocaust, frequently express similar feelings of worthlessness. In his book, "Against All Odds", William Helmreich relates how one survivor articulates a feeling of abandonment. "Did I abandon them, or did they abandon me?" Conrad expresses a similar thought in remembering the sequence of events when the sailboat they were on turned over. Buck soothes Conrad saying, "Okay, okay. They'll be looking now, for sure, just hang on, don't get tired, promise? In an imagined conversation with his dead brother, Conrad asks, "'Man, why'd you let go?' 'Because I got tired.' 'The hell! You never get tired, not before me, you don't! You tell me not to get tired, you tell me to hang on, and then you let go!' 'I couldn't help it. Well, screw you, then!'" Conrad feels terrible anger with his brother, but cannot comfortably express that anger. His psychiatrist, after needling Conrad, asks, "Are you mad?" When Conrad responds that he is not mad, the psychiatrist says, "Now that is a lie. You are mad as hell." Conrad asserts that, "When you let yourself feel, all you feel is lousy." When his psychiatrist questions him about his relationship with his mother, Calvin says, "My mother and I do not connect. Why should it bother me? My mother is a very private person." This sort of response is called, in psychological literature, "rationalization". We see Conrad's anger and aggression is displaced, i.e. vented on another, as when he physically attacked a schoolmate. Yet, he also turns his anger on himself and expresses in extreme and dangerous depression and guilt. "Guilt is a normal emotion felt by most people, but among survivors it takes on special meaning. Most feel guilty about the death of loved ones whom they feel they could have, or should have, saved. Some feel guilty about situations in which they behaved selfishly (Conrad held on to the boat even after his brother let go), even if there was no other way to survive. In answer to a query from his psychiatrist on when he last got really mad, Conrad responds, "When it comes, there's always too much of it. I don't know how to handle it." When Conrad is finally able to express his anger, Berger, the psychiatrist says to Calvin, "Razoring is anger; self-mutilation is anger. So this is a good sign; turning his anger outward at last." Because his family, and especially his mother, frowns upon public displays of emotion, Conrad keeps his feelings bottled up, which further contributes to depression. Encyclopedia Britannica, in explicating the dynamics of depression states, "Upon close study, the attacks on the self are revealed to be unconscious expressions of disappointment and anger toward another person, or even a circumstance..., deflected from their real direction onto the self. The aggression, therefore, directed toward the outside world is turned against the self." The article further asserts that, "There are three cardinal psychodynamic considerations in depression: (1) a deep sense of loss of what is loved or valued, which may be a person, a thing or even liberty; (2) a conflict of mixed feelings of love and hatred toward what is loved or highly valued; (3) a heightened overcritical concern with the self." Conrad's parents are also busily engaged in the business of denial. Calvin, Conrad's father, says, "Don't worry. Everything is all right. By his own admission, he drinks too much, "because drinking helps..., deadening the pain". Calvin cannot tolerate conflict. Things must go smoothly. "Everything is jello and pudding with you, Dad." Calvin, the orphan says, "Grief is ugly. It is something to be afraid of, to get rid of". "Safety and order. Definitely the priorities of his life. He constantly questions himself as to whether or not he is a good father. "What is fatherhood, anyway?" Beth, Conrad's mother, is very self-possessed. She appears to have a highly developed super-ego, that part of an individual's personality which is "moralistic..., meeting the demands of social convention, which can be irrational in requiring certain behaviors in spite of reason, convenience and common sense". She is furthermore, a perfectionist. "Everything had to be perfect, never mind the impossible hardship it worked on her, on them all." Conrad is not unlike his mother. He is an overachiever, an "A" student, on the swim team and a list-maker. His father tells the psychiatrist, "I see her not being able to forgive him. For surviving, maybe. No, that's not it, for being too much like her." A psychoanalyst might call her anal retentive. Someone who is "fixated symbolically in orderliness and a tendency toward perfectionism". "Excessive self-control, not expressing feelings, guards against anxiety by controlling any expression of emotion and denying emotional investment in a thing or person. "She had not cried at the funeral.... She and Conrad had been strong and calm throughout." The message of the book is contained in Berger's glib saying that, "People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile". We see Conrad moving toward recovery and the successful management of his stage of development, as articulated by Erikson, "intimacy vs. isolation". At story end, his father is more open with Conrad, moving closer to him, while his mother goes off on her own to work out her issues. Both trying to realize congruence in their development stage (Erikson), "ego integrity vs. despair". An Introduction to Theories of Personality, Hergenhahn, B.R., Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1994, page 60. Psychology, The Science of Behavior, Carlson, Neil R., Simon & Schuster, MA, 1984, page 481. Ordinary People, Guest, Judith, p. 253 Psychology Today, An Introduction, Bootzin, R.R., Bower, G.H., Zajonc, R.B., Random House, NY, 1986, page 464. Ordinary People, page 4. ibid, p. 116 ibid, p. 118 Carlson, Neil R., page 393. Time, July 19, 1976, p.68 Hergenhahn, page 481. Carlson, Neil R., page 484. Against All Odds, Helmreich, William B., Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 1992, p. 134. Guest, p. 217. Guest, p. 218. Guest, page 98. Guest, page 116. Guest, page 97. Bootzin, et. al., page 459. Bootzin, et al., page 459. a psych. book, p. Helmreich, p. 234. Guest, p. 100. Guest, page 190. Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 7, p. 269. ibid, p. 269. Guest, page 30. Guest, page 59. Guest, page 114. Guest, Page 127. Guest, page 173. Guest, page 8. Guest, page 26. Bootzin, et. al., pp. 457-460. Guest, page 89. Guest, page 147. Hergenhahn, page 40. Ibid, page 147. Guest, page 204. Guest, page 225. Bootzin, et. al, page 467. Ibid, page 467.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Othello.TXT
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497
Othello by William Shakespeare takes place in Venice during the invasion of the island of Cyprus by the Turks. The protagonist of the story, Othello, is a newlywed, Moorish general with a very gullible nature. The antagonist of the story is Iago, an officer under Othello who wishes to be promoted to lieutenant, but the position was given to the young and attractive Cassio. Other major characters in the play are Desdemona, Othello's wife who is accused of having an affair with Cassio. In addition, there are Roderigo, a Venetian who is deeply in love with Desdemona; and Emilia (Iago's wife) who could have prevented the death of Desdemona. The tone of the story is tragic and serious. Meanwhile, there isn't any point of view because this is a play and a play doesn't normally have a narrator. Shakespeare lets the reader make up his/her own imagination with the characters' words and behavior. Since Othello is the protagonist, he is explained in more detail. Although Othello is a brave warrior, he is a jealous person; his jealousy also prevails over his good sense. The whole play depicts the fact that jealousy causes corruption. There are many conflicts found in Othello, and person vs. person is one of them. An example is when Iago seeks revenge against Othello and Cassio because of his anger and jealousy. Person vs. society appears when Desdemona's father Brabantio, disapproves her marriage to Othello because he is several years older than Desdemona, from a different class, and a different race. An internal conflict of person vs. himself is found when Othello is in a dilemma about whether or not should he believe that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him. Othello loves and trusts Desdemona until his jealousy is aroused by the cruel manipulations of Iago. Iago's intention was to persuade Othello to believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. As Iago succeeds in convincing Othello that Desdemona is guilty of adultery, it leads to the climax of the play. And so Othello must face emotions he can't deal with. His jealousy drives him insane, and his judgment is replaced with anger and hate. At this time, the reader notices that the death of Desdemona is inevitable. Othello smothers her, and he eventually kills himself when he knows that Iago falsely accused Desdemona. This also represents the tragedy of the play. A lesson that readers learn from the play is that jealousy causes corruption in many ways such as dishonesty which was portrayed by Iago. As for Othello, the tragedy would not have happened if it wasn't for Iago who was jealous of Cassio for having the lieutenant's job and of Othello for being a successful soldier. Iago's scheme caused many deaths. Iago is amoral. For example, even when the innocent Desdemona dies, he doesn't have a sense of guilt; and even when he is about to die, he does not have thoughts of remorse. In addition, Othello also caused Desdemona's death due to his jealousy and his impulsiveness. As Othello says, "I'll see before I'll doubt; when I doubt, prove; / And on the proof, there is no more but this, / Away at once with love or jealousy!" Even in the end, Othello doesn't know what was his actual motivation for killing the woman he loves.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Our Town.TXT
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                                          Our Town
Our Town, by Thornton Wilder is a play that takes place in a small fictional town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire; beginning in 1901 and ending in 1913. The play takes the audience through the cycles of life, with the purpose of getting a universal message stating that life shouldn't be taken for granted. Emily Webb, one of the most important characters in the play, is Wilder's character in which he uses to show the audience a universal message that anyone would understand and relate to. Emily is a character that is normal enough so that the audience could relate to her; and yet be different in little ways that makes people love and adore her. For example, Emily went through the most common events in a woman's life: marriage, childbirth, and death in the play. These cycles makes her common, thus relatable to the audience. Without going through common events in life, the character would seem distant and likeable to the audience. Similarly, when Emily said that she expects a man to be perfect, it makes her special. Wilder put in that scene because he believed that even though there is a basic image of an average person, to be truly average, the character must have a difference to separate the character from the crowd. If the character doesn't have any differences, then the character would be faceless; impossible for the character to take a major role in the play. Emily is portrayed uniquely in her own way, and yet is still within the boundaries of everyone else. The character Emily plays a crucial scene in the play, the part where Emily went back to her twelfth birthday. At first, Emily wanted to go back and relive the happiest day of her life, but Mrs. Gibbs stopped her and told her to visit a normal day instead. Mrs. Gibbs knew what would happen to Emily if she had relived a joyful day in her life. If Emily had went back to a special occasion, she would've been overwhelmed by the all the beauty that she didn't pay attention to. Therefore, Emily went to relive her twelfth birthday, but wasn't as happy as she thought she would have been. Emily couldn't understand why her own mother wouldn't even spare the time to look at her on her birthday. She then concluded that the living is ignorant and doesn't appreciate the small things that are in their lives every day. The character Emily is perfect just the way she is. If Wilder changed Emily, the universal message might not be as effective as it is now. Meaning that the audience wouldn't like the idea given from a character that is unlike them.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Paradise lost.TXT
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Paradise lost 
The words I chose to concentrate the most on in Milton's Paradise Lost is omnipotence and omniscient. We come across these words several times in the course of the story and it is always referring to God which is understanding since he is all-powerful, all-knowing. We first hear it from the narrator of the story in book one, "Who durst defy the omnipotent to arms(line 49)." when he is referring to the fall of Satan. We hear the word again from Beelzebub, "Leader of those armies bright, which but none the omnipotent could have foiled (line 273)." when he answered to Satan about warring against God. We hear it mentioned again from Belial in book two who suggests that they exhaust God's rage by dealing with what has happened to them peacefully. "Thus trampled, thus expelled to suffer here chains and these torments? Better these than worse. By my advice; since fate inevitable subdues us, and omnipotent decree, the victor's will (line 198)." I want to concentrate on these words because of how many times they are used in place of the word God or said right afterwards as the narrator does in book ten, "Meanwhile the heinous and despiteful act of Satan done in Paradise, and how he perverted Eve, her husband she, to taste the fatal fruit, was known in heaven; for what can escape the eye of God all-seeing, or deceive his heart omniscient, who in all things wise and just,...(lines1-7)." and how that relates to the story of Paradise Lost .
The first book I want to write of is book number three. Here we have God sitting on his throne speaking to his son. God knows what Satan is up to, he can see him trying to find out more about the world that is between heaven and Pandemonium. He then goes into a speech about how he is aware of everything that will happen between Satan and the fall of man. He then says that he will not be responsible for the fall in that he created man free to choose and that Satan will be the one to tempt them into choosing something sinful. I am puzzled by this speech by Milton for God as I have been puzzled by the Christian religion itself for years. I can understand that God is upset that Eve will eat from The Tree of Knowledge and thus pervert Adam in that he made them free and that foreknowledge could not stop them. What I do not understand is why he must punish man and put the blame on Satan alone. If God knew that Satan would penetrate Paradise and pervert Eve why did he make them free to choose? Why bother putting guardian angels at the gates of Paradise to keep out Satan when he knows that Satan will prevail? Lucky for Adam and Eve that God has mercy. "The first sort by their own suggestion fell, self-tempted, self depraved: man falls deceived by the other first: man therefore shall find grace, the other none: in mercy and justice both, through heaven and earth, so shall my glory excel, but mercy first and last shall brightest shine (lines 129-134)."
The latter quote leads me into books two and six. In book two we have Satan discussing with the other fallen angels about what they will do now that they have fallen. Some suggest war, others such as Belial suggest compliance and yet others ponder the idea of finding out about this new world that is rumored to have been created. Although Satan does succeed in perverting mankind why doo he and other angels think it wise to war against God, all-knowing, all-powerful? They know he is omnipotent in that Belial points it out to them. So why even think war when God will know you are doing so and has the power to defeat you? Then once they go to war they are astonished although not completely hopeless that they were defeated on the first day. Before the defeat Abdiel tells Satan the same thing that Belial basically said in book one. "Thy hope was to have reached the height of thy aspiring unopposed, the throne of God unguarded, and his side abandoned at the terror of they power or potent tongue; fool, not to think how vain against the omnipotent to rise in arms...(lines 131-135)." Notice how Abdiel uses potent to describe Satan's tongue. Potent meaning powerful physically but not all-powerful. Then Satan and his comrades try yet again to defeat the army of angels only to have the glory go to the Son of God. This makes me wonder why God let there be a war at all. If he knew that he was going to defeat Satan's army why didn't he stop it before any of his army were wounded? Why wait to let his son conquer Satan?
I think that the use of the words omnipotent and omnipscient are very clever in that they do reinforce the fact that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful deity. Perhaps the use of the word in Milton's epic was used to try and keep people on their toes. Unfortunately it didn't keep Adam, Eve, and Satan from making stupid decisions.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Paradiso.TXT
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535
In spite of all the sheer effort put behind it, Dante's Paradiso is not easy to enjoy. It is an alliance between difficulty and controversy. It is a narration of Dante's so called visit to heaven, which seems tangible to no one but him. He slowly gives us his perceived account while inserting an archive of philosophical tidbits, which often divert the reader's attention from the supposed plot. Dante claims himself gifted and says that all his said experiences are ones that he encountered first-hand. And so the reader is assumed to believe that the author is not in a make-believe world and his arguments with heavenly beings are actually marvelous adventures. The theme is not relevant at all to the present, as scholars today would say that his ideas are primitive and unsubstantial. The only thing applicable to today be the fact that it is based on the timeless issue: the afterlife. And as he inserts his personal views in life, he does it in an authoritative method as his heavenly friends explain them to him. Now if the reader assumes this is all make-believe, it is tiresome to go on as the book is direly detailed. On the other hand, if the reader believes Dante's account, then I am afraid he is very misled. As many biblical verses are inserted in the text, it is quite bothersome that his explanations and fabulous stories take on a less dogmatic direction. It doesn't seem right to quote religion to serve both misinterpreted purposes and claims to a divine philosophy. This dissenting view is the only social impact I can make out of the book. As I read on the translated verses looking for some conflict or climax, I reached neither. It just seems as if this popularly supposed story is intended to be educational just like a textbook. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see why Paradiso was dubbed a masterpiece. If the title of "masterpiece" is labeled upon the works of great worth, I am afraid entertainment value is not something distinguishable in this case even if there is an undoubtedly enormous amount of effort, skill, and thought that was invested in it. All the lines rhyme in pairs, and are written in deep Spanish. A rhyme scheme is followed and even literary formality is observed. Dante is obviously intellectual, as his work shows. It boasts of great depth and cerebral capacity. Although more factual than proverbial, this display of intelligence clearly shows that Paradiso has a high prerequisite for understanding. His words and narration appeal to the emotions as well, as detailed work almost regularly accomplishes. He describes his feelings of awe, curiosity, and incapability as a mortal to comprehend the ways of the divine in words so deep, so brief, and yet so filled with his emotional intent. Why all of these good traits still fail to interest the reader is possibly the effect of the fact that Paradiso is written to contain Dante's thoughts and meaning and not ours. And so, as with most other things, it is the creator who appreciates his fruit the most. I may be counted among those who appreciate only the effort, but not the fruit. I find Paradiso to be a thick pulp of philosophical fragments. It is a narrative nothing and yet has room for controversy. It has all the elements of a commendable story without a commendable story line. I would not recommend it to anyone except those who have a lot of time on their hands, as I deduce it to be a waste of time.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Personal History again.TXT
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Personal History
Katharine Graham
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1997
March 3, 2004
	The author of this autobiography is the former publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, a newspaper with a tremendous spread throughout the United States and beyond.  The extensive autobiography titled simply Personal History, tells about the lives of her lineage (grandparents and parents) and how they influenced the outcome of her life.  Obviously no outside sources are needed to determine whether or not the late Ms. Graham was qualified to write her own autobiography:  therefore I shall defer the opening section to better suit the work I have selected.  Was Katharine Graham's life influential on enough people to make it worth recording and publishing?  Yes: these are the memoirs of the first woman publisher of a major media outlet and being the first at anything like this makes your life's story worthy of record.  
	Personal History spans the early days of her grandfather's business ventures and the fateful meeting of her father and mother to Graham's heavy-hearted takeover of the Post and her eventual retirement.  It goes into great depth about the Watergate scandal and the role The Washington Post played in uncovering the truth (as well as the Nixon administration's every attempt to sabotage the paper and Graham's other assets through legalities).  The main scope of the work, however, is of course on Katharine Graham herself and how the people around her shaped her into who she was when she recorded the memoirs.  
      She began her life as a rich daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Meyer, already millionaires before The Washington Post was conceived.  From private school to private school, and later from college to college, Graham had held an interest in journalism.  She remarked that early on her father had half-jokingly bantered with her about the possibility of her coming to write for the Post after he had acquired it (which he did for something in the neighborhood of $500,000).  After college she moved for a while to the land of her grandparents, San Francisco, and wrote part-time for a small newspaper publication there (something which was nearly unheard of, a woman journalist for something other than Redbook and the like).  
      When in her mid-20's, after writing for the newspaper in San Francisco for two years, she was given a genuine offer from her father to return to Washington and "help him run things."  He actually meant write up a column, which she did.  While staying in Washington, she mingled with a crowd of well-to-do young people, freshly out of college and on their way to make a difference in the world.  At one of the "Hatley Boys'" get-togethers, she met the man who would eventually become her husband: the handsome and intelligent young man, bound for success, Philip Graham.
      Sometime after their marriage, it was clear that Eugene Meyer was looking to Philip as a possible "White Knight" for The Washington Post, as Eugene's only son had shown no interest in going into business and a male was the preferred inheritor.  Philip was given stock in the company and after the eventual death of Eugene Philip took over as publisher.  He was relatively untrained and over the years had to learn the newspaper business and help the already-struggling Post gain strength and become a major publication.
      Years of giving his blood, sweat and tears for the paper took a tremendous psychological toll on Philip.  He eventually had an extramarital affair and after a while of bizarre behavior, committed suicide while Katharine was in a nearby room.  Philip's suicide left no one to run the paper but Katharine herself, forcing her to be the first woman to be publisher of such a huge media outlet.  She had a lot to learn, and described the difference in watching Philip run the paper and actually doing it like the difference in "watching someone swim and actually swimming."  She was also not immediately how everyone, from her secretaries to print room workers to top-level journalists, was sizing her up.  Katharine felt thereafter that she had the job of representing her gender in the corporate world.
      
      If the book were meant to maintain a theme at all it would be the prevalence and resilience of the human spirit.  Also, a good theme for the autobiography could be summed up as "big things come in small packages (referring to the author herself)."
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Personal History.TXT
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Personal History
Katharine Graham
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1997
March 3, 2004
	The author of this autobiography is the former publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, a newspaper with a tremendous spread throughout the United States and beyond.  The extensive autobiography titled simply Personal History, tells about the lives of her lineage (grandparents and parents) and how they influenced the outcome of her life.  Obviously no outside sources are needed to determine whether or not the late Ms. Graham was qualified to write her own autobiography:  therefore I shall defer the opening section to better suit the work I have selected.  Was Katharine Graham's life influential on enough people to make it worth recording and publishing?  Yes: these are the memoirs of the first woman publisher of a major media outlet and being the first at anything like this makes your life's story worthy of record.  
	Personal History spans the early days of her grandfather's business ventures and the fateful meeting of her father and mother to Graham's heavy-hearted takeover of the Post and her eventual retirement.  It goes into great depth about the Watergate scandal and the role The Washington Post played in uncovering the truth (as well as the Nixon administration's every attempt to sabotage the paper and Graham's other assets through legalities).  The main scope of the work, however, is of course on Katharine Graham herself and how the people around her shaped her into who she was when she recorded the memoirs.  
      She began her life as a rich daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Meyer, already millionaires before The Washington Post was conceived.  From private school to private school, and later from college to college, Graham had held an interest in journalism.  She remarked that early on her father had half-jokingly bantered with her about the possibility of her coming to write for the Post after he had acquired it (which he did for something in the neighborhood of $500,000).  After college she moved for a while to the land of her grandparents, San Francisco, and wrote part-time for a small newspaper publication there (something which was nearly unheard of, a woman journalist for something other than Redbook and the like).  
      When in her mid-20's, after writing for the newspaper in San Francisco for two years, she was given a genuine offer from her father to return to Washington and "help him run things."  He actually meant write up a column, which she did.  While staying in Washington, she mingled with a crowd of well-to-do young people, freshly out of college and on their way to make a difference in the world.  At one of the "Hatley Boys'" get-togethers, she met the man who would eventually become her husband: the handsome and intelligent young man, bound for success, Philip Graham.
      Sometime after their marriage, it was clear that Eugene Meyer was looking to Philip as a possible "White Knight" for The Washington Post, as Eugene's only son had shown no interest in going into business and a male was the preferred inheritor.  Philip was given stock in the company and after the eventual death of Eugene Philip took over as publisher.  He was relatively untrained and over the years had to learn the newspaper business and help the already-struggling Post gain strength and become a major publication.
      Years of giving his blood, sweat and tears for the paper took a tremendous psychological toll on Philip.  He eventually had an extramarital affair and after a while of bizarre behavior, committed suicide while Katharine was in a nearby room.  Philip's suicide left no one to run the paper but Katharine herself, forcing her to be the first woman to be publisher of such a huge media outlet.  She had a lot to learn, and described the difference in watching Philip run the paper and actually doing it like the difference in "watching someone swim and actually swimming."  She was also not immediately how everyone, from her secretaries to print room workers to top-level journalists, was sizing her up.  Katharine felt thereafter that she had the job of representing her gender in the corporate world.
      
      If the book were meant to maintain a theme at all it would be the prevalence and resilience of the human spirit.  Also, a good theme for the autobiography could be summed up as "big things come in small packages (referring to the author herself)."
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Point Of View In Grendel And Beowulf.TXT
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Contrasting points of view in Grendel and Beowulf significantly alter the reader's perception of religion, good and evil, and the character Grendel. John Gardner's book, Grendel, is written in first person. The book translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf, is written in third person. Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf. How is Grendel affected by the concepts of good and evil? Grendel is an alienated individual who just wants to be a part of something. His desire to fit in causes him to do evil things. Grendel is fascinated by the Shaper's poetry. He often returns to the mead hall to listen to it. One night while he is listening, he hears the story of Cain and Abel, including the Danes explanation of Grendel. His reaction to this leads to one of his most dramatic emotional reactions: "I believed him. Such was the power of the Shaper's harp! Stood wriggling my face, letting tears down my nose, grinding my fists into my elbow the corpse of the proof that both of us ere cursed, or neither, that the brothers had never lived, nor the god who judged them. 'Waaa!' I bawled. 'Oh what a conversion'"(Gardner 51)! Grendel then cries for mercy from the Danes. He wants their forgiveness as well as unification with them, which represents the good in him. The Danes reject him by confusing his outburst of sorrow as an attack. After visiting with a dragon who tells Grendel a fictional version of the Shaper's tale, Grendel continues to believe the Shaper's story. He searches for the goodness in human beings, which was mentioned in the story. He eats people only because it provides a place for him in society, even if it is a negative position (The Two Faces of Grendel, 2). Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf, and ultimately both wipe each other out. Good, is portrayed by God, and evil seems to be what fate has in store for the hero. Beowulf occasionally talks to God and asks God to give him strength before the battle and to give him the valor he needs to overcome his enemy. Evil seems to always get the bad side of things since it always gets conquered by God's good side. Even though this is true, evil lives the high life for a long time. Grendel, Beowulf's first opponent, killed thousands and thousands of men before he met his match. Evil comes from the monsters. They attack the good side by killing innocent men because they are hungry or just want to defy the laws. Good fights back when the evil creations are killed and all is back to normal. Beowulf is truly good because he helps people when they need it the most and hopes that God is with him even though he doesn't have to do anything to help the people who have an evil creature killing their village's population every night. In Grendel, the main belief is that of existentialism, however, there are also numerous references to Cain throughout the entire book. The basis for his version of existentialism is the following excerpt from the book itself: I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly-as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the whole universe, blink by blink.-An ugly god pitifully dying in a tree (Gardner 22)! One can explain this view of existentialism by considering some simple concepts of existentialism. Existentialists believe that man is forlorn and totally responsible for his acts, and that his choices are important because existence precedes essence. Furthermore, the references to Cain, which represented chaos and the presence of evil, can be found throughout the book. For example, after Cain killed his brother, he drinks his blood. This is typically something that Grendel does after he kills his victims. Additionally, both Cain and Grendel are viewed as outcasts of society who have to roam in the shadows. They are outside looking inside. They are outside threats to the order of society as shown by Grendel with the Danes (Similarities between Grendel and Cain, 1). The religious references to Cain, as well as the belief in existentialism are important aspects in Grendel. In Beowulf, the main belief is that of wyrd, or fate, and sources say that Beowulf is a pagan poem adapted to fit ideals of Christianity. The belief in wyrd is one of the most pervasive pagan elements. The Anglo-Saxons believed strongly that their lives were predestined and that powerful supernatural forces acted upon them. The inevitability of this fate is shown many times throughout the poem. When Beowulf prepares to fight Grendel, he abandons his armor and sword saying, "Fate ever goes as it must." Additionally, although there are Christian overtones, the paganistic point of views are expressed anytime they discuss fate and destiny. For example, Beowulf makes a remark to Wiglaf that fate has swept their race away. But right above that, he tells Wiglaf, "I thank our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth-For all of this, that His grace has given me...(Gardner 109)." The epic poem Beowulf contains definite references to Christianity, but it is also full of Pagan symbols such as that of fate. The character Grendel is viewed in a different light in the book Grendel. Grendel is pitiful in Grendel, however, Gardner uses this pity to arouse sympathy for Grendel by giving him human traits and emotions and by using first person. This novel is actually narrated by Grendel, which offers understanding of the "beast's innermost feelings, as well as evoking sympathy from the reader. In Grendel, the antihero has human traits: he walks on two legs and speaks a language similar to the Danes. He also has strong emotions of fear, anger, and sorrow as well as intellect. One may compare Grendel to Lennie in Of Mice and Men. Both characters have a sense of alienation and just want to fit in. The point of view of the book Grendel allows the reader to see another side of Grendel. In Beowulf, Grendel is viewed as the antagonist and the evil villain. Grendel is both feared and hated in Beowulf. Upon reading Beowulf, the reader discovers Grendel as seen through the eyes of his terrified victims. King Hrothgar, leader of the Danes, fears his visits: "The renowned ruler, the prince of long famous, sat empty of joy; strong in might, he suffered, sorrowed for his men when they saw the track of the hateful monster, the evil spirit." Hrothgar would dread the fatal nights when Grendel would dine on human flesh. The ruler understands that Grendel attacks his men out of spite and jealousy (The Two Faces of Grendel, 1). In reading Grendel and Beowulf, one can find many similarities in the way the events occur in the books, however because of contrasting points of view, the reader gets insight on the entire picture from two different sides. This allows the reader to better understand each book and its contents, such as their beliefs and the concept of good and evil, and acknowledge the ways the character Grendel can be described.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Polonius.TXT
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1657
Polonius: A Fool in Shakespeare's Hamlet Hamlet is the most popular of Shakespeare's plays for theater audiences and readers. It has been acted live in countries throughout the world and has been translated into every language. Polonius is one of the major characters in Hamlet, his role in the play is of great interest to scholars. Parts of Hamlet present Polonius as a fool, whose love of his own voice leads to his constant babbling. Scholars have been analyzing the character of Polonius for centuries, and his role in Hamlet will continue to be analyzed for centuries to come. Scholars believe that Shakespeare created Polonius as a fool because of his foolish dialogue throughout the play. Polonius granted Laertes permission to go back to school in France. While saying good-bye in his chambers, Polonius tells his son: Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in, Bear't that th' opposed may beware of thee. Give every man they ear, but few thy voice. Take each man's censure, but reserve they judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy (rich, not gaudy) For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station (Are) of a most select and generous chief in that. Neither a borrower or a lender (be,) For (loan) oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing (dulls the) edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. (1. 3. 71-87) The advice that Polonius gives to Laertes is simple and sounds foolish being told to a person of Laertes' age. Martin Orkin comments on the nature of Polonius' speech: 2 "Shakespeare's first audience would recognize in Polonius' predilection for such commonplace expressions of worldly wisdom a mind that runs along conventional tracks, sticking only to what is practically useful in terms of worldly self-advancement" (Orkin 179). Polonius gives Laertes simple advice, to keep his thoughts to himself and to never lend or borrow money. While this advice is simple, when looked at in full context his advice to his son is all about self-advancement. Polonius will go to all extremes to protect his reputation. Grebanier states on the foolishness of Polonius' speech: "Such guidance will do for those who wish to make the world their prey, but it is dignified by no humanity. Who can live humanly without ever borrowing or lending? Is one to turn his back on his best friend in an hour of need?" (Grebanier 285). Scholars believe that the advice Polonius gives to his son is simple, an when looked at in full context, is foolish and selfish. After Laertes returns to Paris, Polonius send his servant Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes and question his acquaintances. Polonius says to Reynaldo: At "closes in the consequence"-ay, marry- He closes thus: "I know the gentleman. I saw him yesterday," or "th' other day" (Or then, or then, with such or such), "and as you say, There was he gaming, there (o'ertook) in's rouse, There falling out at tennis", or perchance "I saw him enter such a house of sale"- Videlicet, a brothel- or so forth. See you now Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth; And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, With windlasses and with assays of bias, By indirections find directions out. (2. 1. 61-75) 3 By spying on Laertes, Polonius is showing the audience and the reader, that he does now trust him. After giving Laertes a speech on how to behave, Polonius still feels that he has to spy on his son. Joan Hartwig comments on Polonius' plan to spy on his son: "A machiavellian schemer who takes his plotting to absurd proportions, Polonius pursues 'indirection' for its own sake. His efforts to discover Laertes' reputation in Paris assume that Laertes will not follow his earlier advice; thus, the later words become a comic reduction of his previous sermon to his son" (Hartwig 218). Another reason for Polonius' foolishness is that Polonius is convinced, and tries convincing others, that the reason for Hamlet's madness is his love for Ophelia. He tells Ophelia: Come, go with me. I will go seek the king. This is the very ecstasy love, Whose violent property fordoes itself And leads the will to desperate undertakings As oft as any passions under heaven That does afflict out natures. I am sorry. What, have you given him any hard words of late? (2. 1. 113-119) After hearing of Hamlet's madness, he immediately reaches a conclusion and believes, throughout the play, that he is correct. He does not consider other possibilities and foolishly jumps to the conclusion that Hamlet is mad for Ophelia's love. R.S. White believes that Polonius should have considered other options for Hamlet's madness: "But when saying that it is simply Ophelia's rejection that has made Hamlet mad, he is ignorant of the predisposed mental state of the young man caused by his mother's remarriage, the recent encounter with the ghost and the whole repressive machinery of Denmark's social 4 and political life" (White 67). Polonius foolishly believes that he knows what underlies Hamlet's madness, while Hamlet, and the audience, knows that he is wrong. Polonius continues to demonstrate his foolishness by babbling and losing his train of argumentation when speaking to the King and Queen. Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is mad in love for Ophelia and says: My liege, and madam, to expostulate What majesty should be, what duty is, Why day is day, night night, and time is time Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time. Therefore, (since) brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief. Your noble son is mad. 'Mad' call I it, for, to define true madness, What is 't but to be nothing else but mad? But let that go. (2. 2. 93-102) He says that he will be brief, but continues to babble. The Queen responds to his statement by saying "More matter with less art" (2. 2. 103). The Queen acknowledges Polonius' constant babbling and wants him to get quickly to the point. Grebanier comments on the character of Polonius: "Nothing is left of is ability and shrewdness but a few tags, a few catch-phrases, to which, even when they do express some grains of truth, he pays scant heed in his own demeanor. It is he, for example, who utters the celebrated: 'brevity is the soul of wit' (2. 2. 90) -a profound truth; but no character in Shakespeare is so long winded as Polonius" (Grebanier 283). Polonius continues to complicate a simple statement and is viewed as a babbling fool by scholars. Throughout the play, Hamlet continues to insult Polonius and make him look foolish to the audience. Hamlet tells Polonius: "You are a fishmonger" (2. 2. 190). 5 According to Leo Kirschbaum: "A fishmonger is a barrel, one who employs a prostitute for his business. Hamlet is obliquely telling the old councilor that he is using his own daughter for evil ends" (Kirschbaum 86). After Hamlet insults Polonius and Ophelia, Polonius still refuses to give up this theory that Hamlet is madly in love. Martin Dodsworth comments on the reaction of Polonius after Hamlet insults him: "Polonius accepts the bad treatment meeted out to him as that of a man who is out of his mind: 'How say you by that? Still harping on my daughter. He is far gone'" (Dodsworth 100). The Shakespearean audience viewed Hamlet as the protagonist of the play, and some scholars believe that Polonius served as his perfect foil. Bert States comments, "Polonius is not only the perfect foil for Hamlet's wit (since irony is the mortal enemy of the order prone mind), but a shadow of Hamlet as well. Indeed, Polonius literally shadows Hamlet, or tails him and in shadowing him falls into a thematic parody of his own habits" (States 116). Thus, Polonius' role in the play as Hamlet's foil, would be the role of the fool. The last time Polonius appears in Hamlet is wen he hides behind a curtain in Gertrude's room, to hear Hamlet's conversation with his mother. Hamlet frightens Gertrude and she cries for help. Immediately after, Polonius foolishly echoes her cry and is stabbed by Hamlet, thinking it is Claudius. Hamlet, realizing he has killed Polonius says: Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for my better. (3. 4. 38-39) Elizabeth Oakes comments on this scene, "Although Polonius is not in motley, Hamlet calls him a fool often enough, although nowhere more significantly than in the closet scene 6 after the murder" (Oakes 106). Hamlet ruthlessly calls Polonius a fool, and his opinion, as the play's protagonist, would greatly influence an Elizabethan audience's view of Polonius. When Gertrude tells Claudius of Polonius' death, Claudius responds by saying: O heavy deed! It had been so with us, had we been there. (4. 1. 13-14) Claudius knows that Polonius has been killed in his place. Oakes comments on Polonius' role a the plays fool: "He is suited for this role because of his incarnation of the fool, the one traditionally chosen as a substitute for the king in ritual" (Oakes 106). Scholars view Polonius as a character mocked throughout the play and the nature of his death, as the Kings substitute, lead scholars to view him as a fool. In conclusion, Shakespeare created Polonius as a very unique and complex character. Scholars argue and will continue to argue over the reasons for Polonius' foolishness. Throughout the play Polonius tends to act foolish thinking that he knows the reason for Hamlet's madness, while the audience knows that he is wrong. Shakespeare created Polonius as a controversial character and only he will ever know why Polonius was created so foolish. Bibliography Works Cited Grebanier, Bernard. The Heart of Hamlet. New York: Thomas Y. Cromwell Co, 1960. Hartwig, Joan. "Parodic Polonius". Texas Studies in Literature and Language: vol. 13, 1971. Kirschbaum, Leo. Character and Characterization in Shakespeare. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 1962. Oakes, Elizabeth. "Polonius, the Man behind the Arras: A Jungian Study." New Essays on Hamlet. New York: AMS Press, 1994. Orkin, Martin. "Hamlet and the Security of the South African State." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. New York: G.K. Hall and Co, 1995. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New York: Washington Square Press published by Pocket Books, 1992. States, Bert O. Hamlet and the Concept of Character. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1992.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Possessing The Secret Of Joy Four Men To Find A Cure.TXT
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Four Men to Find a Cure The four main men in Possessing the Secret of Joy have roles that contradict a stereotypical male; they are the cure to Tashi's happiness. Alice Walker gives Adam, Mzee, Pierre, and Benny roles that show a softer side to men. These four men are very different from each other but they do have some resemblance of each other. These men who were all very devotedly attached to Tashi took care of her and never gave up on her. Instead of deceiving and being indolent, these four men were very likeable. The men tend to symbolize and represent different aspects of Tashi's life. Tashi's husband Adam symbolized love. He was the only lover of Tashi that we read about. He cared for her and watched over her even when he did not have control over her. Adam may not have been loyal to Evelyn, but he loved her and took care of her. He knew the real Tashi that many people never saw. He was loyal to Tashi, but after the circumcision he would barely ever see her. He was more of a great friend than a good husband was. He lets her know that he loves her several times in the book. At their marriage he cuts the same lines in his face as Tashi had to represent the Olinkans. He goes with her to Mzee's house in Switzerland while she is cured. He also dreams about her and her livelihood, like when she used to say, "But what is it?" when she was happy. Adam, Olivia's brother, was daring at heart. He and Tashi used to go the fields to have sex that was considered very taboo. His mentors were Lisette and Pierre. He learned from them. He was in love with Lisette. She was the contrast to Tashi. She was the opposite of her. Adam probably would have rather lived in France with her, but he stood by Tashi to give her love and affection. Adam was not a bad guy at all. He helped Tashi through the years and was always there whenever she needed somebody. It was unfair of him to be cheating on Tashi with Lisette, and Tashi resented him for that. He was always honest with Tashi though. Adam, like many of the other men in this book, was not a terrible person. He was good at heart. He stood by Tashi and gave her love, a house, family, and as much happiness as he could. He loved her as a friend but he wasn't very helpful in the family aspect. Without his love and support, Tashi would not have made it nearly as far as she did. Mzee represented a cure and was like a fatherly figure to Tashi. Mzee was Tashi's therapist. He never got down to the problem though. He let her sickness cure itself. It wasn't until Raye, the female therapist, that Tashi's issue was brought out into the open to discuss. Mzee protected Tashi. He wanted her to get better. He didn't like to see her pain, but because he was a male, he didn't discuss circumcision and her female problems. He was an old man who reminded me of a witch doctor. His practice was very different than anyone's, but Tashi trusted him and let him help her recover. Tashi and Adam went to Mzee's house in Switzerland where he played a clip from one of his trips. For days Tashi drew the chicken and the foot that was in the movie. She made several diagrams and ended up painting a huge one on the wall. She passed out for days. Mzee had unlocked a door in the back of her head that let out bad memories that she had not thought about in years. While they were there she went sailing. Perhaps this was one of the only times Evelyn was truly happy and enjoying herself. She was invigorated by the experience. Mzee was like a fatherly figure that watched over her as a family member would. He gave her inconsequential love, no matter how much damage she caused just like Adam had. He was very wise and had a good job. Just like the other men in the story, he was a good person who helped cure Tashi. Pierre symbolized education and friendship. Pierre was Adam and Lisettes son. Tashi resented him because of that. Pierre wanted so much to have Tashi love him or at least like him. At first Tashi did not even want to give him a chance. When Pierre pulled up to Tashi's house, she hailed him with a pile of stones. Instead of beating her, yelling at her, or not forgiving her, he gives her a second chance. He was incredibly smart, and he even goes to an Ivy League college close to Adam and Tashi's house. At first Tashi looks at him as her husband and mistresses son. He is the opposite of her son. He comes to her asking for love and she doesn't freely give it to him. After a while, she comes to like Pierre and possibly even love him. They become confidantes to each other. He also was very close to Adam. Adam was the father that was not always there, but Pierre didn't take offense to that. When he became closer to Tashi, he would read her passages of texts that he had read. He would also tell he stories. He wanted he to be included in his life when Lisette died. Even though Tashi didn't want to give him a chance, he never gave up. He showed her true friendship and venerated her. He taught her things that she knew and showed her different ways to look at the stuff she already knew. Even though he let us know that he was bisexual, his view as a ma did not change, and he even gained respect for being honest with himself. He helped Tashi's last years become more enjoyable than they had previously been. Benny, Adam and Tashi's son symbolized memories and innocence. Benny was mentally disabled. I was led to believe this because he probably had birth deformations. His brain or head may have been bruised during pregnancy. He was very loyal to Tashi. After Olivia, he became Tashi's best friend. He doesn't remember anything well so he carried around a journal that he wrote in all the time to record things that happened or things someone said. He records memories in order to remember things that have happened, as opposed to Tashi who puts memories in the back of her mind in order to forget about them. He looked up to Tashi. She was a strong person to him. He was like a little kid who was never too proud to learn or try to learn. He was also very curious about life and afterlife. He knew his mother more than anyone. When she was in jail he noticed someone different from the mother he usually confronted. "I liked the person my mother was in prison. She was warm and comfortable, as if she were an entirely different person than the driven, frowning mother I'd always known". He also comments on how he has never forgotten that Tashi is his mother. He also shows Tashi unconditional love. Tashi looked at him like her true son who was a true friend to her, and would take care of her if she ever needed help. These four men represented different parts of Tashi's life. They showed her love, which was one of the cures to her. Without them she could not have lasted nearly as long as she did. They are strong characters that show a female true love and friendship through all times, not like other males in some of the stories such as "Everyday Use", Foxfire, and "The yellow Wallpaper". Alice Walker wrote a book about a woman struggling and her life as a female in a tribe, America, and in a court without bashing males in the meanwhile. Walker doesn't blame men for Tashi having a rough life. Adam, Mzee, Pierre, and Benny are all likeable characters whose purpose is to save and remedy their beloved Tashi.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\President Kennedy.TXT
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       President Kennedy
On May 25, 1961 President Kennedy announced: "I believe this nation should commit
itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to Earth." In pursuit of this goal, it was considered necessary to
conduct several unmanned test flights and supporting programs, including the Mercury,
Gemini, Ranger, Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter.
The Mercury program aimed at meeting the Soviet challenge and putting American
astronauts into orbit around the earth. The Mecury-Redstone launched the first U.S.
astronaut into space on May 5, 1961. Alan Shepard spent about 15 minutes in space
during a sub-orbital mission aboard the Mercury capsule "Freedom 7." Gus Grissom
followed in his Mercury craft, the "Liberty Bell," on an identical mission shortly after.
Since the Redstone was only "one-staged", it did not have the propulsive power to put
two astronauts in space on the same mission. The Mecury-Atlas launch vehicle was a
"one-and-a-half" stage vehicle which used an ultra-light-weight structure to reduce the
lift-off weight of the rocket. Even with this development, it can barely make it into a
low-altitude Earth orbit. This modified vehicle launched John Glenn in his "Friendship 7"
capsule into three Earth orbits on February 20, 1962. He was followed by astronauts
Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra, and Gordon Cooper in Mercury missions of somewhat
longer duration.
The Gemini program was the next major space activity. Its two-stage design
permitted two men to ride into space together so that they could conduct "extra vehicular
activities", or EVA's. On June 3, 1965, Ed White took a daring step out of the Gemini 4
capsule into space. There he somersaulted, floated lazily on his back, pirouetted, and
stood grinning like a kid on Gemini's titanium hull for 21 minutes. The Gemini capsule
was also designed to use fuel cells, which is one of the first technologies required for lunar
landing.
The Ranger series was the first American unmanned spacecraft to land on the
Moon. The idea was that the spacecraft were going to fly straight into the Moon and
would be destroyed on impact, so the pictures had to be sent back as quickly as they were
taken. The first few Ranger shots (August, 1961 - October, 1962) failed for a variety of
reasons, not all connected with the spacecraft itself. However, Ranger 4 did reach the
Moon on April 26, 1962, being the first American spacecraft to do so.
The Surveyor series was very successful in obtaining information about the lunar
surface. Surveyor 1 lifted from Cape Kennedy on May 30, 1966 with textbook precision.
It was the first flight of a space probe, and the first operational use of the liquid-hydrogen
fueled booster. It eased itself on the Moon using gentle blasts from three small
liquid-fueled vernier rockets, under the control of a computer which was kept informed of
height and velocity by the onboard radar. The Surveyor carried solar cells, generating
electricity from sunlight, so it was able to transmit thousands of superb photographs
before the Sun set and the long lunar night began. Even then, it survived the low
temperatures and revived at dawn, giving the experimenters an extra bonus.
On August 10, 1966, the United States launched the Lunar Orbiter 1. Orbiter's
mission was primarily photographic. Orbiter 1 functioned superbly, producing the first
high-definition pictures of the lunar Farside. Later, Orbiters did even better, producing a
portfolio of lunar photographs. These photographs were of great importance, because the
Rangers and Surveyors had begun to give the impression that the Moon was a somewhat
dull, flat, and uninteresting place. But now the image was beginning to emerge of a world
with landscapes as dramatic as any on Earth.
The next step in reaching President Kennedy's goal was the Apollo program,
which required an entirely new launch vehicle, the Saturn. On January 27, 1967, during a
ground test of the Apollo spacecraft, fire broke out in the three-man command module.
Because of the pressurized pure-oxygen atmosphere inside the spacecraft, a flash fire
engulfed and killed the three astronauts: Grissom, White, and Commander Chaffee. As a
result of this tragedy, the Apollo program was delayed more than a year while a major
review of vehicle design and materials was accomplished. In October 1968, the first
manned Apollo flight was launched by a Saturn IB booster. Astronauts Shirra,
Cunningham, and Eisele circled the Earth for 163 orbits, checking spacecraft performance,
photographing the Earth, and transmitting television pictures. In December 1968, Apollo
8, a landmark flight, carrying astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Andrews, circled the moon
ten times. The Apollo 9 flight checked out underdocking, rendezvous, and docking of the
Apollo lunar module landing craft during a 151-orbit mission. The Apollo 10 flight made
thirty-one orbits of the moon in a rehearsal for the lunar landing. In 1969, man achieved
the long-awaited goal of actually landing on the moon. The historical flight of the Apollo
11 was launched on July 16. After entering lunar orbit, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil
Armstrong transferred to the lunar module. The lunar module descended to the surface of
the Moon on July 20, landing easily. A few hours later, Armstrong, in his bulky space
suit, stepped onto the rocky surface of the moon. His first words were, "That's one small
step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He was soon joined by Aldrin, and the two
astronauts spent more than two hours walking on the lunar surface. They gathered soil
samples, took photographs, and set up a solar wind experiment, a laser-beam reflector,
and a seismic experiment package; Armstrong and Aldrin also erected and American flag
and talked, by satellite communications, with President Richard Nixon in the White House.
The return flight of Apollo 11 was without mishap, and the vehicle splashed down and
was recovered on July 24 in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. The Apollo 11 flight attracted
great interest around the world. The next moon-landing flight was Apollo 12 on
November 14, 1969. Apollo 12 demonstrated many improvements over Apollo 11
techniques, particularly in the accuracy of landing guidance. So successful were these
changes that Apollo 13 was intended to land in more rugged terrain on the moon. Apollo
13 ran into trouble when an oxygen tank ruptured. They circled the Moon and were then
brought back to Earth by the navigating technology of the mission control center in
Houston, TX. The mission of Apollo 13 was accomplished by the crew of Apollo 14. On
July 26, 1971, Apollo 15 was the first flight to implore the use of a lunar vehicle, which
was an electrically propelled four-wheeled "lunar rover." The Apollo 16 mission was
launched on April 16, 1972, to set up experiments powered by a small nuclear station.
The projected manned missions to the Moon by the U.S. were concluded with the flight of
Apollo 17, on December 6, 1972. During their smooth 13-day voyage they discovered
some unusual orange-colored soil which appeared to provide the first evidence of volcanic
activity on the Moon.
Thus the U.S. Apollo lunar-landing program came to a close. Eight years after
President Kennedy's national commitment, two men walked on the Moon. Ten more
followed in the next three-and-a-half years. Six separate landing sites on the moon were
explored and 838 lb.. of lunar samples returned to Earth for scientific study. Dozens of
scientific experiments were performed on the Moon, and thousands of close-up
photographs were taken. Seismometers left in four different locations continue to record
and transmit data, powered by radioisotopes. Future historians may well consider the
landing of twelve men on the Moon a critical point in the history of mankind- the first step
in eventual manned travel to the planets and beyond.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Primitive Roots.TXT
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Primitive Roots? 
Does our primitive nature come back to us if we are in need of it or is all
forgotten about are primitive background? In William Golding's novel Lord
of the Flies such a situation occurs. These results also are seen later in
the story when almost everyone has turned "wild". In the selected section
of this book from pages forty-eight and forty-nine, Jack shows how the
primitive roots of are ancestors can easily resurface. From this section the
reader can identify that the wild or primitive side of man can easily come
back to those who need it or just happen to stumble on it.
At this point in the passage Jack is hunting a pig in the forest all alone.
First there is when the author writes "He closed his eyes, raised his head
and breathed in gently with flared nostrils, assessing the current of warm
air for information." This is just one of the thought less, primitive
things Jack does while hunting the pig. The reason it is thought less is
because a current of warm air does not hold any information for a man, but
for an animal it would. Next the reader can recognize that he is becoming
more wild like when the author describes the way Jack is sitting "Then
dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort," No
normal boy or girl would do something that made them hurt if they didn't
know it would. Finally it is recognized that Jack is almost totally an
animal when this quote is read "Jack himself shrank at this cry with a hiss
of indrawn breath, and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive
thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees". This last quote shows the
reader that Jack was becoming like the animal that we probably descended
from.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Princess.TXT
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Princess
Plato's analysis of the truth through "The Parable of the Cave" is an effective, valid tool to help us analyze our own life and ultimately find the truth. He did this by first analyzing his own life and the bearers who used shadows to keep him from reaching the roadway to wisdom. It has proved to be an effective assessment not only when he was alive but even up until today. The parable symbolizes man's struggle to reach understanding and enlightenment and is a universal and everlasting concept. Plato used the bearers in his parable to symbolize people who control what we see and do, people who hold us back from using our full potential to decide what we want to see for ourselves. An example from modern society would be TV producers or record label executives, ultimately they decide what songs we will sing tomorrow and what shows we will watch. They limit us by allowing only what they want to reach us and penetrate our minds and lives. The bearers were what kept the escaped prisoner in the parable from turning his head and seeking his own truth, as well and new things. They kept him from being able to control what he saw for himself. The bearer would be the general public who is subjected to the will of the executives at the TV networks and Music labels. The naming of objects was another hindrance, because it only caused prejudging and encouraged a closed mind. The bearers, and naming of objects make it harder to find our own truth, although it is not impossible. As Plato knew then, they exist in everyone's lives.
Humans have to travel from the visible realm of image making and object naming to the intelligible, invisible realm of reasoning and understanding. The "Parable of the Cave" symbolizes this voyage and how it would look to people still in a lower realm. The things our senses perceive as real are just shadows on a wall. Just as the escaped prisoner ascends into the light of sun, as we amass knowledge, we ascend into the light of true reality: ideas in the mind. The best way to describe this is with the American teenager. The teenager will love the top 40 on the radio for only so long before they listen to something new such as Jazz, Classical Music or the Beatles. Their musical tastes will never again be completely satisified by the top 40.
Yet if someone goes into the light of sun and embraces true reality and then proceeds to tell the others still chained in the cave of the truth, they will laugh at and ridicule the enlightened one, for the only reality they have ever known were some fuzzy shadows on a wall. They could not possibly comprehend another dimension without experiencing it themselves, and therefore would label the enlightened one as mad. The exact same thing happened to Charles Darwin. In 1837, Darwin was traveling aboard the H.M.S. Beagle in the Pacific Ocean and dropped anchor at the Galapagos Islands. Darwin found a wide array of animals therein. These differences in animals sparked Darwin to perform research, which lasted well up to his death and culminated in the publishing of The Origin of Species in 1858. He stated that these had not appeared out of thin air but had evolved from other species through evolution and natural selection. This sparked a firestorm of criticism, for most people at this time accepted the theory of Creationism. In this way, Darwin and his scientific followers parallel the escaped prisoner. They walked into the light and saw true reality. Yet when he told the imprisoned public what he saw he was scoffed at and labeled mad; all the prisoners knew and could perceive were shadows on a wall, which are just gross distortions of reality. Darwin walked the path to understanding and wisdom just like the escaped prisoner on the parable.
"The Parable of the Cave," because of its timeless text and ingenious originality, will probably be around until the end of time. It will continue to amaze people through its eye-opening metaphors and unforgettable lessons. By reading the parable, Plato made us take a look at our own lives, to make sure we weren't living a life based solely on our senses, in order to be able to find a personal truth. Situations will arise probably similar to Darwin's and this lesson will repeat itself again.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Pushed Chosen And Choosing.TXT
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Pushed, Chosen, And Choosing
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston,
was a novel about one woman's self-revelation. It began
when she was a very young girl, first being pushed, then
chosen, and finally choosing. Born a victim of circumstance,
Janie was subject to her position in life. She was raised to
uphold the standards of the early African American
generation. From the beginning, she was taught to be passive
and subject to whatever life gave her. As she grew older she
began to realize she must give in to her desires and not
suppress them. Janie, the main character of the story, was
set up for her journey of self-discovery by her grandmother.
Nanny set a goal for Janie's life by saying, "Ah wanted you
to look upon yo' self. Ah don't want yo' feathers always
crumpled by folks throwin' up things in yo' face." Janie's
grandmother pushed Janie into a marriage, which she
considered a 'safe' place for Janie. Though hesitant, Janie
agreed to marry Logan Killicks. He was a farmer who
married Janie shortly after she completed school. Killicks
was the first antagonist that Janie encountered in the story.
He was there for one purpose, to destroy Janie's new sense
of self-awarenes. Logan demanded things of Janie that she
did not wish to do and tried to push her into his mold of a
perfect wife. Janie did not love Logan nor did he love her.
She didn't know what she wanted, but she knew that she
didn't want Logan Killicks. Joe Starks appeared in Janie's
yard one afternoon. He said the sweet things that Janie
wanted to hear. Though Janie hardly knew the man, she was
chosen by his words-being young and gullible. She took
another step in her journey, leaving Logan the next day and
traveling to Eatonville with Joe Starks. Aspiring to be the
mayor of Eatonville, Joe Starks was a man concerned with
little except power. He wanted it, and he was going to use
Janie to get it. She wore nice dresses during this marriage
because Joe wanted her to stand out from the rest of the
town; he used her as an icon of his prosperity and power.
He was cruel to Janie and stomped out all of her free will.
He built his town of Eatonville, became the mayor crushing
all in his path, and made many enemies along the way,
including Janie. During the period that she was married to
Joe Starks, Janie was not allowed to talk and act as herself,
but she began to think for herself-never revealing to Joe
how she felt until just before he died. Playing with the hand
she dealt herself, she did what he told her, and refrained
from leaving Joe Starks physically until after his death;
though, her heart left him long before. Shortly after Joe's
death, not mourning any long than grief, Janie became the
figurehead of her personal ship. Over time, she learned that,
all along, she had this growing feeling inside her that
something was missing-possibly her lack of
self-confidence. She chose a new path, seeking her dreams
and her identity. Previously the mayor's wife, Janie
encountered many suitors after Joe's death. She believed
they were in it for her wealth and was very skeptical of the
men that confronted her. Tea Cake offered Janie a new
direction and didn't seem to care about her material wealth.
He showed her a good time. Not only did she desire a
marriage, but a friendship also-and she found this with Tea
Cake. They were married, and he took her to live in the
Everglades. She began to wear blue and the things Tea
Cake liked to see her in. She spoke her mind and acted on
her instincts, never holding her feelings back. However, she
became what she set out to be after her marriage with Tea
Cake. Janie returned to Eatonville after Tea Cake left her in
a coffin, and the book ends where it began, as Janie finishes
her dialogue with her friend Pheoby. She walked back into
town, with her head high upon her shoulders. She was truly
her own person-proud and sure of herself and her place.
Though confronted with compelling desires for others to
maker her a "proper woman," Janie became independent
and free willed by the end of the novel. She overcame the
standards of the early African American generation-to have
no opinions or inner-initiative.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Pygmalion.TXT
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Pygmalion
Higgins' Philosophy Professor Higgins is seen throughout
Pygmalion as a very rude man. While one may expect a well
educated man, such as Higgins, to be a gentleman, he is far
from it. Higgins believes that how you treated someone is
not important, as long as you treat everyone equally. The
great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good
manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having
the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if
you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class
carriages, and one soul is as good as another. -Higgins, Act
V Pygmalion. Higgins presents this theory to Eliza, in hope
of justifying his treatment of her. This theory would be fine
IF Higgins himself lived by it. Henry Higgins, however, lives
by a variety of variations of this philosophy. It is easily seen
how Higgins follows this theory. He is consistently rude
towards Eliza, Mrs. Pearce, and his mother. His manner is
the same to each of them, in accordance to his philosophy.
However the Higgins we see at the parties and in good times
with Pickering is well mannered. This apparent discrepancy
between Higgins' actions and his word, may not exist,
depending on the interpretation of this theory. There are two
possible translations of Higgins' philosophy. It can be viewed
as treating everyone the same all of the time or treating
everyone equally at a particular time. It is obvious that
Higgins does not treat everyone equally all of the time, as
witnessed by his actions when he is in "one of his states" (as
Mrs. Higgins' parlor maid calls it). The Higgins that we see in
Mrs. Higgins' parlor is not the same Higgins we see at the
parties. When in "the state" Henry Higgins wanders aimlessly
around the parlor, irrationally moving from chair to chair,
highly unlike the calm Professor Higgins we see at the ball.
Higgins does not believe that a person should have the same
manner towards everyone all of the time, but that a person
should treat everyone equally at a given time (or in a certain
situation). When he is in "one of those states" his manner is
the same towards everyone; he is equally rude and
disrespectful to all. Yet when minding his manners, as he
does at the parties, he can be a gentleman. If the second
meaning of Higgins' theory, that he treats everyone equally at
a particular time, is taken as his philosophy, there is one
major flaw. Higgins never respects Eliza, no matter who is
around. In Act V of Pygmalion, Eliza confronts him about his
manner towards her. "He (Pickering) treats a flower girl as
duchess." Higgins, replying to Eliza, "And I treat a duchess
as a flower girl." In an attempt to justify this Higgins replies
"The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether
you ever heard me treat anyone else better." Eliza does not
answer this question but the reader knows that Higgins has
treated others better than Eliza. At the parties, for example,
Higgins is a gentleman to the hosts and other guest, but still
treats Eliza as his "experiment." Higgins could never see the
"new" Eliza. Higgins only saw the dirty flower girl that had
become his "experiment." Much like an author never sees a
work as finished, Higgins could not view Eliza lady or
duchess. Since Higgins knew where Eliza came from it was
difficult for him to make her parts fit together as a
masterpiece that he respected. Part of Higgins' problem in
recognizing the "new" Eliza is his immaturity. He does not
see her as what she is, he only sees her as what she was.
This immaturity is representative of Higgins' childish
tendencies that the reader can see throughout the play.
Higgins' child-like actions can partially explain the variations
in his philosophy. Try to imagine Higgins as a young
teenager. A young Higgins, or any teenage boy for that
matter, has a very limited outlook. They treat everyone the
same; depending on the situation they may be little gentlemen
or rude dudes. When around parents the teenager is rude
and inconsiderate yet when among his friends he a complete
gentleman. The adult Higgins' actions are the same as the
child.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Raision.TXT
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Raision
A Raisin In The Sun Dreams are vital to the life of every person. Without dreams, there is nothing to plan or look forward to. The Younger family in A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry has many dreams for their future that a $10,000 insurance check guarantees them. I also have dreams and hopes for my future, college, a job, and a family are all things that I want to have, some day. Due to Walter Younger's death, his widow, Lena Younger, receives a $10,000 insurance check. Lena's dream is to own her own two story house. She takes the money and uses some of it to put a down payment on a nice little house in an all white neighborhood. This causes some problems and conflicts, but in the end, Lena's dream is fulfilled and she gets the home that she and her deceased husband always wanted. Her son, Walter Younger Jr., also has great plans for that money, even though it isn't really his. He invested into buying a liquor store with two acquaintances. Lena let him have $3,500 to do what he like with and another $3,000 to put in a savings account for his sister. Instead, he puts all of it into the liquor store. Then, he discovers that one of his "buddies" took off with the money, all of it. His dream of providing a better life for his family is shattered. Lena also plans to help her daughter, Beneatha, get an education so that she can fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. Bennie's dream is not really taken seriously by anyone since black doctors were unheard of, much less a female one. Still, her mother believed in her and supported her by giving Bennie $3,000 of her check by way of having Walter Jr. put it in the bank for her. Unfortunately, he put it all into his dream instead and lost her future along with his.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Raptor Red.TXT
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Raptor Red
1. The novel I read was "Raptor Red" by Robert T. Bakker. Published by Simon & Schuster, in 1995. Rapotor Red is a female raptor struggling to survive in a kill or be killed world on her own after losing her mate. 2. The setting changes all throughout the book as Raptor Red migrates from one place to another. In somesettings she is in thick rich mossy forests looking for plump Iguanadons to eat, to other desert like lands where the sun is so hot she must sleep through the midday and hunt late afternoon when the heat is bearable. Setting is a very important because the authour must reconstruct the crustacoius period setting and all the vegitation ,lust forests, muddy salt flats, sandy beaches, and dry temperate valleys. These settings are all very vital to the book because it creates the prehistoric atmosphere and brutal planet these giants once inhabited. One of the key elements to the book to make it more realistic is how the author describes in detail all the other animals that Raptor Red hunts and runs into in the book. The author puts great detail in how Raptor Red stalks her prey and kills her victims. Once you start reading this book and you see how intelligent raptors once were you really can't decipher Raptor Red's thinking to a modern day human hunter.
3. This book follows the life of Raptor Red and all the troubles a raptor would face in it's life from good times to bad. The book starts off with Raptor Red hunting an Ultrasaurus with her mate. They carefully select the dinosaur they will single out to kill. They look for faults in their prey, like injuries, preoccupation with someting elese, stragglers who want to rest for a while, just about anything to help assure a safe victory without any injuries to themselves. Raptor Red and her mate single out an Ultrasaurus who is preoccupied with trying to mate rather than pay any attention to the fact that it was being stalked by predators. Raptor Red and the mate kill the Ultrasaurus on a mud flat, and the Ultrasaurus falls on it's knees and dies. While Raptor Red and her mate are gorging on the larg animal her mate detects a scent of another kind of smalled raptors in the area that want some of the kill. Raptor Reds mate lets out a fierce roar and a stomp to scare away the smaller raptors. But when he stomped in the mud next to the Ultrasaurus it falls over in top of him, pinning him under the Ultrasaurus. The heavy Ultrasaurus slowly sinks deeper into the mud trapping Raptor Reds mate under it until her mate drownds slowly in the mud. Raptor Red is devistated and sits next to the Ultrasaurus carcas her mate is trapped under for 36 hours, until it sets into her she must accept reality and move on. Now Raptor Red must start a new life, and find more Utah Raptors like herself so she can join a new pack and have other Raptors to socialize with.
4. The first major event in Raptor Reds life was when her mate of five years died
suddenly by a freak accident. " Raptor Red must now start over again, she must go find more raptors because raptors are socialable creatures who need affection and to be with others." The next major impact in Raptor Reds life is when Raptor Red finds her sister after searching for weeks for another raptor. Raptor Red has not seen her sister for 5 years and she is very excited to see her, and her sister has 3 baby raptors. " Raptor Red wakes the third week on her adventure to find other raptors she lifts her head straight up into the air and takes a deep breath. She recoginzes a scent, it's another raptor, a more familiar scent. It's her sisters distinct scent. One half of me Raptor Red thinks to herself." The last most significant thing in her life comes at the end of the book. Raptor Red's sister dies of an injury she received while trying to hunt a dinosaur they have never seen before. Raptor Red now lives with her sisters 2 baby raptors who are now adult, ( the third baby raptor died in it's sleep from an internal infection it had ) . Raptor Red also lives with a new mate she has found who she mates with and has 3 babies of their own. One of Raptor Red's nieces also finds a mate and has babies with them. Raptor Red's new family consists of her, her mate,their 3 babies, Raptor Red's 2 nieces, and one of the nieces mate, and two babies they had. All together they have a happy new family with ten members.
5. All together I enjoyed the book. I am intrested in dinosaurs and I liked the fact that the book displays the life of Utah raptors and their sophisticated life style with their highly developed intelligence yet primal brutal instincts. I liked reading about how the raptors thought and how their minds worked and they communicated. You could easily compare the conflicts and decisions the raptors had to make to a humans conflicts and decisions. But what makes this book intresting to me is reading and picturing these animals intelligence, yet use them in primal ways. For example, they hunted sophisitcatedly in groups and stalked their prey cunningly, yet they are fierce ferocious primitive dinosaurs who cold bloodly kill their prey and tear it open and eat raw liver and endtrails until they are full. The intelligence and instince working together.Two different extremes of the brain seperated by millions of years of evolution working together to help an animal survive in brutal world.
6."Survivor" would be the word I would choose because Raptor Red has delt with many hardships in her life and she keeps on forging forward to see what life will throw at her next.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Red Badge Of Courage.TXT
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Red Badge Of Courage
Henry
In Stephen Crane's novel "The Red Badge of Courage", we examine the episodes of war through the eyes of the main character, Henry Fleming. Because the book is rather vague about many details, we don't know how old Henry is, what he looks like, or where he comes from. We do know that Henry is from somewhere in New York and that he was raised by his mother. Although some people argue that throughout the novel Henry matures and becomes a better person, facts from the book show just the opposite. Henry is a conceited , smug young man who sees himself as a martyr and a hero; when in fact he is a coward. Henry begins his journey by signing up for the Union army. While this may seem like a brave step, Henry takes it for the wrong reasons. He is unsure of the Union cause, and without really understanding what he was fighting for, Henry saw visions of himself as a hero. Henry's thoughts of war are rather distorted: He had read signs of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all. His busy mind had drawn for him large pictures, extravagant in color, lurid with breathless deeds(Crane, 3). This simply shows that Henry had romanticized the was to something of a glorious adventure in his head. Even when his mother tries to give him rational advice, Henry sat disappointed, expecting a speech on heroism and pride.
When Henry and his regiment (the 304th New York) finally integrate into camp life, he begins to question himself. His regiment had been static for a long time and Hauptman 2
Henry becomes bored and unhappy. For time he begins to question his bravery and he feels rather insecure. In the regiments first battle, Henry fights well. His admiration for himself reaches a disgusting level: He felt that he was a fine fellow. He saw himself even with those ideals that he had considered far beyond him. He smiled in deep gratification (Crane, 30). In this passage one can see Henry beginning to falsely view himself as a hero. At the beginning of the 304th New York regiment's second battle, Henry notices that two other soldiers are running in fear of the fight. He suddenly becomes rather scared and flees the battle as well. He tries to rationalize his actions to himself by saying: Death about to thrust him between the shoulder blades was far more dreadful than death about to smite him between the eyes (Crane, 32). However, when Henry discovers that they had won the battle, he feels angry and jealous of the other soldiers: The youth cringed as if discovered at a crime...The imbecile line had remained and become victorious...He turned away, amazed and angry. He felt that he had been wronged(Crane 34).
Now, Henry is not fleeing in terror, but in shame. He is trying to run away from his own cowardice. He begins to pity himself and loose faith in his own romanticized reasons for enlisting. After walking through the woods for a long time, Henry came upon a dead soldier. The sight of the body scares him and again he flees from the harsh realities of war. Later in the novel, Henry is knocked in the head with a rifle by a retreating Union soldier. Henry is ashamed of the wound and becomes embarrassed and scared that the other soldiers will tease him. When he meets back up with his regiment, they question his wound. Henry lies and makes up some story about a fight with another regiment: I've- I've had an awful time. I've been all over. 'Way over on th' right. Terrible fightin' over there. I had an awful time. I got separated from the reg'ment. Over on th' right, I got Hauptman 3
shot. I never see sech fightin'. Awful time. I don't see how I could'a got separated from th' reg'ment. I got shot, too(Crane, 62). The rest of Henry's regiment believe his tall tale and are amazed at his false bravery. The next day, Henry once again begins to view himself as a hero. He almost forgets that the wound wasn't made by a bullet, but by another Union soldier. He forgets about his past cowardly actions and becomes rather vain. He even goes so far as to criticize the generals. Henry's conceit continues to grow: His self pride was now entirely restored...when he remembered his fortunes of yesterday, and looked at them form a distance he began to see something fine there. He had license to be pompous and veteran-like (Crane, 71).
The second day, the regiment once again goes into battle. Here, Henry stops basking in thoughts of his own heroism, and is able to fight like a well-trained soldier. while he has made a real achievement in this battle, Henry sees it as his achievement and becomes pleased with himself. He revels in the praise bestowed upon him by the lieutenant and the colonel. When the fighting ends, Henry feels he was courageous and had finally become a man. Understanding Henry's personality is imperative to understand the real meaning of "The Red Badge of Courage". The book itself is about the romanticizing of the experience of was by a boy wanting to be a hero. While reading the book, I noticed that there are suggestions that Henry is actually becoming a better person, however, not to much later, there is almost always something that Henry does or says that contradicts it. I see the main character as a self-glorifying coward. He thinks only of himself and sees himself as a martyr. I feel that Henry has not changed that much by the end of the book. Even after fleeing from a battle, he can still tell himself that he is braver than another soldier. Also, Hauptman 4
Henry's feelings of love for the flag in Chapter 19 can simply be chalked up to childish romanticism. However, can see how this possibly could relate to war in today's world. Young soldiers go into battle with certain expectations. They want to be heroes and save the day, have over-sized wrought iron statues made of them and be remembered in history books. However, unlike Henry, once they have seen the ravages and truths of war, most become disheartened and disillusioned. Stephen Crane's original ending to the story shows Henry's naive view of himself as a brave soldier and as a hero. Henry ends his journey choosing to ignore that the other soldiers are plagued with war while he romanticizes and fantasizes about himself and his own glorious future: It rained. The procession of soldiers became a bedraggled train, despondent and muttering, marching with churning effort, in a trough of liquid brown mud under a low wretched sky. Yet the youth smiled, for he saw that the world was a world for him though many discovered it to be made of oaths and walking sticks (Crane, 109).
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Redstorm Rising Book Report.TXT
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Redstorm Rising Book Report
Red Storm Rising is a book about the Soviet Union and Russia's attempt to overtake the Atlantic so they can launch an offensive against the United States of America and maybe other NATO countries such as England and Germany. The story begins in 1980 at a very productive but old, Soviet oil refinery in Nizhnevartovsk. The refinery is blown up by Islamic terrorists that hope to be 'heard' by their God Allah by commiting this violent action. The devestation of the refinery leads Russia into chaos with a much smaller supply of oil. The story escalates as the Russian army makes a push on Iraq to gain control over the precious oil fields to setup refineries and also an attack on Iceland. Conquering Iceland is an important step because this allows the Russians to reach farther into the Atlantic and possibly into North America with their aircraft. The Russian's greed for land control is immense and they are desperate for more resources and materials to manage more war campaigns. The Soviet Union soon decides that to gain ultimate power, Russian military must first cripple NATO and start the worst non-nuclear war imaginable.
This book is unique because the story is told through many different character's points of view.
Tom Clancy tells the story through eyes of NATO and Russian naval captains who command both surface and underwater boats. Most of the character's actions would seem reasonable at war time, making the story realistic. Almost every chapter in the book takes place in a different location during the war, on both the Russian and NATO fronts of battle. At the end of the book the Russians are defeated because they are severly outnumbered by NATO forces and are desperatly low on munitions, thus forcing them to retreat out of the countries they have occupied and return to their Soviet Union. Although the book is a long read, I enjoyed it because of the struggles between the two greatest military superpowers: the United States and Russia.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Report On The Prince By Machiavelli.TXT
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Report On The Prince By Machiavelli
1. Major themes in the book.
The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, is one of the first
examinations of politics and science from a purely scientific and
rational perspective. Machiavelli theorizes that the state is only
created if the people cooperate and work to maintain it. The state is
also one of man's greatest endeavors, and the state takes precedence
over everything else. The state should be one's primary focus, and
maintaining the sovereignty of the state one's most vital concern. The
state is founded on the power of its military. Therefore, a strong
military is vital to maintaining the state. Machiavelli believes that
men respect power, but they will take advantage of kindness. He
believes that when given the opportunity one must destroy completely,
because if one does not he will certainly be destroyed. The prince
should lead the military, and he has to be intelligent. An effective
politician can make quick and intelligent choices about the problems
that constantly arise before him. He must also have virtue, which means
he is strong, confident, talented, as well as smart. A prince cannot be
uncertain, because uncertainty is a sign of weakness. Fortune controls
half of human's actions, and man's will control the other half. Virtue
is the best defense for fortune, and virtue must be used in order to
keep fortune in check. The prince must take advantage of situations
based solely on if it is best for the state. He should choose his
decisions based on contemporary and historical examples. A prince
cannot consider whether his acts are moral or immoral, and he instead
must act in an unbiased manner for the state. Also, it does not matter
how the state achieves its goals, as long as these goals are achieved. 
Finally, regardless of the personal morality involved, the prince should
be praised if he does good for the state and berated if he hurts the
state. Machiavelli's principles have widespread influence, and they are
quite similar to some of Thomas Hobbes ideas in Leviathan.
2. What does Machiavelli think of "the people" in the course of human
history?
Machiavelli has a very low opinion of the people throughout history. 
In general, he feels that men are "ungrateful, fickle, liars, and
deceiver." "They shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat
them well, they are yours. They would shed their blood for you ... but
when you are in danger they turn against you." Machiavelli basically
has little respect for the people, and he feels as though they have not
earned much either. He uses this as justification for the use of fear
in order to control people. He also feels that men are "wretched
creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need not keep your
word to them." This sense of fairness justifies breaking one's word to
men. Machiavelli also writes about how hard it must be for a prince to
stay virtuous. He concludes that with so many wretched men around
virtue is hard to create in oneself. "The fact is that a man who wants
to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many
who are not virtuous." Overall, Machiavelli is very pessimistic about
the abilities of the people. He feels that after examining people
through history, his conclusions of wretched men are correct.
3. Discuss Machiavelli's opinions on the uses of cruelty to accomplish
certain goals.
Machiavelli tells us that the sovereign must take whatever action is
necessary to maintain order in society. In time this will result in the
most compassionate choice too. Machiavelli explains that, Cesare
Borgia, by using cruelty was able to achieve order and obedience in
Romangna. This contrast with the inaction of the Florentines, who
allowed internal conflict to develop in Pistoia, resulting in
devastation of the city. Therefore, a number of highly visible
executions can be a very effective means of controlling the people and
in preventing a major out break of violence and murder. Machiavelli
also cites the tremendous military successes of Hannibal. Even though
Hannibal led an army of different races over foreign soil, he never had
any dissension because of his reputation of extreme cruelty. 
Machiavelli further concludes that it is difficult to be loved and
feared simultaneously. Hence, one should always prefer to be feared
than to be loved. During adverse times, the fear of punishment is far
more effective in maintaining control than depending people's goodwill
and love. Finally, excessive leniency will lead to ruin, because
leniency is seen as a sign of weakness. A good historical example was
when Scipio's armies mutinied against him in Spain.
4. What countries in history are discussed most fully by Machiavelli? 
What does he in general have to say about them?
Machiavelli talks consistently about the Roman empire and its rulers. 
Particularly, he stresses the importance of having a strong army and
popular support by the army and people. The Roman emperors proved to us
many times that a ruler who is perceived to be weak is the most
vulnerable to attack. Alexander Severus was controlled by his mother
and considered feminine by his troops. He was a good ruler, but it was
this appearance of weakness that led his troops to kill him. Antonius
Caracalla is another example of an erroneous ruler. He was a very
strong military leader who was a great fighter. Unfortunately, he
became an incredibly cruel and harsh ruler over time, and he was hence
killed by a centurion. Machiavelli also includes the country of Italy
into much of his writings. He hopes to reclaim the land which has been
taken away from them. He feels that Italian princes have lost their
states because they have not had armed people. Machiavelli tells us
that an "armed population is a stable population". The Italian princes
also have not acted quickly, like a real prince should act. Julius II
did act quick, and Machiavelli attributes this to his success. In
reality, the whole purpose behind Machiavelli writing The Prince was to
try and help Italy free itself from foreign domination.
5. Evaluation of the book.
The Prince has been an incredibly important book. It was written in
the 1500's, but much of it still applies today. The book also has
influenced many people in history. Many philosophers credit Machiavelli
with leading the way in political science. They say this because he was
the first person to take a rational approach at analyzing government and
politics. Many of Machiavelli's critics would say that he is to harsh
in his ideas, and that he even seems immoral. The truth is Machiavelli
is only being honest with what he has observed consistently in history
to be true. The effect of his writing are still found today too. 
People still need virtue in order to be a good ruler or manager. 
Success is still to those who can make quick and intelligent choices. 
The government is still supported most by it amount of power. However,
countries are held accountable today, and few would agree that the end
justifies the means as Machiavelli wrote. Overall, Machiavelli's work
has lasted through the years, and it has proven to be a classic piece of
literature by standing the test of time.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\reptile room summary again.TXT
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      Book: The Reptile Room
      Author: Lemony Snicket
      Pages: 190
      
      
      In the reptile room, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire move in with a man named Uncle Monty to escape the clutches of their previous guardian, Count Olaf. They think everything is great until Count Olaf shows up, disguised as Uncle Monty's new assistant, Stephano. The Baudelaire children try to stop "Stephano" from kidnapping them and stealing their fortune, which had been left to them from their parents who had perished in a fire. However, it's too late. Stephano killed Uncle Monty and there is nothing they can do but call Mr. Poe, the man in charge of finding them a proper guardian. Mr. Poe doesn't believe them until Stephano escapes with one of his friends, disguised as a doctor, who was investigating Uncle Monty's death. The Baudelaires are once again in search of a new home, where Count Olaf will find them again. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\reptile room summary.TXT
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      Book: The Reptile Room
      Author: Lemony Snicket
      Pages: 190
      
      
      In the reptile room, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire move in with a man named Uncle Monty to escape the clutches of their previous guardian, Count Olaf. They think everything is great until Count Olaf shows up, disguised as Uncle Monty's new assistant, Stephano. The Baudelaire children try to stop "Stephano" from kidnapping them and stealing their fortune, which had been left to them from their parents who had perished in a fire. However, it's too late. Stephano killed Uncle Monty and there is nothing they can do but call Mr. Poe, the man in charge of finding them a proper guardian. Mr. Poe doesn't believe them until Stephano escapes with one of his friends, disguised as a doctor, who was investigating Uncle Monty's death. The Baudelaires are once again in search of a new home, where Count Olaf will find them again. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Response to The Scarlet Letter.TXT
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Response to The Scarlet Letter 
"Confess thy truth and thou shall have eternal rest.
" I belive that is the moral to be taught
in this novel of inspirational love, yet a novel of much
sorrow. The impossible became possible in The Scarlet
Letter, a story set back in the Puritan Times. In this
response, I will give my reactions in writing to different
aspects of the novel;the characchters, my likes and dislikes,
my questions, and my opinion of the harsh Puritain lifestyle.
Hester Prynne, the Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger
Chillingworth each suffered guilt in their own way in the
novel The Scarlet Letter. In the beginning of the novel,
Hester Prynne should have not suffered the way she did on
the scaffold alone. She was forced to be intergated by the
high-officials of the town, while holding her little Pearl in
arms. Making matters worse, the father of the child was in
that very group of officals. She was then sentenced to wear
the scarlet letter "A", showing her guilt "externally". Unable
to take it off, she was forced to show her guilt to the entire
settlement. However, the Reverend Dimmesdale suffered
"internally", with a scarlet letter of his own engraved in his
mind, and on his chest as well. He felt like he betrayed God,
and beat himself in a frenzy to prove his wrongdoing. He
often questioned wheather his authority was true or not.
Roger Chillingworth suffered the least, because he only
failed to reveal the secret that he knew, the father of the
child who Hester Prynne was forced to live with. This small
restriction to his life forced him to suffer "internally". I had
different likes and dislikes in the novel The Scarlet Letter.
There were many things that needed to be judged to fit into
the given catagories, including; character attitudes, and
character decisions. For example, the attitude displayed
from the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale was rather unnapealing
to me. There are different ways of settling ones guilt rather
than whipping oneself in a closet. The one character whose
attitude was appealing to me was that of Pearl's. She
showed that mistakes in a relationship often lead to bad
situations. Her mischeif and connection to the devil are
examples of just those situations. Character decisions played
an euqally important role. For example, I thought the
descision for Hester not to tell who was the father of Pearl
on the scaffold to be very brave, but was wrong. She could
have ended it a lot quicker if she told the truth. A descision
that I supportted was the plan for Hester, the Reverend
Dimmesdale and Pearl to leave town, because it was a way
to start a new life. Certain questions came about when
reading The Scarlet Letter. Many of them involved small
details. . For example, why did Hester not tell her daughter
at a younger age what the "A" embroidered on her clothes
meant? Why did the minister wear elaborate garments when
conducting his self-punishment in the closet? However, other
questions were involving larger situations. Why did the
minster keep quiet when he knew he wouldn't live for much
longer? What made Hester finnally remove her scarlet letter
(for a short period of time)? The Puritanic age was a harsh
and brutal period of time. At many times, citizens had no
rights whatsoever. The persecuted depended on the fate of
the few elite, or the top officials of town. Their laws were
srict regaurding having a child out of wedlock, and if not
followed, a scarlet letter "A" would place itself upon that
person(s). My thoughts on the whole Puritanic epoch are not
sympothetic. The strict rules set guildlines and formed a
society in which much of it had no problems. I would even
think that if applied to currnet times, it would turn society
around dramatically.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Review Of Demian By Hesse.TXT
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Review Of Demian By Hesse
How to be Enlightened
A Review of Demian, by Hermann Hesse
How does one become enlightened? Some would say, deep meditation, others would say, some long mystical journey that involves some spiritual guide. I think that the best person to study for that question would be Hermann Hesse. Hesse has written many books, involving profound ideas on the subject of enlightenment. One great book is Demian. I found three ways to become enlightened. The first is that we must look at the bible/religion as a whole. Emil Sinclair realized that God is not just heavenly but also evil. After all he created hell and all the factors that lead up to the dark side. "...I mean we ought to consider everything sacred, the entire world, not this artificially separated half..." (51). It made me think that we need to see that if God is real, he is the biggest puppet master in the universe, setting up bad plays for his own amusement, such as the crucifixion of his son, which was a questionable way of proving something to mankind. The second would be the great idea that Pistorious stated,"...if nature has made you a bat, you shouldn't try to be an ostrich..."(92) This idea is reflected though everyone. No one should ever think they shouldn't be who they are.. It makes sense for the refinery of a soon to be enlightened person.
Thirdly, believing in yourself, and only yourself. In accordance to life, if someone is not believing themselves, they are just a follower. "...A whole society composed of men afraid of the unknown within them!..."(115). That quote made the most sense to me when thinking about Hitler, and all his German followers, when they never even reached inside themselves to ask, is this really the right thing to do? They didn't believe that inside was the honest answer.
The novel Demian actually made me reach inside myself to ask the same questions Emil asked. It was a interesting experience because I've never had a book make me feel something different about myself. This book did have the answers for enlightenment, and Hermann Hesse was indeed the teacher.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Road to mekkah.TXT
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Road to mekkah 
In The Road to Makkah, the reader is initially confronted with a protagonist who is on a journey through the deserts of Saudi Arabia. However, as one continues to read the book, the reader is aware that there are actually two parallel journeys going on: the journey through the deserts of Saudi Arabia, and also the journey through the life of Muhammad Asad on his way to Islam. At first I found the book rather hard to follow because of the constant cutting from desert scenes to the description of the life he left behind in Europe, but once I got past this initial hurdle, the two plots no longer posed a problem to my understanding of Muhammad Asad's life.
Following the author's journey from Europe to the Middle East, and his longer life journey to Islam, I was struck by the conviction with which the author believed in the message of Islam and the way that he immersed himself in the culture. This I feel is truly admirable seeing as prior to converting to Islam, Muhammad Asad did not have a very high opinion of religion. As he writes early on in the book, his family was not particularly religious, and like most of the youth of Europe at that time, he was fairly nonchalant about religion. Although his grandfather was a rabbi, Muhammad Asad did not really practice Judaism. That is why I am particularly amazed by just how quickly he adopts Islam, especially in light of his upbringing and negative societal views about Islam. I am also impressed by the manner in which the author immersed himself in the culture of the people.
I have often wondered how non-Muslims view the way that Muslims practice their religion, and was interested in Muhammad Asad's interpretation. At first glance, it must seem rather odd the way that Muslims pray to God. After all, how could repeated prostrations bring an individual closer to God, but as the hajji in the novel says, God created the soul and body together, so it would only make sense that both would be incorporated in prayer. After the hajji's explanation, the reason for the manner in which Muslims pray became quite clear to Muhammad Asad, and opened the first door to Islam for Muhammad Asad. I found that throughout the book there were many explanations of the laws of Islam, which provided the reader with a great deal of insight into the inner workings of the religion, just not the superficial practices.
After having read Road to Makkah, I feel that I better understand the notion of fatalism, and the role that it plays in Islam. Often Western scholars say that the reason the Arab world does not develop is because the members of society are fatalistic, meaning that they believe that whatever happens to them in their life is because of God's will. However, as Muhammad Asad asserts in his book, the Qur'an does not in fact promote fatalism. If anything, it encourages man to take hold of his destiny to some extent, such as by trying to find cures for diseases. What interested me more was how he related fatalism back to the Europeans, the very people who claimed that it was the Muslim world that was fatalistic. After all, it was Christian Europe at that time that regarded the plague as a scourge from God.
I think that the author's impression of Islam is a little romanticized, as is his impression of Arab life. It is true that the Arabs are known for their hospitality, but it seemed rather incredulous that the King of Saudi Arabia would in effect adopt a new convert to Islam in the manner that Abd al-Aziz adopted Muhammad Asad.
Often the image of Muslims portrayed in the media of the West is one of ridiculing them. Reporters often just see Muslims as fundamentalists who blindly follow the Qur'an, but in fact the group referred to as the "fundamentalists" is just a minority of Muslims. I was struck by how much of an open mind Muhammad Asad kept about Islam. In fact, I was surprised that he took the side of the Arab Muslims rather than the Zionists when it came to establishing a state for the Jews. I feel that the conflict that arises between the West and Islam is tidily summed up by the argument that Muhammad Asad makes when he writes:
"If Muslims keep their heads cool and accept progress as a means and not as an end in itself, they may not only retain their own inner freedom but also, perhaps, pass on the Western man the last secret of live's sweetness..." (349)
However, having said that he can see things from the point of view of Muslims is not to say that he exclusively sees through this pair of glasses. There were instances when Muhammad Asad looked at Islam from the point of view of a Westerner, for example when he mocks his friend for believing in Jinns. Although he appears to be completely arabianized, he still cannot perceive something that he cannot see.
I think that for me, Muhammad Asad presented an impression of converts, which is somewhat different from what I thought a recent convert to Islam would be. From my experience, I have found converts to be people who are very passionate about Islam, but often to an extent bordering on fundamentalism. I would not call these people fundamentalist, but I find them not to be understanding of Muslims who do not practice with as much enthusiasm and vehemence as they do. In some instances they do not understand why people are not as passionate as them, and try and force them to be religious by ramming it down their throats.
However, after reading Road to Makkah I have a considerably different picture of converts to Islam. I am not saying that Muhammad Asad is not passionate, because the book it quite clearly demonstrates his devotion to Islam. Unlike my experience with other converts though, he seems a lot more levelheaded and not as pushy. I genuinely got the feeling from reading the book that Muhammad Asad is not as judgmental as the people that I have come into contact with. He is very accepting of the little Arab idiosyncrasies, showing that his open-minded attitude to things foreign to him.
In conclusion, I think that The Road to Makkah is a wonderful book about the journey that one man goes through on his way across the deserts of Saudi Arabia, and the path that he takes to reach his ultimate conversion to Islam. The author presents a very balanced view of Muslims and their beliefs, rather than perpetuating the myths that are often portrayed in traditional western texts about the Arab world and Islam. At the same time as being accurate the author effectively informs the reader about Islam and Arabian culture. Therefore, this book provided a lot of insight for me, and I suggest it to anyone who is interested in this topic.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Robinson Crusoe.TXT
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Robinson Crusoe
Robinson was a young man of 18 and had a dream to be a sailor. He asked his father for permission. His father thought that he should stay home and take over the family business or study law. Robinson asked his father again to let him have just one sail. His father disapproved once more. One afternoon a shipped sailed in from the harbor. The captain of the ship was one of Crusoe's friend's, father. The captain invited Crusoe on a voyage to the English coast and he couldn't resist. Crusoe ran away. He was very seasick. Soon after he set off on his second voyage. Here he would travel to the coast of Africa. He learned how to trade with the natives. On one of his voyages he was ship wrecked and picked up by another boat. The captain owned a plantation. Soon after this Crusoe bought his own plantation. When other plantation owners needed slaves to work their farms they asked Crusoe to sail to Africa. Crusoe agreed and set sail. On the way there they ran into many storms. Three men were killed very soon. The twelfth day was a hard one. The biggest storm hit. Its waves were giant. The ship was in very bad shape and Crusoe had to abandon it. He and the other sailors loaded into the small boat and paddled to land. All of the sudden a titanic wave crashed onto the boat. It drowned everyone but Crusoe. He was lucky to be alive. When he got the strength to walk again he found himself a safe place to sleep for the night, which was between to limbs a big tree.
When he awoke the next morning he went he decided to salvage some stuff from the boat. There were so many things on the ship he had to build a raft to carry them back to land. He found carpentry tools, artillery, clothes, nails, and food. When he was on his way back a current started to pull him away from the place were he had landed. It was a creek. It pulled him to a perfect spot to unload his stuff. Crusoe found a great place to build a fort were he could see if any ships came and to protect him from any other sorts wild of beasts. Soon he learned that he should keep a calendar. He stood up a post in the sand. Every day he put a notch in the wood.
Crusoe was a very skillful man. On the island he learned how to grow corn. Then how to turn the corn he made into bread. He also discovered grapes and other nutritional plants. He also learned how to make chairs, tables and shelves for his cave. During the long and rainy days he learned ho to weave baskets. Then how to hunt. Finally he found a parrot and taught it how to say "Robin Crusoe."
One day he saw a distant island on top of a tall cliff. So he decided to build a canoe to travel to it. It took him almost a year to build a canoe. When he finally got through with it, it was too big to drag to the river. So he learned his lesson. He then turned his attention to clothing. The ones he had gotten four years ago began to rot and tear. He began to learn to make soft vests and pants out of goat skin. After that he made a big umbrella out of the skin to protect him from the sunrays. It took him many tries to make it work right. Since Crusoe had found out how to breed his goats he had a little extra time and planed a trip to travel around the island. When he was finished he pushed out into the water. When he reached a distant point he ran into a strong current. It pulled him way around to the other side of the island. He then decided to walk home.
Crusoe wanted to sail around the island again and made his way down to the shore. This is when he found a very gruesome sight. He saw a footprint on the sand. Astonished he ran back to the fortress. He was so scared of being eaten that he built another wall and put guns through them. He didn't leave his fortress for a while. He started having thoughts about the cannibals. Like "Why should I kill them and what if they eat me while I'm asleep?" he was very scared. Then one day he looked down from his fortress and saw smoke. He climbed to the top of a hill and looked through his spyglass. He saw nine savages. He was very scared. He thought that if he shot them that more would come to kill him. So he swore the next time savages came he would.
For the next year Crusoe thought about nothing but escaping from the island. He started having the same dream over and over again too. He dreamt of a savage escaping from his natives and Crusoe would rescue him. This man he would rescue would be the answer to his prayers of escaping. Soon after these dreams a group of savages came to the island. With them they had two prisoners. Crusoe felt his dream coming true. He hurried to the dunes and carried with him his guns. He hid for a while when all-of-the sudden one of the prisoners broke loose. The other savages only sent two men after him. Crusoe shot both of them and called to the run-away. They met and ran to his fortress. For the next years he taught his friend, Friday, English. Friday told Crusoe of his people and how glad they would be of him. They would learn Crusoe's ways and not eat people any more. Crusoe thought about it for a while and decided that he would build another boat to go to Friday's island and maybe from there escape. When they were finished building the boat they had to harvest crops. Finally when everything was ready to go more savages arrived at the island. With them they had three prisoners and one looked English. So Friday and Robinson set out to rescue them. They did end up rescuing the other men and killing every one of the savages. The man was really a Spaniard, the other was killed, and the other was Friday's father. So now the four men decide that they should send Friday's father and the Spaniard to the mainland. So for six months they gathered food and prepared for the voyage. When they left a big ship arrived. It belonged to the English men but Crusoe had his doubts. Sure enough it was but the captain was being held hostage. Crusoe planned away to get him free and did. Then they captured a bunch of the bad sailors and some joined his side. They made a planed to get the ship back. When Crusoe conquered this feat he wanted to sail for home. The captain gave Crusoe the boat and he did so.
When Crusoe arrived home he found that his mother and father was dead. But he did still have his plantation and some nephews to take care of. One of his nephews wanted to study law, the other wanted to be a sailor and travel the world. So another Crusoe was born and Robinson Crusoe got to go through 28 years on island as a Governor.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Romeo and Juliet.TXT
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Romeo and Juliet
The most important purpose for adopting a Shakespearean play to film is showing the action and the real emotion of the play. I feel the Dicaprio version fulfills this purpose better than the Zeffereli version for the following reasons. Overall it is more entertaining, more attention is paid to action scenes such as the intensity of the feud, and the music really suits the play and makes it that much easier to watch.
When I say the modern version is more entertaining I mean that it is far more captivating to watch then the Zeffereli rendition. This may be because I am not very familiar with the Shakespeare language. Altogether, I think it was so engaging because of the fact that I am a sucker for the action in the film and also because it was newer and easier to understand. Even though the characters speak in the same manner in both films, I felt that I was often unaware of what was going on in the Zeffereli version compared to the Dicaprio version where I understood what was happening in most of the scenes.
In the modernized version the feud of the families seems very real. With the opening scene of the film you know right away how serious the vendetta is. Even if the guns are not true to the story, I think they portray the seriousness of the quarrel much better than any other version that I have seen or heard so far.
Lastly, I enjoyed the modern interpretation more because it pays more attention to detail. In the necessary spots the film always has the perfect music. I also enjoyed the characters' personalities, meaning I liked the casting of Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio and Benvolio. The only character that I thought could have been better represented would be Romeo. I believe that Leanardo Dicaprio was not the best choice and that many others could have played the role of Romeo much more convincingly. There are only a few things that I did not enjoy in the modern film. There was the casting of Romeo, as well as the camera work that I found to be annoying to watch with the slow motion scenes and the frequent repetition of shots of the same scene. Finally, I didn't like Romeo dying in Juliet's arms when they were both still alive. I think that they should've stayed with the written version.
All in all, I enjoyed both films and suspect that many people would prefer the old one, yet many would enjoy the new one. Therefore they are both very entertaining. Romeo and Juliet is a very engaging tale to read and a very absorbing movie to watch.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\rules of the road again.TXT
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Humanities									     Ali Ziman
Book Report- #14								12/7/02  p.4
Book: Rules of the Road
Author: Joan Bauer
Pages: 201 
Dear Journal-
     I hate it when dad comes home. I know he's my dad but I don't like to see him. He's always gone forever, and when he finally does come back, he's drunk. Plus, he always wants to know about me and how I'm doing. He wouldn't have to ask that if he would just stay around here more. I really can't stand it. I try to help him but there's really nothing I can do. Like I said, He's always drunk when he comes to visit. He says that he's not been drinking but how can I believe him when he can't even walk straight! I just don't know what do to about it. Oh, and I don't even bother to ask mom, she wont help. I guess I've just got to accept the way that he is, whether I like it or not.
 
--
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\rules of the road.TXT
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Humanities									     Ali Ziman
Book Report- #14								12/7/02  p.4
Book: Rules of the Road
Author: Joan Bauer
Pages: 201 
Dear Journal-
     I hate it when dad comes home. I know he's my dad but I don't like to see him. He's always gone forever, and when he finally does come back, he's drunk. Plus, he always wants to know about me and how I'm doing. He wouldn't have to ask that if he would just stay around here more. I really can't stand it. I try to help him but there's really nothing I can do. Like I said, He's always drunk when he comes to visit. He says that he's not been drinking but how can I believe him when he can't even walk straight! I just don't know what do to about it. Oh, and I don't even bother to ask mom, she wont help. I guess I've just got to accept the way that he is, whether I like it or not.
 
--
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\same sex marriage.TXT
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same sex marriage
"Oral report, yes or no?"
need to start writing the paper
Public opinion poll...same sex marriage...
questions on topic:
   
should marriage be between heterosexual couples or any two couples?
2. Should adoption be legal for same sex married couples.
 
June 23, 1997
Public opinion: Feared by the founding fathers...today politics have to
be more friendly the people..."collection of similar attitudes and believes
that are shared by some portion of the population."
types of pulpit opinion
-intensity: How willing people are to express their opinion.  More expression
can lead the intensity of a subject to be passed by Gov.  ecpl.gays, abortion,
affirmative action...
-fluidity: "amount of change public opinion goes through in a period of
time"...exp. Bush administration...
-stability: "extent to which public opinion remains constant over a period
of time"exlp. 95% of public believe we should be more involved in Gov.
decions...
-latent: "people are not expressing their opinion to interest and
education"could be an argument for the elitist belief of Gov.  
Forming Public Opinion: a concoction of family background, school, per's,
college, work place, exposure to society, 
Sampling techniques
-Random Sample : every type of person should have a equal chance of being
sampled
-quota sample: targets a specific demographic group...
-sampling error: difference between what the sample show andtrue result of
all participating
Functions of the media: 
shape public opinion
-profits: #1 priority; they are responsible tostco holders
-reporting news: 
                                                                
-setting the Agenda: they set what the top story, they select which stories
we should be exposed to.
-expressing opinion: media provides editorials, 
-spin doctors: Rush, and others, media nalysetes or talk show hosts that
interpret news in away that supports the party that represent...
Hard Fluff: entertainment the can be descised as news; oj case; Tonga harding;
June 24, 1997
Interest groups: organized meters that  share a common objective; attempt
to influence Gov. polices
-separation of powers: checks and balance system allows the interest groups to
hound a Brach of Gov. to adhere to the interest at hand.
Growth of Interest Groups: right to potion the goc; 1st...came about during
farmers subsidies, and the new deal...
why people join: they are interested in reform, get benefits from certain
groups, just the belonging factor.
Types of Interest Groups: 
-Business: owners of businesses were not happy worth the new deal so they formed
in response     "elite corporation 'business roundtable' "national association
of manufacturers"
-agriculture: formed to protect from economic and banks...
-labor: came in during new deal, unions...AFL-CIO 1955 membership is around
13 million-they were originally comprised o blue collar workers...
-public: have no economical benefit, they from for social reform,
environmental issues, and ex.
-professions: groupsthat represents layers, teachers, doctors, and other
professions...American medical association, 240 thousand in the 1990 elections
they spent 3.2 million dollars.
Direct Lobbying
-Political action committees
In-direct lobbying
Lobby regulation
-Regulation of Lobbying act 1946
-Ethics in govt. act 1978
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Savage Inequalities.TXT
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Savage Inequalities
In Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol documents the devastating inequalities in American schools, focusing on public education's "savage inequalities" between affluent districts and poor districts. From 1988 till 1990, Kozol visited schools in over thirty neighborhoods, including East St. Louis, the Bronx, Chicago, Harlem, Jersey City, and San Antonio. Kozol describes horrifying conditions in these schools. He spends a chapter on each area, and provides a description of the city and a historical basis for the impoverished state of its school. These schools, usually in high crime areas, lack the most basic needs. Kozol creates a scene of rooms without heat, few supplies or text, labs with no equipment, sewer backups, and toxic fumes. Schools from New York to California where not only are books rationed, but also toilet paper and crayons. Many school buildings turn into swamps when it rains and must be closed because sewage often backs up into kitchens and cafeterias.
Kozol's descriptions of the schools help to instill the feeling of hopelessness and destitution that the children in these areas not only feel in their education but in their everyday lives as well. By describing the deteriorating conditions of the schools in the selected areas against those in the more affluent districts, he implies that money is the short-term fix to the problem. Money may fix the roof or the walls but more then just money needs to be put into these schools. Kozol writes with the intention to shock his readers with graphic details, and push them towards change.
Kozol describes the enormous differences between poor schools, and affluent schools, usually located just minutes apart. When speaking of a North Lawndale kindergarten class of twenty three, he states that in twelve years fourteen will have dropped out of school, only four will go to college, and three of the twelve boys will have spent time in prison. A school in the South Bronx is set in a windowless skating rink next to a mortuary with class size up to thirty-five. The school contains a library of only seven hundred books and no playground. This school is ninety- percent black and Hispanic. Only a few minutes north of that school Kozol visits another school in a more affluent part of the Bronx with an overwhelmingly white and Asian population. Flowering trees, two playing fields, and a playground surround this public school. The school has a planetarium and a library with over eight thousand books. Kozol comments that, "nearly forty years after Brown vs. the Board of Education many of are schools are still separate but no longer even remotely equal."
Kozol's main argument is that public education should be free and equal to people of all economic classes. Kozol believes that children from poor families are cheated out of a future by unequipped, understaffed and under funded schools in the United State's inner cities and less affluent suburbs. The majority of these children are non-white, and living amongst poverty and crime. Kozol argues about the unfair standards we expect these underprivileged children to rise to. Children in these poor areas are being compared to children in affluent areas where the quality of their education is much higher. Kozol asks how these children will succeed in today's world if they are not given the same opportunities as affluent schools give their children. Kozol believes that by depriving our poorer children of their basic needs we are forcing them into lives of crime, poverty and a never-ending cycle of inequalities in education. Kozol stresses that these students must be taught that "savage inequalities" do not have to exist between them and students in more affluent schools, and that all children are entitled to an equal education.
I had many different reactions to this book. At first, I was horrified and shocked to learn about the conditions of these poor schools. Growing up in an affluent suburb and attending private schools, I took my education for granted. While reading the book my reaction changed to anger. I cannot believe that in this day and age, children have to attend schools in these conditions. It disgusts me to imagine schools with toxic fumes, and holes in the ceilings, when we complain about unimportant things like a bookstore not being large enough. It does seem unfair to these children tat they have to receive such an unequal education when only a few minutes away children are receiving so much more.
Shock and anger turned to sadness. While reading the accounts told by the children, I often had tears in my eyes. These children know that they are not receiving an equal education, and many end up feeling like they do not deserve one. These children have dreams and aspirations that most will never achieve due to the lack of opportunities made available to them. The part of the book that shocked me the most was when Kozol reported on the schools in Camden, New Jersey. Camden is so close to my home and my schools, that it is almost unbelievable that the conditions could be so horrid. Of course you would come to expect these inequalities in New York or Chicago, but never this close to home. After finishing this book, the ways in which I view education has changed. I hope now that I can become more involved politically, to advocate for these types of schools. Conditions in these schools have to change, and the public needs to become more aware of the situation. Many problems were discussed throughout this book that caught my attention. Education in the inner cities seemed to be one of the worst problems in our public schools. Education in the inner cities needs money, support, dedication of administrators and faculty, and family involvement. A key consideration in rebuilding our schools is linking the schools to the community. Considering the impact on our society, it mould make more sense to spend money on preparing our children for the future instead of spending a great deal more money in the future on public assistance and prisons to support them.
Educational funding is not the only issue, it is however certainly central to the problem. Additional funds could be the beginning of change in the inner city schools. Repairing existing buildings or constructing of new schools, updating lab equipment, technology, and texts, and hiring qualified staff members would help to improve the education these students receive. Improving the learning environment is the first step to rebuilding our inner city schools. More importantly, programs for the students and families will improve their future.
Studies have shown many benefits for poor urban students who engage in planned after-school activities. A large number of such programs have been implemented in cities around the country. One study reported that over three million children participated in some type of program in the nineties. One such program is the Brotherhood/SisterSol program serving young Black and Latino men and women, age twelve to twenty-one. In this program members can find a safe place where they can vent their fears, anger, and pain. These children have a space where they and their elders can come together to share knowledge, history and culture.
Other programs have also been started to help these underprivileged children stay on the right track. The International Youth Leadership Institute (IYLI) conducts academic, cultural, and leadership development programs that focus on local and international issues. It helps African American and Latino high school students to contribute to their community and the broader society. Head Start is one national program that is helping inner city, or underprivileged children. Head Star is an U.S. federally funded, educational program for disadvantaged pre-school children. It was established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The program is aimed at preparing poor children for elementary school. The Head Start program is set up to meet the individual needs of every child in the classroom. Head Start provides medical services to low-income families, to prevent health problems to go on undiagnosed. Head Start encourages parent involvement inside and outside of the classroom. Head Start also provides services that assist families in need. Activities included are community outreach, referrals, and emergency assistance and intervention.
These programs as well as the many after-school and enrichment programs offer some desperately needed assistance. Although this is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done before real improvement is made. The educational systems in America have many faults, but if more people become aware, things can only improve. I believe that we can change things, and with time maybe equal education for everyone won't be just a far away dream.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Scarlet Lette1.TXT
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Scarlet Letter's Use Of Symbolism To Show Psychological Effects Of Sin
"The act...gross and brief, and brings loathing after it." This was said by St. Augustine, regarding immorality. This is discovered to be very true by the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's story of a woman (Hester) who lives with the Puritans and commits adultery with the local minister (Dimmesdale). In his novel, Hawthorne shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. He shows us this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.
First we see two symbols in the town that show how sin isolates people. In the first chapter we see a plant which stands out, "But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rosebush, covered...
with its delicate gems" (Hawthorne, 46). This rosebush is like Hester, for it too stands out as wild and different. She wears her scarlet letter among the solemnly dressed Puritans as this rosebush wears its scarlet blossoms amidst a small plot of grass and weeds. They both stand separate from their surroundings. Later in the book we hear a conversation between Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth (Hester's unknown husband). They are discussing the origin of a strange dark plant that Chillingworth discovered. "I found them growing on a grave which bore no tombstone, nor other memorial of the dead man, save these ugly weeds that have taken upon themselves to keep him in remembrance. They grew out of his heart, and typify...some hideous secret that was buried with him..." (Hawthorne, 127). Here we have a special case of one who was not discovered by men to have sinned during their lifetime. However, having avoided punishment in life, this person has been isolated in death. This person tried to keep wrongdoing a secret, hiding it within himself. Yet the sins committed could not be kept secret, evidenced by their final disclosure shortly after death. There remains nothing honorable to show where this person lies, but rather mutant weeds that grew out of the blackness of the person's heart. The final resting place of the wrongdoer has now been separated from other graves as the sins are manifested by natural powers.
The next area is symbols in the skies. Our first instance occurs during the second famous scaffold scene. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are atop the scaffold when, "a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky. It was doubtless caused by one of those meteors...the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter-the letter 'A'-marked out in lines of dull red light" (Hawthorn, 150, 152). This is God's condemnation of the two sinners, most especially Dimmesdale. Hester has already been discovered and is receiving her punishment by wearing the scarlet letter branding her as an adulteress and keeping her socially isolated. Dimmesdale, however, hides his sin from people. Because of this, heaven here openly condemns him with natural phenomena, and shows that he is no longer welcome in heaven. Another symbol from above shows Hester estranged from society. " 'Mother,' said little Pearl, 'the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom...Stand you here, and let me run and catch it'...Pearl...did actually catch the sunshine, and stood laughing in the midst of it...until her mother had drawn almost nigh enough to step into the magic circle too ...As she attempted to do so, the sunshine vanished" (Hawthorne, 180). This too is a heavenly sign from God. Although Hester is undergoing punishment, she has never repented (we see this when she later attempts to get Dimmesdale to run away with her). Because of this, God will not grace her with his smile of sunshine. Pearl on the other hand, who is young and pure, is able to freely romp about in it.
Last to be discussed are the natural symbols that we encounter in the forest. When Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest, all the sorrow of the past few years since their sin is brought up. Their natural surroundings begin to reciprocate their pain, "The boughs were tossing heavily above their heads; while one solemn old tree groaned dolefully to another, as if telling the sad story of the pair that sat beneath, or constrained to forebode evil to come" (Hawthorne, 192). Their sorrow is so intense even the natural world around them feels the effects. It can sense the unfairness in their situation, how their society has caused them to either live a lie or deny themselves what they really want (each other). It also knows that nothing good can come of this, which is why it forebodes evil. Later on in that same scene, Hester and Dimmesdale decide to escape together. In a moment of joy, Hester removes the scarlet letter and tosses it away from herself. "So speaking, she undid the clasp that fastened the scarlet letter, and, taking it from her bosom, threw it to a distance among the withered leaves...With a hand's breadth further flight it would have fallen into the water, and have given the little brook another woe to carry onward...But there lay the embroidered letter, glittering like a lost jewel..." (Hawthorne, 198-199). She thinks she can just cast off her ignominy, removing guilt as easily as the letter itself is removed. However, she is not truly repentant for her sins. Rather, she is sorry that she was caught. When the letter does not reach the river and isn't carried away, it shows that she is doomed to her shame. She cannot be assimilated into normal society until she proves herself sorry for what she has done. We later see this is true as she lives her final years alone in her cottage on the outskirts of town, still with the scarlet letter affixed to her bosom.
In conclusion, Hawthorne effectively uses symbolism in the preceding aspects of nature to show how sin leads to isolation. The main sinners of this novel are constantly set apart from others, and the whole world stands in disapproval. As St. Augustine noted, the idolatrous act is fleeting, but the aftereffects are loathed as they cause terrible things, such as isolation. In our time society is characterized by more and more amoral people. Progressing until they are "past all moral sense," they eventually give "themselves over to loose conduct" (Paul, Ephesians 4:19). Such ones, as well as all of us, should take a lesson from the theme of Hawthorne's novel. For isolation, terrible enough in itself, is only one of the many effects of sin.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Scarlet Letter.TXT
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Scarlet Letter
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, life is centered around a rigid Puritan society in which one is unable to divulge his or her innermost thoughts and secrets. Every human being needs the opportunity to express how he or she truly feels, otherwise the emotions are bottled up until they become volatile. Unfortunately, Puritan society did not permit this kind of expression, thus characters had to seek alternate means to relieve their personal anguishes and desires. Luckily, at least for the four main characters, Hawthorne provides such a sanctuary in the form of the mysterious forest. Hawthorne uses the forest to provide a kind of "shelter" for members of society in need of a refuge from daily Puritan life.
In the deep, dark portions of the forest, many of the pivotal characters bring forth hidden thoughts and emotions. The forest track leads away from the settlement out into the wilderness where all signs of civilization vanish. This is precisely the escape route from strict mandates of law and religion, to a refuge where men, as well as women, can open up and be themselves. It is here that Dimmesdale openly acknowledges Hester and his undying love for her. It is also here that Hester can do the same for Dimmesdale. Finally, it is here that the two of them can openly engage in conversation without being preoccupied with the constraints that Puritan society places on them. The forest itself is the very embodiment of freedom. Nobody watches in the woods to report misbehavior, thus it is here that people may do as they wish. To independent spirits such as Hester Prynne's, the wilderness beckons her: Throw off the shackles of law and religion. What good have they done you anyway? Look at you, a young and vibrant woman, grown old before your time. And no wonder, hemmed in, as you are, on every side by prohibitions. Why, you can hardly walk without tripping over one commandment or another. Come to me, and be masterless. (p.186) Truly, Hester takes advantage of this, when Arthur Dimmesdale appears. She openly talks with Dimmesdale about subjects which would never be mentioned in any place other than the forest. "What we did..." she reminds him, "had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said to each other!" This statement shocks Dimmesdale and he tells Hester to hush, but he eventually realizes that he is in an environment where he can openly express his emotions. The thought of Hester and Dimmesdale having an intimate conversation in the confines of the society in which they live is incomprehensible. Yet here, in the forest, they can throw away all reluctance and finally be themselves under the umbrella of security which exists. In Puritan society, self reliance is stressed among many other things. However, self reliance is more than stressed- it is assumed.
It is assumed that you need only yourself, and therefore should have no emotional necessity for a "shoulder to cry on". Once again, for people in the stations of life which Hester and Dimmesdale hold, it would be unthinkable for them to comfort each other. Yet, in the forest, these cares are tossed away. "Be thou strong for me," Dimmesdale pleads. "Advise me what to do." (p. 187) This is a cry for help from Dimmesdale, finally admitting he cannot go through this ordeal by himself. With this plea comes an interesting sort of role-reversal. When Dimmesdale asks for help, he is no longer sustaining the belief that he is above Hester. He is finally admitting that she is an equal, or even that she is above him. This is possibly one of the reasons that Puritans won't accept these emotional displays- because the society is so socially oriented. Hester, assuming a new position of power, gives a heartfelt, moving speech. The eloquence of her words cannot be overemphasized, and a more powerful statement had yet to be made in the book. Hester's speech turns out to bear a remarkable resemblance to one of Dimmesdale's sermons. "Begin all anew! ... Preach! Write! Act!"(p. 188) The questions she asks are also like the articulate questions which Dimmesdale would pose during his sermons. The answer is obvious, yet upon closer examination they seem to give unexpected results. "Whither leads yonder forest-track? Backward to the settlement, thou sayest! Yea; but onward, too! Deeper it goes, and deeper into the wilderness... until, some few miles hence, the yellow leave will show no vestige of the white man's tread." (p. 187) If one looks at the title of this chapter, the meaning becomes much clearer. "The Pastor and His Parishioner" reveals that the roles are now reversed. Where else could an incongruity such as this occur, but in an accepting environment? What other platform is there for a man of high regard in the community to pour his soul to a woman who is shunned by the public for a grave sin? Nowhere else but in the forest, could such an event occur.
Finally, the forest brings out the natural appearance and natural personality of the people who use it correctly. When Hester takes off her cap and unloosens her hair, we see a new person. We see the real Hester, who has been hidden this whole time under a shield of shame. Her eyes grow radiant and a flush comes to her cheek. We recognize her as the Hester from Chapter 1. The beautiful, attractive person who is not afraid to show her hair and not afraid to display her beauty. The sunlight, which previously shunned Hester, now seeks her out, and the forest seems to glow. Dimmesdale has also come back to life, if only for a short time, and he is now hopeful and energetic. We have not seen this from Dimmesdale for a long time, and most likely will not see it ever again. Puritan society can be harsh and crippling to one's inner self. Hawthorne created the forest to give the characters a place to
escape and express their true thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. It was here that thoughts and ideas flowed as endlessly as the babbling brook, and emotion was as wild as the forest itself. There are no restraints in the natural world, because it is just that, natural. No intrusion from people means no disturbance in the natural order, and therefore serves to bring its inhabitants away from their world, and into this older one. I believe Michel Eyquem de Montaigne stated it most emphatically when he said "Let us permit nature to have her way: she understands her business better than we do".
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ScarletLetter1 again.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Scarlet Letter
	The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism.  People and
objects are symbolic of events and thoughts.  Throughout the course of the
book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to
signify Puritanic and Romantic philosophies. 
	Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme
sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery.  For
this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest
of her life.  However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the
Puritanic beliefs.  She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is
forgiven.  Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do
no wrong.  Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical
sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a
beautiful, gold and colorful piece.
	Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of
sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed.  The reader
more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly
at all, places Pearl above the rest.  She wears colorful clothes, is
extremely smart, pretty, and nice.  More often than not, she shows her
intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics.  One of Pearl's
favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees.  (The reader will
recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans.  To
Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) "And she was
gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy- margined streets of the
settlement, or in her mother's cottage.  The flowers appeared to know it"
(194) Pearl fit in with natural things.  Also, Pearl is always
effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans. 
Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the
Romantic ways.
	To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important
members of a community is the religious leader; Arthur Dimmesdale is no
exception.  He was held above the rest, and this is proven in one of the
first scenes of the book.  As Hester is above the townspeople on a
scaffold, Dimmesdale, Governor Wilson, and others are still above her. 
But, as the reader soon discovers, Arthur Dimmesdale is his own worst
enemy.  He hates himself and must physically inflict pain upon himself. 
"He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but
could not purify, himself" to never forget what he has done (141).  To
Dimmesdale, it is bad that Hester is shown publicly as a sinner, but
people forget that.  What is far worse than public shame is Dimmesdale's
own cruel inner shame.  Knowing what only he and Hester know, the secret
eats away at every fiber of Dimmesdale's being.  As the Puritans hold up
Dimmesdale, the Romantics level him as a human. 
	The Scarlet Letter is a myriad of allegorical theories and
philosophies. Ranging from Puritanic to Romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne
embodies his ideas to stress his Romantic philosophies through Pearl,
Hester, and Dimmesdale throughout all of this.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ScarletLetter1.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Scarlet Letter
	The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism.  People and
objects are symbolic of events and thoughts.  Throughout the course of the
book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to
signify Puritanic and Romantic philosophies. 
	Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme
sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery.  For
this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest
of her life.  However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the
Puritanic beliefs.  She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is
forgiven.  Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do
no wrong.  Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical
sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a
beautiful, gold and colorful piece.
	Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of
sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed.  The reader
more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly
at all, places Pearl above the rest.  She wears colorful clothes, is
extremely smart, pretty, and nice.  More often than not, she shows her
intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics.  One of Pearl's
favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees.  (The reader will
recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans.  To
Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) "And she was
gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy- margined streets of the
settlement, or in her mother's cottage.  The flowers appeared to know it"
(194) Pearl fit in with natural things.  Also, Pearl is always
effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans. 
Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the
Romantic ways.
	To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important
members of a community is the religious leader; Arthur Dimmesdale is no
exception.  He was held above the rest, and this is proven in one of the
first scenes of the book.  As Hester is above the townspeople on a
scaffold, Dimmesdale, Governor Wilson, and others are still above her. 
But, as the reader soon discovers, Arthur Dimmesdale is his own worst
enemy.  He hates himself and must physically inflict pain upon himself. 
"He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but
could not purify, himself" to never forget what he has done (141).  To
Dimmesdale, it is bad that Hester is shown publicly as a sinner, but
people forget that.  What is far worse than public shame is Dimmesdale's
own cruel inner shame.  Knowing what only he and Hester know, the secret
eats away at every fiber of Dimmesdale's being.  As the Puritans hold up
Dimmesdale, the Romantics level him as a human. 
	The Scarlet Letter is a myriad of allegorical theories and
philosophies. Ranging from Puritanic to Romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne
embodies his ideas to stress his Romantic philosophies through Pearl,
Hester, and Dimmesdale throughout all of this.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ScarletLetter2 again.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne
	Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold
novel The Scarlet Letter.  One important influence on the story is money. 
Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his
first daughter added to the financial burden ("Biographical Note" VII). He
received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later
and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The
Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). It was only intended to be
a long short story, but the extra money a novel would bring in was needed
("Introduction" XVI). Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled
"The Custom House" to extend the length of the book and The Scarlet Letter
became a full novel (XVI). In addition to financial worries, another
influence on the story is Hawthorne's rejection of his ancestors.  His
forefathers were strict Puritans, and John Hathorne, his
great-great-grandfather, was a judge presiding during the S! alem witch
trials ("Biographical Note" VII).  Hawthorne did not condone their acts
and actually spent a great deal of his life renouncing the Puritans in
general (VII). Similarly, The Scarlet Letter was a literal "soapbox" for
Hawthorne to convey to the world that the majority of Puritans were strict
and unfeeling. For example, before Hester emerges from the prison she is
being scorned by a group of women who feel that she deserves a larger
punishment than she actually receives.  Instead of only being made to
stand on the scaffold and wear the scarlet letter on her chest, they
suggest that she have it branded on her forehead or even be put to death
(Hawthorne 51). Perhaps the most important influence on the story is the
author's interest in the "dark side" ("Introduction" VIII).  Unlike the
transcendentalists of the era, Hawthorne "confronted reality, rather than
evading it" (VII).  Likewise, The Scarlet Letter deals with adultery, a
subject that caused much scandal when it w! as first published (XV).  The
book revolves around sin and punish
ment, a far outcry from writers of the time, such as Emerson and Thoreau,
who dwelt on optimistic themes (VII).  This background, together with a
believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary
devices enables Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop
the theme of the heart as a prison.
	The scaffold scenes are the most substantial situations in the
story because they unify The Scarlet Letter in two influential ways. 
First of all, every scaffold scene reunites the main characters of the
novel.  In the first scene, everyone in the town is gathered in the market
place because Hester is being questioned about the identity of the father
of her child ( Hawthorne 52).  In her arms is the product of her sin,
Pearl, a three month old baby who is experiencing life outside the prison
for the first time (53).  Dimmesdale is standing beside the scaffold
because he is Hester's pastor and it is his job to convince her to repent
and reveal the father's name (65).  A short time later, Chillingworth
unexpectedly shows up within the crowd of people who are watching Hester
after he is released from his two year captivity by the Indians (61).  In
the second scene, Dimmesdale is standing on top of the scaffold alone in
the middle of the night (152).  He sees Hester and Pearl wal! k through
the market place on their way back from Governor Winthrop's bedside (157). 
When Dimmesdale recognizes them and tells them to join him, they walk up
the steps to stand by his side (158). Chillingworth appears later standing
beside the scaffold, staring at Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl.  In the
final scaffold scene, Dimmesdale walks to the steps of the scaffold in
front of the whole town after his Election day sermon (263).  He tells
Hester and Pearl to join him yet again on the scaffold (264).
Chillingworth then runs through the crowd and tries to stop Dimmesdale
from reaching the top of the scaffold, the one place where he can't reach
him (265).  Another way in which the scenes are united is how each
illustrates the immediate, delayed, and prolonged effects that the sin of
adultery has on the main characters.  The first scene shows Hester being
publicly punished on the scaffold (52).  She is being forced to stand on
it for three hours straight and listen to peop! le talk about her as a
disgrace and a shame to the community (55)
.  Dimmesdale's instantaneous response to the sin is to lie.  He stands
before Hester and the rest of the town and proceeds to give a moving
speech about how it would be in her and the father's best interest for her
to reveal the father's name (67).  Though he never actually says that he
is not the other parent, he implies it by talking of the father in third
person (67).  Such as, "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and
that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to
salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and
fellow-sufferer" (67).  Chillingworth's first reaction is one of shock,
but he quickly suppresses it (61).  Since his first sight of his wife in
two years is of her being punished for being unfaithful to him, he is
naturally surprised.  It does not last for long though, because it is his
nature to control his emotions (61).  Pearl's very existence in this scene
is the largest immediate effect of her parents' cr! ime (52).  She
obviously would never had been there had her parents resisted their love
for each other. The second scene occurs several years later and shows the
effects after time has had a chance to play its part.  It begins with
Dimmesdale climbing the stairs of the scaffold in the middle of the night
because it is the closest that he can come to confessing his sin (152). 
This scene is especially important because it shows how pitiful he has
become.  Dimmesdale shows just how irrational he is when he screams aloud
because he fears that the universe is staring at a scarlet token on his
breast (153).  It also shows how much guilt he is carrying by the way he
perceives the light from a meteor as the letter A.  He believes it stands
for adulteress while other people think it stands for angel since the
governor just passed away (161).  This scene also shows how Hester is
managing her new situation.  When Dimmesdale tells her to come up the
scaffold and asks her where she has b! een, she replies that she has been
measuring the robe that the gov
ernor is to be buried in (158).  This statement implies that Hester's
reputation as a talented seamstress has spread.  Ironically, her first
well known piece of work was the scarlet letter that she wore on her
chest.  As a result, she owes her own success to her infamy.  Besides
growing older, Pearl's most significant change is in her perceptibility
(158).  In this scene, she constantly asks Dimmesdale if he will be
joining Hester and herself on the scaffold tomorrow at noon and accuses
him of not being true (162).  Neither Hester nor Dimmesdale ever told
Pearl who her father was, but she figures it out by the way he always
holds his hand over his heart (159).  Chillingworth's derangement is
evident in this scene also.  His contempt for Dimmesdale is so acute that
he risks his cover when he gives him a look so vivid as to remain painted
on the darkness after the bright meteor that just passed, vanishes (161). 
The third scene is very critical because it is the last glimpse int! o
every characters' mind and the last time that everyone is alive.  At this
point in time, Dimmesdale's fixation on his sin has utterly corroded him
to the point of death.  After he gives his election day sermon, he goes to
the scaffold and asks Hester and Pearl to join him because he is so weak
that he can hardly support himself (265).  He finally exposes the truth
and tells his followers of how he deceived them (267).  The only good that
comes out of conceding his guilt is that he passed away without any
secrets, for he was already too far gone to be able to be saved (269). 
This scene is important to the characterization of Hester because it is
the first time that she is not in complete control of her emotions (264). 
Her dream of escaping to England with Dimmesdale is lost when he decides
to confess (264).  The unanticipated arrival of Chillingworth and
Dimmesdale's feeble appearance distresses her, and for the first time, she
can not control the outcome (264).  The greate! st transformation in
Pearl's life occurs in this scene.  While sh
e used to be perceived as elfish, she now shows the first signs of normal
human emotion.  After Dimmesdale confesses his sin, she kisses his lips
voluntarily (268).  "The great scene of grief...had developed all her
sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the
pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do
battle with the world, but be a woman in it" (268).  Ultimately,
Chillingworth takes a severe turn for the worse when Dimmesdale reveals
his sin. Since Chillingworth based the rest of his life on playing games
on Dimmesdale's mind, he was left without any goals, and his life became
meaningless (268).  On that account, it is clear that Hawthorne uses the
scaffold scenes, not only as a unifying device, but as a means to keep the
reader interested in the novel by providing plenty of action. 
	The main characters sharply contrast each other in the way they
react to Hester and Dimmesdale's sin.  To begin, Hester becomes stronger,
more enduring, and even more sympathetic.  She becomes stronger because of
all the weight she has to carry.  She is a single mother who suffers all
of the burdens of parenthood by herself.  They live on the edge of town,
and Pearl has no one to give her food, shelter and emotional support
besides Hester.  Pearl is especially difficult to raise because she is
anything but normal.  Hawthorne gives a pretty accurate description of
Pearl when he writes:
	The child could not be made amenable to rules. In giving her
existence, a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose
elements were perhaps beautiful and bril- liant, but all in disorder; or
with an order peculiar to themselves, amidst which the point
	of variety and arrangement was difficult or impossible to be
discovered (91). 
Hester's endurance is proven when the people of the colony completely
change their opinion of her. While a lesser person would run from the
hostile colonists, Hester withstands their insolence and pursues a normal
life.  After years of proving her worth with her uncommon sewing skills
and providing community service, the colonists come to think of the
scarlet letter as "the cross on a nun's bosom," which is no small
accomplishment (169).  Hester also becomes more sensitive to the feelings
and needs of other people.  She feels that her own sin gives her
"sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts" (87). So even
though the people she tried to help "often reviled the hand that was
stretched forth to succor them," she continues her services because she
actually cares (85).  While Hester tries to make the best out of her
situation, Dimmesdale becomes weaker by letting guilt and grief eat away
at his conscience.  Dimmesdale punishes himself by believing that he can
neve! r be redeemed.  He feels that he will never be seen the same in the
eyes of God, and that no amount of penitence can ever return him to God's
good graces.  He is so touchy on this subject that when Hester says his
good deeds will count for something in God's view, he exclaims, "There is
no substance in it! It is cold and dead and can do nothing for me!" (202). 
Dimmesdale also believes that his sin has taken the meaning out of his
life.  His life's work has been dedicated to God, and now his sin has
tainted it (202).  He feels that he is a fraud and is not fit to lead the
people of the town to salvation.  The feeling is so oppressive that the
chance of escaping his work and leaving with Hester and Pearl makes him
emotionally (and probably mentally) unstable.  He walks through the town
with twice as much energy as normal, and he barely stops himself from
swearing to a fellow deacon (229).  When an old lady approaches him he can
not remember any scriptures whatsoever to tell he! r, and the urge to use
his power of persuasion over a young maide
n is so strong that he covers his face with his cloak and runs off (230). 
The largest cause of Dimmesdale's breakdown is the fact that he keeps his
sin a secret.  As God's servant, it is his nature to tell the truth, so
the years of pretending are especially hard on him.  His secret guilt is
such a burden that instead of going with Hester to England and perhaps
having a chance to live longer, he chose to stand, confess and perish on
the scaffold (268).  Ultimately, Chillingworth responds to his wife's
betrayal by sacrificing everything in order to seek revenge.  After he
discovers that his wife bore another man's child, Chillingworth gives up
his independence.  He used to be a scholar who dedicated his best years
"to feed the hungry dream of knowledge," but his new allegiance becomes
finding and slowly punishing the man who seduced his wife (74).  He soon
becomes obsessed with his new mission in life, and when he targeted
Reverend Dimmesdale as the possible parent, he dedic! ates all of his time
to becoming his confidant in order to get his retribution (127). 
Vengeance was also one of the reasons that Chillingworth gives up his
identity.  The only way he can truly corrupt Dimmesdale is to live with
him and be by his side all day, every day.  The only possible way to do
that is to give up his true identity as Roger Prynne, Hester's husband,
and become Roger Chillingworth.  Since the only person who knew his true
identity is sworn to silence, he succeeds for a long time in tricking
Dimmesdale until Hester sees that he was going mad and finally revealed
Chillingworth's true identity (204).  His largest sacrifice is by far, his
own life.  After spending so much time dwelling on his revenge,
Chillingworth forgets that he still has a chance to lead a life of his
own.  So accordingly, after Dimmesdale reveals his secret to the world,
Chillingworth dies less than a year later because he has nothing left to
live for (272).  In conclusion, Hawthorne's use ! of characterization
gives the book a classic feeling by showing H
ester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth's feelings indirectly through acts. 
	The novel revolves around two major symbols: light and darkness
and the scarlet letter.  The book is filled with light and darkness
symbols because it represents the most common battle of all time, good
versus evil.  When Hester and her daughter are walking in the forest,
Pearl exclaims:
	Mother, the sunshine does not love you.  It runs away and hides
itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.  Now see!  There
it is, playing, a good way off.  Stand you here, and let me run and catch
it.  I am but a child.  It will not flee from me, for I wear no- thing on
my bosom yet (192)! 
 
Hester tries to stretch her hand into the circle of light, but the
sunshine vanishes (192).  She then suggests that they go into the forest
and rest (193).  This short scene actually represents Hester's daily
struggle in life.  The light represents what Hester wants to be, which is
pure.  The movement of the light represents Hester's constant denial of
acceptance.  Hester's lack of surprise and quick suggestion to go into the
forest, where it is dark, shows that she never expected to be admitted and
is resigned to her station in life.  Another way light and darkness is
used in symbolism is by the way Hester and Dimmesdale's plan to escape is
doomed.  Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the shadows of the forest with a
gloomy sky and a threatening storm overhead when they discuss their plans
for the future (200).  The gloomy weather and shadows exemplify the fact
that they can't get away from the repressive force of their sins.  It is
later proven when Dimmesdale dies on the scaffold! 
 instead of leaving with Hester and going to England (269).  A final
example occurs by the way Hester and Dimmesdale can not acknowledge their
love in front of others.  When they meet in the woods, they feel that, "No
golden light had ever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest
(206).  This emotion foretells that they will never last together openly
because their sin has separated them too much from normal life.  The
scarlet letter also takes many different forms in the novel.  The first
and clearest form that the letter A takes is "Adulteress."  It is apparent
that Hester is guilty of cheating on her husband when she surfaces from
the prison with a three-month-old-child in her arms, and her husband has
been away for two years (53).  Hence, the people look at the letter
elaborately embroidered with gold thread and see a "hussy" who is proud of
her sin (54).  The second form that it takes is "Angel."  When Governor
Winthrop passes away, a giant A appears in the sky. ! 
 People from the church feel that, "For as our good Governor Wint
hrop was made an angel this past night, it was doubtless held fit that
there should be some notice thereof!" (16).  The final form that the
scarlet letter take is "Able."  Hester helped the people of the town so
unselfishly that Hawthorne wrote: 
	Such helpfulness was found in her,--so much power to do, and power
to sympathize,--that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by it
s original significance.  They said that it meant Able; so strong was
Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength (167). 
In closing, one of the most important reasons that The Scarlet Letter is
so well known is the way Hawthorne leaves the novel open to be interpreted
several different ways by his abundant use of symbolism.
	This background, together with a believable plot, convincing
characterization, and important literary devices enables Nathaniel
Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop the theme of the heart as a
prison.  Hawthorne describes the purpose of the novel when he says, "Be
true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worse, yet
some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!" (272).  The theme is
beneficial because it can be put into terms in today's world.  The Scarlet
Letter is one of the few books that will be timeless, because it deals
with alienation, sin, punishment, and guilt, emotions that will continue
to be felt by every generation to come. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\ScarletLetter2.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne
	Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold
novel The Scarlet Letter.  One important influence on the story is money. 
Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his
first daughter added to the financial burden ("Biographical Note" VII). He
received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later
and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The
Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). It was only intended to be
a long short story, but the extra money a novel would bring in was needed
("Introduction" XVI). Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled
"The Custom House" to extend the length of the book and The Scarlet Letter
became a full novel (XVI). In addition to financial worries, another
influence on the story is Hawthorne's rejection of his ancestors.  His
forefathers were strict Puritans, and John Hathorne, his
great-great-grandfather, was a judge presiding during the S! alem witch
trials ("Biographical Note" VII).  Hawthorne did not condone their acts
and actually spent a great deal of his life renouncing the Puritans in
general (VII). Similarly, The Scarlet Letter was a literal "soapbox" for
Hawthorne to convey to the world that the majority of Puritans were strict
and unfeeling. For example, before Hester emerges from the prison she is
being scorned by a group of women who feel that she deserves a larger
punishment than she actually receives.  Instead of only being made to
stand on the scaffold and wear the scarlet letter on her chest, they
suggest that she have it branded on her forehead or even be put to death
(Hawthorne 51). Perhaps the most important influence on the story is the
author's interest in the "dark side" ("Introduction" VIII).  Unlike the
transcendentalists of the era, Hawthorne "confronted reality, rather than
evading it" (VII).  Likewise, The Scarlet Letter deals with adultery, a
subject that caused much scandal when it w! as first published (XV).  The
book revolves around sin and punish
ment, a far outcry from writers of the time, such as Emerson and Thoreau,
who dwelt on optimistic themes (VII).  This background, together with a
believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary
devices enables Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop
the theme of the heart as a prison.
	The scaffold scenes are the most substantial situations in the
story because they unify The Scarlet Letter in two influential ways. 
First of all, every scaffold scene reunites the main characters of the
novel.  In the first scene, everyone in the town is gathered in the market
place because Hester is being questioned about the identity of the father
of her child ( Hawthorne 52).  In her arms is the product of her sin,
Pearl, a three month old baby who is experiencing life outside the prison
for the first time (53).  Dimmesdale is standing beside the scaffold
because he is Hester's pastor and it is his job to convince her to repent
and reveal the father's name (65).  A short time later, Chillingworth
unexpectedly shows up within the crowd of people who are watching Hester
after he is released from his two year captivity by the Indians (61).  In
the second scene, Dimmesdale is standing on top of the scaffold alone in
the middle of the night (152).  He sees Hester and Pearl wal! k through
the market place on their way back from Governor Winthrop's bedside (157). 
When Dimmesdale recognizes them and tells them to join him, they walk up
the steps to stand by his side (158). Chillingworth appears later standing
beside the scaffold, staring at Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl.  In the
final scaffold scene, Dimmesdale walks to the steps of the scaffold in
front of the whole town after his Election day sermon (263).  He tells
Hester and Pearl to join him yet again on the scaffold (264).
Chillingworth then runs through the crowd and tries to stop Dimmesdale
from reaching the top of the scaffold, the one place where he can't reach
him (265).  Another way in which the scenes are united is how each
illustrates the immediate, delayed, and prolonged effects that the sin of
adultery has on the main characters.  The first scene shows Hester being
publicly punished on the scaffold (52).  She is being forced to stand on
it for three hours straight and listen to peop! le talk about her as a
disgrace and a shame to the community (55)
.  Dimmesdale's instantaneous response to the sin is to lie.  He stands
before Hester and the rest of the town and proceeds to give a moving
speech about how it would be in her and the father's best interest for her
to reveal the father's name (67).  Though he never actually says that he
is not the other parent, he implies it by talking of the father in third
person (67).  Such as, "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and
that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to
salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and
fellow-sufferer" (67).  Chillingworth's first reaction is one of shock,
but he quickly suppresses it (61).  Since his first sight of his wife in
two years is of her being punished for being unfaithful to him, he is
naturally surprised.  It does not last for long though, because it is his
nature to control his emotions (61).  Pearl's very existence in this scene
is the largest immediate effect of her parents' cr! ime (52).  She
obviously would never had been there had her parents resisted their love
for each other. The second scene occurs several years later and shows the
effects after time has had a chance to play its part.  It begins with
Dimmesdale climbing the stairs of the scaffold in the middle of the night
because it is the closest that he can come to confessing his sin (152). 
This scene is especially important because it shows how pitiful he has
become.  Dimmesdale shows just how irrational he is when he screams aloud
because he fears that the universe is staring at a scarlet token on his
breast (153).  It also shows how much guilt he is carrying by the way he
perceives the light from a meteor as the letter A.  He believes it stands
for adulteress while other people think it stands for angel since the
governor just passed away (161).  This scene also shows how Hester is
managing her new situation.  When Dimmesdale tells her to come up the
scaffold and asks her where she has b! een, she replies that she has been
measuring the robe that the gov
ernor is to be buried in (158).  This statement implies that Hester's
reputation as a talented seamstress has spread.  Ironically, her first
well known piece of work was the scarlet letter that she wore on her
chest.  As a result, she owes her own success to her infamy.  Besides
growing older, Pearl's most significant change is in her perceptibility
(158).  In this scene, she constantly asks Dimmesdale if he will be
joining Hester and herself on the scaffold tomorrow at noon and accuses
him of not being true (162).  Neither Hester nor Dimmesdale ever told
Pearl who her father was, but she figures it out by the way he always
holds his hand over his heart (159).  Chillingworth's derangement is
evident in this scene also.  His contempt for Dimmesdale is so acute that
he risks his cover when he gives him a look so vivid as to remain painted
on the darkness after the bright meteor that just passed, vanishes (161). 
The third scene is very critical because it is the last glimpse int! o
every characters' mind and the last time that everyone is alive.  At this
point in time, Dimmesdale's fixation on his sin has utterly corroded him
to the point of death.  After he gives his election day sermon, he goes to
the scaffold and asks Hester and Pearl to join him because he is so weak
that he can hardly support himself (265).  He finally exposes the truth
and tells his followers of how he deceived them (267).  The only good that
comes out of conceding his guilt is that he passed away without any
secrets, for he was already too far gone to be able to be saved (269). 
This scene is important to the characterization of Hester because it is
the first time that she is not in complete control of her emotions (264). 
Her dream of escaping to England with Dimmesdale is lost when he decides
to confess (264).  The unanticipated arrival of Chillingworth and
Dimmesdale's feeble appearance distresses her, and for the first time, she
can not control the outcome (264).  The greate! st transformation in
Pearl's life occurs in this scene.  While sh
e used to be perceived as elfish, she now shows the first signs of normal
human emotion.  After Dimmesdale confesses his sin, she kisses his lips
voluntarily (268).  "The great scene of grief...had developed all her
sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the
pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do
battle with the world, but be a woman in it" (268).  Ultimately,
Chillingworth takes a severe turn for the worse when Dimmesdale reveals
his sin. Since Chillingworth based the rest of his life on playing games
on Dimmesdale's mind, he was left without any goals, and his life became
meaningless (268).  On that account, it is clear that Hawthorne uses the
scaffold scenes, not only as a unifying device, but as a means to keep the
reader interested in the novel by providing plenty of action. 
	The main characters sharply contrast each other in the way they
react to Hester and Dimmesdale's sin.  To begin, Hester becomes stronger,
more enduring, and even more sympathetic.  She becomes stronger because of
all the weight she has to carry.  She is a single mother who suffers all
of the burdens of parenthood by herself.  They live on the edge of town,
and Pearl has no one to give her food, shelter and emotional support
besides Hester.  Pearl is especially difficult to raise because she is
anything but normal.  Hawthorne gives a pretty accurate description of
Pearl when he writes:
	The child could not be made amenable to rules. In giving her
existence, a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose
elements were perhaps beautiful and bril- liant, but all in disorder; or
with an order peculiar to themselves, amidst which the point
	of variety and arrangement was difficult or impossible to be
discovered (91). 
Hester's endurance is proven when the people of the colony completely
change their opinion of her. While a lesser person would run from the
hostile colonists, Hester withstands their insolence and pursues a normal
life.  After years of proving her worth with her uncommon sewing skills
and providing community service, the colonists come to think of the
scarlet letter as "the cross on a nun's bosom," which is no small
accomplishment (169).  Hester also becomes more sensitive to the feelings
and needs of other people.  She feels that her own sin gives her
"sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts" (87). So even
though the people she tried to help "often reviled the hand that was
stretched forth to succor them," she continues her services because she
actually cares (85).  While Hester tries to make the best out of her
situation, Dimmesdale becomes weaker by letting guilt and grief eat away
at his conscience.  Dimmesdale punishes himself by believing that he can
neve! r be redeemed.  He feels that he will never be seen the same in the
eyes of God, and that no amount of penitence can ever return him to God's
good graces.  He is so touchy on this subject that when Hester says his
good deeds will count for something in God's view, he exclaims, "There is
no substance in it! It is cold and dead and can do nothing for me!" (202). 
Dimmesdale also believes that his sin has taken the meaning out of his
life.  His life's work has been dedicated to God, and now his sin has
tainted it (202).  He feels that he is a fraud and is not fit to lead the
people of the town to salvation.  The feeling is so oppressive that the
chance of escaping his work and leaving with Hester and Pearl makes him
emotionally (and probably mentally) unstable.  He walks through the town
with twice as much energy as normal, and he barely stops himself from
swearing to a fellow deacon (229).  When an old lady approaches him he can
not remember any scriptures whatsoever to tell he! r, and the urge to use
his power of persuasion over a young maide
n is so strong that he covers his face with his cloak and runs off (230). 
The largest cause of Dimmesdale's breakdown is the fact that he keeps his
sin a secret.  As God's servant, it is his nature to tell the truth, so
the years of pretending are especially hard on him.  His secret guilt is
such a burden that instead of going with Hester to England and perhaps
having a chance to live longer, he chose to stand, confess and perish on
the scaffold (268).  Ultimately, Chillingworth responds to his wife's
betrayal by sacrificing everything in order to seek revenge.  After he
discovers that his wife bore another man's child, Chillingworth gives up
his independence.  He used to be a scholar who dedicated his best years
"to feed the hungry dream of knowledge," but his new allegiance becomes
finding and slowly punishing the man who seduced his wife (74).  He soon
becomes obsessed with his new mission in life, and when he targeted
Reverend Dimmesdale as the possible parent, he dedic! ates all of his time
to becoming his confidant in order to get his retribution (127). 
Vengeance was also one of the reasons that Chillingworth gives up his
identity.  The only way he can truly corrupt Dimmesdale is to live with
him and be by his side all day, every day.  The only possible way to do
that is to give up his true identity as Roger Prynne, Hester's husband,
and become Roger Chillingworth.  Since the only person who knew his true
identity is sworn to silence, he succeeds for a long time in tricking
Dimmesdale until Hester sees that he was going mad and finally revealed
Chillingworth's true identity (204).  His largest sacrifice is by far, his
own life.  After spending so much time dwelling on his revenge,
Chillingworth forgets that he still has a chance to lead a life of his
own.  So accordingly, after Dimmesdale reveals his secret to the world,
Chillingworth dies less than a year later because he has nothing left to
live for (272).  In conclusion, Hawthorne's use ! of characterization
gives the book a classic feeling by showing H
ester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth's feelings indirectly through acts. 
	The novel revolves around two major symbols: light and darkness
and the scarlet letter.  The book is filled with light and darkness
symbols because it represents the most common battle of all time, good
versus evil.  When Hester and her daughter are walking in the forest,
Pearl exclaims:
	Mother, the sunshine does not love you.  It runs away and hides
itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.  Now see!  There
it is, playing, a good way off.  Stand you here, and let me run and catch
it.  I am but a child.  It will not flee from me, for I wear no- thing on
my bosom yet (192)! 
 
Hester tries to stretch her hand into the circle of light, but the
sunshine vanishes (192).  She then suggests that they go into the forest
and rest (193).  This short scene actually represents Hester's daily
struggle in life.  The light represents what Hester wants to be, which is
pure.  The movement of the light represents Hester's constant denial of
acceptance.  Hester's lack of surprise and quick suggestion to go into the
forest, where it is dark, shows that she never expected to be admitted and
is resigned to her station in life.  Another way light and darkness is
used in symbolism is by the way Hester and Dimmesdale's plan to escape is
doomed.  Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the shadows of the forest with a
gloomy sky and a threatening storm overhead when they discuss their plans
for the future (200).  The gloomy weather and shadows exemplify the fact
that they can't get away from the repressive force of their sins.  It is
later proven when Dimmesdale dies on the scaffold! 
 instead of leaving with Hester and going to England (269).  A final
example occurs by the way Hester and Dimmesdale can not acknowledge their
love in front of others.  When they meet in the woods, they feel that, "No
golden light had ever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest
(206).  This emotion foretells that they will never last together openly
because their sin has separated them too much from normal life.  The
scarlet letter also takes many different forms in the novel.  The first
and clearest form that the letter A takes is "Adulteress."  It is apparent
that Hester is guilty of cheating on her husband when she surfaces from
the prison with a three-month-old-child in her arms, and her husband has
been away for two years (53).  Hence, the people look at the letter
elaborately embroidered with gold thread and see a "hussy" who is proud of
her sin (54).  The second form that it takes is "Angel."  When Governor
Winthrop passes away, a giant A appears in the sky. ! 
 People from the church feel that, "For as our good Governor Wint
hrop was made an angel this past night, it was doubtless held fit that
there should be some notice thereof!" (16).  The final form that the
scarlet letter take is "Able."  Hester helped the people of the town so
unselfishly that Hawthorne wrote: 
	Such helpfulness was found in her,--so much power to do, and power
to sympathize,--that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by it
s original significance.  They said that it meant Able; so strong was
Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength (167). 
In closing, one of the most important reasons that The Scarlet Letter is
so well known is the way Hawthorne leaves the novel open to be interpreted
several different ways by his abundant use of symbolism.
	This background, together with a believable plot, convincing
characterization, and important literary devices enables Nathaniel
Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop the theme of the heart as a
prison.  Hawthorne describes the purpose of the novel when he says, "Be
true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worse, yet
some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!" (272).  The theme is
beneficial because it can be put into terms in today's world.  The Scarlet
Letter is one of the few books that will be timeless, because it deals
with alienation, sin, punishment, and guilt, emotions that will continue
to be felt by every generation to come. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley.TXT
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Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley
"Scarlett" is about a southern woman who had survived the Civil War, had been widowed twice with two children. She got married again to Rhett Butler, and they had a daughter who was killed when she fell off a horse. Since the death of the child, her husband did not want anything to do with Scarlett. Rhett gave Scarlett all the money she needed, but she wanted him. Heartbroken, she went to Ireland where her father came from. She did not tell anyone in America that she was going, except for her lawyer. She met her Irish relatives, and loved them. She bought a town and a Big House in Ireland and had it refurbished. Scarlett found out that she was pregnant with Rhett's child, but before she could tell him, he divorced her and married someone else. She vowed to not tell Rhett about the baby until it was grown, even though she loved him. She told her Irish friends that she was a widow and that her two children lived with her sister on a plantation in Georgia, which she owned two-thirds of. She gave birth to a girl on Halloween and a wise old woman had to deliver her because the doctor couldn't get there. The Irish called the woman a witch and the baby a changeling because of when she was born for they were very superstitious people. They never liked the little girl and were always scared of her. One of Scarlett's cousins in Ireland was a priest, whose name was Colum O'Hara, and they had become good friends. He taught her all about how the Irish relatives and friends were at war with the English who had bought most of the land, and most were not good landlords. The landlords evicted people and burned their houses because they only wanted the land. Scarlett hired alot of these people to work in her Big House and raise crops for her. She also gave them places to live.
Colum took Scarlett to a horse sale in another county one day and she was bidding on a horse that she didn't even want because she saw Rhett Butler and relized that he wanted that horse. She was the highest bidder and got the horse which resulted in her going to fox hunts with the English and spending alot of time with them. The Irish thought the worst of her because of the way they were treated by their landlords but Scarlett was just trying to forget Rhett. She had many proposals of marriage, but she could not forget the man who she really loved, and who was the father of her baby. He did not know about Katie (Cat), and by this time she was four years old, and Scarlett knew that Rhett loved children. Scarlett was afraid that Rhett would take Cat away from her in someway if he knew. Finally, after hearing that Rhett and his new wife were going to have a baby, she was so heartbroken she agreed to marry Count Fenton, who only wanted an heir. Rhett heard about this from friends in America and came to Ireland to find her again. He had never stopped loving her, and his wife and child had died in childbirth. Rhett came to Scarlett's rescue in the middle of the Irish burning her Big House because she had been keeping company with the English. Rhett met his daughter (Cat), right in the middle of their escape, and it was a very happy couple who barely missed being killed. They were finally together...and loved each other....they left Ireland with their daughter and their lives intact.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Seasons Of A Man.TXT
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Seasons Of A Man's Lif 
Daniel J. Levinson wrote The Seasons of A Man's Life.
Mr. Levinson conducted his research for the book in the late 1960's.
At that time he was a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of the Yale University School of Medicine, Director of Psychology in the Connecticut Mental Health Center and Director of the Research Unit for Social Psychology and Psychiatry.
Early in the book, Mr. Levinson states his reasons for engaging in the
research of male adult development and for ultimately writing the
book. "The choice of topic reflected a personal concern: at 46, I wanted to study the transition into middle age in order to understand what I had been going through myself. Over the previous ten years of my life had changed in
crucial ways; I had developed in a sense I could not articulate. The study
would cast light on my own experience and, I hoped, contribute to an understanding of adult development in general."
The book is completely about Levinson's theory of male adult development. Levinson acquired his research by interviewing 40 men between the ages of 35 and 45 from four different occupational groups. Through his interviews, Levinson believed that all males pass through a
series of stages, each of which presents a different problem to be solved.
The first stage is known as the early adult transition (ages 17-22). The problem is to develop a sense of independence by separating from one's family and trying out different lifestyles. This is the stage where hopes and dreams are formulated.
The next stage is entering the adult world (ages 22-28). The problem
at this stage is to explore and obtain the many adult roles that are needed to
be happy and successful in one's career and relationships. A set of priorities begin to form.
The age-thirty transition (ages 28-33) happens next. In this stage the
man establishes his role in society, builds a nest, and pursues more long-
range plans and goals. His problem may be evaluating earlier career choices
and goals.
Immediately following the age-thirty transition is the settling down
stage (ages 33-40). The problem here is to develop a sense of success in the
major areas of one's life, primarily one's career and relationships.
The mid-life transition (early 40s) begins next. The problem here is to evaluate one's life goals and commitments, knowing that there is only a limited amount of time to reach them. The feeling that time is running out may contribute to what is often called the mid-life crisis.
Lastly, entering middle adulthood (middle 40s). Here the problem is
learning to live with previous decisions, such as by becoming more
committed to one's family or career.
I feel that the book was written very well. It went in-depth in
mapping out the stages and the events in each one of the stages. I could
relate to some but most I could not since Levinson limited his research to
only males. I am a female and only 22 so I have just barely entered into the early adult era. Looking at older males around me I can see some of what Levinson has stated to be true, however, I just don't believe that every male
is going to go through the life stages just as he says. I think that for the time when this book was written, Levinson probably did a great job in describing the stages. Most of the men that he interviewed were born before and during
the Depression. What was true for the men that were interviewed may not
be true for today's 40-year-olds.
By reading this book I can atbest say that I have a more complete understanding of male adult development.
Reference
Levinson, D. J. (1977). The Seasons of a Man's Life. Ballantine Books.
Daniel J. Levinson wrote The Seasons of A Man's Life.
Mr. Levinson conducted his research for the book in the late 1960's.
At that time he was a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of the Yale University School of Medicine, Director of Psychology in the Connecticut Mental Health Center and Director of the Research Unit for Social Psychology and Psychiatry.
Early in the book, Mr. Levinson states his reasons for engaging in the
research of male adult development and for ultimately writing the
book. "The choice of topic reflected a personal concern: at 46, I wanted to study the transition into middle age in order to understand what I had been going through myself. Over the previous ten years of my life had changed in
crucial ways; I had developed in a sense I could not articulate. The study
would cast light on my own experience and, I hoped, contribute to an understanding of adult development in general."
The book is completely about Levinson's theory of male adult development. Levinson acquired his research by interviewing 40 men between the ages of 35 and 45 from four different occupational groups. Through his interviews, Levinson believed that all males pass through a
series of stages, each of which presents a different problem to be solved.
The first stage is known as the early adult transition (ages 17-22). The problem is to develop a sense of independence by separating from one's family and trying out different lifestyles. This is the stage where hopes and dreams are formulated.
The next stage is entering the adult world (ages 22-28). The problem
at this stage is to explore and obtain the many adult roles that are needed to
be happy and successful in one's career and relationships. A set of priorities begin to form.
The age-thirty transition (ages 28-33) happens next. In this stage the
man establishes his role in society, builds a nest, and pursues more long-
range plans and goals. His problem may be evaluating earlier career choices
and goals.
Immediately following the age-thirty transition is the settling down
stage (ages 33-40). The problem here is to develop a sense of success in the
major areas of one's life, primarily one's career and relationships.
The mid-life transition (early 40s) begins next. The problem here is to evaluate one's life goals and commitments, knowing that there is only a limited amount of time to reach them. The feeling that time is running out may contribute to what is often called the mid-life crisis.
Lastly, entering middle adulthood (middle 40s). Here the problem is
learning to live with previous decisions, such as by becoming more
committed to one's family or career.
I feel that the book was written very well. It went in-depth in
mapping out the stages and the events in each one of the stages. I could
relate to some but most I could not since Levinson limited his research to
only males. I am a female and only 22 so I have just barely entered into the early adult era. Looking at older males around me I can see some of what Levinson has stated to be true, however, I just don't believe that every male
is going to go through the life stages just as he says. I think that for the time when this book was written, Levinson probably did a great job in describing the stages. Most of the men that he interviewed were born before and during
the Depression. What was true for the men that were interviewed may not
be true for today's 40-year-olds.
By reading this book I can atbest say that I have a more complete understanding of male adult development.
Reference
Levinson, D. J. (1977). The Seasons of a Man's Life. Ballantine Books.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\See I Told You.TXT
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See, I Told You So
It is not very often that a person has his
own national television show, radio show, and two books
that have been on the "New York Times Best Seller List."
Rush Limbaugh happens to be one of these unique people,
his radio show is popular, his television show has the largest
audience for a program of its type and his new book is one
of the best of its kind. Limbaugh always backed up his
comments with facts or statistics. While the book was
informative and factual, it was also very humorous. See, I
Told You So was definitely a conservative use of 363
pages. Without question, Rush Limbaugh is a spokesperson
for a conservative majority within the United States. His
book follows what he says on his radio and television
programs, which is a conservative and republican view on
issues. A few of the things he stresses in his book are that
conservatives are the silent majority and President Clinton
cannot ruin this country in four years. Although he stresses
that conservatives are the majority, he says that liberals are
trying to regain control by forcing the public schools get rid
good things like the Bible and competition, and replace them
with "Outcome-Based Education". Most importantly, we
need to motivate people to pursue excellence and not feel
sorry, pity and coddle underachievers. While the purpose of
his book is to express these views, he also covers many
other topics from the environment, to Dan's Bake Sale. "The
spectacle was enough to drive a stake through the heart of
liberalism (p.101)," says Rush Limbaugh about Dan's Bake
Sale. Sixty-five thousand people flocked to Fort Collins,
Colorado for what was called "Rushstock '93." This all
started as a quest for Dan Kay to make $29.95 for a
subscription to The Limbaugh Letter and escalated to a full
day event that even Limbaugh attended. While Rush
Limbaugh discusses many different controversial and serious
issues, he manages to make it entertaining. He makes these
serious issues amusing by sarcastic comments and pionting
out the irony in government today. Parts of the book are
made for just entertainment like the Politically Correct
Liberal Dictionary and the Lies, Lies chapter in which
Limbaugh backs up his theory that, the Clinton
administration, has cataloged an "avalanche of false hoods"
with 7 pages of Clinton's major contradictions. Rush
Limbaugh makes many controversial comments throughout
his book, but instead of just commenting, he supports what
he says. An example is, when he talks about the
environment. He uses references to scientific studies, other
than just speculating. Limbaugh states, "Most scientists say a
supernova 340,000 years ago disrupted 10 to 20 percent of
the ozone, causing sunburn in prehistoric man.... Man has
never done anything close to the radiation and explosive
force of a supernova.... if prehistoric man merely got a
sunburn, how are we going to destroy the entire ozone with
our air conditioners and under arm deodorants and cause
everybody to get cancer...." (p.178) I thought this book was
very intresting. I attribute this sucesss to the fact that rarly
has there been a radio/TV commentator who consistently
makes sense on so many subjects: taxess, environmentalism,
animal rights, crime, education, the inner cities, extreme
feminism, government regulation and Congress. See, I Told
You So is a serious and important book, but Rush
Limbaugh, whatever your opinion of his politics, is an
marvelous entertainer.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Siddhartha.TXT
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Siddhartha
Siddhartha: The Search for the Inner Self Siddhartha had
one single goal - to become empty, to become empty of
thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow - to let the Self
die. No longer to be Self, to experience the peace of an
emptied heart, to experience pure thought - that was his
goal. When all the Self was conquered and dead, when all
passions and desires were silent, then the last must awaken,
the innermost of Being that is no longer Self - the great
secret! (14) Siddhartha, according to his actions, was
constantly in search for knowledge, regardless of what kind,
or what he had to do to obtain it. In the book titled
Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, this is shown to us by
Siddhartha's leaving home to join the Samanas, and all the
actions leading to his residence alongside the river. Leaving
his loving family and home where all loved him, shows us
that Siddhartha not only knows what he wants but will do
anything to attain it. As described on pages 10 through 12,
Siddhartha did not leave his father's chambers until he had
gotten his way, until his father had submitted to Siddhartha's
wishes and agreed to let him leave home to join the
Samanas. This stubbornness, this patience with people and
situations is also a large part of Siddhartha's character. It
enables him to out wait anyone or anything, which teaches
him how to do without and also helps him through his time
with the Samanas. "Siddhartha learned a great deal from the
Samanas he learned many ways of losing the Self" (15).
Despite the new knowledge he acquired, Siddhartha realized
that it was only " . . . a temporary palliative against the pain
and folly of life" (17). And with this, his next decision was to
leave the Samanas and go in search of the Buddha in order
to learn perhaps something he did not already know.
Through this we learn that Siddhartha, having learned all that
is possible in one place, moves to another in search for more
wisdom in search for the secret of how to obtain inner
peace, how to find the Self. This action also shows his
change by showing us that Siddhartha no longer has the
patience to stick to certain routines as he did when he was at
home in his youth. Finding the Buddha in a garden,
Siddhartha and Govinda spend an evening and afternoon in
the " . . . Jetavana grove" listening to the teachings of the
Buddha. Although what he has to say is all important and
thought to be flawless by all, Siddhartha finds that the
Buddha's " . . . doctrine of rising above the world, of
salvation, has a small gap. [And] through this small break,
the eternal and single world law [which the Buddha
preaches] breaks down again" (32- 3). This realization that
teachings are not flawless shows that Siddhartha has started
thinking on his own. He no longer practices routines of
cleansing or chants verses in order to obtain a moment of
inner peace. Once again, Siddhartha renews his journey,
leaving Govinda and the Illustrious One behind, believing
that no one finds salvation through teachings. Siddhartha was
a deep thinker. He had found a flaw with the flawless
teachings of the Buddha. He had realized that he would
never attain inner peace through others teachings, but that he
alone had to seek it. And this is what he did, stopping next
for a lesson in love from the beautiful courtesan, Kamala.
Because of this experience, he shed his Samana robes and
became a merchant. He gambled and acquired riches all for
the love of a beautiful woman. As the years passed,
Siddhartha's soul became corrupted with characteristics of
ordinary people. He relied on luxury now, when before he
could have fasted or begged for his food. His goals were
lost and forgotten until a dream one night awakened him and
" . . . overwhelmed [him with] a feeling of great sadness"
(82). Siddhartha, realizing he had lost his path, now decided
it was time to get back on it. This stubbornness, as
mentioned before, now helps him carry out his newly found
goal., also making his parting from Kama! la a lighter
burden. His soul had been corrupted. His goals had been
lost. Now Siddhartha had to start his search anew, but the
beginnings of the ability to love another person were now
implanted in his heart. As he reached the river, Siddhartha
was overwhelmed with a feeling " . . . of desire to let himself
go and be submerged in the water. [The] chilly emptiness in
the water reflected the terrible emptiness of his soul" (88).
Siddhartha was in a terrible state. After years of riches and
luxury, he had cast it all aside in order to find a place for
spiritual renewal. In this quest for the inner Self, Siddhartha
had now reached this place: the river. "[He] sank down at
the foot of the cocoanut tree, overcome by fatigue.
Murmuring Om, he laid his head on the tree roots and sank
into a deep sleep" (90). After awakening, Siddhartha chose
to stay with the ferryman Vasudeva, who had been a great
listener. From this ferryman he learned how to listen to the
river and how to interpret what it was saying. Siddhartha
had thrown away his previous life of wealth for the life of a
ferryman, a life of poverty. But Siddhartha knew that from
the river his enlightenment would come. His prediction was
correct. When Govinda returned from a pilgrimage, he
stopped by the river and waited for the ferryman to carry
him across. He had recognized the peace on Siddhartha's
face, the peace of one who had found the secret. And
indeed Siddhartha had. Through his quest for the inner Self
in Hesse's novel, Siddhartha had given up many things, made
many sacrifices in order to further his knowledge. He was
always moving along, never stopping in one place
permanently. His quest was never ending until the river had
taught him what he needed to know. Hesse, in a way, shows
us that only through sacrifice will someone gain what he is
looking for. He shows us that life is not given to one on a
platter, but needs to be looked for in order to be found.
Siddhartha, through his departure from home and the
Samanas, his realization that not even the Buddha was
perfect in his teachings, his abandonment of Kamala, and
finally through his decision to stay and learn from Vasudeva,
shows us that he had spent his whole life in search of
something that was missing, his peace. In the end,
Siddhartha finds his inner Self, he finds his peace.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Sister Carrie.TXT
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932
In August of 1889, Carrie Meeber leaves her small town to find employment in the city of Chicago. Theodore Dreiser, the author of Sister Carrie, informs the reader that, "Self-interest with her was high, but not strong. It was nevertheless her guiding characteristic.". With her youth and innocence she hopes to seek employment so that she can get and buy all the nice things that she wants. Carrie does not have any idea how hard this is going to be. When she tries to find a job, she is scared. Carrie has no skills to offer an employer, no job experience, and her clothing was of poor quality. Chicago was a large city, but society at that time did not have many job opportunities for working women. The only jobs that Carrie could possibly get were in the factories that, paid low wages, had poor working conditions, and long hours. She knew that after she paid rent to her brother-in-law, she would have very little left to buy all the beautiful things that she longed for. When Carrie took the job at the shoe factory, she did not like the hard work and considered the other women who worked there to be common. When winter arrived, Carrie got sick and stayed home from work which caused her to lose her job. On the train to Chicago, Carrie had met a traveling salesman, Charlie H. Drouet. She is impressed by the way he talks and dresses. When they meet again, Drouet is aware of her beauty and innocence and he hopes to charm and seduce her. He "lends" Carrie money to buy nice winter clothes, treats her to fine meals, takes her to the theater, and shows her the sights of Chicago. Because Carrie is young and inexperienced in the world of men, she is not wise enough to understand where all Drouet's attention is leading toward. Although she senses that the money should be given back, her desire and longing for the good things in life are so powerful that she ignores her beliefs in what is right and wrong. Unable to find another job, Carries is forced to make a decision, returning to Wisconsin or letting Drouet keep her as his mistress. Choosing to remain with Drouet was an extraordinary decision. This went against everything society taught. It was unthinkable for any decent woman to live with a man without marriage. Yet, Carrie ignored the rules. Drouet's promise to eventually marry Carrie allowed her to ignore her conscience which told her that her behavior was wrong. The longer Drouet and Carrie lived together, she finally realizes that she is not deeply in love with him, she is smarter, and he is not as sophisticated as she had first thought. When Drouet invites his friend, Hurstwood, to dinner, "She met a man who was more clever than Drouet in a hundred ways." Carrie had gone with Drouet because of financial need to avoid returning to her hometown. Carrie loves Hurstwood and agrees to leave with him believing that they will marry right away. Discovering that Hurstwood is married, Carrie decides to leave Drouet and tries to find an acting job. It's ironic that she is now back in the same financial situation when she had made the decision to live with Drouet. Once again, Carrie can't find a job. Hurstwood forces her into leaving with him and, once again, because of financial reasons she remains with Hurstwood. Carrie thinks they are married in Canada and eventually they move to New York. Hurstwood is not able to find or keep a job. With no one left to support her, Carrie gets a job. As her theater career rises and her social status improves, Hurstwood becomes completely dependent on Carrie. He is no longer the intelligent, assured, and cultured man that she thought he was. With the ability to support herself, Carrie leaves Hurstwood. He becomes a street person and ends up killing himself. Carrie had always thought that if she ever got wealth and position, which she now has, that she would be completely happy. A friend introduces her to Bob Ames, unlike any man that she met before. Ames notices that Carrie is sad. He tells her, "Your happiness is within yourself wholly if you will only believe it." Here was a man not offering her money, clothes, or applause, all the things that Drouet and Hurstwood had given her. The secret to her happiness was to give off herself to those less fortunate. Carrie was young, innocent, and scared when she first arrived in Chicago. With no skills, she can't find a job. Going against the social rules of her generation, she lives with two men as their mistress. They give her the material things she desires. Her judgement in selecting men is based on their appearance and not on their character. Finally, she is without support and forced to make it on her own. Becoming a success in the theater, she is able to get all the things she desires. Her wealth doesn't give her the happiness and satisfaction she thought it would. With age and experience, Carrie comes to understand that contentment comes from giving to those less fortunate than herself, and that character is more important than how a person looks.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Six Easy Pieces By Richard Feynman.TXT
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1688
Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 in Brooklyn; in 1942 he received his Ph.D. from Princeton. Already displaying his brilliance, Feynman played an important role in the development of the atomic bomb through his work in the Manhattan Project. In 1945 he became a physics teacher at Cornell University, and in 1950 he became a professor at the California Institute of Technology. He, along with Sin-Itero and Julian Schwinger, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his work in the field of quantum electrodynamics. Another great achievement of Dr. Feynman's was the creation of a mathematical theory that accounts for the phenomenon of super fluidity in liquid helium. Along with Murray Gell-Mann, Feynman did fundamental work with weak interactions like beta decay. Years later, Dr. Feynman was an important part of the development of quark theory by putting forward his parton model of high-energy proton collision processes. Furthermore, Dr. Feynman introduced new computational techniques and notations into physics, most importantly, the Feynman diagrams that perhaps more than any formality in recent scientific history, have altered how basic processes of physics are calculated and conceptualized. Feynman was considered a superb teacher, and received many awards and honors, the one he admired most being the Oersted Medal for Teaching, which was awarded to him in 1972. Critics and fellow scientists around the world held many of his publications in high esteem, and his some of his works were written for the general public, so that all people might have an opportunity to grasp the basic concepts of physics. His more advanced writings have become important assets to researchers and students; some of his works have even made their way into textbooks. Another of his most famous contributions is his work in the Challenger investigation when it crashed in 1986. His notorious demonstration of the O-rings to cold was during this research, an experiment that required no more than a glass of ice water. However, less known to the public was Feynman's efforts on the California State Curriculum Committee in the 1960's when he fought against the mediocrity of current textbooks. Sadly, Richard Feynman died on February 15, 1988, in Los Angeles. Six Easy Pieces is a compilation of six of Dr. Feynman's lectures all dealing with the easier aspects of physics. These lectures come from the famous Lectures on Physics that contains all of the lectures that Dr. Feynman used to teach his students at Caltech University. Feynman was different from most physics teachers of his time, he was a revolutionary; he taught an approach that was less mathematical and more theoretical, but many feel he makes it easier to learn the concepts. His diagrams, famous throughout the science world, detail his every word and give visual assistance to the struggling student. As the book progresses from chapter to chapter, Feynman takes the reader deeper into the heart of physics, while still relating each concept to something that the general public will understand. His use of analogies and thorough explanation makes the material easier to comprehend. Still, the book is by no means easy reading; only through careful analysis and attentiveness was I able to grasp the messages that Feynman was attempting to convey. In the sixth chapter, "Quantum Behavior," Feynman gives the reader a taste of his passion, as he expounds on the field with which he devoted much of his career to. Obviously, Feynman wanted to use this novel to educate the minds of people who have some interest in the field of science. He wanted to give the reader a taste of what physics has to offer; he does not intend to teach the reader everything about physics, even he says that there is too much material to teach it all to a student in even four years of college. Still, there is more than enough information for the reader to gain a general idea of what can be learned through physics, Feynman is attempting to entice his readers to go out and learn more and not just stop with what this one book provides them. Clearly stated in his introduction, Feynman says that these lectures are designed to, "Maintain the interest of the very enthusiastic and rather smart students coming out of the high schools and into Caltech." He truly wants to capture the desire of his students and show them all that physics has to offer. This statement comes from the introduction of both Six Easy Pieces and Lectures on Physics, the complete series of what is started in this book. Though originally not written for both books, it does apply to both, which is why it is included. Feynman was hoping to broaden the scale of his readers when he lightened the amount of information that is presented to the reader. Also, Feynman wanted to document all of his knowledge so that it might be available to future generations, he was attempting to immortalize himself through the publications he left behind, and will always be remembered for them. He was truly a revolutionary thinker, and he earnestly desired to share that with the world. He dedicated his life to the advancement of modern physics, and hoped that his writings would inspire a young avid physicist to take up where he left off and trek onward into the discovery of the laws of physics. This book is, as I have mentioned, a compilation of several lectures. Personally, I do not enjoy listening to or reading lectures, I much prefer an interactive style of learning. Therefore, I cannot say that I liked reading this book. Though it was enlightening, at times it was boring and I had to push through it and constantly make myself continue. However, I would have liked to sit in on a class that Dr. Feynman taught, because from all of his diagrams and scientific analogies, I think that he was the kind of teacher that used demonstrations during his lectures to emphasize his point. I honestly enjoy science, and I think that it would be an honor to have attended a class of this highly credited physicist. Though not my favorite novel, finishing it did give me a certain feeling of satisfaction; I felt that I had accomplished something. Moreover, I was glad that I had made myself continue because there were many interesting topics in this book, and I did learn a lot about physics. I suppose one could say that this book caused me to have a bit of an attitude change; I now see things in a new light, I also understand more about how this world works, and what it is really like. I wish that I was able to view all of the illustrations that Feynman presented to me throughout the course of these lectures. I think that he must have had an amazing capacity for knowledge from the way he describes what cannot be seen, only deduced. I have always held the subject of physics in high regards, it is at the top of the scientific ladder, and Feynman puts it within the reader's grasp. It overwhelms me to think that he could have actually made a new development in such a demanding field of study; the ability to learn and comprehend all that we currently know about physics is quite an accomplishment. I believe that people such as Feynman are paving the way for the future of the world; one-day physics will be taught in grade school and will be as easy to learn as reading. Who knows what advanced concepts will be reserved for high school and college, but they will be far more complicated than anything that we can fathom now, at this point in history. Remember, there was a time when computers were so complicated that only the most skilled scientists could operate them, but now I see elementary school students who are already more computer literate than most adults. It is exciting to think of where the field of physics will be after a few centuries. It is people like Richard Feynman who push our current society into the bold unknown; he challenges and captivates the minds of his students and pushes them to excel in their fields of study. Forerunners such as Feynman are creating a new generation, and with each passing genius, the most difficult concepts become easier to comprehend and teach. Eventually, the new ideas that Feynman presented will be as common as the existence of gravity. Though I may be a bit optimistic, I feel that it is not impossible, and will eventually become reality, I only wish I could be alive to see it happen. Consequently, I feel that this book should be included with all works that hold a high literary merit. This book appeals to a wide scope of people; it relates the complicated aspects of physics in a manner that can be understood by much of the general public. More than that, this novel gives the reader a glimpse into Feynman himself. The reader can now see how he thinks and functions, additionally, it allows the reader to preview what it may have been like to be in one of Feynman's classes. This man is considered a modern day genius, and just the chance to further see what he is actually like, is something that allows for this book to be valued more highly. Additionally, this book tackles an extremely difficult topic that is considered to be one of the most complex subjects in higher learning. Feynman is undaunted by this, he takes the known principles of physics and presents them in a new light, and should be praised for his ability to demonstrate such a complicated subject to so many people in such a way that even the common man can grasp these basic principles of physics. Thus, Richard Feynman's book Six Easy Pieces is more than worthy of achieving high literary merit.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Song Of Solomon.TXT
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Song Of Solomon
The novel Song of Solomon has several recurring themes, including that of sexuality. Morrison effectively demonstrates these sexual themes relating to both sexes. Unlike in her other novels, both the men and women are "searching for love, for valid sexual encounters, and above all, for a sense that they are worthy."(Bakerman 318) While Song of Solomon gives men a more prominent place, Morrison also shows the desires of women to break away from established society and to create an individualistic life. Pilate is one of the most apparent characters in her journey to explore her sexuality and womanhood. She is portrayed by Morrison as a strong and a somewhat rebellious woman. She establishes something extraordinary during that time, economic independence. In the process "she rejects the traditional image of woman by cutting off her hair...and wearing clothes functional to her way of life."(Mickelson 316) Even though this is all true, Morrison never lets us forget that Pilate is a woman planted in the reality of black society. Ruth also yearns to escape the shackles that hold her down as a married woman. In the opening scenes of the novel, Ruth shows us her trivial concerns dealing with a stain on the table. Ruth "... talked endlessly to her daughters and her guests about how to get rid of it - what might hide this single flaw on the splendid wood...She had tried them all." (Morrison 11) As insignificant as they were, these were Ruth's concerns. Yet the stain has a deeper meaning symbolizing the scar that Ruth has, but fervently attempts to cover up, from her married life. We learn that Her husband never loved her and they haven't been intimate in years. "When Ruth was naked and lying there as moist and crumbly as unbleached sugar, he bent to unlace her shoes. That was the final delight, for once he had undressed her feet, had peeled her stockings down over her ankles and toes, he entered her and ejaculated quickly. She liked it that way. So did he. And in almost twenty years during which he had not laid eyes on her naked feet, he missed only the underwear." (Morrison 16) As she dealt with the rejection of her husband, Ruth searched for sexual satisfaction elsewhere, eventually turning to her son, Milkman. "He was too young to be dazzled by her nipples, but he was old enough to be bored by the flat taste of mother's milk, so he came reluctantly, as to a chore, and lay as he had at least once each day of his life in his mother's arms, and tried to pull the thin, faintly sweet milk from her flesh without hurting her with his teeth." (Morrison 13) Ruth recognized that the breastfeeding was wrong, but let her desire cloud her better judgement. Milkman is used as a pleasure toy until the abuse is discovered. Ruth is once again left in a state of sexual deprivation. Most novels deal only with women and revolutions but Morrison "...deals not only with the woman who breaks away from the established society...but with the black man who yearns to fly..." Milkman is avidly searching for a woman and a sense of security, and as opposed to the women, his search is surprisingly successful. The audience never questions Milkman's ability to love, yet we see the problems he has recognizing it. Hagar, who was only considered a "lady friend", was an important individual in Milkman's life. They had an indescribable bond, yet they never pursued a relationship beyond a physical one. "Everybody who knew him knew about Hagar, but she was considered his private honey pot, not a real or legitimate girlfriend- not someone he might marry." (Morrison 91) Not until he meets Sweet, does he learn about love and passion. The relationship that the two develop is both sexually and emotionally fulfilling. Here he learns that love is a mutual feeling necessary for a healthy relationship. Guitar on the other hand is guided by a different type of love, a love for the black race. He is so devoted to the black cause, he turns violent, randomly murdering whites. This love is driven by the void created when his father died and although Guitar's love sharply contrasts that of Milkman, they both use love to fill a gap in their life.
Song of Solomon uses sexual themes to explain a search on which every character embarked. Milkman, Pilate, Ruth, and Guitar, among others, are looking for love and sex to take the place of all that is missing in their lives. Sex is used as a solution to such various problems as loneliness and insecurity. We learn through this novel that sex and love are individually complex yet somehow always connected. Topics including flight, sexuality, and religion are discussed throughout the entire book. Morrison subtly conveys different lessons and morals with these themes through names, symbols, etc. Ultimately, this novel deals with initiation and exploration in society. She combines these subjects with the conditions of blacks in society to create a story of people and their trials in life.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Songs of Innocence and Experience.TXT
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Songs of Innocence and Experience
In William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, the gentle lamb and the dire tiger define childhood by setting a contrast between the innocence of youth and the experience of age. The Lamb is written with childish repetitions and a selection of words which could satisfy any audience under the age of five. Blake applies the lamb in representation of youthful immaculateness. The Tyger is hard-featured in comparison to The Lamb, in respect to word choice and representation. The Tyger is a poem in which the author makes many inquiries, almost chantlike in their reiterations. The question at hand: could the same creator have made both the tiger and the lamb? For William Blake, the answer is a frightening one. The Romantic Period's affinity towards childhood is epitomized in the poetry of Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience.
"Little Lamb who made thee/ Dost thou know who made thee (Blake 1-2)." The Lamb's introductory lines set the style for what follows: an innocent poem about a amiable lamb and it's creator. It is divided into two stanzas, the first containing questions of whom it was who created such a docile creature with "clothing of delight (Blake 6)." There are images of the lamb frolicking in divine meadows and babbling brooks. The stanza closes with the same inquiry which it began with. The second stanza begins with the author claiming to know the lamb's creator, and he proclaims that he will tell him. Blake then states that the lamb's creator is none different then the lamb itself. Jesus Christ is often described as a lamb, and Blake uses lines such as "he is meek and he is mild (Blake 15)" to accomplish this. Blake then makes it clear that the poem's point of view is from that of a child, when he says "I a child and thou a lamb (Blake 17)." The poem is one of a child's curiosity, untainted conception of creation, and love of all things celestial.
 The Lamb's nearly polar opposite is The Tyger. It's the difference between a feel-good minister waxing warm and fuzzy for Jesus, and a fiery evangelist preaching a hellfire sermon. Instead of the innocent lamb we now have the frightful tiger- the emblem of nature red in tooth and claw- that embodies experience. William Blake's words have turned from heavenly to hellish in the transition from lamb to tiger. "Burnt the fire of thine eye (Blake 6)," and "What the hand dare seize the fire (Blake 7)?" are examples of how somber and serrated his language is in this poem. No longer is the author asking about origins, but is now asking if he who made the innocuous lamb was capable of making such a dreadful beast. Experience asks questions unlike those of innocence. Innocence is "why and how?" while experience is "why and how do things go wrong, and why me?" Innocence is ignorance, and ignorance is, as they say, bliss. Innocence has not yet experienced fiery tigers in its existence, but when it does, it wants to know how lambs and tigers are supposed to co-exist. The poem begins with "Could frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 4)?" and ends with "Dare frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 11)?" This is important because when the author initially poses the question, he wants to know who has the ability to make such a creature. After more interrogation, the question evolves to "who could create such a villain of its potential wrath, and why?" William Blake's implied answer is "God." In the poems, innocence is exhilaration and grace, contrasting with experience which is ill-favored and formidable. According to Blake, God created all creatures, some in his image and others in his antithesis. The Lamb is written in the frame of mind of a Romantic, and The Tyger sets a divergent Hadean image to make the former more holy. The Lamb, from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience is a befitting representation of the purity of heart in childhood, which was the Romantic period. Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Experience, The Tyger and The Lamb. The Longman Anthology of British Literature . Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 1999. 112, 120.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Source Analysis.TXT
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Source Analysis: The Death of Hector
The Death of Hector is actually just one part of a larger work. The Iliad was written during the Dark Ages of Greece by a blind poet named Homer. It was mainly entertainment, but today has turned into a significant, though unrealistic History of the Dark ages of Greece.
The Iliad was written and performed for a bunch of drunk, barbaric nobles who were the soldiers of the time. That's the reason Homer put so much descriptive battle scenes and gory details. This is what they wanted; lots of blood, to go with the drinking and war. It is through this we get our first accurate picture of the times of ancient Greece: A backwards, warlike, perpetually drunk society whose only real interest was to gain respect and honor by killing everyone else. This makes no sense, since if you kill everybody for glory, who is left to honor you? Anyway, this was the main reason Homer wrote the Iliad. The specific story of the Death of Hector shows tells the story of Hector, who wants to fight Achilles outside the city gates. He refuses his father's request to come inside and be protected. In the end he is killed. This entire episode shows the way one should act. Even if scared, it is better to die in battle than to live a coward. This was one of the basic tenants of the Greek code of conduct. So, not only did the stories entertain, but they also were the early Greeks code of conduct. If they were to be a "good Greek", they were to strive to be like someone in the pantheon of heroes. This honor code was needed to keep the people under one standard of honor and loyalty, and what is good, right, and acceptable. This honor code existed for many years, until Classical Greece came around. From this old piece of literature we can learn about the ancient Greek way of life. It (supposedly) accurately shows the ways Greek warriors fought, and historically, it also tells us some about the weapons. We can also learn about the code of conduct that the nobility of the Greeks was expected to live, and if necessary, die by. This makes the Iliad the most important, and only, ancient Greek writing we have.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Standing In The Light.TXT
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Standing In The Light
1. The theme of this book was in search of ones self. I chose this theme because Catharine was in search of her self throughout the whole story. Her and her brother were taken captive by the Lenape Indian tribe and she had to search to find her self throughout her time in captivity. In the beginning when she was captured, it was awkward and confusing. This was because she was a Quaker and she didn't know if she was now an Indian or still a Quaker, because the Lenape weren't going to return her to her family. She had to search her own self, and eventually she became used to the way of Indian life. She never forgot her family, but she had come to love her new family. She had also become accustomed to her new way of life. After about a year of living with the Lenape, white men came and took Catharine and her brother away. This really made her confused because she had just found herself with the Lenape and now she has to find herself with her own family again. She never quite found herself with her people, but she would always know where she truly belonged. 2 The main character of this book was Catharine. She was strong-willed and adjusting. She was strong-willed when she had the strength to adjust to her new ways of life. She was pulled from her old life, to her new life, back to her old life. It was very difficult for her because both the Quakers and the Lenape were two very different cultures. She found herself having mixed feelings and a lot of confusion, but she had the will to deal with it. Catharine was also adjusting. She was adjusting when she had to adjust to life with the Lenape. She had to learn new ways of life; she had to learn how to survive off the land. She also made her own clothes and gathered food. She also had to adjust to new customs. The Lenape religion and the Quaker religion are very distinct from eachother. Catharine adjusted to the Lenape religion very well. 3. The Author wrote this book for a couple of reasons. First, she wrote it for entertainment. A lot of people like to read books about the past. Also, I have never read a book about Indians capturing a girl and her brother. They captured them because two members of the tribe lost their children because the white men had killed them. It was a different book and people like to read books like it. The author also wrote this book because she wanted to inform the readers about how the white men treated the Indians. They killed their people and broke many treaties. Also, it was a back and forth battle. The white men killed their people and so did the Indians. In this case the Lenape took two white children and raised them in place of their own murdered ones. The author told the story through the perspective of Catharine. People like to read books like this. 4. I absolutely enjoyed this book. I really liked the fact that it was historical fiction, because that is my favorite. I also liked that Catharine told the story through her own perspective. I could better understand her situation. I learned a lot from this book. I learned a great deal about the situation with the Indians and the white man. The fact that a girl my age was telling the story gave me a unique gaze into the past. I actually saw the story through Catharine's eyes. I will defiantly read more books by this author. She did the finest job interpreting the history in the story and I look forward to reading more books by this author.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Steven King Paper.TXT
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Steven King Paper
"If you have an imagination, let it run free." - Steven King, 1963 The King of Terror Stephen Edwin King is one of today's most popular and best selling writers. King combines the elements of psychological thrillers, science fiction, the paranormal, and detective themes into his stories. In addition to these themes, King sticks to using great and vivid detail that is set in a realistic everyday place. Stephen King who is mainly known for his novels, has broadened his horizons to different types of writings such as movie scripts, nonfiction, autobiographies, children's books, and short stories. While Stephen King might be best known for his novels The Stand and It, some of his best work that has been published are his short stories such as "The Body" and "Quitters Inc". King's works are so powerful because he uses his experience and observations from his everyday life and places them into his unique stories. Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947, at the Maine General Hospital. Stephen, his mother Nellie, and his adopted brother David were left to fend for themselves when Stephen's father Donald, a Merchant Marine captain, left one day, to go the store to buy a pack of cigarettes, and never returned. His fathers leaving had a big indirect impact on King's life. In the autobiographical work Danse Macabre, Stephen King recalls how his family life was altered: "After my father took off, my mother, struggled, and then landed on her feet." My brother and I didn't see a great deal of her over the next nine years. She worked a succession of continuous low paying jobs." Stephen's first outlooks on life were influenced by his older brother and what he figured out on his own. While young Stephen and his family moved around the North Eastern and Central United States. When he was seven years old, they moved to Stratford, Connecticut. Here is where King got his first exposure to horror. One evening he listened to the radio adaptation of Ray Bradbury's story "Mars Is Heaven!" That night King recalls he "slept in the doorway, where the real and rational light of the bathroom bulb could shine on my face" (Beaham 16). Stephen King's exposure to oral storytelling on the radio had a large impact on his later writings. King tells his stories in visual terms so that the reader would be able to "see" what was happening in their own mind, somewhat in the same fashion the way it was done on the radio (Beaham 17). King's fascination with horror early on continued and was pushed along only a couple weeks after Bradbury's story. One day little Stephen was looking through his mother's books and came across one named "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." After his mother finished reading the book to him, Stephen was hooked. He immediately asked her to read it again. King recalls "that summer when I was seven, [my mother] must have read it to me half a dozen times"(Beaham 17). Ironically that same year, while Stephen was still seven years old, he went to go see his first horror movie, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. This is important because Stephen says, " Since [the movie], I still see things cinematically. I write down everything I see. What I see, it seems like a movie to me"(Beaham 17). During this year the biggest event that probably had the biggest impact on Stephen King's writing style was the discovery of the author H. P. Lovecraft. King would later write of Lovecraft, "He struck with the most force, and I still think, for all his shortcomings, he is the best writer of horror fiction that America has yet produced"(Beaham 22). In many of Lovecraft's writings he always used his present surroundings as the back drop of his stories. King has followed in his footsteps with the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Castle Rock is a combination of several towns that King moved to and from with his family in his childhood. The main town that it resembles is that of Durham, Maine. It was after the exposure to H. P. Lovecraft's stories that King first began to write. While growing up and moving around the way his family did, Stephen had never been able to feel comfortable and settle down in one place and make friends they way other kids his age did (Underwood 77). Around the age of twelve the King family finally settled in the town of Durham, Maine. For Stephen King, Durham was the place where his imagination began to shine. It was at this time that Stephen first began to make friends. Along with his friends, Stephen would go the movies a lot. Stephen would use the movies as a inspiration. Although he enjoyed going out and having fun, whenever he would come home, Stephen would immediately write down his experiences and observations. Frequently King would place his friends and family into childhood fantasy tales. And one would always know how Stephen felt about them because of how long they lived in the story. It was not until college that Stephen King received any kind of real recognition for his writings. In the Fall of 1967, King finished his first novel, The Long Walk, and turned it into his sophomore American Literature professor for review. After a couple of weeks and a couple rounds around the department, the English professors were stunned. They realized that they had a real writer on their hands. >From then until he graduated with a bachelors degree in English from University of Maine at Orono in the Spring of 1970, King concentrated on rounding off the edges of his writing technique. One short story that best shows the type and technique of Stephen King's writing is "The Body." "The Body", which has been adapted into to a Hollywood movie, was first published in the collection of short stories called Different Seasons. The story is a tale of four twelve year old friends who at the end of one summer go out on a journey in into the woods to see a dead body. While on their journey they learn about life, friendship, and are propelled from innocent to experienced. On the surface of the story it appears to be simple journey with its occasional mishaps, but the true magnificence is that this story has a strong autobiographical coincidence. The main character, Gordie Lachance, is a boy growing up on his own through the memory of his dead older brother. Growing up, Gordie, an avid story teller, dreamed of becoming a writer. Before his brothers accidental death, all his parents would ever care about was his brother. Since his death, Gordie's parents have presumably shut themselves away from Gordie. This, to a certain degree is true of King. Because of his father leaving when Stephen was two, and his mother taking on around the clock jobs, he never really had any parental guidance. The story itself is written with Gordie narrating in the present time look back at the journey. At the time of his flashback, Gordie is a best selling author who has returned to his home town of Castle Rock to revisit his past. This is ironic because at the time Stephen wrote the story he himself had just moved from Bolder, Colorado, back "home" to the town of Bangor. King's childhood home town of Durham is used in several different stories under the fictional town name of Castle Rock. It is also noticeable how in the story when Gordie "looks" back to him and his brother, his brother is the only person who cares for him. He noticeably goes out of his way to look out for Gordie, and is always encouraging his and asking him about his writing, while all his parents seem to do is ignore Gordie. This also can be related to King's past because while growing up his brother while only two years older then him, always seemed to be there for Stephen and look out for him. Probably the deepest imagery of the story is at the end of the novel. Gordie is shown back at home and putting the finishing touches on his latest work. While finishing up, Gordie is interrupted by his son who is shown in a sense to be a good-natured and caring boy. Gordie experiences a deep love for his family at the time. This setup is presumably placed in the story as an escape for King. In his autobiography Danse Macabre, King tells of his fear of providing for and caring for a family (Reino 112). This shows King pushing away the fear, in a sense saying that he is all right. That he has now embraced the idea. One of King's best work is also one that does not fit in any category of his usual writings. For an author who usually writes horror, "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", is a story that is a refreshing sidestep. The story tells of how Andy Dufresne, who is falsely tried, convicted, and sentenced to back to back life sentences for the double murder of his wife and her lover, deals with being trapped within a dreadful situation that are out of his hands. Throughout the nineteen years that he is in Shawshank prison, Andy has to endure everything from a gang called the "Sisters", who go around raping and beating their prey to being forced to create and run a money laundering scheme for the prison Warden. If this story was written without the authors name on it, there is none of Stephen King's characteristic style, except for maybe in one place in the story. The one possible place that even hints that it is from the mind of King is at the end of the story where Red is off to keep his promise to Andy. Andy asks Red, that when he get out of jail to travel to a southern Maine town called Buxton and look for something he buried in a "hay field under a large oak field." The suspense of what was buried and the description of the field in Buxton is what is typical of Stephen King. While the story is very uncharacteristic of King it does deep down relate to himself. The theme of hope and of how Andy overcomes the situation is one that is tied closely to King. It runs a direct parallel with life as a child and how his life has turned out. Just as Andy was thrown into predicament and later escapes and lives his life on his own terms, Stephen, early on was forced to move from town to town with mother and brother. In the end Stephen escapes and now lives on his own terms. Stephen King's works are so powerful because he uses his experiences and observations from his life and places them into his unique works. What seems to make Stephen King's stories almost magical is that the settings of his stories are placed into common every day places. Additionally, Stephen's writings are true to life in peoples mind's because he draws upon common fears. Just as King's writing style and genre had been influenced by movies throughout his life, he is now influencing the same industry with his own vision and imagination. King's writings are so widely appealing that over 42 of his works have been based upon or turned into Hollywood movies which have included stars like Jack Nicholson (The Shining), John Travolta (Carrie), and Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption). Works Cited Beaham , George . Stephen King Companion , The . Kansas City : Universal Press Syndicate Company , 1995 . Beaham , George . Stephen King Story, The : A Literary Profile . Kansas City : Universal Press Syndicate Company , 1992 . King , Stephen . "Body , The" in Different Seasons . New York : Viking Penguin Inc ., 1982 . King , Stephen . "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" in Different Seasons . New York : Viking Penguin Inc ., 1982 . Reino , Joseph . Stephen King : The First Decade , Carrie to Pet Sematary . Boston : Twayne Publishers , 1988 . Underwood , Tom . Conversations on Terror with Stephen King . New York : Warner Books , 1988 .
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Stillwatch
Reading is extremely underrated in our country today. Those who do read know what I'm saying. And I'm not talking about Dr. Seuss or Ann M. Martin. I mean REAL books! Books by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and other best-selling authors. One best-selling author that I have the utmost respect for is Mary Higgins Clark. She's written chart-topping novels such as Where Are the Children?, A Cry in the Night, A Stranger is Watching, and The Cradle will fall. The book that I have recently read by her is entitled Stillwatch. It was a New York Times bestseller for 10 weeks, and I know why! We meet Pat Traymore, a young, beautiful, and talented reporter living in our nation's Capital. She is very in love with an older congressman named Sam Kingsley. They had a love affair two years before the present time, when his wife was dying. Pat is doing a TV series entitled Women in Government, and her first show is to be over Senator Abigail Jennings, the first woman to be nominated for Vice President. Well, Pat starts going back into Abigail's past to find out more about her. What she does find genuinely intrigues her: murders, love affairs, suicide, an extremely obese mother who wasn't appreciated, and an ex-fiancé...but that's not all.
 Pat's real name is Kerry Adams. She is living in her parents' old house in Washington. 24 years ago, her parents died. It was said that her father had killed her mother and then himself. Pat's not real sure that was the case. She's living in that house so that she can try to conjure up some memories. And she does...like it or not. Pat begins to remember scenes such as tripping over her mother's bleeding body, crying for her daddy, and running through the house in a state of shock. Pat is seeing Sam again, and Sam can't stand Abigail Jennings OR her burly assistant, Toby. Toby doesn't exactly have a clean record, and Pat's been getting very explicit threats about doing this show on the Senator. Sam suspects Toby, but he hasn't even thought about Eleanor Brown. Eleanor was taken to prison for stealing money from Abigail. Then she got on parole and disappeared. No one had seen her since. But now she's living with a psychotic nursing home assistant who believes himself to be an angel. He thinks that it's his duty to put the elderly people out of their misery when the time comes -- he kills them. He is who is threatening Pat. As soon as Pat starts getting the threats, her neighbor, a psychic woman named Lila Thatcher, decides to keep a vigil over Pat because she senses an extremely dark aura around Pat and the home that she's living in. One that Lila also sensed around the time that Pat's parents died. Lila is going to keep a stillwatch. When Toby finds out Pat's real identity, he flips out and tries to kill her when the "angel" finally attacks, by setting her home afire. But Pat makes it out of her flaming home alive. Toby, on the other hand, dies in the fire, but before dying, tells Pat what really happened the night her parents died: Abigail was having an affair with Dean Adams, Pat's father. When Abby went to the Adams' home, Renee Adams, Pat's mother, freaked out and shot Dean. She then shot herself. Toby was in the car outside when it all happened, and he went in to get Abigail. As he was picking up her purse, a terrified, young Kerry Adams - Pat - came running up to him. He threw her up against the wall, and she fell to the floor with a shattered leg and a fractured skull. Now that Toby is dead, and her entire life has been exposed to the media, Abigail decides that it is high time she be done with politics. So she doesn't make Vice President, and we hear nothing else of her. But we do know that Sam and Pat are going to have a romantic honeymoon after they're married the following week. Pat Traymore was an extremely reasonable and patient woman. We get a clear glimpse of this reality when Pat receives a call from her stalker: "I don't know why you're upset. Tell me about it," is something that she gracefully requests of her screaming lunatic stalker in the middle of the conversation. She is obviously gorgeous, because when Sam is leaving her at her doorstep after a date, he spins around, passionately grabs her, and kisses her. After the kiss, he says, "Pat, I'm -- I'm sorry. You're just too damn good-looking for your own good," thus indicating that she is a remarkably beautiful woman. Pat is also portrayed as an unusually talented reporter. Even after all of what happened with the Abigail Jennings case, her boss still wants her to work on the series: "Luther does seem sincere about wanting me to stay...he thinks we might even be able to get the First Lady. He says that he won't let anyone but me do this program." That is fairly self-explanatory.
 Now as we move on to the "bad girl" of the book, we consider Abigail Jennings' outward looks. She is a remarkably beautiful woman of 45 years, with natural, blonde hair and baby blue eyes. She supposedly has a body to die for: This was one night she had not chosen to underplay her beauty. Abigail was wearing an apricot satin gown with the bodice covered in pearls...that complimented her slender waist and small frame, but accentuated her Epicurean hips. A deep apricot shade outlined her perfectly shaped lips. Abigail is also a very demanding woman. When it comes to her work, she lets nothing or no one get by easy: "What do you mean there wasn't time?! Those figures should have been on my desk last week! If there's not time in the daytime, there's time in the evening. If anyone on my staff has become a clock-watcher, I want to know about it!" A sign of foreshadowing is shown on the very first page of the story. Pat is driving from Concord to her home in Washington: That must be it, she thought -- the corner house. Home Sweet Home. Just the fact that those last three words are said in such a cynical way and an almost mocking way makes you cringe. You soon come to find out that it's not such a sweet home. A theme that I recognized is one that can be relevant to everyone in love and anyone who ever has been. Don't waste time. When you have a gut feeling about something or someone, go with it before it's too late. "I don't think I've ever experienced anything like seeing that house on fire, knowing you were inside. I can't lose you, Pat, not now, not ever. I didn't listen to my gut two years ago, and I paid for it. Now I'm ready. I'm dead serious about not wasting any more time. Would a honeymoon in Caneel Bay next week suit you?" This was said by Sam to Pat when the entire ordeal is over, and he finally comes to his senses. Everyone falls in love at least once in their life, and that is why knowing of and understanding this theme can be an excellent reference for us.
The characters in this book were so real to me. Sometimes when I read a book, one character in particular will strike me as just being fake. And I can't put a face to a character that seems unrealistic to me. But each and every character in this novel has a face that I have deeply engraved in my mind. As I stated before, I have the utmost respect for Mary Higgins Clark's writings and her creative thinking. When someone can put words on paper and turn them into worlds, it's remarkable. And after reading only one book written by her, I'm going to be sure that Mary Higgins Clark's pieces are abundant in my personal library.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Submission Of Societies.TXT
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Submission Of Societies
Submission of Societies Nicole Simes - English 11 "Oppression that cannot be overcome does not give rise to revolt but to submission." This concept can be clearly seen in both Brave New World and 1984, even though the structure of their societies are different. The goal of their respective governments is the same, total control of society. The governments use similar tactics of manipulation, with the purpose of keeping the majority in ignorance and submission. The governments in 1984 and Brave New World weakened their citizens with ignorance and silenced them with fear. In 1984 the proles were considered to be completely without thought, and regarding the actions of the Party they in fact were. The ignorance of the proles allowed them to continue on with their lives without the burden of knowledge of the Party. Those in the Party who had somewhat of an idea of the motives and deception of the higher members were silenced with the fear of death and torture. This enabled the party to prevent a revolt from ever occurring. The people who were caught and subjected to torture were not killed or injured to confess their crimes, instead they were physically, intellectually and emotionally reborn. They loved the Party and more importantly they loved Big Brother. In Brave New World this triumph over the individual and destruction of the sprit of man does not happen in the same way. The citizens in Brave New World have almost no need to be reborn to love the Party, or the State in their case. This is so because they truly had no human spirit in the beginning, for without true love and nurturing from parents and real interaction with others at young ages, and without even a real birth, those in Brave New World do not need to be changed by the state because all that they have learned is that which the state as imbued them with. There is, however, precautionary measures of fear, used in case the preconditioning of an individual was reversed at some point in time. The citizens grow up with the fear of being shipped to a far off island for a life of intense manual labor if they do not succumb to the standards of their society. The control of the people was to assure the power of the main leaders, such as Big Brother and the World Controller. For the societies of 1984 and Brave New World to exist, the manipulation of the citizens must occur. In 1984, the Party has control over everything, including the minds of its people. Double think is a kind of manipulation of the mind, used by the rulers of Oceania. This makes people accept contradictions, and believe that the party is the only institution that distinguishes between right and wrong. It denies the citizens any possibility of questioning rapid and hypocritical changes in the policies of the Party. Doublethink ensures orthodoxy and loyalty in spite of anything that may occur. The Party also created newspeak as a tool to promote and enforce doublethink. Newspeak manipulates its citizens into thinking a certain way. The reduction of words to a bare minimum, or newspeak, disables the citizens from producing true thoughts of their own that may stray from the path of Big Brother. In Brave New World the citizens are not only manipulated into conformed thoughts, but their behavioral patterns are preconditioned. They are sleep taught the laws and rules of their society, so as to prevent them from ever producing thoughts that differed from those of the government. The children are thought to love the social status in which they are granted. This creates stability for the society as the citizens have no motives to move up the social scale. The inhabitants of Brave New World are indoctrinated, and brainwashed in their sleep. Another form of manipulation, yet much less subtle in both novels, was the formation and distribution of propaganda. In 1984 propaganda was distributed through the use of telescreens in each room and political pamphlets. All members of the Party were required to attend the "Two Minutes Hate," a propaganda film that repeated each day. Every year there was "Hate Week," which was an enormous propaganda event. In Brave New World there were propaganda houses which had vast studies for emotional engineering. These displays of propaganda induced the citizens of Oceania and the State to follow the standards of each ruler. In both novels the traditional family is abolished. Although the reasons for eliminating parenthood are similar, the methods in which it is done are quite distinct. Wanting the citizens to feel as if the state is their family is the main reason for abolishing the family in Brave New World. If the citizens have family-like ties to the state then they can more easily surrender their power to the control of the government. The same is true for 1984, although the ties are implemented between the citizens and Big Brother. Love for Big Brother is the key idea in the Society of 1984, for that keeps the key people of the Party in control at all times. In 1984 though, family is not looked upon as obscene and unnatural. Conception is still allowed between specific people. The difference to normality is the relationships between children and parents. It is one of illusion, for the children are taught to report the thought crimes of their parents, and they do so even more willing then others. In Brave New World there are no parents at all, for every man, woman and child are laboratory-grown clones, bottled and standardized from the hatchery. This is a significant difference between 1984 and Brave New World in the lives of their citizens. In 1984 sexual conception is permitted and is regarded as a "duty to the Party." Whether it be low, middle or high class, or some form of the previous, almost all societies have classes in which each person exits. In 1984, the classes were that of the inner Party, the outer Party and the proles, the majority being with the proles. The higher the class a person found themselves in, the more knowledge they would have of Oceania and how it worked. With that knowledge came more responsibility. Those found in the proles were regarded as little more than beasts, but at the same time were allowed more freedom than any others. They were not watched over twenty four hours a day, or even at all. The proles were allowed to have the freedom of thought because they were thought to be incapable of it. Anyone in the party must have direct and orthodox thought patterns. All educated citizens were constantly monitored on telescreens, in order to prevent "ungood" words or actions. In Brave New World the classes were just as distinct. The Alphas, Betas, Gamma's, Deltas, and Epsilons were the different levels of intelligence, the were also the social order of castes. Each caste had its own duties that were to be fulfilled. No one in any class wished to change over, a result of hypnopeadia. The classes in 1984 kept most knowledge in the hands of the inner Party and assured that all jobs, that could result in destruction of the party, were confined to elite members. The castes in Brave New World created relative stability for the citizens and allowed the state to stay in control. Submission and control of a society can be easily achieved through the manipulation of its inhabitants. By using a variety of manipulation tactics, the governments in both 1984 and Brave New World were able to obtain and keep control. Both ruling powers played on the ignorance of its people while making sure those with any amount of information were silenced with fear. Both the Party and the State used many means of propaganda to instill lies into the minds of their public. The governments of 1984 and Brave New World also changed the family unit, as it was once known, so that the traditional love for the family would be replaced with new love for the Party, Big Brother, or the State. This was the ultimate goal. The loss of the peoples control as well as the peoples blind devotion for their rulers.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Super Duper Teddy.TXT
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Super-Duper Teddy
Wendy Abram February 9, 2000 Book Report (about a boy character) Title: Super-Duper Teddy Author: Johanna Hurwitz Setting: The story takes place in Teddy's neighborhood, Teddy's apartment, and in Anita's house. Main Character: The main character is Teddy. Supporting Characters: There are many supporting characters. They are Teddy's mom; his sister, Nora; his neighbor, Anita; his friend, Bryan; his turtle, Mr. Hush; and Anita's cat, Cassandra. Favorite Character: My favorite character is Teddy because he always has his Super-Duper Cape. He is usually shy except when he is wearing his cape. Summary: Teddy is a shy five year old boy who lives in an apartment. His sister, Nora is never shy. Teddy gets invited to Bryan's birthday party but Teddy doesn't want to go. His mom forces him to go and he ends up being the only other guest. After that, his mom goes to a wedding. His grandma and grandpa visit for two nights. Teddy and Nora didn't like the breakfast their grandparents made and they were bored. When his mom came back, Teddy had to baby sit his neighbor Anita's cat, Cassandra. He would get paid money. Cassandra makes a big mess but Teddy washes the mess up with his cape. One day Teddy was very anxious to get a pet. When he and his mom were driving, Teddy saw a pet shop and they went in. Teddy spotted the perfect pet and they bought him. The pet was a turtle and Teddy named him Mr. Hush because he was so quiet. The next day, his substitute teacher said they were going to take a long walk because it was a beautiful day. When they were halfway done, Jerry the fruit store keeper was blocking their way. Teddy saw fruit that looked like tiny oranges. Jerry said they were called kumquats. Teddy's apartment was right across the street from Jerry's store, so they went into his apartment. When they went into the elevator, it got stuck. There was a red button that Teddy always wanted to push, and he finally got to push it. When they all got to Teddy's room, they ate cookies and milk. The next day at school, Teddy was so happy that he put his cape in the dress-up box. Even though Teddy didn't have his cape he still felt SUPER! Favorite Part: My favorite part was when Teddy pushed the red button in the elevator. I always wanted to push the red button on elevators so I felt happy that he got to push it. Ending: I felt happy about the ending of the story because Teddy was not shy to anyone any longer. Recommendation: I would recommend this book because it is full of surprises. I think a person who loves animals would enjoy this book too.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Survival In Auschwitz.TXT
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Survival In Auschwitz
"Imagine now a man who is deprived of everyone he loves, and at the same time of his house, his habits, his clothes, in short, of everything he possesses: he will be a hollow man, reduced to suffering and needs, forgetful of dignity and restraint, for he who loses all often easily loses himself." This short quote is taken from Primo Levi's "Survival in Auschwitz". It depicts a true story of Primo Levi during the Holocaust, who was relocated to an extermination camp after beginning a great life after college. Primo was captured with a resistant group from Italy. He used his college education and degree in chemistry to stay alive. The above quote brings a similar quote to mind. "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his own soul". That quote is taken from the front wall of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Olivia, Minnesota. It gives an idea about our savior Jesus Christ's life. He spent his whole life teaching the word of God and humanity to all people of any race or religion. These two, Primo Levi and Jesus Christ, lived similar lives. Primo lived growing up as a Jewish citizen during the bad economic times of Europe. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party blamed this economic tragedy on the Jewish society. Primo tried to fight against this, but like most Jews was found guilty and taken to conservation camps. Here he was giving the chance of what he learned in life to stay alive and to see himself leave the hellish camp. During his time in Auschwitz he was deprived of everything from his clothes to even his name. After the liberation of Auschwitz, Primo again had nothing. Necessities and goods were furnished throughout his life and now Primo had to start all over. He had nothing except for life, something most people who walked through the front gates of Auschwitz lost. Jesus Christ lived a similar life many, many years before. He lived his young adulthood life teaching the people of the world about God and humanity. He cherished his life and the life of others. He respected all living things and tried to help them live a non-sinful life. He too was deprived of things near the end of his life. Like Primo, Jesus was convicted of what he thought and spoke of and was killed. The main difference between the two men is that Jesus lost his life. Jesus though had a second chance as he was later resurrected from hell and brought into heaven. There he again helped the people of the world. Furthermore, both of these men were convicted of religious believes and ripped away of their lives. Even though Primo died many years after his stay at Auschwitz, he was never the same before that. "He will be a man whose life and death can be lightly decided with no sense of human affinity, in the most fortunate of cases, on the basis of a pure judgment of utility. It is in the way that one can understand the double sense of the term, extermination camp, and it is now clear what we seek to express with the phrase: to live on the bottom.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Sweat.TXT
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"Sweat" And Symbolism
"Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston is filled with symbolism ranging from images that are easily captured to things that require a little bit more insight. Religion has apparently played a major role in Hurston's life, readily seen in "Sweat" with the references to a snake and Gethsemane. Symbolism plays a big part of this story and after analyzing these, they give the story a deeper meaning and can enlighten the reader as to the full meaning of "Sweat". The most apparent symbol in the story is the title, "Sweat". It is also mentioned in the story, "Looka heah, Sykes, you done gone too fur. Ah been married to you fur fifteen years, and Ah been takin' in washin' fur fifteen years. Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat" (Hurston 679). The "Sweat" is the product of Delia's hard work supporting them. It stands for her work ethic and how she has tried to make her work as best as she can, it is a big part of her life. Another easily recognized symbol in this story is that of the snake. "Sykes, what you throw dat whip on me like dat? You know it would skeer me - looks just like a snake, an' you knows how skeered Ah is of snakes" (Hurston 678). The snake is the main symbol in this story, it ties it together because it is Valko-Rizzo 2 mentioned at the beginning of the story and at the end. Sykes decides to bring a snake into their home, "Look in de box dere Delia, Ah done brung yuh somethin'.Syke! Syke, mah Gawd! You take dat rattlesnake 'way fron heah! You gottuh" (Hurston 683). The snake is an object of destruction, a satanic object which is what the devil turned into to lure Eve to eat the apple in the garden of Eden as written in the Bible (Genesis 2-3). The snake represents the evil Sykes, which is in direct opposition of Delia's Christianity. The bull whip in the passage is another symbol related to the snake. Both of these objects are phallic in nature, representing Syke's emasculated position. He is supported by Delia who takes in white people's laundry. The laundry also encompasses two symbols. "He stepped roughly upon the whitest pile of things." (Hurston 679). The 'whitest pile of things' refers to Delia's pureness and innocence and the image conjured up is one of Syke's stomping on her pureness making it dirty. The laundry is also the thing that Delia protects and looks after, like it is her own, like it is a child. But the laundry is not hers, it is the white folks laundry and shows how repressed Delia and Syke's as African Americans in a white man's world. Delia has taken her world and made it the best she can. She took her modest home and made it beautiful by planting flowers and trees (Hurston 680). They depict her Eden, her garden. She has made something beautiful in and orderly in her chaotic and evil life with Sykes. Valko-Rizzo 3 Another reference to religion can be found in "Sweat." "Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months" (Hurston 683). The garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus took his disciples to pray. He told some of them to watch and some of them to pray, but they fell asleep. Judas betrayed Jesus and led the Romans to him at Gethsemane before he was crucified (Matthew 28-29). Delia feels betrayed, she bears a cross too. She married Sykes because she loved him, but he beats and cheats on her. During one attempt to beat her she stands up to him. "She seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised him greatly, coming from her" (Hurston 680). The skillet is something from which food is created, a 'womanly' thing. Delia uses this tool which is used for creation in an attempt to destroy Sykes. There is another passage where Delia thinks about defense against the snake. "She mused at the tremendous whirr inside, which every woodsman knows, is one of the sound illusions. The rattler is a ventriloquist. His whirr sounds to the right, to the left, straight ahead, behind, close under foot -everywhere but where it is. Woe to him who guesses wrong unless he is prepared to hold up his end of the argument! Sometimes he strikes without rattling at all" (Hurston 686). This passage represents Delia's relationship with Syke. He strikes her from all angles. Sykes is cruel to her for no reason at all, Valko-Rizzo 4 just like the snake striking its victim, unexpectedly, from all sides and for no apparent reason. Lastly, the chinaberry tree which Delia clings to at the end of story also represents a symbol. The tree has deep roots and will live for a long time after Sykes dies, so will Delia. She gains knowledge at the tree, "She could scarcely reach the chinaberry tree, where she waited in the growing heat while inside she knew the cold river was creeping up and up to extinguish that eye which must know by now that she knew" (Hurston 687). "Sweat" is filled with symbolism which reiterates and clarifies the authors intention in writing this story. Syke is killed at the end by his own evilness, by a snake intended for Delia. Her Christianity and goodness keeps her alive, keeps her sweating and working for what she believes in. The symbols in this story are highly religious and encompass a woman's strength and the repression she experiences due to her color and gender. Works Cited The Holy Bible. Genesis and Saint Matthew. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1972. Hurston, Zora Neale. "Sweat." The Story and Its Writer An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 678-687.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Symbolism Of Peal In The Scarlet Letter.TXT
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Symbolism Of Peal In The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Peal, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Pearl, throughout the story, developes into a dynamic symbol- one that is always changing. As the novel progresses, Pearl grows older, and it's easy for the reader to want to explore some of the symbolism which Pearl comes to represent throughout the novel. In the Scarlet Letter, Hester, for her sins, recieved a scarlet "A" which she had to wear upon her chest. This was the Puritan way of treating her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. The Puritan treatment continued, because as Hester would walk down the streets, she would be looked down upon as if she were a demon from Hell, and she would be called names. This would cause her much mental anguish and grief. On the other hand, God's way of punishing Hester for her sin was quite different from the physical token she wore: he gave her the punishment of a very unique child who she named Pearl. This punishment from God was a constant reminder to Hester of what she had done wrong, and she could not escape from her daughter as she did society. In this aspect, Pearl symbolized God's way of punishing Hester for adultery. The way Hester's life was ruined for so long was the ultimate price that Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester's life was one almost never filled with joy, but instead a constant nagging. Pearl would harass her mother over the scarlet "A" which she had to wear constantly. And, Pearl would also make her own "A" to wear, and sometimes played games with her mother's, trying to hit it with rocks, or decorating it with prickly burrs. When Hester would go into town with Pearl, the other children would make fun of her and Pearl would yell back and throw dirt at them, So, in this case, Pearl symbolized the decimation of Hester's social life and mental state. Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that Pearl was her treasure. Pearl was really the only thing that Hester had in life, and if Pearl wasn't in Hester's life, Hester would almost surely have committed suicide. Hester proved this when she replies to the govenors sister about an invitation to the witches meeting in the woods, "... Had they taken ger away from me(Pearl), I would have willing gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man's book too, and that with mine own blood!" So, it's obvious that Pearl was Hesters main reason to stay living. Once in a while, Pearl would bring joy to Hesters life, and that helped her to keep on living. Pearl really symbolized a rose to her mother, but at other times she could be wilting. It was these times when she was "wilting" that brought Hester more grief. One final way Pearl symbolized something in the novel was her association with the scarlet letter. Pearl really was the ultimate scarlet letter, because if Pearl had never been born, Hester would have never been found guilty of adultery, and thus never would have never had to wear that tangilble burden upon her chest. Without burden, Hester would have led a much better life than the one she had throughout the novel. In many different ways, through the entire novel, Pearl was a source of many different kinds of symbolism and in a way, foreshadowing. From being a rose, like the gate of the jail, to representing the scarlet letter "A" she was kind of a burden, yet love for Hester. And as a final note, Pearl was more than her mothers only source or key, to survival and sanity.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tale of 2 Cities again.TXT
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A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens has been acclaimed as one of the foremost satirists of the nineteenth century. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities Dickens finds fault with the social structure of the society. A few of these social problems are the difference between the classes, the lunacy of the revolution, and the judicial system in effect as this time.  
The first of the faults in the social structure of the society is the difference between the classes. It is not just the difference between the poor and rich but also between the rich and the royalty. While Monsieur the Marquis is driving through St. Antoine, he runs over a child. All he does is toss a few gold coins out to the father and drives away. This is showing that all the aristocracy cares about is money. Another place in the novel where Dickens shows the difference between the classes is when the Monseigneur is having his chocolate while everyone is waiting to speak with him. When he is done with his chocolate all he does is walk out and brushes past everyone else as if they are not there. This shows that all the higher aristocracy
cares about is themselves.  
Another fault the Dickens points out about the social structure in the society is the lunacy associated with the revolution. The way the people of St. Antoine get crazy from being in such a violent situation is the fault that is being described here. When the wood-sawyer starts talking about his saw as "his little guillotine" it shows that he is affected and is a "typical revolutionary", with a cruel regard for life. Another place where Dickens describes this revolution lunacy is when the crowd of "five thousand demons" come around the corner "dancing" to the Carmagnole, the song of the revolution. This shows that everyone who has a part in the revolution has become like one, a large mass of mindless people who only have death on their minds.  
The third fault that Dickens wants to point out in the novel is the way the judicial system is corrupt. Throughout the novel Dickens mentions that any of the aristocracy could have put any person in prison just by "making a call." This shows that there was no system of balances to keep order in the courts. Another way Dickens shows the faults in the judicial system is when Madame Defarge wants to kill not just Charles Darnay, but his entire family. This shows that during the revolution the judicial system was changed, to suit the common people, but the mentality remained the same.  
Because of these faults, Dickens shows that nothing is perfect, not even after the revolution does anything really change. These are not the only faults of the social structure of the society, but there are many more that show Dickens' ridicule for this society.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tale of 2 Cities.TXT
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A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens has been acclaimed as one of the foremost satirists of the nineteenth century. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities Dickens finds fault with the social structure of the society. A few of these social problems are the difference between the classes, the lunacy of the revolution, and the judicial system in effect as this time.  
The first of the faults in the social structure of the society is the difference between the classes. It is not just the difference between the poor and rich but also between the rich and the royalty. While Monsieur the Marquis is driving through St. Antoine, he runs over a child. All he does is toss a few gold coins out to the father and drives away. This is showing that all the aristocracy cares about is money. Another place in the novel where Dickens shows the difference between the classes is when the Monseigneur is having his chocolate while everyone is waiting to speak with him. When he is done with his chocolate all he does is walk out and brushes past everyone else as if they are not there. This shows that all the higher aristocracy
cares about is themselves.  
Another fault the Dickens points out about the social structure in the society is the lunacy associated with the revolution. The way the people of St. Antoine get crazy from being in such a violent situation is the fault that is being described here. When the wood-sawyer starts talking about his saw as "his little guillotine" it shows that he is affected and is a "typical revolutionary", with a cruel regard for life. Another place where Dickens describes this revolution lunacy is when the crowd of "five thousand demons" come around the corner "dancing" to the Carmagnole, the song of the revolution. This shows that everyone who has a part in the revolution has become like one, a large mass of mindless people who only have death on their minds.  
The third fault that Dickens wants to point out in the novel is the way the judicial system is corrupt. Throughout the novel Dickens mentions that any of the aristocracy could have put any person in prison just by "making a call." This shows that there was no system of balances to keep order in the courts. Another way Dickens shows the faults in the judicial system is when Madame Defarge wants to kill not just Charles Darnay, but his entire family. This shows that during the revolution the judicial system was changed, to suit the common people, but the mentality remained the same.  
Because of these faults, Dickens shows that nothing is perfect, not even after the revolution does anything really change. These are not the only faults of the social structure of the society, but there are many more that show Dickens' ridicule for this society.
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tale of Two cities.TXT
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Tale of Two cities 
A Time of Terror
 
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a story written to promote awareness of the tragedies that occurred in France during the French revolution. The two themes of the book are interconnected with each other. The themes are those of sacrifice, and hate. The themes are portrayed through out the book and are shown by the actions of the characters. The story is perfectly described in the following paraphrase by William Butler Yeats, in The Second Coming
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned.
The centre in this poem represents Paris, France. Paris was the center of the newly formed republic and revolution. The monarchy in France had only a few jobs and responsibilities, to represent, care for, create jobs for, and make peace for all people of France. King Luis XVI was a failure, one of the worst and most selfish kings to ever reign over France, he was the straw that broke the camels back. King Louis XVI has his priorities in disarray. Not once did he place the people of France before himself, he was impeccably greedy. He taxed the peasants more than ever, they were starving, sick, and dying. He failed at his duty. Chaos broke out and people rebelled, "Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." The center, the government, fell apart. "Things fell apart; the centre cannot hold." The people needed a leader, someone other than the king, and that was in their situation, someone that understood their needs. Madame Defarge, Ernest Defarge, and the Jacques were all willing to lead the French people against the king and for the new democracy. The people were angry and wanted revenge, they hated all aristocrats, the king, and the old regime. Leaders like Madame Defarge had the same beliefs and were followed because they were willing to act upon their hatred. Hatred and revenge were the main reasons for the sixty-three deaths a day. Everyone was in fear of the sharp lady, the guillotine. Many innocent people were sacrificed for the republic for being traitors of France. The entire revolution broke out into such chaos that people were being killed left and right, including the leaders.
Dickens uses France and England to compare and contrast his views and opinions about the French revolution and to show the anarchy that was taking place. He mocks the king and the nobles. "His mornings chocolate could not so much as get into the throat of Monsignor, without the aid of four strong men besides the cook. Yes. It took four men, all four ablaze with gorgeous decoration, and the Chief of them unable to exist with fewer than two gold watches in his pocket, emulative of the noble and chaste fashion set by Monsignor, to conduct the happy chocolate to Monsignor's lips." Pitiful situations as these, were the concerns of the nobility and royalty in France, not that of the starving population. These were the little things caused the huge explosion and rebellion in France. Death was the answer to everything, the term innocent until proven guilty was never used, guilty till proven innocent in the courts. People during this time lived in fear, constant fear, and in hate of their situation, their leaders, their republic, and the democracy and even their newly found freedom. Hate and revenge were the only things that mattered.
The best act of sacrifice was shown by Sydney Carton. Carton is in loving adoration of Lucie Manette and will do anything for her. "For the life you love" was the phrase whispered into Lucie's ear by Carton before he sacrificed his life for her beloved husband. Carton met his death with great dignity, in fulfilling his old promise to Lucie, he attains peace within. Those that watched Carton's death stated, "The peacefullest man's face ever beheld" at the guillotine.
Sacrifice was the name of the game for Carton.
All of these interconnected themes and phrases from William Butler Yeast relate to the French Revolution and tell the pathetically sad story of A Tale of Two Cities.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Taoist influence in The Good Earth.TXT
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Taoist influence in The Good Earth 
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a story that takes place in the early twentieth
century in China. It is a novel about a man, Wang Lung, and some of the events he
endures in his lifetime. This story has many references to Eastern religions and
philosophies. One of the most prominent influences in this story is the Chinese philosophy
of Taoism. The Good Earth relates to Taoism in a number of ways. Three ways that The
Good Earth shows the influence of Taoist philosophy are the appreciation of nature, the
Taoist practice of turning to nature during times of social activism , and the Taoist belief
in simplicity and that money and hierarchical government are not important.
The Taoist appreciation of nature plays a huge role in The Good Earth. The
Taoists believe that "the order and harmony of nature is far more stable and enduring than
either the power of the state or the civilized institutions constructed by human learning"
(Waley 56). An early Taoist belief is the practice of Wu-wei, which is best described as
"action modeled by nature" (Waley 56). Wang Lung owes everything he has to the earth
and has no trouble admitting it. Wang Lung and his family even go so far as to create
shrines to the earth, as shown in this passage from the story, "Together this man and this
woman stood before the gods of their fields" (Buck 16). Wang Lung may not be an
admitted Taoist, but he certainly follows some aspects of the Taoist way of life.
Another way that Wang Lung displays elements of Taoism in his behavior is when
he decides to work only in the night during the revolution. Removing oneself from social-
political conflict is a typical Taoist behavior. This passage from The Way and it's Power
by Arthur Waley explains this behavior, "Throughout Chinese history, people weary of
social activism and aware of the fragility of human achievements would retire from the
world and turn to nature. They might retreat to a countryside or mountain setting to
commune with natural beauty ." Wang Lung may not have retreated to a countryside or
mountain setting, but he would have if he had the chance since his greatest desire was to
return home to his land. This quote from the point in the story when Wang Lung was
afraid he may have to fight in the war, proves that. "Now I am truly tempted to sell the
little slave and go north to the land" (Buck 92).
The Taoist belief in simplicity also plays a huge role in this story. This quote from
The Tao of Pooh explains the significance of the Uncarved Block. "The essence of the
principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own
natural power, power the is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed" (Hoff
10). Although Wang Lung becomes quite prosperous, he is still a simple man at heart.
After overhearing a conversation between two men about what they would do if they had
lots of gold and silver, Wang Lung replied, "If I had the gold, and silver and the jewels, I
would buy land with it, good land, and I would bring forth harvests from the land!" (Buck
87).
The Taoist way of life plays a part in the life of Wang Lung, the main character of
The Good Earth. He shows this Taoist influence by his appreciation of the earth and what
it brings to him, his pacifist nature, and his simple way of thinking and living. Wang Lung
may not have realized it the Taoist way of life has influenced the way he lives greatly.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\TEFAL.TXT
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TEFAL
Steam Cuisine & Integral Iron
Tefal owes its origins to a Frenchman, Marc Grégoire, and his wife, Colette. M. Grégoire, a keen fisherman, wanted to make his rod reel in more smoothly and, in the 1950's, experimented to see if a non stick coating might provide the answer. It did! But it was his wife who made the real breakthrough by gently suggesting that coating the cooking pans would have a more worthwhile application by making them easier to cook with and simpler to clean.
Now, in 1999 Tefal is the number one name in non-stick products and small appliances, operating in over 120 countries. Tefal remains committed to making household tasks easier and cooking results better, through a constant flow of new ideas and technology.
Recently Tefal has introduced
The new Tefal Steam Cuisine. Steaming is one of the Healthiest ways to cook It retains the flavors of The food Plus most of the Vitamins and mineral salts. With the new Tefal Stream Cuisine, you can cook three Dishes at once. It is quick And easy to use and the new Turbo steam system means it Starts steaming in just 15 seconds. Special microholes in the bases of the bowls get the steam quickly to where it is needed. Also the bases are removable, giving all the flexibility you could want. SO, the new Tefal Steam Cuisine is easy to use, quick (you do not have to spend a lot of time in cleaning it), and the most important thing is that you can be sure that you are eating a healthy food with a perfect taste.
Tefal's Integral can claim to be the world's first
'all fabrics' steam iron. Its combination of new
soleplate design together With a unique 2 element performance means no water spots, no brown marks, no burning/scalding or wrinkling of clothes and makes it equally effective on denims through integral 'all fabrics' iron to skills.
Features:
* 2 elements performance 
* Vapotherm control system 
* Left or right handed use 
* Vertical steam 
* Ultraglide coated soleplate 
* Water spray 
* High power element 
* Temperature ready light

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tess Of The D.TXT
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Tess Of The D'ubervilles
Thomas Hardy was one of the finest writers of the Victorian age. Among countless poems and novels there is one that seems to stand alone, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." This novel is one of Hardy's most recognized works maybe because the problems of the Victorian era relate to many in this modern age. Problems such as rape, the importance of purity and never knowing what you really have until it's gone. These three things make up the theme, sub-theme and motif of Thomas Hardy's, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." Not being aware of the good things you have until they're gone is the theme of Tess. In the novel, Angel Clare and Tess are married, but when Angel finds out the truth about Tess' past he is outraged and hurt. Succumbing to his initial feelings, Angel leaves Tess and tries to continue on about his life without her. As time passed, Angel finally realizes that he does love Tess, and so he tries to locate her. Once he finds her, he learns she has started a new life with Alec D'Urberville; the man of her past. Angel begs Tess to come back to him but she says he came too late. The theme behind the story is that Angel recognizes his mistake but still misses out on her love. When Angel left Tess he was just acting on impulse. By the time he sat down and rationalized his decisions, Tess had already continued on about her life. Angel knew he loved Tess and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but his feelings weren't evident until he lost her. Once Tess was gone Angel knew that he could not live without her. This is a problem still in our time. People take for granted what they have and never really realize what they had until they've lost it. With time people will learn to value what they already posses and try to give it all the attention is deserves. Rape is, and always will be, a part of society. Fortunately, in our time people of any stature can be punished for such a crime. In the Victorian era however, rape victims were silent and their suffering went unheard. Often, rape victims were blamed for their misfortune, and were said to bring it upon themselves. This was the case with Tess and Alec D'Urberville. When Tess told her mother of her rape, all her mother could say was that Tess should have "known the ways of men." Tess bore a child of Alec D'Urberville which then died. For this she was looked down upon for being an unwed mother. Again, this was her fault, for not "knowing the ways of men." In our day it is not the rape victims fault for what happens to them, though that thought still remains. However, in the Victorian era the victim was said to have seduced the rapist into that act. Because Alec D'Urberville was wealthy, powerful and a "gentleman," as seen by much of his society, his wrongdoing conveniently went unnoticed and unpunished. Tess' pain and suffering went unheard by many until she did something dreadful; she murdered him. After her crime, Tess was still blamed for what happen and no one took any notice that Alec D'Urberville is the one who drove her to do what she did. Rape represents the sub-theme in this novel and was a major issue in that time and in ours. The importance of purity is a reoccurring message throughout the novel. In the Victorian era a women's purity was a very important thing. If a woman was not pure then she was looked down upon by community. It did not matter if a women's innocence was stolen from her or if she willingly gave it away, in the eyes of her community she was till seen in the same light. The loss of innocence is often referred to the text. Tess is seen in the beginning of the novel dressed in white clothing and wearing a red ribbon. White is often used to describe purity and red for seduction or a loss of innocence. When Alec D'Urberville's character is introduced he is bathing in red. He lives among red roses and strawberries and is dressed in dark clothes. After the rape, when Alec departs from Tess he disappears through the red berry bushes. It is as though Hardy is showing the two worlds in which Alec and Tess lived. Tess' world was full of pure, innocent scenes while Alec D'Urberville's was surrounded by sins. As the novel progresses Tess is no longer seen in white clothing, she's always in filthy ark or plain clothes. The rape affects the way society views Tess, but it also alters the way in which Tess views herself. She sees her life in this way because her innocence was stolen from her by Alec. The importance of this innocence is also important in the modern world. If a girl is not "pure" she is looked down upon. The result of a woman being impure is not as severe as it might have been in the Victorian era, but the consequences it brings are still the same and just as painful. Views of the Victorian era haven't been forgotten in the present day. The way that society regards such issues as rape, the importance of purity, and not caring much for the good things you have until they it's too late is what may have been altered. The impact that these problems have on people's lives is what defines them into different categories. In the future, all of these problems will still have a major impact on peoples lives; the difference will be the acceptable and unacceptable ways of life. These lifestyles will determine the value of such issues as rape, the importance of purity and not knowing what you've been given until it's gone. Thomas Hardy's, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" is an interesting portrayal of the way Victorian life dealt with issues and the way that those issues transcend time.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The ABC murders.TXT
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The A.B.C.murders
4/30 Mystery Agatha Christie, The A.B.C. Murders, The world Publishing Company, 1945. pp. 306. 1. Captain Arthur Hastings: Mr. Hastings was a friend and an accomplice to Hercule Poirot in solving the case of the A.B.C. murders. Hercule Poirot: He was the main detective and investigator in the A.B.C. murders. He is a very intelligent and intellectual person. Mary Drower, Megan Banard, Donald Fraser, Franklin Clarke and Miss Grey: These were all close friends or family, and they were all suspects.
2. Captain Hastings and Hercule Poirot were sitting in their room when a letter arrived. It stated that the its author was going to murder someone on the 21st of July in Andover. And it was signed "Yours, etc., A.B.C.". The two were very confused. When they reported it to the police, the officers said that they got messages like this every day and that it was probably a hoax. But Hercule Poirot wasn't so sure. (2) When the 21st arrived, Hercule Poirot was feeling edgy, but Hastings reminded him that it was probably just a hoax. But later that night they received word that a woman, Mrs. Ascher, had been murdered in Andover. They quickly traveled there and went to her shop. They looked around and the only clue they could find was an A.B.C., or a Bradshaw railway guide. They figured that this just couldn't be coincidence. The second letter came on the 24th of July. This next letter taunted Poirot and told him that the second murder was going to take place in Bexhill-on-Sea, the next day. Poirot and Hastings had a pretty good idea that the person to be killed would be one with the last name starting with "B," but they could not be sure. In the morning they received a report that a murder took place at about midnight. The victim was Elizabeth Barnard. She had been killed on the beach and another A.B.C. was found near her. There had been no reports of her missing until the next morning. They now knew that they were up against a homicidal murderer. (3) They received a third letter on the 30th. Once again it made fun of Poirot and said that the next murder would take place on the 30th at Churston. They rushed to get to Churston, but it was too late. Sir Carmichal Clarke had been killed. There again were no witnesses to this murder. The fourth letter said that there would be a murder at Doncastor. All of the closest friends or family were gathered with them there. They attended a big concert because that's where they though the murder would take place. When they found the dead body it was George Earlsfield. The murderer was going to kill Mr. Downes, but in the dark he hadn't noticed that Mr. Downes had moved from his seat. They were about the same build so he had mistaken them for one another. Later that night a maid had noticed a man sneaking away from the hotel he was staying. When they looked at his signature it read A. B. Cust. They followed him and questioned him. He had been in the war and had sustained head wounds and, so, wasn't thinking straight. He admitted to the murders, but Poirot knew that he hadn't done it. The detective went back into the room where all the friends and relatives were. Poirot then picked out Franklin Clarke, saying that he (4) had murdered all of the people. Clarke had done it because he wanted to set it up as though Cust had murdered them with the A.B.C. clue. And when it came to "C" he killed his brother so that he could inherit his money.
3. Some investigative techniques Poirot used were, the retracing of the murders. He went over the murders over and over in his head. He tried tracing the letters but it didn't help.
 4. I would recommend this book to all readers. This is one of the most suspenseful books that I've ever read. Some examples of suspense are: " "Stabbed this time?" "Yes, varies his methods a bit doesn't he? Biff on the head, strangling, now a knife." ", and " "It's about as bad as it can be. Sir Carmichal Clarke has been found dead with his head bashed in." ". With these quotes you can see that book is very suspenseful.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.TXT
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
To say that Tom Sawyer was an average young boy growing up in Illinois would be an understatement. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", written by Mark Twain is an absolutely enchanting book. Every episode is more exciting than the prior one, which is why this book receives five stars. Set in the old Southwest in an almost poverty stricken shabby village called St. Petersburg. The whole town knows one another, and of course they know each other's business. Sunday was the holy day when everyone would gather at the church to compare notes on the past weeks events. The children had to rely on making good clean fun from meager surroundings. Swimming, fishing, picnicking, and playing "Hide n' seek" in the long hot summer days were all good ways to pass the time. But Tom was more venturesome than that, and with his best friend Huckleberry Finn, he lived everyday to its fullest. Tom had a little more schooling than Huck, but Huck was growing up on the streets and surviving just fine considering that his father was a drunk. Tom had a good home, being raised by his Aunt Polly, (his mother died so her sister took him in). He also lived with his half-brother, Sid, whom's main objective in life was to make Tom's miserable by ratting him out all the time, and his quiet cousin Mary. His antics were ingenious though. The way that he turned whitewashing the fence as a punishment into a grand experience for all of the boys in town who couldn't wait to hold the brush and paint. Tom was not a bad boy, just an inquisitive one who's mind never rested... always dreaming, and making his dreams sound so good, he could always rope Huck Finn into his escapades.
 Tom couldn't lie, and he couldn't see someone suffer for the sins of another, as seen when he tells the truth about the murder of Dr. Robinson. It took real guts to point the finger at "Injun Joe", the half-breed, who was also one of the most despicable scoundrels in the town. Tom was also loyal to his friends, and showed that when he wouldn't tell that Huck Finn was with him that night the doctor was killed in the graveyard. Tom also couldn't leave Becky Thatcher in the cave when they were lost and she had all but given up hope of being found. Becky and Huck knew what kind of young gentleman Tom could be. Becky was his true love, although their relationship had some very rocky times, as pictured when they were trying to make one another jealous at school. They were both talking with another, but they kept their eyes on each other, looking for a glint of jealousy, but neither would make the first move, and they wound up hurting one another. Tom remained true to Becky when he covered for her after she accidentally tore a page in the teacher's book. Mr. Dobbins went around the classroom asking each student if they knew who ripped the page, and just before he got to Becky, Tom jumped up and said that he did it, knowing full well that he would receive a lashing from Mr. Dobbins after school. Huck learned to appreciate Tom when he, Tom, and Joe ran away to the island to be pirates. The way that Tom convinced the boys, even though they were homesick, to stay on the island until Sunday was wonderful. Their return home during their funeral services after everyone believed they were dead, was brilliant. Making a grand entrance, receiving hugs and kisses from their loved ones, and not being scolded for running away was just perfect. Why he even had the townspeople glad to see Huck, even though they really didn't know him. Tom was always looking for the easy way to make money. While hunting for buried treasure, he and Huck found more than they bargained for. They found out that Injun Joe was alive, and had a great deal of gold in a box he was going to hide. Huck followed him, and wound up hearing that he was planning to rob and kill the widow Douglas. Huck became a hero when he saved the widow by telling the Welshman's, who went to her house, chased Injun Joe away, and rescued her. The boys finally went and recovered Injun Joe's floods of gold that he had buried in the cave, (Tom found the spot when Becky and he were lost in there for days), and claimed it for their own. They finally had their reward. The big payoff for being fine young men with just a little bit of spice and vinegar to keep things happening in the town very interesting. Huck got a home with the widow Douglas. Tom received some much do love and attention from Aunt Polly and Becky. This book is a classic, and it will live on forever. It is enjoyable, and it keeps you wanting to read more and more. It is a great book for everyone to read, girls and boys alike. I especially think that boys from twelve to fifteen will really enjoy it because they can put themselves in Tom's place, and dream that they are doing all of the wild things that Tom did. This book shows that there is good in everyone, whether they are rich or poor, young or old, boy or girl, even the feisty troublemakers of the town. I enjoyed this book immensely, and highly recommend it for others to read.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Age of Innocence.TXT
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The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton, contains many flat, static characters representing Old New York society. At the apex of that society is Mr. and Mrs. Henry van der Luyden. As the narrator describes, their appearances are rare, but yet these few appearances provide more than enough information for the reader to "know" the character. This information comes from several sources. The first is the narrator, when most of Old New York society is described. The second reference involves Newland Archer and Mrs. Mingott's seeking of approval of the van der Luydens and the exchanges that took place. The final instance is the rare occasion of a dinner at the van der Luyden home and the occurrences here. From the information here, readers develop a complete picture of the van der Luydens. At the end of chapter VI, the narrator describes the hierarchy of Old New York. The last family described is the van der Luydens. The narrator writes, "...the van der Luydens...stood above all of them" (50). The narrator blatantly tells us that the van der Luydens are the highest "ranking" family of Old New York society. Just previous to this, the narrator informs the reader that they descended from both British and French aristocracy, supporting the fact that the van der Luydens are the most revered family. Next the narrator makes it known to readers that "[Mrs.] and Mr. van der Luyden were so exactly alike... neither had ever reached a decision without prefacing it by [a] mysterious conclave" (52), this conclave being, "I shall first have to talk this over with my husband/wife." This shows that, one, the van der Luydens cannot be characterized separately for they are exactly alike, and, two, they consult each other before making decisions. Once again the narrator brings forward, quite openly, information about said characters. The narrator's informing the reader of such facts sets up the reasoning behind the character's motivations, and the reactions of other characters. One of such instances involves Archer and Mrs. Mingott's seeking of the advice of the van der Luydens. First, it is important to note that double-checking one's plans, as Archer does here, indicates the high status of the van der Luydens. Archer and Mrs. Mingott's having to ask another family for the "proper" thing to do proves their dominance over society and that they are the experts of "good form." Archer, then, proceeds to tell his narrative of Ellen's being advised by her family not to divorce and his preference of her relieving herself of her husband. Once the information is laid on the table, "Mrs. van der Luyden glanced at her husband, who glanced back at her" (55). This exchange is another example of a "mysterious conclave" that they use to consult each other. Their glancing at each other was to agree as to whether or not the family decision against divorce is to be overridden. Mr. van der Luyden then responded with their answer against the veto. The instance formerly described proves what the narrator had previously informed the reader, that the van der Luydens never reach a decision without consulting each other and their high status in Old New York society.
The final point of characterization to be discussed is the happenings at the van der Luyden's party for their Duke. The other character's reaction to the party and the party itself reveals more information about this family. The invitees of the party all put on their best clothes and wore their best jewels. This reaction by the other characters at the party shows, once again the van der Luydens status. Almost as a rule, the van der Luydens are so important that one must wear their very best, so as to not offend them. Separately, the party itself discloses an additional trait about the van der Luydens. All the best china was laid out, the guests (in this case the Duke) were received with old-fashioned cordiality, and the doormen all had the same uniform. These aspects of the party show the van der Luyden's strict adherence to Old New York society's "rules" and "regulations." Both the actions of the van der Luydens and the other characters' reactions provide much information about the van der Luydens themselves.
The characterization performed by Wharton on the van der Luydens was very thorough for the type of character she is portraying. Everything from Mr. and Mrs. van der Luyden's likeness to each other to the strict observance of all of society's "good form" shows that these two are very flat, static characters, for nothing about them changes. The narrator provided the basic background knowledge about the van der Luydens and then the plot-related events confirmed what the narrator had written earlier. This provides for two very plausible characters, but at the same time, two who do not change. The van der Luydens, exactly alike, authorities on everything that is proper, are the ruling family of Old New York society.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Atrocity Of War.TXT
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The Atrocity Of War
The Atrocity of War More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginning of all wars - yes, an end to this brutal, inhuman and thoroughly impractical method of settling the differences between governments (Franklin D. Roosevelt). In some people's minds, war is glorified. The romanticized perspective that society bases war on is reversed in the book Catch-22. The Vietnam War established the book as an anti-war classic because of the war's paradoxical nature. Heller perceives war as a no win situation. The book elaborates on the sane and the insane ways of the nation. The question is who is to determine the insane? It all comes back to the paradox that 'Catch-22' delivers. The trauma this book illustrates threatens the government's ideal of peace. There was a time when Heller's classic satire on the murderous insanity of war was nothing less than a rite of passage. Throughout the book it reveals a portrait of war that is the reality. The sarcasm and structure of this novel is Heller's way to show the actuality of war's dispair. The author exemplifies war as trivial; his characters are not fighting the enemy, but they are fighting within themselves. The world has known war ever since the beginning of time, but time has to change if the nation is going to prosper in a positive direction. In Catch-22 most of the sane characters put all of their time and energy into getting home. Yossarian, the main character in the book, was the most determined to stay alive. "The enemy," retorted Yossarian, "is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on" (120). All around him he felt people were trying to kill him. His main fear was everyone, including his troops, were shooting at him. Yossarian informs, "They're trying to kill me" (11). Everywhere he turned he thought people were after him. Even in the dining hall, he sensed the cooks wanted to poison him. With the trauma he went through nobody can blame him for being paranoid. Anything he could do to get out of missions he tried. The goal that he set was to go home alive, and he would do anything to achieve it. Never did he think twice about what duty he had to accomplish for his government. The whole objective in war is for innocent people to die. Not only did Yossarian fight to go home, but also he fought with the guilt he had to encounter for his lack of bravery. Nothing that he faced could stop him from leaving the war. Not only did he have to battle the constant fear of death, he also had to fight the inner trauma that was killing him inside. Another character in the story who struggles against his own internal conflicts with reality is Doc Daneeka. His character represents many of the soldiers who go to war. All Daneeka was worried about was his own welfare. His patients would approach him in much more of a terrible condition than he was, but he would only be concerned about himself. Not only did he hate participating in the war, but also hated flying in airplanes. Doc stated in his own words, "I don't have to go looking for trouble in an airplane" (28). He felt that troubles come after him so there is no reason to take any actions that might get him involved in more trouble. Instead of taking the initiative to help the injured he opted to save his own life. The last thing he was worried about was his American pride. Nothing was more important to him than getting out of the war predicament. The status of his men were not of a significance to him. Doc was interested in the economic, social, and political conditions of his own benefit. Just as many soldiers do in war, Daneeka didn't understand why this was happening to him. He pointed out, "You think you have something to be afraid about" (171)? The Doc lost everything he had and all of the potential because of the war. He left at the end of the novel as a dead man that is really alive, which just is an example of a catch-22. War was not an option to him; it was something he had to do. The magnified viewpoint that the government perceives war as is altered as soon as a solider steps on the battlefield. Doc never had the outlook of a brave man. His soul was concealed in cowardliness. It all comes down to the same concept of war; people stop fighting for their country, and they start fighting for their lives. The question of 'is he crazy' is asked throughout the book. The answer is sometimes hidden deep inside a person. It is often unrecognizable. A misinterpreted character in the book is Orr. He is Yossarian's "playful" roommate. He comes across as being a little crazy. He faced the terror of being in war along with all of the others. Though Orr was different; he reacted to his fear. Out of all of the characters he was the smartest. All of the shock he experienced drove him away from the war. His plan to leave the base worked! When he disappeared he was determined as dead, when actually he was hiding. His timid outlook of war came out in his actions, but that shows his heartache of the experiences he encounters in the war. His character was misunderstood from the very beginning. It all started with his "apple cheeks". Orr told Yossarian a story about his apple cheeks; "When I was a kid I used to walk around with crab apples in my cheeks. One in each cheek," (16). The intelligence that Orr had, actually had saved his life. He never intended to save his country, but only to go home alive. What is the purpose of war if virtuous men with no intentions in helping the country are only fighting for their own lives? Orr is another example of someone trying to live for the joy of life. In his eyes life comes first then his country comes second. The book Catch-22 uses many tactics to make a mockery of war, and it shows the men fighting are not fighting for their county, but only for their lives. Heeler is trying to get a strong point across. Life is much more important than a fight between governments. No matter how it is looked at, war is murder. The term 'catch 22' pictures war perfectly. In war winning is not an option. Even if the country pulls out a victory thousands of people are then dead. Not to forget the thousands of broken hearts around the world because their loved ones are dead. The only thing benefiting from war is the government, and a lot of times it does not always come out on top. Catch-22 catches war in the eyes of the men fighting, and it does not disguise the true terror that it brings. The characters in the story who were the most sane were the ones who fought for their lives, and not for their country. "War does not decide who is right, only who is left," (Lao Tse).
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Awakening.TXT
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The Awakening
-Compare/contrast Edna's love for Leonce, Robert, and Arobin. Throughout the novel, it became increasingly obvious of Edna's difficulty in the field of true love. She had initially found what she knew wasn't, followed by infatuation, and finally what she was sure was. Several different forms of love were present, yet each (including the final) proved to be unsuccessful. Edna never felt comfortable in her relationship with Leonce. She had managed to assume the typical role of a female and never stray from her responsibilities that come with that. She had always done what was expected of her from her husband. However, this did not initiate solely with her husbands wants. She had always followed through with doing exactly what she has been expected to do; including finding a husband in someone that she was not in love with. He found more ownership in her, rather than equality in which she was longing for. She was never satisfying in the relationship that she had with him. The love that she had for him was merely present on the surface. It could best be described as a life that she was confined to living rather than the life that she had always yearned for. With the winds of change came a person that she found contrasting to her current life. This man was Alcee Arobin. His role in her life was not true love either. He merely introduced the taste of tangible love to a searching body. This love was not the kind that Edna was longing for either. Arobin's role was to introduce her to the importance of sex. This was something that was foreign between her and her husband. She felt more like an individual when she was enjoying the act of love making, rather than acting on account of someone else's pleasure. This affair was important to her becoming an individual. The entire pre-Robert time was in preparation to finding him. Arobin's importance was evident with Edna's actions immediately following this affair. She decided to close her house up and move to a smaller, less desirable one. The fact that it is less desirable is a key factor. This makes it impossible to assume that she was moving out to live a better material life. She decided that she would sacrifice her good life and possessions in order to fully acquire individualism. Edna's true love was found in a person that appeared to have the most character. This character is what made it impossible for Edna ever to have him as her own. Robert refused to get in a relationship with someone that was already married. His class and self-power doubled not only as what attracted her to him, but also what ultimately drove her to take her life in the end. Encountering Robert is where the title of the book arose. The Awaking is in reference to Edna's feelings. She feels like one who awakens gradually from a dream to the reality of life. This is when and where she realizes what is available and that she is incapable of going back to what she had previously. Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side, which makes it that much harder to return.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Ballad of the Sad Cafe.TXT
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The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers is a story of love illustrated through the romantic longings and attractions of the three eccentric characters; Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon, and Marvin Macy. McCullers depicts love as a force, often strong enough to change people's attitudes and behaviors. Yet, the author seems to say, if the love is unrequited, individuals, having lost their motivation to change, will revert back to their true selves. The allure of the different characters, which is never revealed by the author, seems to indicate that feelings of love and attraction are not necessarily reasonable or understandable to others. Miss Amelia is self-reliant, outspoken and very much a loner. She stands six foot one inch tall and has a strong, masculine build. Her grey eyes are crossed, and the rest of her features are equally unattractive. Yet, the people of the small, southern town of Cheehaw accept her quirkiness because of the equisite wine that she sells in her store and for her free doctoring and homemade remedies. Still, everyone is shocked when the handsome outlaw, Marvin Macy, falls in love with her. Marvin is a "bold, fearless, and cruel" man who changes his unlawful ways to win Miss Amelia's love. Rather than robbing houses he begins attending church services on Sunday mornings. In an effort to court Miss Amelia, he learns proper etiquette, such as "rising and giving his chair to a lady, and abstaining from swearing and fighting". Two years after Marvin's reformation, he asks Miss Amelia to marry him. Miss Amelia does not love him but agrees to the marriage in order to satisfy her great-aunt. Once married, Miss Amelia is very aloof towards her husband and refuses to engage in marital relations with him. After ten days, Miss Amelia ends the marriage because she finds that she is unable to generate any positive feelings for Marvin. Several months after the divorce, Marvin reverts back to his initial corrupt ways and is "sent to a state penitentiary for robbing filling stations and holding up A & P stores". Just as love had changed Marvin, so too did it change Miss Amelia. In the mid 1930's, several years after Miss Amelia's divorce, Lymon, a hunchback, comes to Miss Amelia claiming to be a distant cousin. She readily provides Cousin Lymon with food and board, and eventually any material object that he desires. The people of the town grow very curious of her new guest and of Miss Amelia's hospitality towards Lymon which is contrary to her characteristic untrusting and remote ways. The townspeople gather in her store one evening to meet Cousin Lymon. Unlike Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon is very sociable and enjoys entertaining the townsfolk with his patently tall tales. In a short period of time, Miss Amelia's store is converted into a cafe where people gather for food, drink, and gossip. They would discuss Miss Amelia's love for Cousin Lymon, indicating that they thought love between cousins is forbidden and incestuous. Her changed behavior, in Lymon's presence, preoccupied and baffled them. Ever since Cousin Lymon's appearance, Miss Amelia would regularly wear a red dress that had been worn exclusively on Sundays. They also noted that, before he arrived, she would only leave her house to go to church or to pick up supplies for her store. While, when Cousin Lymon moves in, realizing that he loves to travel, she would often drive with him into the city and go to see "movie-flicks" with him. Before the story ends, Marvin Macy is released from prison and returns to Cheehaw. Cousin Lymon, unaware of Miss Amelia's short- lived marriage to the criminal is fascinated by Marvin's adventurous life. He leaves Miss Amelia, never having returned her love, to travel with Marvin. Broken-hearted, Miss Amelia returns to her original reclusive style of living. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe enjoyably and precisely portrays the irrational nature of love in the ill-fated love triangle of Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon, and Marvin Macy. None of the three characters are portrayed as particularly appealing people, yet they were loved. People love for very different reasons, " A most mediocre person can be the object of a love which is wild, extravagant, and beautiful as the poison lillies of the swamp." The Ballad of the Sad Cafe Story by: Carson McCullers Copyright date: 1951
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Best Little Girl In The World.TXT
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The Best Little Girl In The World
Analysis of The Best Little Girl in the World The author of my book is Steven Levenkron. Warner Books published this book in September of 1978 in New York, NY. The genre of my book is fiction with suspense. The Best Little Girl in the World could be based on a true story, but it is not completely true to life. It would fall under the suspense category because the reader does not know if Kessa will live or die. The all-important purposes of this book are to inform and to narrate. The author does a nice job of achieving his purpose. I am now aware of the many dangers of the deadly disease being described. Steven Levenkron has many qualifications. He is a "practicing psychotherapist with a specialty in eating disorders" (The Best Little Girl in the World page 2). He has been a "clinical consultant at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center as well as the Center for the study of Anorexia and Bulimia in New York City" (page 2). He is also a "current member of ANAD of Highland Park, Illinois" (page 2). This book does have a few weaknesses but more strengths. A weakness would have to be the ending. It is not eventful. I was hoping for a surprise of some sort, and it never came. However, I noted many strengths. The descriptive details seem great. Although the details appear rather gross at points, I think that is a good thing. That way a reader discovers the harsh reality of the disease. "The thinner is the winner" (The Best Little Girl in the World Steven Levenkron page 25). This is a powerful quote because thinness is what the whole story is based upon. Kessa thinks that the thinner she is the better. She is most definitely proved wrong in the end. I noted three main settings used in this book. The Best Little Girl in the World takes place in the year of 1979. The first one is the Dietrich's home. Their apartment is located in New York City. The second location is at Francesca's dancing studio downtown. The third location where the action takes place is in the hospital. Kessa is in the hospital for about three months, and then she is released to live at home. Four main characters are present in this book. They happen to be Kessa, Lila, Grace and Harold. The two protagonists are Kessa and Grace. Kessa is a short, frail, fifteen-year-old girl. Grace appears to be a middle-aged housewife. Grace is supportive of Kessa even through the tough times. The antagonists are Harold and Lila. Harold is Kessa's father who has a slight drinking problem. He always yells and is ill-tempered. Lila, Kessa's roommate in the hospital, is always putting Kessa down for being anorexic. She calls her a "skinny." One type of conflict in this particular book is man/woman versus man/woman. This is shown when Kessa is forced to eat by her parents. Another type of conflict is man/woman versus self. This is the biggest conflict throughout the entire story. Kessa continues to battle herself over her weight. Yet another type is man/woman versus nature. This is shown when Kessa's blood pressure drops to an extremely low rate. Man/woman versus society is the pictures of skinny models that Kessa cuts out demonstrate the effect of society upon young people. Man/woman versus fate, supernatural, and god/goddess is shown because Kessa's fate is to keep her life. The writing style of the author is third-person omniscient. This means that the author can crawl into the character's minds. I enjoy this style because the reader is able to know what all of the characters are thinking. I enjoyed this book, so I would definitely recommend it to others. It shows the harsh reality of anorexia nervosa. After reading this book, an individual will realize that this is a serious matter, which should not be taken lightly.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Book of Kells.TXT
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The Book of Kells: A Celtic Masterpiece 
In a time when the British Isles were bombarded by raids from the ferocious Vikings of the Scandinavian Peninsula, many works great works of art were destroyed. Often, beautiful works were buried underground for safety. However, many were never uncovered. One amazing work that managed to survive through these tumultuous times was The Book of Kells. This sacred book has a rich history in Ireland, which does not begin with the Viking raids, but centuries earlier.
In fourth century Ireland, Christianity was seen as a religion of the lower classes and slaves. The majority of the population, including the aristocracy, was pagans. It was not until the sixth century that Christianity became prevalent among the aristocracy. This rise of Christianity in Ireland is partly due to one of the patron saints of Ireland, Colum Cille, who later became St. Columba of the Catholic Church.
Colum Cille was born in the year 521, and was destined to be the heir to the throne of Ireland, for he was blood related to the leaders of the country. But, he realized that he did not want to be part of the political scene of Ireland. Instead, he wanted to devote his life to Jesus Christ. Therefore, he fled to the island of Iona off the western coast of England.
On Iona, there were a few settlements of Irish, and Colum Cille established a monastery, which became known as the Columban order. His monastery would send missionaries to the rest of the Isles and to the continent, spreading the word of Christ to the pagan tribes. It is mostly due to the missionary work of Colum Cille's monastery that Christianity became so prevalent in the British Isles. But, in the ninth century, the island of Iona came under the attacks of the violent Norsemen, and the monastery was abandoned. Many of the monks were killed and the settlements plundered. The remaining monks fled back to the mainland and established a monastery at Kells, in the County of Meath, which eventually inherited the prestige that Iona had as the center of the Columban order. It was here that they sought refuge from the Vikings threats.
Finally, in 878, the abbot of Iona, who was always referred to as "the successor of Colum Cille", went back to the monastery on Iona to retrieve the shrine and other valuable items that remained there. Some think that the book of Kells was one of these "precious objects of Colum Cille" that were brought back to Kells. Over the next 120 years, Kells fell under the attacks of the Vikings. The church of the Kells was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times over this period. How any of the great works that were retrieved from Iona survived these sackings is still unknown.
The first mention of The Book Of Kells in history was in the monastery records in 1006, when it was stolen from the Church of Colum Cille in Kells. It was not referred to as The Book of Kells, though. Instead it was called the great gospel of Colum Cille, and was considered the most important relic of the western world. It was also entered in the records that the book was found two months later, but it had been buried and stripped of its of its gold, jewel studded cover. After this entry, it is almost as if The Book of Kells had been forgotten about until 1539, when the monastery was dissoluted.
Upon the dissolution of the monastery, Richard Plunket, the final abbot of the monastery in Kells, gained ownership of The Book of Kells. Then, it is believed that The Book of Kells fell into the hands of Geralde Plunket, most likely a relative of the last abbot. On certain pages, there is writing that is initialed "GP" and it gives the number of pages that were present, upon his receiving of The Book of Kells. But, a lot of information is not known about Geralde Plunket, and his ownership of The Book of Kells sometimes contested. Originally, art historians and paleographers thought that James Ussher, one of the earliest students of Trinity College and eventual Vice Chancellor of the University of Dublin, Bishop of Meath, and Archbishop of Armagh, had The Book of Kells in his possession, and passed it on to the Trinity College Library, when he died. But, further evidence proved that James Ussher never had The Book of Kells in his possession. Finally, William O'Sullivan, the keeper of the manuscripts in the Trinity College Library, solved the mystery of how The Book of Kells ended up at the Trinity College Library. His clues were from the letters of Henry Jones, the donator of The Book of Durrow, and William Pallister, a great benefactor to the library. From these letters, O'Sullivan was able to determine that, like The Book of Durrow, Henry Jones donated The Book of Kells.
The place and date of creation of The Book of Kells is something that is still under debate, today. This is due to the fact that The Book of Kells is missing its colophon. If this colophon or final page was present it may have answered a lot of the questions that are being debating. It may have included a date or clue as to when the work was considered complete, a list of authors, and possibly a list of artists.
Françoise Henry, an art scholar who has done extensive studies on The Book of Kells, gives five possible explanations of the history of The Book of Kells that art historians have been debating for years. Her first explanation states that the monks of Iona wrote the text, and then brought the incomplete work to Kells, where the artwork was worked on, but never actually completed. The second possibility is that the work was begun in Iona and then completed in Kells. The next possible explanation is that the work was done completely in Kells. Her fourth possibility is that The Book of Kells was written in Northern England (possibly Lindisfairne) and then brought to Iona and then Kells or even went straight to Kells. The final possibility that Henry gives is that The Book of Kells was a product of a Scottish monastery and somehow found its way to Kells over the years. Henry seems to believe that one of the Iona to Kells hypotheses fits best based on the on the features of the book. She says that the decoration of the book is very similar to a lot of the metal work that was found in these areas. She dates the end of work on The Book of Kells somewhere between the end of the eighth century to the early ninth century, but monks could have begun working on it one or two centuries beforehand.
Sir Edward Sullivan, another scholar of The Book of Kells, disagrees with Henry's ideas on the date of The Book of Kells. He feels that work on The Book of Kells most likely ended somewhere towards the end of the ninth century. At the beginning of the tenth century, the great Celtic art that existed deteriorated quickly. Many works dated around this time are unfinished. Sullivan believes that they were left unfinished because the owners of the book did not want an inferior artist to finish the decoration that had been started by the amazing artists who had come before them. He also states that paleographers, which have studied the text of The Book of Kells, have come to a similar conclusion. Based on the method of contraction of some of the words that are found throughout the text compared to contractions found in literary works that have definitively dated, they strongly suggest a late ninth century for the date of the end of work on The Book of Kells.
For many centuries, the people of Ireland and the rest of the world believed that The Book of Kells was the work of St. Columba, himself. But, later evidence proved that this theory was untrue. The scribes of The Book of Kells are unknown, but it is assumed to be monks of the Columban order during the eighth and ninth centuries. Also, the names of the artists who did the marvelous decoration of The Book of Kells are unknown, but there is some speculation as to who the artists were. First of all, it must be said that the artists and scribes were not the same people. Most likely, artists did the artwork after the manuscript had been written.
Many scholars believe that there were most likely two main artists who decorated The Book of Kells. It is thought that the artists were experts in many types of art such as book illustration, metal work, stone carving, and possibly even mural painting. One artist was possibly responsible for works such as the Chi-Rho monogram, the eight circled cross, and the portrait of Mark. The other artist was responsible much of the other illuminations of the manuscript such as the portraits of the other gospel writers. Many believe that cultures that are located much further east than the British Isles, for example the Egyptian and Carolingian influenced these artists. But, how would the artists know about the styles and iconography of these other cultures? It is suggested that the artists possibly visited the European continent and traveled as far as Egypt, from where they would have gotten the cross-armed Osiris (Egyptian god of the dead) pose which is seen in some illustrations of Christ.
The Book of Kells originally contained 370 folios, which is 740 individual pages. Over the years, most likely due to the Viking raids and its theft from the stone church of Kells in 1006, many pages have been lost. Today, as it is displayed in the Trinity College Library, it contains 340 folios or 680 pages. Its original dimensions were most likely 37 cm X 26 cm on glazed calf vellum. Today, it only measures 33 cm X 24 cm. It has been rebound many times over the centuries, and in the nineteenth century, a bookbinder trimmed some the pages almost an inch on each side, losing some of the artwork forever. In 1953, it was rebound, hopefully for the last time, into four volumes, which roughly correspond to four Gospels. Many scholars believe that one of the reasons it survived through the centuries is that it was not meant for everyday use or study, but as a piece of sacred art that could appear on the altar for special occasions.
Many art scholars have called The Book of Kells the greatest of Celtic manuscript illumination and possibly the greatest piece of Celtic art. Historians have said that the marvel of The Book of Kells lies in the several motifs that are indicative of Celtic art coming together in such quantity and complexity to create one large masterpiece. The motifs that The Book of Kells contains are geometrical designs, and natural forms designs, for example animals and humans. These motifs appear in other Insular Manuscripts such as Lindisfairne Gospels and The Book of Durrow, but not even close to the extent of The Book of Kells. There is no better example from The Book of Kells that portrays these words of art historians better than the Chi-Rho monogram page.
In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, following the Book of Generation, which gives the genealogy of Jesus Christ, there is a highly decorated which contains a large X, a smaller P, and a smaller I. This page has become known as the Chi-Rho monogram page. The letters XPI are the Greek abbreviation for the word "Christi" or Christ. This page occurs in many other Insular Manuscripts, but they cannot compare to the intricate decoration of The Book of Kells.
Throughout The Book of Kells, there are very few names that are abbreviated. Only, extremely sacred names are abbreviated and it is thought that this was a method for emphasizing the sacredness of these people. Also, said to be the second beginning in the Gospel of Matthew. The first beginning is the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This monogram page serves as the second beginning, which is the birth of Jesus Christ. Purple outlines the XPI, and is also a major color in the rest of the designs found on the page. This color refers to the royalty of Jesus Christ as king of the Heaven. Purple has been a sign of royalty, since the days of the Roman Empire, when only the emperor could wear or afford purple clothing. On the inside of the letters, there are very intricate lacertine patterns, which are either humans or animals involved in a complex pattern of knots, and interlace patterns, which are much like lacertine except they are only geometric and do not contain humans or animals. In the center of the X, where it creates a rhombic shape, there is some of the most masterful lacertine of the whole page. There is an intense maze of knots, and intertwined in the knots are four men. Otto-Karl Werckmeister has interpreted these figures to represent the mundus tetragonus, in which four men are placed at each corner of the Earth. Therefore, by placing the mundus tetragonus inside the X, it symbolizes Christ as being the creator of the world. Also, in the center of the X, there are four groups of sixteen small diamonds. In each diamond, there is a picture of a key possibly symbolizing the key to salvation is Jesus Christ.
The background of the page contains a multitude of trumpet, spiral, lacertine, and interlace patterns. The spirals consist of small and large; some connected by peltas, and of course, the triskeles that are so prevalent in Celtic Art. All of the spirals remain in close contact with the letters in an extremely tight coiling. The larger spirals have four spiral lines between the outlines, while the smaller ones have two or three lines in between the outlines. Compared to the other Insular Manuscripts, the Chi-Rho page has a large variety of sizes of spirals, which all seem to be measured and placed perfectly in a strategic manner. Not only does the background of the page contain some of the most complex spiral patterns of all Celtic Art, but it also contains animal and human forms whose meanings have been interpreted by many art historians.
In the lower section of the page, there are two pictures, which contain animals. Also, on the left of the X, there are three figures, which have been identified as angels, and above them are two moths. The animals must have had some significance because they were placed on such a prestigious page. Most likely, the representations were very significant to the original viewers but the meanings were lost over time, and now, the only thing that anyone is able to do is speculate. Some of the simpler interpretations that have been given are the animals being all of God's creatures, or all of the animals giving praise to the creator. But, many other art historians, including Françoise Henry, Sir Edward Sullivan, and Otto-Karl Werckmeister have their own interpretations of these representations. Some art historians see these representations as having separate meanings, while others see these representations all coming together to create a bigger picture.
Two of the angels that are on the left side of the X are configured so that they are facing each other. They are both holding both holding books in one hand and scepters that seem to blossom at the end. Only one wing is present on each angel but it is in an undulating wave pattern, which makes it very decorative. The two angels face each other as if they are floating much like two angels that are depicted in an earlier page of the manuscript holding a medallion. The third angel is holding two trefoil scepters and is not as close together as the other two. The scepters are masterfully woven through the wings of the angel. It seems as though there is a significance of the number three in this part of the work. The viewer sees three angels and one of the angels is holding two scepters, which come to three points. The most likely conclusion to which one would come is that it represents the Christian Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). But, I assume that it is still somewhat early in the Christian history and the trinity has not yet been established.
Towards the bottom of the page, two large cats are seen along with four smaller animals, two of which are holding a white disc in their mouths. G.O. Simms interprets this as cats watching four mice nibble on the Eucharist. He states that this scene was perhaps an incident that occurred at some point in the monastery where the artwork was done. Sullivan has interprets this picture similar to Simms, but he gives it some deeper Christological meaning. Like Simms, he states that the figures were rats eating some kind of bread, most likely the Eucharist. He adds to this interpretation the possible allusion to unworthy receivers of the Eucharist (mice), and the fate that awaits them (cats). Finally, Sally Mussetter, another art historian, sees the cats as the devil, who is waiting for the human sinners (mice), but the communion is redeeming the mice.
Under the P and I, there is a small black animal with a fish in its mouth. This animal has been identified as an otter. The symbol of the otter is very old in Irish myth. It began with the story of the recluse monk who used to receive a fish a day from a friendly otter. Most believe that the significance of the otter lies in that story. Also, in the top left swirl of the X, two moths are situated head-to-head, with a diamond shape in their mouths.
Otto-Karl Werckmeister uses all these animal figures to support his mundus tetragonus hypothesis. He sees these animals representing the three elements of the world of which Jesus Christ is the creator. Air is represented by the moths; earth by the cats; and, water by the otter.
Suzanne Lewis sees the bread that the animals are nibbling as the Eucharist. Also, she interprets the fish that is in the otter's mouth as the sign of Christ, which has been so since the dawn of Christianity. Finally, she states that the moths are representative of death and resurrection. Therefore, the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, which contains the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the entire Christ event is present on this on page.
Henry uses these images to create a bigger picture but also, she refutes the interpretation of many art historians who have come before her. Like Sir Edward Sullivan, many other historians give the interpretation that the cats are watching mice nibbling on the host or Eucharist. But, Henry says that the smaller figures are not mice but kittens. She draws this conclusion based on the fact that the larger cats are holding the smaller ones by the tails, much like a mother cat would hold and keep track of her kittens. Also, she calls the diamond shape in the mouths of the moths a lozenge. This lozenge is a symbol of the Virgin Mary, and she is actually depicted wearing a lozenge shaped brooch earlier in the manuscript. Finally, like Suzanne Lewis, she interprets the fish in the mouth of the otter to be a symbol for Christ. With all symbols coming together on this page, she interprets them as faithful Christians partaking in the Eucharist.
As one can clearly see The Book of Kells is truly a masterpiece. It combines some of the greatest Celtic art of the period, with one of the greatest pieces of literature in the whole world. As mentioned earlier, it combines all the typical motifs of the Celtic art and bring them all together in one work, and in the case of the Chi-Rho monogram page, all these motifs are scene on one page. But, it is not just the fact that all these motifs appear together, but the quality, complexity, and quantity in which they appear. I will leave you with a quote from Sir Edward Sullivan, which I hope will convey the concept of how mind-blowing the artwork of The Book of Kells is. " The finest draftsmen of the entire world have tried to recreate the Chi-Rho page, and have failed." It takes an indescribable artist working in the middle ages to create something that some one in today's modern world could not recreate.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Brethren By John Grisham.TXT
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The Brethren By John Grisham
The book I read was The Brethren, by John Grisham. It was a suspense book. Three judges, called The Brethren by their fellow prisoners, lived in a very minimal security prison. They had just begun fine - tuning a mail scam that extorted homosexuals with families and lots of money. Then, they snag the wrong person, someone very powerful on the outside. It seems The Brethren's days of scamming are over. This was a great book for many reasons. The first reason is it was sort of double sided. What I mean by that is it explained 2 stories at once, the story of Aaron Lake and the story of The Brethren. I liked this because it helped to understand the situation a lot better. It also helped understand the characters a lot more too. Another thing I liked about this book is the fact that the scam was brilliant. The Brethren had nothing to loose because they were already in prison, and they had so much to gain. These (the victims of the scam) were people who couldn't talk against The Brethren for fear of being caught by their families. One example of the fact that the victims couldn't report this to the police was when The Brethren snagged Quince Garbe, who lived in a small town and who's father owned a bank. If Quince spoke out against The Brethren, he would loose his father's inheritance to the bank, and the whole town would disrespect him. After he gave the Brethren their asking price of $100,000, they immediately asked for another $20,000. He had no choice but to pay them. Another reason I liked this book was it showed how corrupt our government could be. Aaron Lake pretty much bought the election, getting almost 60 million dollars from defense contractors in return to double the military budget. Of course, he did have quite a bit of help from the C.I.A. who staged events in the Middle East to increase enthusiasm for the doubled military budget. On a scale of one to five (five being the highest rating) I would give this book a 4. It was a pretty good plot and you didn't know what was going to happen next. You didn't know if The Brethren would nail Aaron Lake or if the C.I.A. would knock off The Brethren before they could nail him. I would first recommend this book to anyone that likes reading because you have to like reading in order to enjoy a longer book like this is. But if you are an experienced reader, and you know what you like, then this book is for people who enjoy mystery, drama, and great ending.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Call of the Wild.TXT
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The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild has a very interesting plot. It is centered around a St. Bernard and Scotch Shepard mix, named Buck. At home, which was a large house called Judge Millers Place, in the sun kissed Sanata Clara Valley, he ruled over all dogs. Buck was Judge Miller's inseperable companion, until a man named Manuel, who was the one of the gardener's helpers, commited a treacherous act. Manuel, to cover his Chinese lottery gambling debts, stole Buck from his sound sleep and brought him to a flag station called College Park. There, the exchanging of money took place. It was simple. Manuel needed money to pay off his gambling debts, and Buck was a prime candidate. Buck was loaded onto an express car to Seattle. When he got there, he was bought by two men named Perrault and Francois. He was loaded onto a ship called the Narwhal and tooken to the Yukon, where he was to be trained as a sled dog. There were other sled dogs that Buck came to know well, each with their own unique personality. After only a short time of training, Buck was a sled dog, traveling with the team of huskys and mix breeds from Dyea Beach, to the town of Dawson. After several trips with Perrault and Francois, Buck was traded to a know nothing, gold seeking family. they knew nothing, or hardly nothing, about managing a sled team. There trip began with a very bad start. The family had loaded up their wagon with too much unneded baggage, and it was top heavy. as the dogs began to pull away and pull around a curve, the baggage tipped over along with the sled and thus the unnecessary baggage was discarded, and the trip was barely completed because of harsh weather, inadequate supplies, and poor management skills of the dog handlers. All except a man that went by the name of John Thornton, perhaps the only sane one in the group. After on e of the men repeatedly beat on a dog, Thornton became enraged. He threatened to kill the man, and shortly after, he unhooked the beaten Buck from the sled, the rest of the family left John Thornton. A few minutes later, the rest of the family that left thornton behind fell through some cracked ice and drowned. That left Buck and Thornton to fend for themselves. the time of this book is in the great gold rush era in the Yukon and Alaska. The rest of the book concludes what happens to Buck and John Thornton and some of the extrordinary times they have together. I think you will enjoy this book because it is full of adventure. Not once did i want to put the book down. Call of the Wild is a book that more truly represents but does not actually depict what the gold rush era was really like for the people and the dogs who toiled through the harsh Yukon Territory. That, in itself, makes the book more interesting to read. I also think you will enjoy reading this book because it is a classic, and written by Jack London, whose prior achievements speak for themselves. This respect towards the author allows you to focus more on the text and not the credibility of the author. The final reason i think you will enjoy this book is that it tells about the goods and bads of wilderness life. it doesn't just lean to one side.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Catcher in the Ry1.TXT
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The Catcher in the Rye
In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the first person narration is critical in helping the reader to know and understand the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden, in his narration, relates a flashback of a significant period of his life, three days and nights on his own in New York City. Through his narration, Holden discloses to the reader his innermost thoughts and feelings. He thus provides the reader not only with information of what occurred, but also how he felt about what happened. Holden's thoughts and ideas reveal many of his character traits. One late Saturday night, four days before the beginning of school vacation, Holden is alone, bored and restless, wondering what to do. He decides to leave Pencey, his school, at once and travels to New York by train. He decides that, once in New York, he will stay in a cheap motel until Wednesday, when he is to return home. His plan shows the reader how very impetuous he is and how he acts on a whim. He is unrealistic, thinking that he has a foolproof plan, even though the extent of his plans are to "take a room in a hotel.., and just take it easy till Wednesday." Holden's excessive thoughts on death are not typical of most adolescents. His near obsession with death might come from having experienced two deaths in his early life. He constantly dwells on Allie, his brother's, death. From Holden's thoughts, it is obvious that he loves and misses Allie. In order to hold on to his brother and to minimize the pain of his loss, Holden brings Allie's baseball mitt along with him where ever he goes. The mitt has additional meaning and significance for Holden because Allie had written poetry, which Holden reads, on the baseball mitt. Holden's preoccupation with death can be seen in his contemplation of a dead classmate, James Castle. It tells the reader something about Holden that he lends his turtleneck sweater to this classmate, with whom he is not at all close. Holden's feelings about people reveal more of his positive traits. He constantly calls people phonies, even his brother, D.B., who " has sold out to Hollywood." Although insulting, his seemingly negative feelings show that Holden is a thinking and analyzing, outspoken individual who values honesty and sincerity. He is unimpressed with people who try to look good in other's eyes. Therefore, since it is obvious that Holden is bright, the reason for his flunking out of school would seem to be from a lack of interest. Holden has strong feelings of love towards children as evidenced through his caring for Phoebe, his little sister. He is protective of her, erasing bad words from the walls in her school and in a museum, in order that she not learn from the graffiti. His fondness for children can be inferred when he tells her that, at some time in the future, he wants to be the only grown-up with "all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all." He'll stand on the edge of a cliff and catch anybody who starts to fall off the edge of the cliff. He got this image from his misinterpretation of a line from the Robert Burns poem, " if a body catch a body comin' through the rye." When situations are described, in person or in a book, they are influenced by the one who describes them, and by his or her perceptions and experiences. Through Holden's expressions of his thoughts and feelings, the reader sees a youth, sensitive to his surroundings, who chooses to deal with life in unique ways. Holden is candid, spontaneous, analytical, thoughtful, and sensitive, as evidenced by his narration. Like most adolescents, feelings about people and relationships are often on his mind. Unfortunately, in Holden's case, he seems to expect the worst, believing that the result of getting close to people is pain. Pain when others reject you or pain when they leave you, such as when a friend walks off or a beloved brother dies. It would not have been possible to feel Holden's feelings or understand his thoughts nearly as well had the book been written in third person. The Catcher in the Rye 9-K January 11, 1997
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Catcher In The Rye.TXT
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The Catcher In The Rye
The Catcher in the Rye can be strongly considered as one of the greatest novels of all time and Holden Caufield distinguishes himself as one of the greatest and most diverse characters. His moral system and his sense of justice force him to detect horrifying flaws in the society in which he lives. However, this is not his principle difficulty. His principle difficulty is not that he is a rebel, or a coward, nor that he hates society, it is that he has had many experiences and he remembers everything. Salinger indicates this through Holden's confusion of time throughout the novel. Experiences at Whooten, Pency, and Elkton Hills combine and no levels of time separate them. This causes Holden to end the novel missing everyone and every experience. He remembers all the good and bad, until distinctions between the two disappear. Holden believes throughout the novel that certain things should stay the same. Holden becomes a character portrayed by Salinger that disagrees with things changing. He wants to retain everything, in short he wants everything to always remain the same, and when changes occur; Holden reacts. However the most important aspect of Holden Caufield's character can be attributed to his judgment of people. Holden Caufield, a character who always jumps to conclusions about people and their phoniness, can be labeled as a hypocrite because he exemplifies a phony himself. Holden Caufield the 16 year old protagonist and main character of The Catcher in the Rye narrates the story and explains all the events throughout three influential days of his life. A prep school student who has just been kicked out of his second school, Holden struggles to find the right path into adulthood. He does not know what road to follow and he uses others as the scapegoat for his puzzlement in life. Harold Bloom explains, His central dilemma is that he wants to retain a child's innocence., but because of biology he must move either into adulthood or madness. As a sort of compromise Holden imagines himself as "the catcher in the rye," a protector of childhood innocence exempt from movement into adulthood, which is neither possible nor sane." (Bloom's Notes 22) Even Gerald Rosen states that, "It is important to note here that Holden's rejection of an adult role is not a case of sour grapes. He believes he will succeed and it is the successful life he fears"(101). Even though Holden tries to act like an adult at times, he is actually extremely afraid of the adult life and as a way to escape life, he creates this character, the catcher in the rye, throughout his thoughts. He feels that by saving the children from falling off the cliff, he saves them from falling into the adult world that he disgusts. He feels that this character can prevent the children from becoming adults and remaining in that childish world. Holden pictured it this way, Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. I mean if they're running and they don't look we're they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I have to do all day. I'd just be the Catcher in the Rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy(Salinger 173). Holden exhibits the madness described before at often times throughout the book and in the end it ends up sending him to a sanitarium. He knows he has become mad and he even tells himself this many times in the book; but he never really believes it. One time in the book when he displays this madness is, But I'm crazy I swear to God I am. About halfway to the bathroom, I started pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old Maurice had plugged me. Now I was on the way to the bathroom to get a good shot of bourbon. I pictured myself with my automatic in my pocket, and staggering a little bit. I'd walk down a couple of floors-holding on to my guts, blood leaking all over the place. As soon as old Maurice opened the doors he'd start screaming at me. But I'd plug him anyway(Salinger 103-4). This explains the psychotically disturbing actions Holden makes in this novel. Holden becomes obsessed with death and dying, and several times in the book he wishes he was dead. "Again, Holden can't stay away from the subject of the death of family members and the decay of the corpse. Even when he later goes to the Museum of Art, he winds up in the mummy room explaining about preserving the dead to two boys and then getting sick and "sort of" passing out"(Rosen 100). He knows that he has become crazy but has a problem admitting it fully and this shows why can be considered a phony. Holden Caufield constantly criticizes religion and many different aspects of it. Throughout the book he makes remarks on Jesus and the Disciples many times. About the Disciples he says, "Take the Disciples for instance. They annoy the hell out of me, if you want to know the truth"(Salinger 99). He explains that his reason feeling this way is because he is an atheist. However he also says that he believes in Jesus but not the disciples. However the definition of an atheist is someone who does not believe in God. Frederick Gwynn and Joseph Blotner explain, "Jesus and Holden Caufield truly love their neighbors, especially the poor in goods, appearance and spirit. Holden not only gives $10 to the nuns in the station but is also depressed by their meager breakfast and the fact that they will never be going anywhere swanky for lunch"(29). Holden and Jesus have many similarities, but Holden feels he is totally opposite from Jesus. Just one more example of Holden's total disregard of what is going on. Holden dislikes many people, places, and events all because of the phoniness surrounding them. Mollie Sandock says that "He feels a scathing, harrowing disgust for the "phoniness" he senses so acutely all around him. It makes him literally ill. He is repulsed not only by the insincerity and self promotion of the "phonies," "hot-shots," "jerks," "bastards," and "morons," but by the phoniness that is excellence corrupted"(966). Holden realizes all the flaws within others but he can not see them within himself. At the end of the novel he complains heavily about the fowl language written on walls where children can see it. Yet as Edward Corbett explains, "Holden's swearing is so habitual, so unintentional, so ritualistic that it takes on a quality of innocence. He is constantly seeking to appear older than he really is. His profanity is so much ingrained by habit. that he is wholly unaware of how rough his language is"(442). There were even a few times in the book that his sister reprimanded him for swearing too much. He also does not trust that anyone tells the truth. Sandock replies by saying, He repeatedly insists that he is telling the truth because in his experience and by his rigorous standards, most people do not speak the truth. He prefaces his revelations with "If you really want to hear about it," and "If you want to know the truth," because he found few people do want to know the truth(966). Holden encounters many different people, and experiences many adventures throughout the three days that this story occurs. He becomes involved with a variety of people, including taxi drivers, two nuns, an elevator man(pimp), three girls from Seattle, a prostitute, and a former teacher from whom Holden thinks he should flee from, in the middle of the night. He can never hold on to anyone he cares about; so he always finds a way to ruin the relationship by escaping, or destroying it. Nash Burger says that, "Holden's mercurial changes of mood, his stubborn refusal to admit his own sensitiveness and emotions, his cheerful disregard of what is sometimes known as reality are typically and heart breakingly adolescent"(New York Times 14). He also easily mocks certain people and the way they act. On teachers Holden feels that, "You don't have to think to too hard when you talk to a teacher"(Salinger 13). When his sister asks him if he would want to become a lawyer like his dad, he replies by saying, "Lawyers are all right, I guess-but it doesn't appeal to me. All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink martinis and look like a hot-shot"(Salinger 172). Many would think that after all of Holden's experiences and tragedies, he would go to his parents for help. However he does not, which shows that he must not have a good relationship with his parents if he can not talk to them. It seems as if he wants to reach out to them but for some reason he can not. Gerald Rosen gives examples of being shut out, he says, Holden sorely misses being able to turn to his parents in his time of trouble. He doesn't say this, but he reveals it obliquely in his movie fantasies of being shot by the mob. He first pulls the peak of his hunting cap over his eyes and shouts about being blind. Then Holden shouts, " Mother darling, give me your hand. Why won't you give me your hand?" This seems like clowning, but in fact it is a revelation of his terrible anguished isolation from his family(100). According to Webster's dictionary, "Phoniness is described as artificial, counterfeit, or hypocritical"(362). These are all actions displayed by Holden at several times throughout the novel. Phony is one of the words heavily used by Holden. He uses the word phony several times throughout the course of this book and he uses it to describe the actions of others and not himself. Before Holden judges others, he should take a look at himself and see his faults. Throughout all the encounters with different people in the book, he is easily the phoniest of all the characters. Perhaps Holden can be explained better by Corbett, "Holden is himself a phony. He is an inveterate liar; he frequently masquerades as someone he is not; he fulminates against foibles of which he himself is guilty; he frequently vents his spleen about his friends, despite the fact that he seems too be advocating the need for charity"(443). Holden has a dreamy look on life, he dreams of retaining his childhood and remaining the way he used to be. This idealism explains why he is close to his sister Phoebe and why he was so close to his brother Allie. He does not want anyone to fall off the cliff into adulthood, he wants them to remain in the rye and if they go to fall off he will catch them. He is displayed as a true Peter Pan. Not wanting to grow up was Peter's main reason for living and so was Holden's. Holden was Peter Pan in his own sense, but he stands out from Peter Pan in many ways, and that is why he is The Catcher in the Rye.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Cave.TXT
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The Cave
Notes on "The Cave" author- Jean McCord George- Bum who lived in a cave and made statues Charles- Main char. Charles was running when he saw a cave. He stopped and looked in it, an old bum found him and asked what he was doing. Charles and the bum (George) became good friends, and Charles would visit him as much a he could to watch him make the statues. The bum made statues in the cave wall. One day Charles was looking for a cave, and when he found one, he went strait to his gang. They all went to see the cave, and let Charles go first. Charles flew down a tunnel very fast and landed in a bigger cave. After trying to find a way out he discovered he had led the gang to George's cave. He went up to the gang and told them that it was nothing. Finials were coming up in school, so Charles had to stay inside and study. When summer came, he went back to see his best friend, George. When he got to the cave, he found that the gang was in it and broke all the statues. The gang said that when the bum came back and saw the statues were gone, he left. Charles got very mad at ht gang and at himself. And felt very bad for the bum. But to get back at his gang, he decided to get together with the other gang, and have them do something bad to his gang for revenge.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Chosen.TXT
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The Chosen
The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, is a book about friendship between two boys from vastly different religious Jewish backgrounds. Their initial distrust and hatred for each other because of their differing backgrounds gives way to undestanding, and develops into a deep friendship. Danny Saunders is brought up in a Chasidic environment. His father is the Rabbi of his synagogue and sect, and is well respected as a great Tzaddik and a Talmud Scholar. His ancestors for the past five generations had been very honorable and respected rabbis in their own synagogues, and Rabbi Saunder's son, Danny, is expected to follow in their footsteps. Danny too, is a great Talmud scholar and deeply religious person, but his friendship with a less religious boy draws him into a more secular world, changing many of his viewpoints. Reuven Malter is brought up in a modern orthodox Jewish environment. His father is the rabbi of his synagogue, and a teacher in high school. Reuven is a very modern Jew who learns a wide variety of Jewish subjects. Though he invests much time in Gemara, the amount he learms is nothing compared to what the Chasidim learn. This difference in education and religious attitudes causes friction between the Chasidim and the modern orthodox Jews. The Chasidim believe that the modern orthodox are corrupt in their beliefs- they should be studying the Gemara a lot more, and be much more religious in everything they do, such as praying to G-d. It is not expected to find a modern orthodox boy playing with a Chasidic boy. The two boys were playing a baseball game against each other- the Chasidim, against the modern orthodox Jews. There are obvious feelings of hate between the two teams. Towards the end of the game, Danny hits Reuven in the eye with the ball, sending him to the hospital. For the moment, they become enemies. Danny visits Reuven in the hospital, and they become friends. Danny invites Reuven over to his house to learn some Gemara with his father, and he accepts the offer. They become closer and closer, until eventually they are best friends. Their friendship survives through hard times. When Rabbi Malter makes a pro-Zionist speech which influences the entire world, Rabbi Saunders hates him and all non-Chasidim, because the Chasidim are anti-Zionist. Rabbi Saunders prohibits his son to ever speak to Reuven. After two years, the anti-Zionist movement fails, and Rabbi Saunders allows Danny to speak to Reuven once again. They once again develop an extremely close friendship, realizing how valuable it is. As their relationship grows, Danny is drawn into the secular world, which makes his father very upset. Yet, their friendship still survives and flourishes making Danny happier than any time before, alleviating much of his father's anger. Chaim Potok's The Chosen demonstrates how two people from totally different backgrounds can befriend each other in such a close friendship. Whether their families approved of their friendship or not, they were still able to maintain a long lasting, and meaningful relationship.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Client.TXT
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The Client
1) The main character of my book was Mark Sway. 2) Mark Sway is a bad little eleven year old boy with a huge burden on his hands. Mark smokes ciggaretes, uses foul language, and picks on his little brother, Ricky. Mark grew up in a trailer, with an abusive father, a mother who is hardly around, and his little brother Ricky who annoys him plenty. Mark was a very strong character who did not take anything from anyone! The trouble Mark ran into with Jerome Clifford only made him stronger. All he cared about was protecting his little brother, and his mother. Jerome Clifford was a heavy set man, who was trying to commit suicide, because of a dangerous secret he knew. Mark and his younger brother Ricky, stumbled upon Jerome one day, as he was trying to commit suicide. Jerome revealed the dangerous secret to Mark, which made Mark a major target of the mafia. Mark was pushed around and overlooked, but as soon as people found out Mark knew this dangerous secret, they all wanted a piece of him. Mark knew he was in trouble so he did t! he only thing he knew possible, which was get a lawyer. The lawyers' name was Reggie Love, a woman. Mark despised Reggie at first, knowing that a woman was not capable of fullfilling his needs, like a man could. Then something happened where Reggie grew on him, he got more used too her, and he found himself telling her personal things, spending tons of time with her, and starting to care for her. She was like the mother figure he never had. Mark and Reggie were in the tangle of mess together. Mark realized through the whole ordeal he could not do everything by himself, he also realized how vulnerable he was by being independent. Mark and Reggie became bestest friends, right up to the point where he would have to leave into the witness protection program. 3) I liked the way Mark was so rowdy, and uncontrollable. He was so young, yet so smart and mature. He knew how to protect himself, and he knew the importance of his family members and friends, and how important it was too protect them. No matter what the mafia did to Mark, he made sure his family was safe first, than he took care of himself. 4) I could not really find anything I did not like about Mark, I did not like at the end how he had to relocate into the witness protection program. Which meant he would no longer be allowed to see or communicate with his new found friend, Reggie. It really hurt me when they had to seperate, because even though they were not related, it was like she was losing her son, and he was losing his mother. It was a difficult moment for both of them, I am sure. 5) I would compare myself to Reggie Love. She is a very intelligent lawyer, who uses her smarts too outwit even the brainiest. She cares very much for her clients, especially Mark. She was very willing to give up her own life to help Mark out, because he meant so much too her. That is exactly how I am, my friends and family mean the world too me, and I would give anything to help them out! I am different in the way that I do not think I would have had all the courage and strength she did throughout the book. I mean, I just highly doubt I would have been able to hang on for that long. 6) The main plot of the book is about a eleven year old boy named Mark Sway, who uncovers a deathly secret about the mafia. He confides everything into his female lawyer, Reggie love. Together they work to uncover the full truth, and put the bad guys away, permanently. 7) The two opposing forces are good vs. evil. Mark is trying to do the right thing, which is protect his family by concealing the dark secret, and the mafia is trying to kill him for knowing the secret, which could incriminate them if he let it out. 8) A: First, Mark is sucked into the plot, leading him into the mafia's world of lies, and murder. B: Second, Mark witnesses the suicide of Jerome Clifford, making it easier for his face to be plastered onto the front page of every newspaper. C: Third, the mafia finds out Mark really was with Jerome when he commited suicide, and that Jerome did, in fact tell Mark the secret behind the mafia, making Mark a target throughout the book. D: Mark does not tell the truth to the F.B.I., which makes them very upset, so Mark gets a lawyer to back him up all the way, and uncover the truth, before it is too late. E: Mark and Reggie look for the dead body theirselves, while being chased by the mafia. 9) The book really could not have ended any other way. Mark had to leave to go into the witness protection program, to escape the violence from the mafia. It was the only way he would be protected. The only other way was if the mafia did get a hold of Mark, and killed him and than hunted his family down and murdered them too, but in some way the police and Reggie would have figured it out and incriminated them in some way. 10) New Orleans is where the story takes place. You can tell this because they talk about the heat, all of the crowds, the drunks, and they have accents, and talk different. 11) Sights: people, blood, guns, hospitals, media. Sounds: gunshots, shouting, foul language, fighting. Smells: blood, death, air, sweat, fear, ciggarette smoke. Tastes: blood, dirt, hospital food, fear. Textures: the ground, bedsheets, steel of weapons. 12) John Grisham, a.k.a. Master of Suspense, has done it once more! The Client is a powerful novel, a story based upon a boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The story takes place in New Orleans, present time, where the Mafia is a big thing in New Orleans. Mark Sway and his little brother Ricky are in the woods smoking a ciggarette, when all of a sudden Mark's life completely changes. John Grisham takes us into Marks' traumatic experiences and helps us understand his position and reasoning for things. As far as weak points go, I could not find a disappointing moment in the book at all, it grips ahold of you and will not let go, until you feel the fear inside of you bubble, and the hot breath of the mafia on your neck. After writing so many books you'd figure Mr. Grisham would be out of ideas, but The Client is another best seller. With its "edge of the seat" story plot, gripping effects, attention grabbing scenes, there is no way you can just stop turning the page! s! The characters in this story have such extreme detail, that you feel as if you have known these people all of your life, and the way Grisham writes his books, makes you feel as if you are right inside the plot itself! I give both thumbs up too John Grisham for doing it once again!
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Count of Monte Cristo.TXT
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The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is a very powerful book. So powerful in fact, that was controversial when it was first released. The Catholic church in France condemned it because of its powerful message it presented the reader. This theme was one of revenge and vengeance. Monte Cristo had two goals- to reward those who were kind to him and his aging father, and to punish those responsible for his imprisonment and suffering. For the latter, he plans slow and painful punishment. To have spent fourteen years barely subsisting in a dungeon demands cruel and prolonged castigation. Setting: The Count of Monte Cristo is set within the nineteenth century of France in large and populous cities. This was a time of great disruption. There was confusion all over the land in regards to who led France, King Louis or Napoleon. The citizens of France became divided by the two ruling parties. Royalists and the Bonapartist cut at each others throats in order to declare that their ruler was supreme. This situation has a profound effect on the events of the story. Dantes' enemies used the rivalry between the two parties in order to convince the Royalists that Edmond is a Bonapartist, therefore it is the basis for his arrest and inevitable captivity in the Chateau D'If.. Basic Plot: The Count of Monte Cristo is a story about a sailor, Edmond Dantes, who was betrayed during the prime of his life and career by the jealousy of his friends. His shipmate, Danglars, coveted his designation as the captain of the mighty Pharon. Ferdinand Mondego wished to wed Mercedes, who was affianced to Edmond. Danglars and Ferdinand wrote a letter accusing Edmond of carrying a letter from Elba to the Bonapartist committee in Paris. Caderousse, a neighbor, learned of the plot but kept silent. On his wedding day Edmond was arrested and taken before a deputy named Villefort, a political apostate, who, to protect himself, had Edmond secretly imprisoned in the deepest dungeons of the Chateau D'If. There Dantes' incarceration was secured by the plotting of his enemies outside the prison, particularly towards Villefort, who wished to cover up his own father's connections with the Bonapartists. Dantes suffered for fourteen grueling years. While in prison, he was determined to escape and began digging a tunnel in hopes that it would lead to freedom. During this exercise, he met an elderly inmate named Abbe Faria whose attempt to dig his way to his salvation had led him only to Edmond's cell. The two meet daily and an incredible relationship flourished. The old man taught Edmond history, mathematics, and languages. In Edmond's fourteenth year, Faria became mortally ill. The wise elder told Edmond where to find a massive buried fortune. When Faria finally did die, his body was placed in a burial sac. Edmond seized the opportunity of escaping and replaced Faria's corpse with himself. Jailers threw the sack into the sea which allowed Dantes to escape. He is rescued by a passing ship which gives him a position on the boat. After paying homage for the noble act, Dantes recovered the buried treasure and became extremely wealthy. He returned as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and dazzled all of Paris with his extreme wealth and social graces and also he ingeniously managed to be introduced to the cream of French society, among who he goes unrecognized. But, Monte Cristo, in contrariety, recognized all of his enemies, which now are all powerful and influential men. Therefore, he was slowly plotting the ruin of the four men who had caused him to be sent to the Chateau D'If. Ferdinand had married Mercedes and was now the Count de Morcef. Monte Cristo released information to the press that proved that Morcef is a traitor, and Morcef is ruined socially. Then Monte Cristo destroyed Morcef's relationship with his family, whom he adored. When they leave him, he was so distraught that he committed suicide. To revenge himself on Caderousse, Monte Cristo easily trapped Caderousse because of his voracious greed. Monte Cristo awakened this greed with the gift of a diamond. Later, urged by his wife, Caderousse committed robbery and murder. Now escaped from prison, Caderousse unsuccessfully attempted to rob Monte Cristo. The Count watched as one of Caderousse's companions mortally wounding him. As the man lay dying, Monte Cristo exposed his true name- Edmond Dantes. To revenge himself on Danglars, who loves money more than life it self, Monte Cristo ruins him financially. To revenge himself on Villefront, Monte Cristo slowly reveals to Villefront that he knows about a love affair that Villefront had long ago with Madam Danglars. He also revealed to him, by hints, that he knows about the illegitimate child whom he fathered, a child whom Villefront had believed to be buried alive. The child lived, however, and was now engaged to Mademoiselle Danglars, who is really his half-sister. Ironically, Villefront's wives proves to be more villainous than her husband, for she poisons her parents and her daughter so that her real son can have the full inheritance. Villefront, however, discovers the plot and Threatens to kill her if she doesn't do it first, and so she kills herself and her son. The Count had rescued Valentine from a drug induced coma and reunited her with her love, Maximilian, on the island of Monte Cristo leaving the two young loves his entire fortune. The Count sailed off into the sunset never to be seen again. Major Characters: Edmond Dantes (alias the Count of Monte Cristo, Sinbad the Sailor, Abbe Busoni, and Lord Wilmore) Edmond Dantes is the dashing and idyllic champion of the novel. He is a sailor who, at the prime of his life and career, is betrayed by close friends because of their jealousy. He is imprisoned for fourteen grueling years during his imprisonment he meets another prisoner named Abbe Faria, who teaches Dantes many languages, sciences, history and other subjects, they become like father and son, and when the Abbe was about to die, he revealed to Dantes the hiding place of a long-secret buried treasure consisting of untold wealth, diamond, gold coins, and other precious jewelry. After his miraculous escape from the prison, Dantes recovers buried treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. The rest of his life is spent, at first, performing acts of goodness and charity for the good people whom he has known, then he devotes his life to brining about gods retribution against the evil people who were responsible for his imprisonment. Monsieur De Villefort Villefort is the type of person, as describe early in the novel, which sacrifice anything to his ambition, even his own father. Villefort, the prosecuting attorney, is most responsible for the suffering of Dantes because it was he who ordered that Edmond be sent to prison which ignited his spark for revenge. Villefort is willing to have an innocent man imprisoned for life. Thus, he becomes the central enemy against whom the Count of Monte Cristo affects revenge. Fernand Mondego (alias the Count de Morcerf) During the time in which Edmond was a sailor, Fernand was a simple fisherman and sometime smuggler who was in love with the same woman whom Edmond Dantes was ingaged to. Because of his jealousy, Fernand mailed the letter condemning Dantes, hoping that if Dantes was arrested, he would then be able to marry Mercedes. Fernand gained much wealth by smuggling and by betraying the great Ali Pasha. When all of his treachery was exposed, he discovers that his wife and son have deserted him, thus he commits suicide.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Creator Speaking Through His Creation.TXT
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The Creator Speaking Through His Creation
Prospero's epilogue at the conclusion of The Tempest provides interesting parallels to its author's life. Written near the end of his career, numerous scholars suggest that it is Shakespeare's written farewell. Just as Shakespeare sculpts a world from nothing, Prospero authors the events on the island. Prospero's monologue flows naturally with they story and provides a natural ending to the work. He describes the loss of his magical power at the beginning of his monologue when he says, "My charms are all o'erthrown, and what strength I have's mine own, which is most faint." He remains "confined" on the Island because he has already "pardoned the deceiver" and does not wish to return as the Duke of Naples. He follows this with a peculiar request of those listening to "release me from my bands with the help of your good hands." This could be seen literally as a request of the audience to clap so that the sails of the boats will be filled, for his friends' return trip home. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Contrast this to what Shakespeare is voicing through Prospero. "Now that my charms are all o'erthrown, and what strength I have's mine own," takes on a new meaning. Now his plays have ended, and anything more he yearns to say can only come directly from him, not through his characters. Furthermore, the "Island" or stage Shakespeare is on is now "bare" and it is time for the audience to release him and his from the play with the "help of [y]our good hands." Not only was he requesting release from the performance, but from his career as a playwright. In addition, the audience's pleasure fills his sails, or makes him happy. If no one finds pleasure in his works then what he sent out to accomplish has not been achieved.
 Finally, after separating the perspectives, one can see how closely they are intertwined. This is evidenced through the puns found throughout the epilogue. Such as the before mentioned "faint" and "please". Just as Shakespeare creates different worlds in each of his plays and dictates the actions within them. So does Prospero on his island where he has control of the outcome of the occurrences. Shakespeare's magic is in the world he creates. He is the magician and the stories are his tricks.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Crucibl1.TXT
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The Crucible
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. There are many theories as to why the witch trials came about, the most popular of which is the girls' suppressed childhoods. However, there were other factors as well, such as Abigail Williams' affair with John Proctor, the secret grudges that neighbors held against each other, and the physical and economic differences between the citizens of Salem Village. From a historical viewpoint, it is known that young girls in colonial Massachusetts were given little or no freedom to act like children. They were expected to walk straight, arms by their sides, eyes slightly downcast, and their mouths were to be shut unless otherwise asked to speak. It is not surprising that the girls would find this type of lifestyle very constricting. To rebel against it, they played pranks, such as dancing in the woods, listening to slaves' magic stories and pretending that other villagers were bewitching them. The Crucible starts after the girls in the village have been caught dancing in the woods. As one of them falls sick, rumors start to fly that there is witchcraft going on in the woods, and that the sick girl is bewitched. Once the girls talk to each other, they become more and more frightened of being accused as witches, so Abigail starts accusing others of practicing witchcraft. The other girls all join in so that the blame will not be placed on them. In The Crucible, Abigail starts the accusations by saying, "I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" Another girl, Betty, continues the cry with, "I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!" >From here on, the accusations grow and grow until the jails overflow with accused witches. It must have given them an incredible sense of power when the whole town of Salem listened to their words and believed each and every accusation. After all, children were to be seen and not heard in Puritan society, and the newfound attention was probably overwhelming. In Act Three of The Crucible, the girls were called before the judges to defend themselves against the claims that they were only acting. To prove their innocence, Abigail led the other girls in a chilling scene. Abby acted as if Mary Warren sent her spirit up to the rafters and began to talk to the spirit. "Oh Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it's God's work I do." The other girls all stared at the rafters in horror and began to repeat everything they heard. Finally, the girls' hysterics caused Mary Warren to accuse John Proctor of witchcraft. Once the scam started, it was too late to stop, and the snowballing effect of wild accusations soon resulted in the hanging of many innocents. After the wave of accusations began, grudges began to surface in the community. Small slights were made out to be witchcraft, and bad business deals were blamed on witchery. Two characters in The Crucible, Giles Corey and Thomas Putnam, argue early on about a plot of land. Corey claims that he bought it from Goody Nurse but Putnam says he owns it, and Goody Nurse had no right to sell it. Later, when Putnam's daughter accuses George Jacobs of witchery, Corey claims that Putnam only wants Jacobs' land. Giles says, "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property - that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!" Others also had hidden motives for accusing their neighbors. Once the accusations began, everyone had a reason to accuse someone else which is why the hangings got so out of hand. The wave of accusations can be likened to mass hysteria, in which the people involved are so caught up that they start having delusions of neighbors out to do them harm. One of the main accusers, Abigail Williams, had an ulterior motive for accusing Elizabeth Proctor. In The Crucible, Abigail believed that if she got rid of Goody Proctor, then John Proctor, her husband, would turn to Abby. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, but for him it was just lust, while Abigail believed it to be true love. She told John that he loves her, and once she destroys Elizabeth, they will be free to love one another. John is horrified at this, but can do nothing to convince Abigail that he is not in love with her. Because of Abigail's twisted plot to secure John for herself, Elizabeth is arrested. It is the hidden motives behind the accusations that fan the flames of the Salem witch trials. To get the complete picture of the causes behind the witch trials, you must look at the physical reasons as well. Two historians, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, drew a map of Salem Village and plotted the accusers, the defendants, and the accused witches. An interesting picture arose when a line was drawn dividing the town into east and west. It became clear that nearly all the accusers lived on the west side, and almost all the defenders and accused witches lived on the east side. To determine the cause of the east-west split, the historians examined many disputes, chief among them being the choice of ministers. Once Salem Village was granted the right to have its own meeting house, quarrels arose over who would preach in the pulpit. There were four ministers between the time period of when the meeting house was built and the end of the witch trials. The arguments over ministers soon became a power struggle. There were two factions that arose during this dispute, and it was noted that one group supported two ministers while the other group supported the other two ministers. Each group wanted to prove its influence by choosing a minister and making him the spiritual guide to Salem Village. The two groups were found to coincide closely with the east-west division. When the economical divisions of the village were examined, it was found that in general the western citizens of Salem Village lived an agrarian lifestyle and were hard-pressed economically. The land on the western side was well-suited to farming and grazing. By contrast, the villagers on the east side were mainly merchants and lived fairly opulently. The road to Salem Town traveled through the east side of Salem Village. Many innkeepers and tavern owners lived on this road and made a good profit off all the travelers. Tension often arose between the two groups because of their vastly different lifestyles. It is not difficult to see why a catastrophe such as the Salem witch trials occurred. Once one accusation was made, it was easy to release all the buried suspicions and hatred into a wave of madness. The Crucible simplifies the cause to make for a better story, but in reality the reasons for the witch craft accusations were much more complex. The reasons behind the accusations would result in many more quarrels over the years, but none as interesting or as horrifying as the Salem witch trials. In such a straight-laced Puritan society, there lived many people with hidden darkness in their hearts, and the Salem witch trials exposed and magnified the consequences of those black desires. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. There are many theories as to why the witch trials came about, the most popular of which is the girls' suppressed childhoods. However, there were other factors as well, such as Abigail Williams' affair with John Proctor, the secret grudges that neighbors held against each other, and the physical and economic differences between the citizens of Salem Village. From a historical viewpoint, it is known that young girls in colonial Massachusetts were given little or no freedom to act like children. They were expected to walk straight, arms by their sides, eyes slightly downcast, and their mouths were to be shut unless otherwise asked to speak. It is not surprising that the girls would find this type of lifestyle very constricting. To rebel against it, they played pranks, such as dancing in the woods, listening to slaves' magic stories and pretending that other villagers were bewitching them. The Crucible starts after the girls in the village have been caught dancing in the woods. As one of them falls sick, rumors start to fly that there is witchcraft going on in the woods, and that the sick girl is bewitched. Once the girls talk to each other, they become more and more frightened of being accused as witches, so Abigail starts accusing others of practicing witchcraft. The other girls all join in so that the blame will not be placed on them. In The Crucible, Abigail starts the accusations by saying, "I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" Another girl, Betty, continues the cry with, "I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!" >From here on, the accusations grow and grow until the jails overflow with accused witches. It must have given them an incredible sense of power when the whole town of Salem listened to their words and believed each and every accusation. After all, children were to be seen and not heard in Puritan society, and the newfound attention was probably overwhelming. In Act Three of The Crucible, the girls were called before the judges to defend themselves against the claims that they were only acting. To prove their innocence, Abigail led the other girls in a chilling scene. Abby acted as if Mary Warren sent her spirit up to the rafters and began to talk to the spirit. "Oh Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it's God's work I do." The other girls all stared at the rafters in horror and began to repeat everything they heard. Finally, the girls' hysterics caused Mary Warren to accuse John Proctor of witchcraft. Once the scam started, it was too late to stop, and the snowballing effect of wild accusations soon resulted in the hanging of many innocents. After the wave of accusations began, grudges began to surface in the community. Small slights were made out to be witchcraft, and bad business deals were blamed on witchery. Two characters in The Crucible, Giles Corey and Thomas Putnam, argue early on about a plot of land. Corey claims that he bought it from Goody Nurse but Putnam says he owns it, and Goody Nurse had no right to sell it. Later, when Putnam's daughter accuses George Jacobs of witchery, Corey claims that Putnam only wants Jacobs' land. Giles says, "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property - that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!" Others also had hidden motives for accusing their neighbors. Once the accusations began, everyone had a reason to accuse someone else which is why the hangings got so out of hand. The wave of accusations can be likened to mass hysteria, in which the people involved are so caught up that they start having delusions of neighbors out to do them harm. One of the main accusers, Abigail Williams, had an ulterior motive for accusing Elizabeth Proctor. In The Crucible, Abigail believed that if she got rid of Goody Proctor, then John Proctor, her husband, would turn to Abby. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, but for him it was just lust, while Abigail believed it to be true love. She told John that he loves her, and once she destroys Elizabeth, they will be free to love one another. John is horrified at this, but can do nothing to convince Abigail that he is not in love with her. Because of Abigail's twisted plot to secure John for herself, Elizabeth is arrested. It is the hidden motives behind the accusations that fan the flames of the Salem witch trials. To get the complete picture of the causes behind the witch trials, you must look at the physical reasons as well. Two historians, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, drew a map of Salem Village and plotted the accusers, the defendants, and the accused witches. An interesting picture arose when a line was drawn dividing the town into east and west. It became clear that nearly all the accusers lived on the west side, and almost all the defenders and accused witches lived on the east side. To determine the cause of the east-west split, the historians examined many disputes, chief among them being the choice of ministers. Once Salem Village was granted the right to have its own meeting house, quarrels arose over who would preach in the pulpit. There were four ministers between the time pe riod of when the meeting house was built and the end of the witch trials. The arguments over ministers soon became a power struggle. There were two factions that arose during this dispute, and it was noted that one group supported two ministers while the other group supported the other two ministers. Each group wanted to prove its influence by choosing a minister and making him the spiritual guide to Salem Village. The two groups were found to coincide closely with the east-west division. When the economical divisions of the village were examined, it was found that in general the western citizens of Salem Village lived an agrarian lifestyle and were hard-pressed economically. The land on the western side was well-suited to farming and grazing. By contrast, the villagers on the east side were mainly merchants and lived fairly opulently. The road to Salem Town traveled through the east side of Salem Village. Many innkeepers and tavern owners lived on this road and made a good profit off all the travelers. Tension often arose between the two groups because of their vastly different lifestyles. It is not difficult to see why a catastrophe such as the Salem witch trials occurred. Once one accusation was made, it was easy to release all the buried suspicions and hatred into a wave of madness. The Crucible simplifies the cause to make for a better story, but in reality the reasons for the witch craft accusations were much more complex. The reasons behind the accusations would result in many more quarrels over the years, but none as interesting or as horrifying as the Salem witch trials. In such a straight-laced Puritan society, there lived many people with hidden darkness in their hearts, and the Salem witch trials exposed and magnified the consequences of those black desires.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Crucible VS The Scarlet Letter.TXT
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The Crucible VS The Scarlet Letter
Two hundred years ago, the church was the center of life in many New England towns. The church provided not only religions guidance but, was a place for social gathering and a chance for neighbors to keep in touch. This is shown in depth in Boston, by Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter and in Salem, by Arthur Miller's, The Crucible. Both towns are perfect models of the churches' affect on their communities. Both towns were settled by immigrants from England seeking religious freedom from the theocracies in Europe. In each town the church became a leading force in the local government. The church could influence the courts to impose legal penalties on crimes against the Ten Commandments. Crimes such as adultery, in The Scarlet Letter, and worshiping other gods, The Crucible, were violations of the commandments and carried significant civil penalties. The church influenced the community "to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might challenge the church's institutional values." In The Scarlet Letter, Boston even held special Election Day sermons. These were then followed by a special procession given by the town for the "minister whom they so loved." However, these beloved church leaders were not the perfect devout workers of God that they professed to be. Reverend Dimmesdale, was an adulterer and father of an illegitimate child. Reverend Danforth of The Crucible, was a money hungry old man who appeared to be preaching for his own greedy, personal gain. Both men, however, were allowed to get away with their sins for a while because no one dared question the people who gave them their spiritual enlightenment. These men were, after all, the same men who were responsible for the church that stood at the center of not only the town, but also the morality and values that guided the lives of the people who lived in it. It is somewhat ironic that in both novels, the persecution of women in puritan communities for crimes, which were sins against the church, took place in religious societies formed by those seeking relief from religious persecution. In each book, persecution of those who dared be different by breaking the communities accepted religious values, is apparent. Hester, the adulteress, and Abigail, the adulteress "witch", were both persecuted for their actions. In conclusion, it is very clear that the common theocratic theme of societal values based on puritanical religious beliefs controlled the day-to-day lives of the communities in The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. The effect that religious conformity had on the lives of the community and persecution for nonconformity can not be overlooked in these works of Hawthorne or Miller.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\the crucible.TXT
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the crucible 
The Crucible" was written by Arthur Miller, a famous playwright of his time. Some of his other works include "Death of a Salesman" and "A View From the Bridge." Miller has received such awards as The Gold Medal Award for Drama and the Pulitzer Prize. The character from "The Crucible" whom I analyzed is John Proctor. He is a father, husband and a respected, land owning member of the community. He nailed the church roof and hung the church door. He is a Puritain and is very religious. In the story, John is thrown into a situation where he has to decide whether or not he should sacrifice his good name to save the lives of his falsely accused wife and friends. This conflict is known as his crucible. I think that John Proctor did the right thing when he confessed in court to save his wife and friends.
John Proctor had many significant actions in the story. When he realized that the town of Salem had gone mad with accusations of witchcraft he decided to take Mary Warren to court the next day to dismiss the false accusations. Even more significant of an action, was when John confessed to having an affair with Abigail. These events are important because they change the direction on the entire trial. For the first time, the actions and creditability of the girls was being questioned. This eventually lead to Mary Warren turning on John and accusing him of working with the devil so he was arrested and sentenced to be hanged.
John Proctor, being one of the main characters in "The Crucible", has some very important statements. Towards the end of the play John Proctor finally decides to confess so that he can live and be with his wife. He makes this decision known by yelling, "I want me life!" Another important quote is when Elizabeth was being arrested on charges of witch craft. John said on page 74, "...vengeance is walking Salem...vengeance writes the law...I'll not lose my wife to vengeance!" At this point of the story it seems as though John is the only person that realized that the town has gone mad and is hysterically accusing eachother of witchcraft in order to save themselves.
Like many characters in the story, John went through a change. His major change occurred when he was signing his confession. He was prepaired to confess to witchcraft in order to save his life but after signing his name and finding out that his confession was to be nailed to the church door, he changes his mind. He decided that saving his good name was more important than saving his life. At the end of the story, when john was being carried away to be executed, Elizebeth said that he has his goodness now, something that he lacked durring the first part of the story.
John showed an example of an ironic situation when he was asked by Mr. Hale to recite the 10 commandmentsand he forgot Adultry. This is ironic because John commited adultry when he slept with Abigail.
John Proctor seemed to be an example of what guilt can do to a person and society. John felt guilty about his affair with Abigail and he kept it secret even though it meant that many of the townspeople would be accused because no one could prove that the girls were lieing. After telling the truth about the affair, the church officals questioned his devotion to the church and God.
There are many things that we can learn from John Proctor. For example, vengeance and greed took Salem over and made the townspeople turn on eachother inorder to get their land or save their own lives. John was the only one that saw this happening and acctually did something about it. John also realized that telling the truth was the only way to save his wife and friends even though it ment throwing away his good name. Another lesson that John taught was that if you believe in something you should do whatever is nessecary to stand up for it. John believed in his good name so much that he died for it.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The crystal cave.TXT
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The crystal cave 
If the name Merlin were spoken, many would immediately connect the name to the legendary magician that served King Arthur. Many variations of this legendary magician have been passed down through the ages, but only one makes the reader connect with Merlin as a man and not just a magician. In the book The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart makes the reader see that Merlin is not just a magician, he is first and foremost a man. Throughout the book the author sucks the reader in to the life of this man, and using imagery and characterization makes him feel that he is actually there watching the life of Merlin unravel.
From the very first page of The Crystal Cave the reader is transported into the book with the use of imagery; Mary Stewart almost forces him to connect with the characters and the surroundings of this book. " With the coming of the dusk the rain stopped, but a mist had risen, creeping knee-high through the trees so that they stood like ghosts, and the grazing horse floated like a swan."(The Crystal Cave pg. 2) Mary Stewart describes this scene so well that the reader can actually see the mist rising up the trees and into the forest. When describing the fight scenes where Ambrosius, Merlin's father, is trying to gain the title of High King, she uses enough detail to get the point across, without making the scene gory and bloody as so many things are in today's world. "Everywhere men were fighting in small groups, or even singly and hand to hand. The noise, the clash and shouting, even the smell of sweat and blood mingled...(Crystal Cave pg.373.) The reader can almost smell the sweat and blood mingling on the battlefield, like being there without the danger. In this novel Stewart also mixes together imagery and characterization when she is showing the reader what Merlin sees in the crystal cave when he first learns he has the "sight". This is the beginning of the author's trial to get the reader inside the brain of Merlin as he begins to use his power. " Though the place was cold, the men worked naked save for loincloths, and the sweat ran over their backs as they hacked over the rock-face, steady ceaseless tapping blows that's made no noise, but you could see the muscles clench and jar under the torch lit sweat."(Crystal Cave pg 66) The reader is put inside of Merlin's brain, seeing what he sees, what he thinks, and how he responds to the reaction of others toward him.
Throughout this novel Mary Stewart helps the reader connect with Merlin by characterization. She presents his actions, words, thoughts, and feelings as a way for the reader to see what is really going on behind the mask of this legendary magician. The visions that Merlin has are so clearly represented to the reader that he is inside Merlin's head as they are going on." The bull whirled, and charged again. The man waited without moving, his feet planted slightly apart, his posture casual, almost disdainful. As the bull reached him he seemed to sway aside, lightly, like a dancer. The bull went by him so close that I saw a horn spear the swirling cloak...(Crystal Cave pg.142) The reader begins to see the true power Merlin has, not that as a spell caster, but that of a prophet. Although Merlin has power, he is not arrogant, he lives day to day as a man. He thinks not himself better than most men, but equal. In the instance of his father Ambrious or his uncle Uther, Merlin treats them with respect telling them that whenever they needed him he would be there. In the light of his father's death Merlin makes a vow to himself and others," I will deck his grave with nothing less then the light itself."(Crystal Cave pg. 442) The reader is shown here that Merlin had great respect for his father, and even though it was deemed impossible by others he made his vow become a reality. The way other reacted toward Merlin and his power is a big part of this story, throughout this novel the reader can see the changes of attitude toward Merlin as he grows. The young Merlin was thought of as a "bastard" because he had no father. ". Keep your bastard out of my sight! Now that your brother's home, we'll find a man that will take the pair of you from under my feet."(Crystal Cave pg.7) Merlin is constantly ridiculed for what he had no control over, but he doesn't care, he likes to be alone and in the darkness. As Merlin grows older the attitudes toward him change as he begins to use his power. People as a whole begin to pressure him to tell them their fortunes, futures, etc. Ambrosius is one of the many, "What do you see in the fire, Merlin the prophet?" " Nothing but dead men roasting."" Then look and see something for me, Merlin. Where has Octa gone" (Crystal Cave pg.379) Merlin's power does not come on command and few realize this fact, and so Merlin is constantly pushed to see into the future, though he cannot on will. The characterization of this character makes the reader realize Merlin is so much more than a man of power, he is a man with thoughts, and feelings also.
The legend of the great Merlin has been known through the ages by many, but what those stories do not share with us is that Merlin is more than a magician he is a man, also. Mary Stewart uses imagery and characterization to make the story come alive in the reader's mind as if they are actually there with Merlin as he sees, thinks, and acts throughout this novel. The Crystal Cave is an exciting, riveting novel that will be remembered for years to come.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Death of a Bachelor.TXT
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The Death of a Bachelor
By: Arthur Schnitzler
Condemnation is not for human beings 
  The story speaks of the betrayal of wives to their husbands. A rich and sick bachelor wrote a letter, before nine years of his death, to be delivered to his friends by his servant after his death. This bachelor liked to tell his friends about a hidden secret that tortured his soul many years ago. The letter was read by the doctor, the merchant, and the author. They were astonished to hear that their wives had a certain relationship with this bachelor. These three betrayed men did not act, as it should be to husbands who blow in their inner self by the betrayal of their wives.
The merchant, whose wife died a year ago, told that she was very passionate to him, and he could do nothing to her. He accused the bachelor of ill mannered and an envy person. The author was fond of his wife, for she was a respected woman and was with him in his difficulties. So, he did not like to angry his wife who was his pride and success. The doctor's idea was also like the author's he did not want to ruin his family. The doctor put the letter into a safe place, and he liked this letter to be unfolded by his wife after his death. He imagined that she would whisper," Oh, how splendid of you, how noble" 
 This fiction story includes many meanings. We might interpret the three men's reactions as a noble reaction or a weak one. It depends on the educational level and traditional believes of the milieu of the reader. 
The three friends agreed among themselves to hide this secret for the sake of their children and wives. This confirms that they are living in the same society and hold the same educational level. For this, the writer does not mention their names. They are used in this story to symbolize a certain class in any society. 
We might explain that a friendship between married and unmarried people lacks a main supporter for its existence - the family. Had the bachelor lived a married life he would not have written this scornful letter to his friends? He would be more sympathetic and passionate towards the wives' of his friends. He would not occupy himself with events that happened a long time ago. He would care for the future of his friends, But being an unprofessional man and without work he used to deal with trifle subject.
 
Most of the American writers like to tell to the reader that there is no perfect place in this world after the fall of Adam and Eve in sin. So, reaching perfectas is impossible as reaching "Eden". For this, condemnation is not for man but for God. So, the reaction of the three friends was not to condemn their wives, for they are sinners in their inner selves like their wives. 
 

 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Depression.TXT
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The Depression
Imagine for a moment, waking up one day to find yourself on a dirty floor, a pile of rags, or maybe even the street. You look down at yourself to find you're wearing the same clothes you wore yesterday, except they are completely filthy and have lots of holes in places like the knees and elbows. You have no access to a mirror to show you what you look like so you go to touch you hair with your hand and find it to be a pile of grease and dirt that obviously hasn't been washed in days, maybe even weeks. You get up and start to head for work, or school, only to realize you have no place to go. The pain of hunger eats away at you, but you just ignore it knowing that there is nothing for you to eat and you have no money to buy any food. You have no job, no money, no family, no hope. Welcome to the Depression. The 1920's was a time of great prosperity in the lives of most Americans and our natural human ignorance made us think it would stay that way forever. We had just come out of the Great War and business was booming, along with agriculture and the stock m arket. The outlook for the future was great, but people failed to understand that economies can't be on the upswing forever, it has to come down sometime. All of the signs of a depression were there; the farmers were producing too much, the uneven distr ibution of income, easy credit/huge debts, imbalance of foreign trade; people just didn't notice them. Not until October 29, 1929--BLACK TUESDAY--anyway, when the bottom of the stock market fell out, taking millions of American lives with it. Even thoug h any didn't admit it, they knew what was on the way. People who had been buying stocks on margin (10% down) suddenly found themselves penniless and in bigger debt than they could imagine. America went into a panic, pulling money out of banks in a frenz y causing many to close their doors. President Hoover tried hard to make the times better for the unemployed first by setting aside almost $800 million for public works like the now Hoover Dam. Conditions, however, failed to improve. His other policies, the Reconstruction Finance Corporat ion (RFC) and the Home Loan Bank Act, also didn't make much difference. The election of 1932 made it clear that the American people were unhappy with Hoover. Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the election on the Democratic ticket by a landslide. His promis e of "a new deal" gave Americans hope for what he could do for them. Two days after his inauguration he ordered a 'bank holiday' for all the banks in the country to close. When they reopened, people felt more safe putting their money in banks with the go vernment backing them up. FDR's "New Deal" became what started the nation's turn around. With such programs as the CCC (employing single males from the ages of 17-28 to do community labor like road building), the FERA (used $250 million to aid the unemp loyed, elderly, and sick), the AAA (paid farmers to grow less), the NIRA (set up price controls), the WPA (creating as many job as possible), and others, Franklin Roosevelt became one of the most successful leader this country has ever had. Throughout h is Presidency, he almost single-handedly changed the fate of America. He turned this country around so we could be a great nation again. If you were to ask someone who lived through the Great Depression, as it came to be called, what it was like, their answer would probably not be a positive one. But even through immense tragedy, good still found a way to shine through. The Depression g ave us the chance to redefine what America stood for. The government now had the power to help people in need, and in return people had more trust in the government because they knew it would support them. The position of minorities improved somewhat be cause the New Deal relief measures were essentially color blind, and gave non-whites a small but significant chance. Women also made their way into the workforce during and after the Depression. America, as I see it, is a country of greatness. Out of a Great War, into a Great Depression, and onto a great recovery. My only hope is that we continue this tradition in the future and not let the mistakes our ancestors made hurt us again.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Devil and Daniel Webster.TXT
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The Devil and Daniel Webster
Stephen Vincent Benét was born in 1898 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His education came from Yale University and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. "The Devil and Daniel Webster" has a wide array of characters, each with a distinguished personality, yet an overall temperment that would be fitting of a New England community. The main character is Jabez Stone, a wealthy New England statesman whose possition was the state senator of New Hampshire. He had started out as a farmer though, but moved up in life and, when he was about thirty years of age, married the fair woman, Mary Stone- who was in her early twenties. The fiddler, though not incredibly important, was a key character in that he provided foreshadowing. When he said, "But the very devil's got into that fiddle of mine.", he was forshadowing the coming of the devil to disturb the merriments. A very key character in this play is the devil himself, which took the name of Scratch (for that was what he was called in New England communities). He had come to steal the soul of Jabez Stone, claiming that he had a right to Jabez because of a legal contract. Last- but nost certainly not least in this story- is the great Governor of New Hampshire, loved by all, Daniel Webster. Daniel Webster was not only the governor, but an excelent orator. He had a way of using words to pursued the opinion of others, sometimes by conveying feelings or emotion. The play starts out in the ornate home of Jabez and Mary Stone, right after their wedding has taken place. The Fiddler, who sat upon a Cider Barrel, played a tune on the Fiddle, and all of the guests danced to it. Basically, it was a wedding reception. At first, there was nothing more than small talk going on, but by using even this smalltalk, Benét very accurately described the lifestyles of the New England residents. As the play progressed, political favor of the day was expressed as Daniel Webster arived, associating himself with Jabez Stone. One man cried out, "Vote the Whig ticket!" and another, "Hurray for Daniel Webster!" Of course, political disfavor was also shown, as Scratch (the devil) portreyed himself as a lawyer from Boston, implying that the political party from Boston was disfavored. Later on, after some forshadowing by both Jabez and Mary, it is learned that Jabez had sold his soul to the devil. He had done this because of the dessolite land he had to farm, it was entirely baren, and had an abundance of large stones there. In return, the devil brought him prosperity- for a time. Jabez had become state senator, married a wonderful woman, and had friends in high places. But it did not last forever. A small climax- more like a turning point- occurred when Scratch had driven all the guests away from fear. He then left for a short time, preparing to come back at a later time to reclaim his "prize". Daniel Webster, however, felt confidant that he could defeat Scratch in a fair trial and/or debate. As it turned out, both happened. When Scratch came back, they had a trial- a trial with a biased jury of the undead. A great oratory debate soon followed between Scratch and Daniel Webster. It was a fierce debate, though it did remain civil. Webster used his cunning intellect against Scratch, but in every case, either Scratch would refute his claim, or the judge at this trial, Judge Hawthorne of the Salem Witch Trials, would over-rule Daniel Webster- no matter how logical he had been. For instance, when Daniel Webster claimed that "Mr. Stone is an American citizen, and American citizen may be forced into the service of a foreign prince.", the devil replied that he was no foreigner with "...when the first wrong was done to the first Indian, I was there. When the first slaver put out for the Congo, I stood on her deck...". Such a trial was impossible to win, until Daniel Webster used his words to bring back memories of the undead jury- of when they had been alive and human. He appealed to them, one by one, and slowly changed the sway of the biased jury of the undead. In the end, the verdict was "not guilty", and old Scratch was finally flung out the door. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this play by Stephen Vincent Benét, and I would recommend reading it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Downfall of Macbeth.TXT
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The Downfall of Macbeth
Macbeth's love for Lady Macbeth, in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, caused Macbeth to feel the need to prove his manhood, which eventually lead to his downfall. Macbeth was not secure in his manhood, so he felt the need to prove himself to Lady Macbeth. After he proved he was a man by killing Duncan, and he felt he had a lot of power to do whatever he wanted. Macbeth became desensitized between all the killing and the hype of being the King. In the beginning of the play Macbeth showed his love for Lady Macbeth in many different ways. He told her his feelings toward her "My dearest love" (act I, scene v, l 58). Macbeth listens to what Lady Macbeth has to say, and takes her advice into consideration every time he makes a decision. He also has great love for her and tries his best to make her happy no matter what it takes. Then Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth that he wasn't a man unless he went through with the murder of Duncan. She threatens his manhood by saying "When you durst do it, then you were a man;/ And to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man" (act I, scene vii, l 49-51). This made Macbeth begin to think, and slowly but surely Lady Macbeth had manipulated his mind to think the right thing to do was kill Duncan. Macbeth had decided in order to prove his manhood he must go through with this horrible act. Barta 2 After Macbeth had committed the crime he felt that his soul could never be cleansed no matter what he did. He said "They pluck out mine own eyes!/Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood/Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather/The Multitudinous seas incarnadine, /Making the green one red" (act II, scene iii, l 58-62). This shows that he really didn't want to kill Duncan, but he did it in order to prove himself to Lady Macbeth, and to become the king. By the end he had no fear, and had killed not only Duncan but also many other people. He now had different views from which he had in the beginning of the play. Macbeth realizes that he is no longer afraid "no, nor more fearful. (Act V, scene vii, l 9). He is now considered a man, but he doesn't like the fact that he has killed all these people. He is sort of scared of himself and cannot realize what a horrible monster he has become. Macbeth proved his that he could be a man by killing, but in the end he couldn't believe that he went through with all that. All that he had done eventually lead to the death of his love, Lady Macbeth, which was the original reason he felt the need to prove himself. Love is a strange thing and people will do some crazy things when they are truly in love. All this inevitably led to the downfall of Macbeth.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Epic of Gilgamesh.TXT
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661
The main character in the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is an arrogant person. Gilgamesh is full of himself and abuses his rights as king. He has sexual intercourse with the virgins of his town and acts as though he is a god. Although some readers of this classic book may say that Gilgamesh does not change from the beginning of the book, it can easily be interpreted the other way. Throughout the book, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend, he makes a name for himself by killing Humbaba, and he tries to become immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through these main actions his personality changes and he becomes a better person. First, the quest for immortality after the death of Enkidu shows that Gilgamesh has changed. Gilgamesh becomes frightened when he realizes that he isn't immortal. After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh tries to find immortality by trying to cross the ocean to find it. He sounds pathetic as he rambles of his reason for trying to find everlasting life. His state of being at this part in the book, which is the end, is completely different from his arrogant beginning of this epic. Gilgamesh has gone from arrogant to scared. Second, the death of Humbaba changes Gilgamesh. Humbaba is evil. Many people who live in the city of Uruk fear Gilgamesh. Most would say that Gilgamesh himself is, in fact, evil. He has sex with the virgins, he does what he wants, and he tends to offend the gods. He has lots of problems with Ishtar. By going into the forest and facing Humbaba, Gilgamesh makes a name for himself and changes the views of the people in his city. This is a very arguable point. Yes, the past of Gilgamesh does not change, but the great deed of killing Humbaba, makes him a better person because he protects his city. This is another arguable point. Most would say he does this only to make a name for himself, but that is not the case. Gilgamesh does this because of his love for Enkidu and his people, he has changed from the beginning of the epic. Finally and most importantly, the main reason that Gilgamesh changes from the beginning of the book is the friendship that he has with Enkidu. Enkidu is made to make Gilgamesh more human. In the first paragraph of the book the gods are angry with Gilgamesh and send down an equal of himself, they send down Enkidu. After becoming friends, Gilgamesh changes because he has an equal to be with. Enkidu and Gilgamesh become as close as brothers. Because of this, a very arguable point comes up. Was Enkidu and Gilgamesh lovers? The answer is obviously yes. What points in the book show this? They go to sleep holding hands, Gilgamesh loves Enkidu like a women, and Gilgamesh goes almost insane after the death of Enkidu. The point of Enkidu being a lover of Gilgamesh is very important. It allows the reader to understand the reasoning of Gilgamesh changing. There are no changes in Gilgamesh as a person until Enkidu enters the picture. Obviously he is the reason for all eventual changes in the personality and manhood of Gilgamesh. If the belief and understanding of Gilgamesh and Enkidu being much more than "good" friends is present, then the understanding of why Gilgamesh changes in the book is also present. If Gilgamesh is just friends with Enkidu some change is possible, but not almost total recall as Gilgamesh does in the book. People change more if there is sex involved and there is a deep relationship. In order to make Enkidu happy, Gilgamesh has to change, and he does, throughout thier relationship. In reflection, although some people would say that Gilgamesh does not change from the beginning of the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, the better understanding of the book reveals that, in fact, Gilgamesh does change from the beginning of the book to the end. The personality of Gilgamesh changes for three distinct reasons. First, Gilgamesh changes in the book because of his insatiable desire for immortality after the death of Enkidu. Gilgamesh wants immortality after the death of Enkidu. Second, Gilgamesh changes in the book because of the death of Humbaba. The death of Humbaba show
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Farewell To Arms.TXT
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973
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening war-time situations, and the uncertainty of each other's whereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautiful love story of two people who need each other in a period of upheaval. Frederick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Frederick disagrees with the war he is fighting. It is too chaotic and immoral for him to rationalize its cause. He fights anyway, because the army puts some form of discipline in his life. At the start of the novel, Frederick drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle. Further into the novel, Frederick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and, in his love for her, he finds commitment. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Compared to this new form of order in his life, Frederick sees the losing Italian army as total chaos and disorder where he had previously seen discipline and control. He can no longer remain a part of something that is so disorderly and so, he deserts the Italian army. Frederick's desertion from the Italian army is the turning point of the novel. This is the significance of the title, A Farewell to Arms. When Frederick puts aside his involvement in the war, he realizes that Catherine is the order and value in his life and that he does not need anything else to give meaning to his life. At the conclusion of this novel, Frederick realizes that he cannot base his life on another person or thing because, ultimately, they will leave or disappoint him. He realizes that the order and values necessary to face the world must come from within himself. Catherine Barkley is an English volunteer nurse who serves in Italy. She is considered very experienced when it comes to love and loss since she has already been confronted with the death of a loved one when her fiance was killed earlier in the war. The reader is not as well acquainted with Catherine's inner thoughts and feelings as we are with those of Frederick. The story is told through Frederick's eyes and the reader only meets Catherine through the dialogue between her and Frederick or through his personal interpretations of her actions. Catherine already possesses the knowledge that her own life cannot be dependent on another. She learned this lesson through the death of her fiance. Her love for Frederick is what her life revolves around, yet she knows not to rely on him to be the order in her life. Had she been dependent on Frederick for the order in her life, she would not have been able to allow him to participate in the war for fear of losing her own stability with his death. The theme that Hemingway emphasizes throughout the novel is the search for order in a chaotic world. Hemingway conveys this through Frederick's own personal search during the chaos of World War I. Catherine has found strength within herself to lead her through life. This is what Frederick must come to realize. Through his involvement with Catherine, Frederick slowly finds his own inner strength. Frederick's affair with Catherine prompts him to leave his wild life of prostitutes and drink. He becomes aware of an element of stability in their affair and realizes that the war that he was involved in was too chaotic, so he deserts the army. He and Catherine make a life for themselves totally isolated from everything and everyone else. Frederick believes that his life is now completely in order and that his values are in perspective, yet he still seems discontented. He continuously has to convince himself that he has "a fine life." He has not yet reached Catherine's level that enables her to be perfectly happy in their love and yet not dependent on it for all comfort and support. Frederick still has to find that within himself. Until the conclusion of the novel, Frederick still relies on Catherine as the source of order in his life. With the end of their affair when Catherine dies giving birth to their stillborn love-child, Frederick realizes that he cannot depend on any one person, such as Catherine, or any thing, such as religion, war, or frivolity, for order and discipline. Hemingway describes Frederick's enlightenment best in the final paragraph of the novel when Frederick sees Catherine's corpse for the first and last time. Frederick's reaction was that "it was like saying good-by to a statue." Frederick realizes that Catherine was only a symbol of the order and strength in his life. Strength to face life must come from within him and only he will be able to get himself through his own life. He will have to learn to depend on himself. Frederick realizes this and is able to get on with his life on his own. "After a while [he] went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain." He did not mourn or feel like his own life had ended with her death, rather he was able to continue on with his newfound inner strength and face his world alone. This novel succeeds in getting Hemingway's message across. Frederick's realization causes the reader to reflect on his/her own life and on what institutions they depend on in their own lives. I enjoyed this novel because I learned along with Frederick that I must face my life on my own. The strength to face my problems cannot come from any other source because no other source can ever be as permanent as the strength that I can find within myself.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Gallant Boys of Gettysburg.TXT
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537
The story I read took place mostly at the Battle of Gettysburg. Tom and Jeff Majors had just enrolled in the Confederate army. Tom enrolled as a private and Jeff as a drummer boy. Their dad, Nelson Majors, who had been in the army for quite some time, had just been promoted to Major. Tom and Jeff were appointed to their father's unit. They fought in the Battle of Gettysburg which was the worst battle of the Civil War. The death total for the battle was great. The Union and the Confederates lost a total of 18,000 men each. During the worst part of the battle, a shell hit Tom's leg. Jeff immediately carried him to the field doctor. The doctor told Tom that his leg would have to be cut off. The Confederate army was being beaten back by the Union and they had to retreat. That meant that Tom was put on a wagon and carried away. Tom knew there was little chance of him surviving the ride. Jeff had an idea to take Tom to the Poteets' house. They had eaten with them before the battle. The Poteets gladly agreed to keep Tom for a short while at their house. Jeff and Nelson Majors were very happy that Tom could stay with them. When Tom's leg was healed, he and Jeff went back to Kentucky where their family was from. When they got home there was a big welcome dinner. A letter came a few days later telling Jeff that he would need to go back to the army. When Jeff got back, he and his dad talked about how Tom was doing and the rest of the family. After that, the story ends just as they were about to go fight another battle. The predominate conflict in The Gallant Boys of Gettysburg occurred when Tom was hit by a shell from the Union army. Jeff turned and saw Tom rolling and rolling on the ground. When Jeff got there, he saw that it had struck Tom's leg. He quickly tied a bandage on it to stop the bleeding. Jeff told Tom that he would have to instantly see a field doctor. The doctor told Tom that his leg would have to be taken off. When Jeff and Tom arrived at their home in Kentucky, Sarah, Tom's girlfriend, saw what had happened to his leg. Tom thought that Sarah would not like him because he had lost his leg. Sarah tried to tell him that it did not matter that he had lost his leg, but Tom did not listen. Sarah asked Mr. Springer, who had recently lost his leg, to come and talk to Tom. Mr. Springer told Tom that he should get an artificial leg. Mr. Springer said that he felt as good as new with his artificial leg. The story ends shortly after they finished talking. I concluded that Tom would eventually get an artificial leg.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Gambia.TXT
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977
The Gambia, translated from the French La Gambia was first colonized by Portugal in 1445 on what was later named St. Mary's Island. Subsequently, the area was visited by France and later, Britain who began to build strong trading posts along it's western shores. In the 1700's The Gambia was proclaimed to be part of Britain. By 1969 The Gambia became a republic within the British commonwealth of nations. In 1982 it was declared a republic in what was later declared the Senegambian conference. The Gambia stated its independence from Britain and the Province of Senegal. The Gambia then established The People's Progressive Party led by, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara , until the change of government in 1994. Today The Gambia lives under a multi-party system. The Constitution of the Second Republic of The Gambia provides elections by making everyone over the age of 18 pay suffrage. Every five years the people elect 45 candidates that make up the county's National Assembly. Four parties made up the 1996 elections. The Alliance for Patriotic Re- Orientation and Construction (APRC), The United Democratic Party (UDP), The National Reconciliation Party (NRP), and The People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). On October 18, 1996 Yahya Jammeh (ADRC) won 56% of the votes to become the new president of The Gambia. The flag consist of three horizontal stripes. From top to bottom they are: red, blue, then green. Sorry I couldn't get a color print on the flag pictured below. TOPOGRAPHY: The Gambia is a long narrow country focusing around the central river that gave them their name. The Gambia river is 300 miles long inside The Gambia and is about 3 miles wide at most points. The Gambia has a total land area of 4,000 miles. It is relatively flat with few mountains and has an inward sloping bowl shape from where the Gambia river once covered. The Gambia river opens into the ocean at the western most tip of The Gambia. The capital, Banjul, is located near the inlet to the river and is a very large city with many tourist attractions and shops to buy stuff in. The Gambia is located completely within the county of Senegal from which it won it's independence. The river is navigable up to 241km inland. After that point is impossible to further follow the river without the aid of a specialized boat for such a trip. Gambia is known to have the most agreeable climate in the whole of West Africa because of their amazingly mild climate which keeps the temperatur! e range between 70°F and 80°F in the winter, and 80°F and 90°F in the summer. The one failure in their weather is their unusually high humidity, ranging from 30% to 60% all year long. POPULATION GROWTH: Since first colonized by the Portuguese, The Gambia's population has steadily risen quadraticaly. This graph shows that if this trend continues then The Gambia might soon run into problems with hunger and lack of space. The estimated population in 1950 was 500 thousand people which grew to 600 in 1960, 730 in 1970, 960 in 1980, and finally the population today is estimated to be around 1.2 million people. ECONOMICS: The economics of The Gambia are highly reliant on their agriculture which consists of bananas, cassava, corn, hides and skins, limes, goats, cattle, sheep, mangoes, millet, oranges, palm kernels, papayas, peanuts, rice, and vegetables. Recently though, the government has put millions of dollars into tourism as to create a more stable less reliant economy. EXPORTS: ?Bananas ?Cassava ?Corn ?Hides and Skins ?Limes ?Goats ?Cattle ?Sheep ?Mangoes ?Millet ?Oranges ?Palm kernels ?Papayas ?Peanuts ?Rice ?Vegetables GOVERNMENT: Right now, The Gambia, Is under the control of The Alliance for Patriotic Re- Orientation and Construction (APRC), led by Yahya Jammeh. The country is a republic with everyone over the age of 18 who pays suffrage to the country being able to vote for the president and the 45 members of the National Assembly. These people then represent the people by voting on all bills and laws passed by the senate. Before The Gambia became under republic rule, it was governed by the military after they threw over the government in1994 soon to be re- overthrown by the people of The Gambia. NATIONAL ANTHEM: FOR THE GAMBIA OUR HOMELAND For The Gambia, our homeland We strive and work and pray, That all may live in unity, Freedom and peace each day. Let justice guide our actions Towards the common good, And join our diverse peoples To prove man's brotherhood. We pledge our firm allegiance, Our promise we renew Keep us, great God of nations, To The Gambia ever true. MY TRIP TO GAMBIA: For my trip to The Gambia I plan to take off from the San Diego international airport on a 6am flight. I should reach Florida at about 12noon where I will have a lay over for 2 hours while they refuel and prepare the flight. After the wait I will board the flight and reach The Gambia at about 8am the next day. I'll have reservations at the hotle for the day I arrive. I plan to have such a severe case of jet lag as to render me bed ridden for the next 2 days. After I recover I will spend another 2 days exploring the sites around the hotel in eastern The Gambia. After those days are up I will hop on a small charter boat and take the river east until I reach the west coast of Africa. This trip should take 3 weeks. After I arrive at the coast I will stay at the beach for 2 days then head to the capital ad stay there for 3 days. After that, I will take off from a local airport and head the same back as the way I came.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Godfather.TXT
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596
The Godfather Directed by Francis Ford Coppola Based on Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather was based in the late 1940's in New York City. The story is about the Corleone family, which is headed by Vito Corleone. He had four sons. The quick to act older son is Santino, also known as Sunny. The next son is Fredo and the youngest son is Mechael which was in the military at the start of the movie and later stepped up to be the head of the family business. Finally, there is the adopted son Tom who Sunny found in the streets of New York homeless. He took him in seeing how his life was so terrible and Sunny's life was so good. Vito also had a daughter, Connie who went through the pain of the family business and she was not even involved in it. The movie starts off at the wedding of Connie and her husband Carlo. Vito promises Carlo a good future, but will not ever let him be a part of the family business. After the wedding, Virgo Salatso, a herione dealer from Italy is looking for the Corleone family backing by money and protection from the law, as they have control over the local government. Vito wants no part of the heroine dealer and little does he know all of the other mob bosses are going along with Salatso. Vito had no idea his noncompliance with Salatso would start a war between the families of New York. This led to Virgo's men to shoot Vito but not killing him. This outgraged Michael and this led to the revenge of him shooting a police captain under Virgo and the shooting of Mr. Salatso. After this, the family sent Michael to Sicily to hide out. While Michael was in Sicily, he fell in love and got married to a woman named Apolonia but their love was short lived because a hit was put out on Michael. Apolonia was killed by the car bomb that was intended for Michael. Also, while Michael was in Sicily, the bosses put a hit on Sunny. The other bosses used Carlo, Connie's husband to set him up. Carlo beat yup Connie and Sunny and was sent to her aid. On the way he had to ggo through a tollbooth where he was met by heavy machine gun fire and was killed. After everything died down, Michael was summoned back to America. With Sunny dead and Vito tired and rapidly aging, he needed to pass the responsibility of the family over to Michael. Michael called a meeting of the five families to announce the Corleone was going to drop all of their operations in New York and go to Las Vegas, but before the y moved to Las Vegas, Michael had to settle all debts. During the baptism of Carlo and Connie's son Michael, who was the child's godfather, had the other five family heads killed. He would also kill Moe Green, who stood in the way of Michael owning a casino in Las Vegas and he also confronted Carl0o about setting up Sunny and going behind the family's back by making deals with the other mob bosses. A few weeks later the Corleone family moved to Las Vegas. Before they leave Michael's wife confronts him about the killing of Carlo and he denies it. He asks her to never ask him about the family business again.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Good Earth.TXT
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The Good Earth
In The Good Earth, by Pearl S, Wang Lung the main character is a poor peasant who buys a wife and moves up in the social ladder during the peasants' revolution. This story displays many major ideas of ancient Chinese culture, such as the social order, the treatment of women, and the role of the family in everyday life. At the beginning of the movie the following quote appears on the screen "The soul of a great nation is expressed in the life of its humblest people. In this simple story of a Chinese farmer may be found something of the soul of China. Its humility, its courage, its deep heritage from the past and its vast promise for the future." This means that an empire's greatness can also be measured by the life of its poorest people, and from this you can tell its character and where the empire is going. The Good Earth is an accurate reproduction of China during the Song and Tang Dynasties. The role of the family was completely represented in both the film and the book. The oldest male in the family is always greatly respected with filial piety. Filial piety was the the idea that elders should be respected and the older you were the wiser you were. In the beginning, Wang Lung bought an ugly slave for a wife because his wise father told him to. Wang Lung's respect for his father somewhat diminishes as his wealth increases and because of this he buys a second wife for his own pleasure. This shows that the Chinese society was predisposed against women and they were a disgrace to the family. The Good Earth shows the treatment, or mistreatment, of women accurately. O-Lan was treated badly by today's standards, but Wang Lung was kind to her compared many other husbands back then. Women in China were treated as slaves, they often worked in the fields, kept the house, and cared for the children. If a couple had a girl as a first child then there was a good chance that she would be killed because only men could earn good money. Some women had their feet bound to keep them small, this was thought to be attractive. If a woman's feet were bound then she could not be a slave or even walk properly on retarded feet. Rich men sometimes had two wives, one they bought for slave work and the other for beauty. Women were on the bottom of the social food chain, everyone was higher than they were. The social order of China during the Song and Tang Dynasties is correctly represented especially, which is shown through the rise of the gentry class and the slow decline of the aristocratic landowner. The gentry class were well educated men with specific skills who started to become more valuable. In China, peasants were very poor and countless until the gentry class emerged. The gentry class was made up of merchants, shop owners, and skilled artisans. This group can be compared to today's working middle class. The movie shows the revolt of the peasents against the Nobles and Landowners. When the gentry class came in, they began to buy the land from The Great House and give themselves power. Now the educated scholars with skills were the respected powerful. When Wang Lung fell into his wealth he began to buy more land and reap the benefits from the crops on his land. With his increasing capitol he eventually bought The Great House. The Good Earth is a story of a poor peasant during a time of change in ancient China, and how he moved up to the top of his society. This story accurately conveys the Chinese culture and way of life during the Song and Tang Dynasties. The rise of the Gentry class and the fall of the aristocratic nobles, was truly and truthfully depicted. This was both a time of joy as well as suffering for the Chinese people that is portrayed in The Good Earth.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Grapes of Wrath 2.TXT
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1247
The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck, in 1929. Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. Steinbeck did not like to narrate any of his novels in which he had no background information in. That is why he would often live the life of his characters before he wrote his novels or short stories. So in preparation for The Grapes of Wrath he went to Oklahoma, joined some migrants and rode with them to California. The Grapes of Wrath starts with Tom Joad, the main character, hitchhiking a ride home after being paroled from the state prison. The reason he was in jail is because four years ago he got into a bar fight and killed a man out of self defense. That is why he only got a seven-year sentence. He gets a ride from a trucker who drops him off in front of the road that leads to his house. Tom starts walking toward his house when he comes along a man named Jim Casy, who used to be a preacher. Casy tells Tom that he doesn't preach anymore because he has lost the call. He says that all things are holy, so why should he preach when the people are holy and he can just be with the holy people. Then Casy joins Tom on the way to his house. When they get to the house, they find that it is deserted. They can't imagine why, when they see something. They see Muley Graves, an old crazy neighbor of the Joad family. Muley tells them that his family went to their Uncle John's house. So Tom and Casy sleep in the fields for the night and then walk to Uncle John's in the morning. When they get there, they notice everyone getting ready to leave. The family explains to Tom that the banks and large companies closed out all the farms and most of the farmers are heading out to California to find work. The family sold all their belongings and got a total of eighteen dollars for them. Casy then joins them because he says he has to be where the people are. Then when they are ready to leave, Grandpa Joad has a fit and the family has to drug him to calm him down. So they leave Uncle John's for California. On the first night of the journey, Grandpa has a stroke and dies. They bury him and help a family named the Wilsons fix their broken-down car. The Joads and Wilsons travel to California together and when they get to California, Mrs. Wilson gets sick and has to stop the trip. The Joads give the Wilsons some money and then leaves them. En route to California, Grama Joad had gotten sicker and sicker. When they get to the great desert at night, Ma Joad notices that Grama is dying. Ma tells Grama that the family won't survive if they have to stop in the desert, and that they have to make it across. Then Grama dies. When they get to a guard station, Grama is already dead, but Ma tells the guards that Grama needs to get to a doctor quickly, and the guards let them go. Once across the desert Ma tells everyone that Grama died, and they leave her to be buried, because they have no money. Then the family gets to a camp for migrants. All the men here are unable to find work. Then a contractor comes into the camp and is looking for workers. One of Tom's friends asks what the man is paying, and gets accused of being a "red." Then the man is arrested, and a fight starts. The sheriff tells everyone that the camp will be burned. So the Joads leave, with the exception of Casy who got mixed up in the run-in with the sheriff, and they find another government camp that is clean, fair, and protected from the police. Here Rose of Sharon's husband deserts her and the family. Although Rose of Sharon, who is Tom's sister, is pregnant. Then when the family is out of money, they leave in search of work. They hear of work in a peach orchard, and head out for that. When they get there, they are escorted into the orchard by police. Outside the front of the orchard there are many men yelling and screaming to the workers. Once inside they begin picking immediately so that they can have enough pay for dinner that night. After dinner, Tom sets out to see what all the men in front of the orchard were yelling about. He finds Jim Casy, who just got out of prison. Jim tells Tom that they are striking against the owners of the orchard who cut the wages in half. During Tom and Casy's talk some men come looking for Casy, who is apparently the leader of the strike. The men kill Casy, then Tom kills the man who killed Casy. Tom runs back to his house and has to hide because one of the men broke his nose. They leave the orchard and find a place where they pick cotton, and Tom can hide until his nose is better. One of the Joad children gets into a fight and threatens to get her brother Tom, because he has killed someone before. Ma Joad hears this and tells Tom he has to leave. Tom feels the same way because he feels he must carry on with the work Casy was doing. So Tom takes some money from Ma Joad, and leaves. When the cotton is done being picked for the season, the rains start to be heavy. When the Joads think about leaving, Rose of Sharon, Tom's sister, starts to have the baby for which she has been pregnant. Some of the other men try to build a dam to keep the water out of the boxcar they are staying in, but the dam does not work. When the baby is born, it is dead. The water keeps coming in, so Pa Joad builds something the family can stay on for a few days. When the rain lets up, Ma Joad says they have to leave to find a drier place. So they carry the children on their shoulders until they get to a highway. They head down the road to a barn with some dry hay inside. There they find a man who hasn't eaten in six days, and is dying from starvation. Since the Joads have no money, or food, Ma suggests that Rose of Sharon feed the man from her breasts. Sharon lets the man drink from her breast and smiles. At the time The Grapes of Wrath was published, it was thought of as more of a document to be debated over, than a work of art. People didn't know if this was the entire truth, or if it was falsified. The people in Oklahoma and California resented the book. The Oklahoma people resented it because they didn't like being called Okies , and they denied that Oklahoma was a dust bowl that couldn't grow crops. In California people denied what was in The Grapes of Wrath . They said that the book was all black lies. Life magazine ran specials that proved that conditions were actually worse than Steinbeck told about. Many people thought that Steinbeck was a communist after The Grapes of Wrath was released. Now that the public isn't offended by the novel we can realize that it is not a communist inspired document, but a work of art that illustrates the current troubles in that frame of American history. I found the book interesting. I did not really like those chapters that popped up occasionally that didn't deal with the plot, but helped explain the previous or following chapters. I am sure that if I had much trouble with a chapter that those chapters would have helped me, but fortunately I didn't run into that problem. I had not realized the full extent of the great depression before reading The Grapes of Wrath . I knew of the hardships of the suburbs, and urban areas of the great depression, but I was unaware of the hardships in the rural areas. Also it never struck me that the depression affected the west. I do not know why but I never thought of it that way. Reading this novel helped me realize the full extent of the depresion.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Grapes of Wrath again.TXT
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David T. Yancey
Mrs. McGuire
American Studies
4 September 2003
Important Symbols in The Grapes of Wrath
	The timeless classic The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck tells the story of the Joad family during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s and how they leave their home in Oklahoma to try to find work in California.  However, the novel is more than just about the Joads' expedition across the western United States.  Symbols play a key part in the meaning of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
	One of the main symbols comes very early in the story, the turtle.  As the turtle is walking across an old dirt road, a car begins to come near where the turtle is crossing.  The car swerves in order to miss the slow, helpless turtle.  The turtle ducks into its shell for safety.  When it realizes that it is safe, it peaks his head out of its protective shell and continues its trek across the road.  A few minutes later a truck comes down the road the other way.  The driver swerves intentionally to hit the defenseless animal.  The trucker hits the side of the turtles shell, quickly flipping it over.  The turtle struggles to get itself back on its underside, thrashing its arms and legs with all of its might.  Finally, it is able to turn itself over.  After this near catastrophe, the turtle sits in the safety of its shell again, not knowing if it was going to make it across to the other side of the road.  It begins walking again.  Using the symbol of the turtle, Steinbeck seems to be suggesting that outside factors affect the fate of the turtle more than the turtle himself.  This is closely related to human fate. We, too, are at the mercy of outside factors such as our surroundings.
	Most of the other symbolism in the novel is biblical, the main source being the book of Exodus in the Old Testament.  In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family leave Oklahoma because they get into a lot of debt that they can't pay; so they have been "tractored out" of their homes.  They then begin a long journey to California because it is said that California is a great place to find work.  Along the way, they encounter many problems such as their car breaking down and the grandparents dying.  This is reminiscent of the book of Exodus when the children of Israel leave Egypt, when they have been slaves, to get to the Promised Land.  On their journey, there are numerous problems and obstacles that they have to get through to achieve their goal.  
	One of the most important symbols in the novel comes from the New Testament. It involves Jim Casey, the former preacher, symbolically representing Jesus Christ in that he gives his life for the cause of helping others.  One of the main indications of this is right before Jim Casey is killed, he yells "You fellas don' know what you're doin."  Right before Jesus Christ is nailed to the cross, he says "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."  Toward the end of the novel, Tom talks about how he wanted to follow Jim's ways and carry out the things that Jim wanted done.  Therefore, in a way, Tom Joad represents one of the Disciples.  In another biblically symbolic passage, Tom wraps up Rose of Sharon's stillborn baby and sends him down the current of the flood water.  This represents Moses' sister Miriam wrapping him up and sending him down the Nile River.
	Symbols are important in a story, and they play a key part in the meaning of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.  They help to develop the personality of the characters and add a moral meaning to the narrative.  All of these symbols are related to the plot as well as to the meaning of the novel.  The result is a deeply moving story of human beings engaged in a struggle for a better life.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John.  The Grapes of Wrath.  New York: Penguin Group, 1976
		Yancey 1 				
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Grapes of Wrath.TXT
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David T. Yancey
Mrs. McGuire
American Studies
4 September 2003
Important Symbols in The Grapes of Wrath
	The timeless classic The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck tells the story of the Joad family during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s and how they leave their home in Oklahoma to try to find work in California.  However, the novel is more than just about the Joads' expedition across the western United States.  Symbols play a key part in the meaning of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
	One of the main symbols comes very early in the story, the turtle.  As the turtle is walking across an old dirt road, a car begins to come near where the turtle is crossing.  The car swerves in order to miss the slow, helpless turtle.  The turtle ducks into its shell for safety.  When it realizes that it is safe, it peaks his head out of its protective shell and continues its trek across the road.  A few minutes later a truck comes down the road the other way.  The driver swerves intentionally to hit the defenseless animal.  The trucker hits the side of the turtles shell, quickly flipping it over.  The turtle struggles to get itself back on its underside, thrashing its arms and legs with all of its might.  Finally, it is able to turn itself over.  After this near catastrophe, the turtle sits in the safety of its shell again, not knowing if it was going to make it across to the other side of the road.  It begins walking again.  Using the symbol of the turtle, Steinbeck seems to be suggesting that outside factors affect the fate of the turtle more than the turtle himself.  This is closely related to human fate. We, too, are at the mercy of outside factors such as our surroundings.
	Most of the other symbolism in the novel is biblical, the main source being the book of Exodus in the Old Testament.  In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family leave Oklahoma because they get into a lot of debt that they can't pay; so they have been "tractored out" of their homes.  They then begin a long journey to California because it is said that California is a great place to find work.  Along the way, they encounter many problems such as their car breaking down and the grandparents dying.  This is reminiscent of the book of Exodus when the children of Israel leave Egypt, when they have been slaves, to get to the Promised Land.  On their journey, there are numerous problems and obstacles that they have to get through to achieve their goal.  
	One of the most important symbols in the novel comes from the New Testament. It involves Jim Casey, the former preacher, symbolically representing Jesus Christ in that he gives his life for the cause of helping others.  One of the main indications of this is right before Jim Casey is killed, he yells "You fellas don' know what you're doin."  Right before Jesus Christ is nailed to the cross, he says "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."  Toward the end of the novel, Tom talks about how he wanted to follow Jim's ways and carry out the things that Jim wanted done.  Therefore, in a way, Tom Joad represents one of the Disciples.  In another biblically symbolic passage, Tom wraps up Rose of Sharon's stillborn baby and sends him down the current of the flood water.  This represents Moses' sister Miriam wrapping him up and sending him down the Nile River.
	Symbols are important in a story, and they play a key part in the meaning of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.  They help to develop the personality of the characters and add a moral meaning to the narrative.  All of these symbols are related to the plot as well as to the meaning of the novel.  The result is a deeply moving story of human beings engaged in a struggle for a better life.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John.  The Grapes of Wrath.  New York: Penguin Group, 1976
		Yancey 1 				
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Great Departure.TXT
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1117
Daniel Smith's, The Great Departure illustrates very well the United State's evolution from a traditionally isolationist nation to an interventionist nation. WWI literally dragged the U.S. out of its isolationist shell and placed the U.S. at the forefront of international politics. The pressure to join WWI was resisted greatly by the Wilson administration and the country as a whole. Smith does an excellent job at presenting the factors that influenced the U.S. to enter the war and at conveying the mind set of American leaders during this time and the issues they faced pertaining to the war. The author illustrates the factors of interest or the eventual causes involvement in WWI in chapters II, III, IV. He offers good points to the issues and now I would like to discuss some of the issues he has mentioned. Propaganda was a tool used by Germany and the allies to influence the U.S., whether that propaganda was used to keep the U.S. out of the war or to try and draw the U.S. into the war makes no real difference. The extent of propaganda in the U.S. is shown by the Dr. Albert's briefcase affair and the German execution of Nurse Edith Cavell and other atrocities of war carried out by either side. The author, while recognizing the importance of these propaganda stories and the heterogeneous culture of the U.S., underestimates the actual impact on public sentiment it actually had I feel. The U.S., "the great melting pot" had an enormous immigrant population, to underestimate the effect of propaganda on a population that had close personal ties to their homeland, and their ability to influence the actions of government in a democratic republic is a mistake. President Wilson was operating under this assumption that the people would influence the government when he neglected to accept any of the Senator Lodge's changes to the peace treaty. While I agree with Smith that this is not the reason the U.S. joined the allies in WWI, I feel the heterogenous makeup of the U.S. population is possibly the major influence the U.S. had to move away from an isolationist state. Balance of Powers was another great factor that influenced the U.S. in its views of WWI. The U.S. and the world had come to rely on the principle of balance of power to ensure peace, security and trade throughout the world, and it was no doubt that a victory by the Central Powers would catapult Germany to superpower status and upset the balance of power in Europe and thus the rest of the world. The only check on German powers then would be the U.S. This situation is what the U.S. feared. The author offers and example of this sediment from the viewpoint of Robert Lansing; counselor to the State Department (at the time): "Germany the leading representative of a militaristic and statist philosophy, could be said to be a triple threat to the United States: ideologically it menaced democratic institutions and values, militarily it endangered the nation's security, and it was the most serious rival of the United States for economic and political influence in Latin America." I agree with Smith that this fear of future aggression on the part of Germany influenced foreign policy greatly. However, the scope of influence in Latin America is exaggerated. Germany did have large amounts of money invested in Latin America at the time but German investments were dwarfed by the investments of Great Britain in Latin America. So the claim of Germany being the most serious rival of the U.S. for economic influence in Latin America is invalid. I am not underestimating the amount of influence Germany had in Latin America, the Zimmermann telegraph clearly illustrates the influence Germany had in the region and this proposal of Germany to Mexico to aid Germany in the event of U.S. involvement in the war and Mexico would receive territory it had lost to the U.S. earlier. I feel that the U.S. and Britain had a much larger scope of influence in Latin America for Germany to bring in Latin American countries to align themselves with the Central Powers. I do agree with Smith that the Zimmerann telegraph did prepare the public for the possibility of the U.S. entering the war. Trade is another important issue that the U.S. faced is its postwar period. The U.S. economy was booming from the war trade. While the U.S. government at first did not actively trade in war materials, many American companies did. The Wilson administration sought to actively protect American companies' interest. Trade and the freedom of the seas was a complex issue for the Wilson administration. The submarine warfare of the Germans threatened American shipping and the blacklisting of American companies by the British were complex issues that tested the foreign relations skills of Wilson. The U.S. was looking at both of these problems with views that were outdated. As the old laws of war stated that a neutral nation (the U.S.) could trade with belligerent nations and had the freedom to sail the seas and if so inspected and found to be carrying contraband arrangements for safe passage of those aboard must be provided. The Germans found this to be unacceptable for submarine warfare did not allow for the passage of passengers and it put the submarine at risk when it surfaced to inspect ships. Smith covered the U-boat issue very well I thought. What this issue of trade boiled down to is that the U.S. was furnishing guns, food, clothing and other materials of war to the allies and wanted this right to trade unobstructed. The U.S. was in all actuality doing everything it could to ensure an allied victory without actually fighting a war. Smith illustrates well our economic involvement in the conflict and the ever struggling fight not to get involved in the actual politics of the war. Smith represents the mind set Wilson and his advisors very well. He gave abundance of evidence of Wilson taking the moral high ground on many if not all of the issues that came before him. He seems to indicate that Wilson would not have been as an effective diplomatic leader had he been without the aid of his advisors Colonel House and particularly Robert Lansing. Wilson was an ideologist and these two advisors saw things in more practical terms. An example of this would be Lansing's prediction that the Bolshevik Revolution would end up being as bloody as the French revolution was; while, Wilson felt the people of Russia were a democratic people and would return to a democracy. The author's accounts of the happenings leading up to war were thorough and illustrated the pressures that led the U.S. into the war and pushed it into the role of an interventionist very well. He provided much insight into the ideology of the day in particularly President Wilson, but he doesn't provide much insight into the ideology of other foreign leaders. It is a book but of American diplomacy but it would be helpful to have had insight into the ideology of the other countries that partook in the peace negotiations and how they clashed with Wilson's personal ideology that he stood so firmly for. Although I have been critical of this book, I personally enjoyed it and felt it was very helpful in understanding the factors that led us into the first world war. The book is an asset to the class.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Great Gatsby.TXT
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982
Doesn't it always seem as though rich and famous people are larger- than-life and virtually impossible to touch, almost as if they were a fantasy? In The Great Gatsby, set in two wealthy communities, East Egg and West Egg, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as a Romantic, larger- than-life, figure by setting him apart from the common person. Fitzgerald sets Gatsby in a fantasy world that, based on illusion, is of his own making. Gatsby's possessions start to this illusion. He lives in an extremely lavish mansion. "It is a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden." It models an extravagant castle with a European style. Indoors it has "Marie Antoinette music- rooms and restoration salons." There is even a "Merton College Library, paneled with imported carved English oak and thousands of volumes of books." There is even a private beach on his property. He also has his own personal hydroplane. Gatsby also drives a highly imaginative, "circus wagon", car that "everybody had seen. It is a rich cream color with nickel and has a three-noted horn." It has a "monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes, supper-boxes, tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields and a green leather conservatory." Other than Gatsby's possessions, he develops his personal self. His physical self appearance sets him apart form the other characters. His smile is the type "that comes across four or five times in life. One of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it." He has a collection of tailored shirts from England. They are described as "shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel." He has shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and la- vender and faint orange, with monograms of Indian blue." Gatsby wears a unique "gorgeous pink rag of a suit" that sets him apart as a "bright spot." Gatsby's mannerisms are different too. He gives the "strong im- pression that he picks his words with care." Gatsby is an "elegant young roughneck whose elaborate formality of speech just misses being absurd." Gatsby also has a particularly distinct phrase which is "old sport." Further, at his parties he stands apart from the other people. Unlike everyone else, he does not drink any alcohol. Also, there are no young ladies that lay their head on his shoulder and he doesn't dance. During his parties he either sits alone or stands on his balcony alone, apart from everyone else. Gatsby even creates himself a false personal history that is unlike anyone else's in order to give him the appearance of having old money. He says that he is the son of a wealthy family in the Middle West, San Francisco, and he was educated at Oxford. Sup- posedly after his family had all died he "lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe collecting jewels, hunting big game, painting and doing things for himself." During the war he was apparently a promoted major that every Allied government gave a decoration to." However, the medal he received looked to be either fake or borrowed. The fantasy world that Fitzgerald gives Gatsby also ends with parties that are practically like movie-like productions. These parties are so fantastic that they last from Friday nights to Monday mornings. His house and garden is decorated with thousands of colored lights, "enough to make a Christmas tree of his enormous garden." "Buffet tables are garnished with glistening hors-d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys be- witched to a dark gold." He has famous singers that entertain his guests whom are the most well known and richest people. There is an orchestra with "oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and pic- colos and low and high drums." People do not even have to be invited to come to his parties. Car loads of people arrive at his celebrations. Movie directors, actresses and many celebrities attend his extravagan- zas. All these things make his parties well known by everyone. As I said in the beginning , he is portrayed by Fitzgerald as a larger-than- life figure. Apart from the fantasy world of Gatsby, Fitzgerald also invest his quest with a religious motif. The author describes him as a wor- shipper of his "holy" love, Daisy Buchanan. The promise is that he will be with her again. He devotes his life to trying to get Daisy back into his life by first becoming rich and then by getting her attention with his possessions and parties. He even builds his house directly across the bay and facing the Buchanan's house. Gatsby is also likened to a chivalric knight. His outrageous car may be paralleled to a great white horse of a knight. His quest for Daisy is identical to the quest of medieval knights who sought the Holy Grail. At night he stands out in front of his house with his "arms Stretched out" toward Daisy's green dock light. Comparable to a knight's watchfulness, Gatsby also stays at Daisy's window all night staring at the light trying to protect her from Tom and watching over her.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Great Houdini.TXT
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1152
The performer known world wide as Harry Houdini was born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest. Although Houdini often claimed to be born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Houdini actually came to the United States when he was four years old. To this day many connected with the small town of Appleton still claim the untruth that Houdini was born there strictly to attract tourists. Houdini's father was Mayer Samuel Weiss. Houdini's father was a Rabbi. His mother's name was Cecilia Steiner Weiss. His parents spoke little English, and the family was quite poor so most of the children began to work at an early age. From the age of eight young Ehrich Weiss sold newspapers and worked as a shoe shine boy. At the age of 12, young Ehrich left home to make his way in the world in an attempt to help support his family. Young Ehrich traveled the country for about a year, always sending money home when he could. Finally he joined up with his father in New York City. The family moved to New York in the hope of finding a better life there. In New York, Houdini worked as a messenger and as a cutter in a garment center sweat shop, to help support his family. Houdini began performing magic as a teenager first calling himself Eric the Great. Ehrich acquired the name Houdini from a book he read, "The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin," the autobiography of one of the greatest magicians of the day. Influenced by what he read and learned about the internationally known magician Robert Houdin, young Ehrich changed his name to Houdini, hoping to be in some way like his new found mentor. Houdini's first magic shows consisted of card tricks and other simple magic. Soon Houdini began experimenting with hand cuffs and using them in his acts. Houdini performed with another young man who worked with him in the factory in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. Soon Houdini's younger brother Theo took the place of the boy from the factory. Together with his brother Theo, they tried to succeed as the Houdini Brothers. Their first performances included shows at amusement parks, beer halls, "dime museums," and at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. In 1894, Houdini met Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, who was singing and dancing as part of the Floral Sisters. They were working Coney Island at the time. After knowing each other only two weeks they were married in the month of July. Bess, as she was called, worked and traveled with Houdini. Bess took Theo's place in the act that would now be called "The Houdini's". Houdini began offering rewards to anyone who could successfully restrain him, first in handcuffs and later in all manner of objects. Houdini escaped from handcuffs, leg irons, straight jackets, jails and prison cells, a mail pouch, packing crates, a giant paper bag (without tearing the paper), a giant football, an iron boiler, milk cans, coffins, and the famous Water Torture Cell. Some of Houdini's escapes, such as the Straight Jacket or being tied with a hundred feet of rope, Houdini would do in full view of the audience. Houdini spent many hours studying, practicing and conditioning. For Houdini's underwater stunts, Houdini would practice holding his breath in the bathtub for up to four minutes. To help draw crowds and sell tickets, Houdini would do escape challenges, often at police stations with newspaper reporters present, assuring a headline story. Martin Beck, Vaudeville's most important booking agent caught Houdini's act in 1899 and was impressed with his dynamic personality and booked him as a "challenge escape artist." Martin Beck booked the Orpheum circuit, the largest chain of vaudeville theaters in the country and booked all of the stars of vaudeville. He had a trained eye for talent. He immediately placed Houdini in big time vaudeville as a supporting act. Houdini soon began to headline in several theaters throughout the country. After some success in the United States Houdini decided to go to Europe in the year 1900. Houdini created a sensation in London, England and went on to travel throughout Europe for five years as a headliner. Houdini had so much work in Europe that he summoned his brother Theo to work there under the name Hardeen. Houdini returned to the United States, determined to become an even bigger star in the country he loved. He would cris-cross between Europe and the United States going where he could get the biggest offers. As escape artist imitators popped up to take advantage of Houdini's tremendous success, Houdini began to originate new and more difficult and dangerous escapes. Houdini invented the underwater packing box escape as a fabulous publicity stunt that was copied by many others. He was the first person to do the Straight Jacket Escape as well. He introduced the sensational Milk Can Escape in St. Louis on January 27, 1908. In 1913 he introduced his legendary Chinese Water Torture Cell. This was the same year his mother died which was a great shock to Houdini. He was in Europe at them time and his family had not told of his mother's illness. He was also the first to do the largest stage illusion to that day, making the largest object known at the time - an elephant disappear. This was done in 1918 at the Hippodrome in New York City. In 1916 Houdini began a film career. This gave people all over the world a chance to see the great artist. Houdini made five major silent films up until 1923. He also wrote several of them. His films include "The Master Mystery," "The Grim Game," "Terror Island" and "The Man From Beyond." Houdini was given one of the first stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the film industry. The star is in a prominent spot out side of Hollywood's famous Chinese Theater. Houdini wrote and even directed several of his movies. Houdini hated cheats and frauds. Throughout his career Houdini exposed cheats and frauds in the areas of gambling, spiritualism, and psychic frauds. Houdini never believed in spiritualism, but would often pretend to in order to gain entry to seances. Houdini would write many books and articles throughout his life. They included "The Right Way To Do Wrong," an expose of swindlers, "A Magician Among The Spirits," an expose of psychic frauds, and "The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin," which was up until that time the greatest book on the history of magic. On October 22, 1926, Houdini was in Montreal performing at the Princess Theater. In his dressing room at the theater, while lying on a couch backstage, an young athlete from McGill University, asked if Houdini could actually withstand punches to the stomach as he had heard. Before Houdini could prepare himself by tightening his stomach muscles, the student began to punch the legendary magician in the midsection. Houdini did not know it, but his appendix was ruptured. Houdini did several more shows in Montreal and then headed for Detroit. Houdini did one performance there and then collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Houdini did not die in an escape or fail in some final escape as many believe. The greatest "ghost buster" of all time died on October 31, 1926, Halloween. No other famous magician worked as hard as Houdini to promote his craft and those around him. Houdini today is one of the best know performers and promoters in theatrical and film history and Houidni's name has come to mean the ability to escape from any restraint or difficult situation. Houdini not only earned a place in history but in the dictionary as well.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Greatest Day.TXT
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2200
"Buzz" Aldrin, pilot of the Lunar module for the Apollo 11 space flight to the moon, coincided in his priest shortly before the launch of Apollo 11. Aldrin was scared that neither the Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong, nor the public would understand the social and philosophical ramifications of landing on the moon. Shortly after the Lunar Module landed at Tranquility base, on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, Aldrin asked NASA officials and everyone else who might be listening to take a minute of personal prayer and contemplate what man had just accomplished. Aldrin then preformed he ritual of communion in the Lunar Module. Of a Fire on the Moon, a book surrounding the events of the Apollo 11 journey to the moon, was written by Norman mailer during the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Mailer was approached to write a book about the Space program shortly after he lost a highly publicized race for the Mayor of New York City. Mailer had little or no money, and was given one million-dollars to write the book. For Mailer the third week of July 1969 pointed toward an end"...a curious depression full of fevers, forebodings, and a general sense that the century was done-it had ended in the summer of 1969. " 1. Mailer's apocalyptic view of 1969 and the end of a century is a reoccurring theme behind Mailer's look at the United States Space Program and the flight of Apollo 11. Mailer can only see the political goals of going to the moon, not the romanticism and spirituality that surrounded it. Mailer saw the flight of Apollo 11 as a gigantic, technological achievement, but Mailer believes the technology was developed for all the wrong reasons. 2 Throughout the first few chapter Of a Fire on the Moon, the reader becomes aware of Mailer's stance on the United States Space Program, and Mailer's own political and personal beliefs. Mailer was torn in his understanding of why man was attempting to travel to the moon: "Intended by divine will to travel across the heavens, we were now at the least on our way to the moon, and who could know if we were ahead or behind of some schedule the lord had presented us, a schedule which presumably each man and woman alive would keep in the depths of their unconscious along with everything else most vital for the preservation of life." 3 Mailer wanted to believe that by some divine intervention man was touched by the hand of God, and with that touch, humanity would begin a journey to the ends of the solar system, to the ends of the universe in search of the divine spirit which created him. However, Mailer he had faith in another: "A meaningless journey to a dead arena in order that men could engage in the irrational activity of designing machines which would give birth to other machines which would travel to meaningless places as if they were engaged in these collective acts of hugely organized wit, goodness, or charity to solve their real problems, and so would certainly destroy themselves if they did not have a game of gargantuan dimensions for diversion...." 4 Mailer believed that the technology and the machines being developed to land on the moon are being developed for reason, to land a man on the moon. The act of building and developing these new machines has no purpose, no reason for being. Early in the text, Mailer notes the psychology of machines. That is a hard statement to understand, but Mailer's contention is that the machines man builds, no matter what the size, or intention, have a soul. The machines can be tamed, but never controlled. Mailer was aware that the rapid advance in the technology of machines is not only destructive, but dangerous. Mailer knew that technology was developing so rapidly, that those who weren't adept at mastering it were lost with in the culture: "...Ideas were what Americans cared about, and the biggest ideas were doubtless the best, but what a price had been paid." 5 Mailer is talking about the Faustian deal the United States government made in order to accomplish President John F. Kennedy's decree in 1961 to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth by the end of the decade. This decree was at its purist a political goal. During the late 1950s and early 1960s Space was dominated the communist, Soviet Union. President Kennedy and other high-ranking politicians saw the space program, (especially the race to the moon), as a way to promote democracy to the world, and become the leader in the world's Space Race. The Kennedy administration needed an objective to focus the American people toward. Kennedy needed a goal the Russians could not achieve before the United States. President Kennedy stated his objective of sending a man to the moon, and having him safely return to earth, without ever explaining the social and political ramifications that a very large, very expensive Space Program would cause. Mailer believes that the United States was able to achieve its goal of a moon landing, because it spent billions of dollars creating new technology with only one purpose and one direct outcome: a staggering amount of technology with no apparent use or need. The rocketry developed during the Apollo missions originated in Nazi Germany during World War II. On July 15, 1969, the night before Apollo 11 was to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Werner Von Braun was the guest of honor at a reception at a country club near Cocoa Beach, Florida. Von Braun was the German scientist that developed the V-2 rocket during World War II. Von Braun was instrumental in designing and testing the rocketry the United States Space Program was founded upon. Norman Mailer attended the reception for Von Braun the night before Apollo 11 was to launch. Mailer describes the people at the reception as being open and warm to Von Braun as he talked about the Apollo 11 mission, and what he thought was the future of the United States Space Program. Mailer then makes a stunning observation, that the people attending the reception conveniently forgot, or didn't care to remember, that Von Braun was once a Nazi. The technology that was going to put the United States and the American people at the forefront of the world had been conceived during a time of war, only to kill. 6 Again Mailer's observations raise a valid point about technology. The rockets developed by the Nazi's were the predecessors to the rockets developed for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Space missions. Large, multistage rockets were developed to carry large weapon payloads for the military in times of war. The rockets used to send Alan Shepard into space in 1960 were intercontinental ballistic missiles, or nuclear missile with out a nuclear warhead. The entire premise of Space flight and launching items into space derived from the idea of nuclear warfare. This is not to say that all technology involved in the United States Space program is bad. The Technology for the Space Program of the 1960s was unlike anything the American people had ever seen. Advances in computer circuitry, engineering design, and new materials were developed during this period solely to put a man on the moon have affected today's society greatly. It is my belief that the technology NASA has created through the space program has lead to the betterment of our daily life. A simple computer that is available today, in any store dwarfs the capabilities of those developed by NASA in the 1960s. It is astonishing that in 1960 a simple computer, with a small amount of data carried men to the moon. On the other hand, Mailer once again finds fault with an item as simple as the computers developed for the Apollo missions. "The digital computer was a diabolical machine, or the greatest instrument ever handed to man, but it could hardly be both for it was constructed on the implicit premise that all phenomena might yet be capable of capture by statistics." 7 The technological advancements developed during the 1960s are in every American home today. Items such as Velcro, which was developed to hold the astronauts and there items in place in a zero gravity atmosphere; Teflon which we use to cook chicken and not have it stick to a pan, both came from the space program. The possibility of what the United States can accomplish in Space still hasn't been realized. Dr. George Mueller, head of the NASA Manned Space Program, spoke to Norman Mailer during the Apollo 11 flight about the importance of Space. Mueller talked about a manned moon base, melting the perma-frost layer of the moon in order to find water to fuel large rockets to explore deeper into space. Mueller talked about having a space station in orbit around earth, and manufacturing goods in Space. He talked of revolutionizing machines by producing flawless ball bearings in a zero gravity environment. 8 The night before Apollo 11, Werner Von Braun spoke about building giant nuclear rockets in space that would be able to explore our solar system. Von Braun spoke of a moon base. 9 These men had a quality that Mailer lacked: vision. Mailer is cynical, because he can only see what is happening today. Mailer lacks the imagination to see what can be accomplished tomorrow. Mailer can only criticize the politics goal of going to the moon, not the romanticism that captured a generation. The third week in July of 1969 was great, because NASA accomplished and full-filled one of man's dreams, setting foot upon the moon. Norman Mailer was blind to the history that he was witness too. Mailer saw the Apollo 11 mission as the culmination of everything that is bad in America. Mailer never realizes that he is merely witness to something he has no control over. The genius behind Mailers book is the detail and the amount of description something of little importance or interest is given. Mailer does not merely write about the launch of Apollo 11, or its significance, he makes the reader feel as if he is present and able to witness history as it happens. The book begins slowly. Every line is layered with Mailers philosophical beliefs, but Mailer does accomplish something extraordinary when he begins to take an in depth look at the Apollo 11 mission itself. Mailer, in talking about the launch of Apollo 11 from an engineering aspect gives the reader an in depth and accurate knowledge of the Saturn V Missile its functions during flight, the fuels used to power it, and the preflight assembly and preparation of NASA. Every engineering question that I had thought of while studying the Apollo program was answered by Mailers descriptions of the Apollo 11 flight. Mailer gave me the intimate accounts of what the astronauts did post launch. Mailer told me of all the little nuances that NASA engineers had thought of in order to make the Apollo missions work. " At a rate between two and three times an hour, the spacecraft rotated slowly about its axis, the better to keep itself toasted equally on all sides by solar rays rather than suffer the heat to port and freezing to starboard which would ensue from voyaging with one side always in the sun, and the other in darkened space." 10 Mailer is referring to Passive Thermal Control [PTC], the act of rotating the Apollo spacecraft in flight in deep space, so as to equally heat all sides. Mailer can describe this little detail, and others such as the radio used to contact NASA from two-hundred fifty-thousand miles, but he never becomes aware the beauty surrounding their creation. Throughout Of a Fire on the Moon, Mailer never witnesses the beauty and potential of the Space program, or the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, rather he is preoccupied with answering the question of why man created this technology, and for what use. Mailer never gives the reader an answer, only an opinionated this is what ruins Of a Fire on the Moon. Within the four hundred pages Miler wrote lays two books. The first is an opinionated account of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, and the events surrounding it. The second book is an excellent description of the Apollo 11 mission from preflight countdown to lunar landing, and the journey back to Earth. That's the purpose of this book, to teach something. Mailer doesn't inform the public by his social opinions, he alienates the, but he draws them back with a subtle knowledge and detail of the Apollo 11 mission and NASA that is perfect.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Hobbit.TXT
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589
This book is titled The Hobbit; it is 297 pages long and is written by J.R.R. Tolkien, He has written The lord of the Rings as well. This is a story about a Hobbit whose name is Bilbo Baggins. One morning thirteen Dwarfs and Gandalf The Wandering Wizard appeared at Bilbo's door. The Dwarfs wanted Bilbo to help them conquer a dragon named Smaug, who had taken over their land. When Bilbo woke up the next morning, they started out on a journey towards Lonely Mountain. Then, a thunderstorm came upon them and they found a dry cave and slept there for the night. Bilbo was awakened by a scraping sound, then he saw the stone wall open. The group was captured by Goblins. They found themselves in a large cavern in the mountain. The Goblin scowled at them. Then Thorin stepped forward and explained to him that they did not mean to trespass. Gandolf appeared at The door and freed the group from the goblins. The group ran ahead and Bilbo was lost behind them. Bilbo found an underwater lake and a ring on an island in the lake. He found out that the ring made him invisible. In the lake also lived a creature named Gollum. Gollum was a creature that ate other people. Gollum approached Bilbo and Bilbo told him he desired to find a way out. They then played a riddle game and if Bilbo won, he lived and if he lost, he would die. Bilbo won the riddle game but Gollum still wanted to eat him, but then Bilbo accidentally slipped the ring on his finger and became invisible, so he escaped. He met with the group again and walked with them for a few days. Gandolf left the group a few days later. The ring Bilbo had helped the group through two more circumstances along the journey. The group made it to the base of Lonely Mountain. They then climbed the mountain and found a secret entrance to the inside, where Smaug was. Thorin and the Dwarfs stayed outside. Bilbo went down a hallway and came upon Smaug. He then slipped on the ring he had found earlier and became invisible. Smaug awoke when Bilbo tried to steal a gold cup. Smaug knew that the Hobbit was there because he heard him. Smaug told Bilbo that nothing could pierce his scales. But when Bilbo searched Smaug's body he found a scale was missing in one spot. So Bilbo grabbed the cup and ran out of the mountain. Smaug followed Bilbo and started burning the city. Meanwhile, Bilbo had told a bird to find a hunter named Bard the Hunter and to tell him that Smaug had a weak spot below the neck. Bard the Hunter came and saw the spot and plunged an arrow into Smaug, Smaug fell down and died. Overall, I hated this book. It was a long read, and kind of hard to understand. There was too much fantasy in this book, for it to be considered one of J.R.R. Tolkien's most famous novel. I guess that I decided to read this novel because it had a nice cover. Even though I did not like this book because of it contents, the story behind it was pretty interesting, and it would make a really good Japanese cartoon series.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Hot Zone.TXT
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The Hot Zone
AUTHOR: Richard Preston PUBLISHER: Random House DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1994 Setting: The setting g takes place in two major places. Reston Maryland which is a suburb of Washington DC. and the second major area is in Kenya Africa. The story takes place in the 1980's. Main Characters: Since this story is a true story there is no one character that is a main character. The author does not create the story around any one main character so I'll just list every character I can remember from the book. 1. Charles Monet: He was the first host to the deadly ebola virus breakout in Africa. He was 56 years old and was kind of a loner according to the authors interviews with people. 2. Dr. Mosoke: He was Charles Monets doctor when Charles crashed and bled out which means when the host suddenly starts bleeding infectious blood out of every orifice in the body. 3. Nancy Jaax: She was a veterinary pathologist at a military fort in Maryland.. 4. Jerry Jaax: He was a veterinarian and husband to Nancy Jaax. 5. Peter Jahrling: He was a disease expert at Fort Detrick 6. Gene Johnson: He was in charge of the Reston operation. He also was the discoverer of Ebola Sudan. 7. Nun: The Nun's name was unknown but she had the very first recorded case of Ebola Zaire which is the most dangerous of the three strains. Summary: This is a true story. On New Year's Day 1980 a man named Charles Monet went on a trip with a girl friend of his up to Mnt. Elgon in West Kenya. They spent the night there and went to a large cave there called Kitcum cave. After his trip to Kitcum cave he went home and three days later had a huge headache that wouldn't go away. That is the first symptom of this deadly disease. A few days later he went to the doctors and they told him he should go to a bigger hospital in Nairobi. Charles caught a flight to Nairobi an the ninth day after his visit to kitcum cave. All through the flight to Nairobi he was throwing up blood mixed with a black liquid. When he got to the hospital he sat down and waited to be served. Then his spine went limp and nerveless and he lost all sense of balance. he started going into shock. He then started throwing up an incredible amount of blood from his stomach and spilt it on to the floor. The people who were there said the only sound was the choking in his throat from his constant vomiting while he is unconscious. Then came the sound of bed sheets being torn in half which is the sound of his bowels opening up and venting blood from the anus. The blood is mixed with intestinal lining. His gut is sloughed. The linings of his intestines come off and were being expelled from his body along with huge amounts of blood. This dying process which happens to nine out of ten people who come in contact with the deadly disease is called crashing and bleeding. Samples of his blood were flown to all the major disease labs in the world. The disease was a Marburg Strain. In Sudan the same types of deaths were wiping out whole tribes. So Gene Johnson flew over there and worked with sick members of the tribes to try and find a cure. This strain of Marburg was called Ebola Sudan for were it was found. Later in Zaire there was an out post of missionaries who would give vaccine shots and penicillin to local tribes. One of the nuns there became sick with a similar disease. She died and her blood was sent to disease labs all over the world. The strain was called Ebola Zaire since it was discovered in Zaire. In Reston Maryland there was a monkey house that would ship monkeys all over the US. to labs for medical experiments. Suddenly all the monkeys started dying in one room. Tom Jahrling from fort Detrick came down and took a look at the monkeys and took some samples. He took back and he and Tom Geisbert looked at it and thought it was just a small monkey virus and try smelled it which is a way to tell what something was. They couldn't tell what it was so they looked at it under a electron microscope and it looked allot like Marburg. They were scared because they had smelled the container of the marburg. They didn't tell anyone that they had been exposed. The Military and the C.D.C. (Center for Disease Control) sealed off the whole building and Nancy Jaax and Jerry Jaax led squads of people inside the building wearing space suits. Two people while working inside the building were cut and their space suits were torn which means they were exposed to the virus. They found out that the virus they were working with was a close relative to Ebola Zaire. They killed all the monkeys in the building and locks their corpses up because they were predicting that if the virus got out it would total the human population. It would be like another Black Plague, but the Black Plague only killed 50% of those infected while this killed 90%. They put a special chemical in the building and let it sit four three days. After the tree days nothing was alive in the entire building not even a tiny microscopic virus could live. But four people had been exposed to the virus and surprisingly they all lived they later realized that the virus must have mutated so it would not harm humans but if it mutated again and could effect humans it would be devastating. This new virus was called Ebola Reston. OPINION: I thought the book was really scary. It was scary to see that there are diseases that could completely wipe us out and that we got really lucky at Reston. I thought the book was also very educating. From a scale of one to ten I give it a ten because the author uses great detail. for instance when the author tells the effects of the disease.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The House On Mango Stree1.TXT
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The House On Mango Street
The House on Mango Street is a collection of mini stories wrapped around a Latin-girl's view of her neighborhood and neighbors. Esperanza hates her name, it's hope in English but has too many letters in Spanish. She is named after her free-spirited Grandmother, and lives with her parents and two brothers and one sister. Esperanza has moved every year to a new rental. Her parents always talk of owning their own home, and what it would be like. They finally move to Mango Street and don't have to bother with landlords banging on the ceiling or floor, and they don't have to share space. It definitely isn't the home of their dreams, but even when Esperanza leaves this street, she will always remember the roots it gave her.
The main character in this book is Esperanza, who is also the narrator. Esperanza has a way of finding everyone's little idiosyncrasies that make us unique individuals. Boys and girls live in separate worlds, so Nettie, her sister is her responsibility and tags along everywhere. Lucy and Rachel are sisters that are her friends; they play games and watch the coming and goings of Mango Street. Louie, who lives in an apartment down the street, has a cousin, Marin, visiting from Puerto Rico. Marin tells the girls things about make-up and boys. One of Louie's cousins visits with a beautiful yellow convertible and takes Marin and the girls for a ride. The white leather upholstery is like a beautiful sofa. They ride around the neighborhood. The girls are really impressed, and then he stops suddenly and tells them to get out quick. He speeds away and they hear sirens. He crashes and the beautiful car looks like an accordion. He is handcuffed and taken to jail. The girls wave and thank him. Esperanza is vaguely aware of what is going on, she is telling the story as a little girl with no concept of the significance of what is happening. Some of these stories told are from the innocence of youth, but the harsh reality makes some of the stories about the people sad and unfortunately true. I liked the book, even though it was a world I never spent time in. It broadened my horizon about what it might be like living in a poor section of a big city. I didn't like the fact that there really is no ending, does Esperanza go to school and finish, and did she get to live in a house that she could be proud of. I think I would recommend this book to young girls, especially ones that think their lot in life is miserable.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The House On MAngo Street.TXT
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The House On MAngo Street
Everyone has specific characteristics and qualities that make them the way they present themselves. Young, middle-aged, and old people are constantly forming the essentials that affect their self-awareness through their daily activities. Forming one's identity is an ongoing process, because every person in the world can change people one way or another. In The House on Mango Street, the experiences young Esperanza faced day to day develop her true individuality. Young people are easily persuaded and if someone so desired, they could mold them into the person they want. Commonly, young children develop their identity from going the school, playing with other children, and from their home life. When children go to school, if they are teased for being ethnic, colored, unkempt or anything else, this could cause them to be introverted, or ashamed of how they present themselves. On the other hand, the constant teasing from schoolmates may begin to brew strong feelings of anger. If they are rejected by society, when they are just starting to form an identity, this will probably have a negative effect upon them and their surrounding communities. The identity, also, comes largely from the family, neighborhood and a small crowd of friends. A supportive and functional home life will be positive to a little child's identity. If children see their parents fighting, the neighborhood they live in is a slum, they are around drugs and addictions, and then most likely the children's identity will be affected negatively. Neighborhood friends can be negative influences also. They could pressure others to smoke, do drugs, or simply be the wrong crowd to get mixed up with, and in return, will cause nothing but trouble. The opposite could happen, and friends could be positive influences. For example, if the children are intelligent, enrolled in school, come from good homes and have their heads on straight then their identity will be properly formed. The character, Esperanza, in The House on Mango Street has Mexican roots and her heritage is the center of her identity. Her name means "hope," in Spanish, but she is embarrassed by such an uncommon and ethnic name. She says, "I would like to be baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees" (11). People in her neighborhood are always being stereotyped as dangerous and troublesome people. Esperanza is not like all of the other people she lives near. The bums try to kiss the neighborhood girls, children smoke cigarettes and husbands are abusive, but Esperanza knows this will not happen to her later on in life. Also, she will not be a boy crazy teenager, because she feels there is more to life than boys or she will not let any man abuse her, because she is stronger than that. One day Esperanza is walking down the street and says, "I had to prove to me that I wasn't scared of nobody's eyes" (72). She does not want to look like a little girl and show that she is weak and afraid of strangers. So she has to grow up fast physically and emotionally. Another characteristic she has is her gentleness and sense to nurture. She is very gentle through her poetry, which expresses her true identity. Nature is a main theme in her poems: I want to be Like the waves on the sea, Like the clouds in the wind, But I'm me. One day I'll jump Out of my skin. I'll shake the sky Like a hundred violins (61). She wants to be known as a gentle girl, unlike all the aggressive and abusive people who surround her life. Esperanza has to learn responsibility when she is young, because she always had to look out for her little sister, Nenny. Her sister is a responsibility when they are out of the house and if anything happened to younger Nenny, Esperanza would get in trouble for what happened. In addition, when Esperanza gets a job, she learns how to be responsible, and she also saw some of the real world. Older people were not friendly in that workplace, she does her tedious job standing up and when she eat her lunch, she sat alone once again with no friends. She says, "The Catholic high school costs a lot, and Papa says nobody went to public schools unless you wanted to turn out bad" (53). Esperanza was most of the time, the opposite of everyone else. She was a girl who was strong and determined to succeed in life. In addition, she was lonely and one day wanted to find a true friend all of her own. It is hard to find true friends, because all of the friends moved away in the next week or two. Esperanza forms her identity on Mango Street, but will never forget her true self and home. At the end of the book she says, "One day I'll own my own house, but I won't forget who I am or where I came from" (87). She knows that she can and will get out of the neighborhood she is in at that current moment in time because she has the determination to lead a better life than the one she lives now. Nothing can alter the true identity she formed while growing up on Mango Street. An individual's identity is unique and at the same time is something that is constantly being formed. Esperanza is constantly coming in contact with people and situations in her daily life that affects her identity and outlook upon life. The surroundings on one's life can be positive or negative, and this is what makes a person who she is. 
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Hunchback of Notre.TXT
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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame 
In this novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), Victor
Hugo talks about the life of his characters in the city of Paris.
This story takes place in the late-fourteenth century. With
inequality all around it was hard for a person to gain respect
without good looks or social status. In this paper I will
mainly discuss the story of Quasimodoe Esmeralda, and
their struggle in this story Quasimodoe`s mother was a
gypsy. She could not take care of him any longer so she left
him in front of a church. Gypsies were not liked at this time,
but the church was highly respected. Being it that
Quasimodo`s mom had left him on front steps of the church
the king could do almost nothing. Quasimodoe could not
leave the church due to the fact that he was deformed and
ugly. Quasimodo grew very lonely and bored up in that bell
tower all by him self. He was looking down one day and set
eyes upon a young woman named Esmerelda. On the day of
fools Quasimodo saw this young lady and decided to go do!
wn and take a closer look at this woman. It was a holiday,
feast of fools, when he decided to go down. When the
people saw him they were horrified. He got whipped and
lectured by his master. Well, to make a long story short
Esmerelda ends up dyeing, and Quaismodo runs away and
is never seen or heard of again. They state that in the end
they find two skeletons lying in each others arms. One the
body of a lady (Esmerelda), and the other the body of a man
who was deformed (Quaismodo). It also states that the
woman was hung, but the man died because he had come
there by himself and died there. There are many examples of
Historical Significance in this book. One of which is the
power of the church. The church mostly controlled
everything back then. My second example is the way that
they talked. They sounded more sophisticated back then. It
states on page 139, "Sunday in the year of my lord 1467."
My third fact is the fact that they didn't like gypsies back
then. They wanted to kill all of the gypyses. It states in the
end that they end up killing Esmerelda. My fourth fact is the
way that they dressed. My fifth fact is that it states on page
65 that America had not yet been discovered. My sixth fact
is the food that they had back then. It states on pages 98-99
"the next minute, there was on the table a loaf of rye bread,
a slice of bacon, some wrinkled apples, and a jug of beer."
My seventh fact is the jobs that the people had. The mail
characters had jobs like poets, bell ringers, popes, kings,
and so on as it lists the kings servants on page 45. My eighth
statemen! t is the fact that when the people saw Quasimodo
the women had to turn their heads. The transportation was
mostly horses back then. The printing press was a big fear
back then as it states on page 174, "it was the fear of an
ecclesiastic before a new force, the printing press." My ninth
fact is the architecture had back then with all the cathedrals
and what not.(fifth paragraph on page 10) My tenth
statement is the fact that social inequality was a big factor
back then. My eleventh and final fact is that all of this takes
place during the restoration and romanticism and revolution
period (1815-1850) as it states in our world history book.
This book was a very good book. It only had a few
problems. The author used to much detail and that made the
story boring. He would also wander off and start describing
something else more vividly. Victor Hugo should have kept
just on the story of Esmerelda and Quasimodo. The end of
the story was the best part. In all the book was an ok book.
This book was a good novel after all. It was an action and
romance story that mainly consisted of two people,
Quasimodo and Esmerelda. It reminded me of the short
story Beauty and the Beast.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Iliad.TXT
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The Iliad
Throughout The Iliad, the heroic characters make decisions based on a
definite set of principles, which are referred to as the "code of
honor." The heroic code that Homer presents to the reader is an
underlying cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the
characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be
regarded.
Hektor, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as the
model of a Homeric hero. His dedication and strict belief in the code of
honor is illustrated many times throughout the course of The Iliad. An
example of this is presented in book three of the poem, where Hektor
reprimands Paris for refusing to fight. He says to Paris, "Surely now
the flowing-haired Achains laugh at us, thinking you are our bravest
champion, only because your looks are handsome, but there is no strength
in your heart, or courage" (3:43). Hektor believes that it is against
the heroic code for a person to abstain from fighting when his fellow
men are in the battlefield. Hektor faces a moral dilemma when dealing
with Paris. By being Paris' brother, Hektor is supposed to protect and
honor his decisions, but he believes that Paris is wrong in his actions,
and feels it necessary to make that known to him.
Another place where we see Hektor's strict belief in the code of honor
is in the events that take place during his return home in the sixth
book. Hector returns to Troy in order to have the queen and the other
women make a sacrifice to Athena, hoping that she will help the Trojans
in the war. After arranging that act he visits Paris, with the intention
of convincing him to fight. Visibly upset, Hektor scolds Paris, telling
him that "The people are dying around the city and around the steep wall
as they fight hard; it is for you that this war with its clamour has
flared up about our city. You yourself would fight with another whom you
saw anywhere hanging back from the hateful encounter," (6:327). Paris
agrees that he has been dishonoring himself, and tells Hektor he will
return with him to fight. Hektor then goes to find Andromache, who is
standing by the walls outlining the battlefield with Astanax, their son.
When Andromache pleads with Hektor to stay home and cease fighting,
Hektor refuses, telling her that he would feel deep shame in front of
the Trojans if he were to withdraw himself from the war. Hektor then
tells Andromache that the thought of her being dragged off by the
Achains troubles him, but he is relieved by the knowledge that she will
be looked at as "the wife of Hektor, who was ever the bravest fighter of
the Trojans, breakers of horses, in the days when they fought about
Ilion," (6:460). This causes Andromache to shed tears. On the one hand,
she understands Hektor's beliefs and deep sense of morality, but on the
other feels it is just as honorable to stay home and care for one's
family. This is a second place in which Hektor feels torn between two
conflicting responsibilities.
A character's social status was mainly based upon his performance in
the battlefield. Achilleus is a tragic figure who believes strongly in
social order, but questions the idea of fighting for glory. When Aias
and Odysseus are sent by Agamemnon to plead with Achilleus' to fight for
the Greeks, Achilleus denies them, saying "There was no gratitude given
for fighting incessantly forever against your enemies. Fate is the same
for the man who holds back, the same if he fights hard" (9:316). This
statement shows that Achilleus is an individual, and does not conform to
the ideas of the others. Achilleus is portrayed as a fatalist, believing
that there is no point in fighting, because the end is the same for
everyone. In book nine, when Agamemnon admits he is wrong and offers
gifts, Achilleus still refuses to join his army in battle. He does not
see Agamemnon's gifts as a reconciliation attempt, but rather as an
insult. Achilles believes that Agamemnon's offerings are selfish and
boastful, and he denies them to in order to show Agamemnon that his
loyalty cannot be bought.
Later in the poem, Achilleus revenges Patroklos' death by killing
Hektor. It is customary and proper to return a dead body to its home so
it can be given a proper burial, and it is against the code of honor to
perform acts of excessive cruelty. Achilleus is so distraught by his
friends' death that he contradicts both of these conditions. First, he
refuses to return Hektor's body to the Trojans, and then proceeds to
drag it behind his carriage by the ankles. Achilleus' deliberate
mutilation of Hektor's body shows the reader that he does not hold the
code of honor in high regard.
Nestor is the character in the poem who best convinces the others to
diligently follow the code of honor. There are many instances in which
the social order of The Iliad is disrupted, and Nestor comes forth to
help restore the order. Although they are thought by the reader to be
somewhat pointless, Nestor's stories always have a deeper meaning behind
them. In book seven Hektor challenges the Achaians, asking which of them
is willing to fight against him. When none volunteer, Nestor tells them
the story of his victory against Ereuthalion, emphasizing that at the
time he fought he was the youngest among the warriors. He says to the
troops, " If I were young now, as then, and the strength still steady
within me; Hektor of the glancing helm would soon find his battle. But
you, now, who are the bravest of all the Achaians, are not minded with a
good will to go against Hektor," (7:157). This speech compels nine of
the Achaian's to volunteer, showing Nestor's power to influence the
warriors to stick to the heroic code. Later in the same book, Nestor
again stresses the importance of the code of honor when he suggests that
the Greeks retreat from fighting and bury their dead, because it was
believed that the funeral shows the social status of a warrior. Nestor
also wants the warriors to subside from fighting in order to build a
wall to protect them. He convinces them by saying, "We must dig a deep
ditch circling it, so as to keep off their people and horses, that we
may not be crushed under the attack of these proud Trojans," (7:341).
Nestor realizes that the Trojans have the upper hand, and does not want
the Greeks to lose without a putting up a respectable fight. He feels
that for the Greeks to turn around and leave would be a great dishonor,
and does everything in his power to keep them in the battle. Nestor's
advice, finally, challenges the Achaians to live up to the honorable
precedent set by the book's fallen heroes.
The characters in The Iliad base many of their actions on the code of
honor. The warriors believe that the most dishonorable thing someone can
do is refrain from fighting with his fellow soldiers, whereas Achilleus
disagrees. Although a "code of honor" is present in the Iliad, many of
the characters interpret and maintain it in different ways.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Imagery Of Blood In Macbeth.TXT
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The Imagery Of Blood In Macbeth
Imagery Of Blood 'MacBeth', the dramatic play written by William Shakespeare has many good examples of imagery, especially blood. The play opens with the weird sisters talking about meeting again and talking about MacBeth. A war has just ended, making MacBeth a Brave hero because he is the general of the Scottish army and they won. MacBeth is the thane of Glamis, and then becomes the Thane of Cawdor. The weird sisters make many predictions to Macbeth, all of which come true. MacBeth makes the last prediction come true by killing King Duncan. The imagery of blood is very important in 'MacBeth'. It symbolizes honor and bravery and also deceit and evil. In the beginning of the play blood is something of honor and bravery and symbolizes good and victory. The blood on MacBeth's sword after the war shows him to be a brave hero because of the enemy he killed. He is known as "Brave MacBeth" to everyone including King Duncan. His bravery earns him the title of Thane of Cawdor, because the thane of Cawdor was executed for treason. The blood at the beginning of the play earns MacBeth respect and a title. MacBeth is feeling very guilty about the murder of King Duncan and Banquo. " With all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in carnadine, making the green one red", shows the great guilt that blood represents at this point in the play. What MacBeth means is that with all of the water in the ocean could not wash his hands clean from the deed he has just done. If he where to try and wash his hands in the ocean it would turn it red because there is so much blood on his hands. Not only does MacBeth feel guilty about the Murder of King Duncan but he also feels very guilty about the murder of Banquo. He sees Banquo's ghost and his bloody head. Blood represents a lot of guilt for Lady MacBeth near the end of the play. During the play Lady MacBeth is the one who tries to keep MacBeth sane and keep from breaking. She tells him that he is not a man and things around that nature to try and help he be stronger and stay in control about the murder of King Duncan. Lady MacBeth seems to be fine about the whole thing, not showing any sign of remorse or guilt until near the end when she sleep walks and tells the story of the murder. She continually washes her hands, "What, will these hands never be clean", she says during her sleepwalk. "Here's the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand". Again showing the imagery of blood used as guilt. The imagery of blood is used in two different views. One of good and the other of evil. In the beginning of the play blood is shown as honor and bravery and to wards the end it is shown as guilt and bad. MacBeth makes the predictions of the weird sisters come true, and that is how the problems started. MacBeth got too greedy and wanted too much power, which led to his downfall. William Shakespeare uses imagery very well in "MacBeth"; Blood was one of the most important in the beginning and end of the play.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Islan1.TXT
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The Island
The Island is a book written by Gary Paulsen. It is about a boy named Wil Newton. Wil is a city boy that will soon be moving to the country. He is moving because his father has a new job with the State highway Department. He is always thinking about what he likes about Madison where he lives.
Once he got to his new house that was in Pinewood about one hundred and sixty miles away from Madison. After he got settled in at the house he rode his bike. He found a small lake called Sucker Lake, where he rode a minnow boat out to an island on the lake. He really liked it out on the island.
That night Wil was sitting outside and a girl came up. The girl was Susan. Susan was a girl who was about fourteen and talked to Wil who was embarrassed. Wil and Susan started to talk and Wil told Susan about the island that he had been going to.
After a while Wil started going out onto the island every day he would take a can of stew or fruit and leave a note before he went out the door and off to the island. On the island Wil wrote about the animals on the island. He was very interested in the heron.
After a while Wil started going out onto the island with Susan. On the island they would talk about their families. They also talked about the animals on and around the island. Wil is still very interested in the heron and wants to know more.
In the end Wil's father sees him on the island and stops him. Wil's father goes out to the island with Wil. On the way to the island Wil realizes that "it will only end when they find a bigger island."
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the outdoors. It talks a lot about wildlife on the island. It tells about different animals that are on an island. I think that it would be fun to have my own island.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Island.TXT
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The Island
The Island is a book written by Gary Paulsen. It is about a boy named Wil Newton. Wil is a city boy that will soon be moving to the country. He is moving because his father has a new job with the State highway Department. He is always thinking about what he likes about Madison where he lives.
Once he got to his new house that was in Pinewood about one hundred and sixty miles away from Madison. After he got settled in at the house he rode his bike. He found a small lake called Sucker Lake, where he rode a minnow boat out to an island on the lake. He really liked it out on the island.
That night Wil was sitting outside and a girl came up. The girl was Susan. Susan was a girl who was about fourteen and talked to Wil who was embarrassed. Wil and Susan started to talk and Wil told Susan about the island that he had been going to.
After a while Wil started going out onto the island every day he would take a can of stew or fruit and leave a note before he went out the door and off to the island. On the island Wil wrote about the animals on the island. He was very interested in the heron.
After a while Wil started going out onto the island with Susan. On the island they would talk about their families. They also talked about the animals on and around the island. Wil is still very interested in the heron and wants to know more.
In the end Wil's father sees him on the island and stops him. Wil's father goes out to the island with Wil. On the way to the island Wil realizes that "it will only end when they find a bigger island."
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the outdoors. It talks a lot about wildlife on the island. It tells about different animals that are on an island. I think that it would be fun to have my own island.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Jungle.TXT
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The Jungle
This book
was fact. Upton Sinclair visited Chicago in November 1904 to do
research for the book. Sinclair lived in a neighborhood called
Packingtown for seven weeks. While in Packingtown, Sinclair
interviewed workers, lawyers, doctors, saloonkeepers, and social workers.
The book deals with the greed and  ruthless competition that turned
America into a brutal country, which Sinclair referred to as a "jungle.
" The Jungle also tells how those at the bottom of the economic ladder, who
were wage-earners and their families, are at a great disadvantage in the
capitalist country. The wage-earners are slaves to the sudden wishes of
their masters, who are the capitalists who own and run private
industries.
The Jungle starts with the marriage of Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis
Rudkus in America, which was organized by Ona's cousin Marija. The
novel then flashes back to their lives in a rural Lithuanian town, and
how their families, Ona's stepmother Elzbieta, and her five children,
Jurgis' father, and four other adults, thought that America would be such
a great place to live in and decided to move to America. The day after
the wedding is over, everyone was back to work and Jurgis and Ona's
married life was cheerless. The pressures of work, poverty and illness
stifles the families spirits and then Dede Antanas, Jurgis' dad, dies.
After Jurgis gives his father an  inexpensive funeral, he decides to join
the Union and begins to learn English and gets an unfriendly opinion of
democracy. Jurgis begins to see how the packers operate, they sell spoiled
or contaminated meat without remorse. Workers are exposed to awful
occupational diseases without protection. Then, Ona give's birth to a
baby boy. The families third winter in America starts with Jurgis
getting injured on the job and Jonas, Elzbieta's brother, disappearing,
leaving the families income to decrease by one third. When Jurgis
recovers and goes to get his job back, he finds it gone and must find
another job. He finds a job at Durham's Fertilizer Plant. Because of the
smell of the plant, Jurgis starts to drink. He then finds out that Ona is
pregnant again, and he isn't the father. Ona's boss, Phil Connor,
threatened to fire everyone in her family if she did not submit herself to
him. Jurgis nearly kills Connor when he finds out and is sent to jail. When Jurgis is let out of jail,
 he finds his family evicted from the house they tried so hard to keep, and back
to the lodging house where the family was when they first arrived. Upon finding the family, Ona is
giving birth, and Jurgis persuades a midwife to help, to no benefit, and
Ona and the baby die. Jurgis wants to leave, but because of his son,
Antanas, Jurgis stays and gets a job then is laid off, so Jurgis gets a job at
a steel plant, then his son accidentally drowns. Jurgis then becomes a
runaway. After an on the job injury lands Jurgis in the hospital, he joins
the army of unemployed men hunting for work. During a high
unemployment time in January 1904, Jurgis starts begging and meets the
drunken son of a meat packing family and goes home with him. When he
leaves the family, he is full and has a $100 bill. When a bartender cheats
Jurgis out of the money, he attacks him and is arrested and jailed. Jurgis
then goes to the stockyards as an undercover worker of the Democratic
boss. Jurgis promotes the boss's choice for representative, the Republican
candidate. Jurgis then gets a foreman job and takes bribes from his men
and beats up strikers for the packers. A second attack on Phil Connor
lands Jurgis in jail again. Jurgis then posts bail and flees, going back to
begging. He meets an old friend who gives him Marija's address. He
finds her and discovers she is a prostitute and drug addict. Then Jurgis
walks in a political rally to keep warm. An emotional public speaker
converts Jurgis to socialism and his life takes a new turn; he's given a
new job as a porter in a hotel owned by a socialist. The novel ends on
election night in 1904, where Jurgis learns his party has made a strong
showing.
Upton Sinclair is trying to tell the readers of The Jungle how bad it
was for wage-earners in the early 1900's. Because workers were often
ignorant of their own best interests, they would unknowingly take steps
to defeat them. Workers would back the wrong candidates, manufacture
goods that might harm them, and break strikes that could benefit them.
Jurgis beat up the strikers for the packers, and he was most likely
harming himself because the strikers were striking for more sanitary
conditions.
Industrial Capitalism is an efficient, impersonal "slaughtering
machine," that sacrificed its workers. Businesses took no responsibility
for their workers. They used up the strong and young and discarded the
weak and old. If workers got too old or were unable to work hard or fast
enough, the companies fired them and replaced them with the young,
fast, and strong workers, until they were to old and weak to work. This
cycle continued with the young workers becoming old, and being
replaced with young workers. I found it extremely hard to pick a couple of characters that I liked
because I would like them in the beginning, but then later on in the novel,
they would do something that made them not be one of my favorite
characters. I could only find one character that I really liked, and the
one character that I particularly liked was Elzbieta Lukoszaite, Ona's
beloved stepmother. I like Elzbieta because she was a link between the
Old World and the New World throughout the novel. She insisted on a
traditional wedding for Ona and a proper funeral for her son
Kristoforas, when he died. She begged for money for a funeral march
when Ona died and persuaded Jurgis to stay in America for his son's
sake. She was predictable and poised. Although you find out all of these
things about her, you don't really get to know her in the story. At the
end, though sick and being supported largely by Marija's prostitution,
she attended Socialist meetings with Jurgis; yet they meant nothing to
her; she planned her meals during the speeches. Elzbieta always did
things for others, even if they didn't interest her. She also wanted to
properly honor her family members that had died and she didn't let
others forget about the Old World.
One character that I didn't like was Freddie Jones, son of the
wealthy meat packer, Old Man Jones. Freddie was out of town when he
found Jurgis begging. He tells Jurgis that they are in the same position. "No money either,
" Freddie tells Jurgis. His father had left him with less
than two thousand dollars in his pocket, which is more than an unskilled
worker in Packingtown can make in five years. I do think that Upton
Sinclair used Freddie Jones to show the insensitivity of the rich to the
difficulty of the poor, because Freddie can't make the ingenious leap
required to understand Jurgis's poverty.
A moving moment in this novel to me was all of the tragedies that
happens to Jurgis. First off, shortly after Jurgis and Ona marry, Dede
Antanas, Jurgis's father, dies. Jurgis has the pressures of work, poverty,
and illness to worry about, plus to have a funeral for his father that
won't bankrupt the family. But don't forget how Jurgis is constantly
getting injured on the job, causing the family income to decrease every
time. Then when Ona gets pregnant again, and Jurgis finds out that the
baby isn't his, he is devastated, and then nearly kills Ona's boss and is put
in jail. When things are finally looking better for Jurgis when he is
released from jail, he finds Ona in labor, and then Ona and the baby die
due to complications. Jurgis wanted to leave Chicago, but stayed because
his son, Antanas, was there. He stayed and got a job with a maker of
farm equipment, and then is laid off but finds a job in at a steel plant. Things are taking
 a slight turn for the better when Antanas accidentally
drowns in flood waters. Jurgis's whole life is full of tragedies with the
deaths of the people he loved and carried about, that is why I found his
tragedies to be the most meaningful to me.
I can honestly say that I would not have chosen to read The
Jungle. But once I started reading the novel, I really got into it. At some
points I couldn't put the book down, while at other points I could hardly
stand to read anymore. I thought that the book was good because it
showed how life was for immigrants that came to America in search of a
better life, but unfortunately, were misled and found America to be much
like the countries they came from. I also thought the book was good
because it showed how the people in America treated the immigrants,
the book didn't try to make anything less than what it really was, it
made it what it really was. For example, when Upton Sinclair was
stating the horrible conditions existing in meat factories, he didn't try to
make it better than it was, he used words to describe the actual
conditions. I would recommend this book to other people, because of it's
truthfulness in it's descriptions.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Killer Angel1.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Killer Angels
Most people think of the Civil War as a military battle
between the North and South. Without studying the subject,
they do not appreciate the facts that make up this historical
event. When one reads the novel, The Killer Angels, the
reader will have a much better perception and understanding
of what actually happened during the war. The Killer Angels,
which is written by Michael Shaara, tells the epic story of the
great battle of Gettysburg, which left 50,000 Confederate
and Union soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. The tale is
told from the alternating points of view from several of each
side's significant participants. The book moves back and
forth from the North and South perspective. Shaara portrays
the terrible butchery of the three days' fighting through the
vividly ren- dered thoughts and emotions of men such as
General Robert E. Lee, Major General John Buford from
the South and from the North, Brigadier General Lewis
Armistead, and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. This is a
tremendously moving novel, guaranteed unforget- table. The
book instills in one's mind what a battle fought during the
Civil War was actu- ally like to be apart of for the soldiers.
The setting for the book takes place in Pennsylvania, where
the Battle of Gettys- burg is fought. The author provides
many detailed maps of both army's positions. Throughout
the book, the reader is shown the pain, difficulty, anguish,
and other dilemmas the armies face leading up to the final
confrontation. In the beginning of the book we learn about
the North from a spy for the South. His job was to scout the
North's position as well count the number of troops. He
reports to General Robert E. Lee and recalls what he saw.
The spy's information proved useful to the Confederates' at
the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg. The fight at
Gettysburg is a series of battles. At first the South gains
ground but eventually the North secures the better field
position and crushes the Southern forces. The author makes
it clear that it is General Robert E. Lee's poor judgment and
de- cisions that causes the South to lose the Battle of
Gettysburg. Lee even credits himself for the South's failure,
as quoted in the book, "No blame can be attached to the
army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me.
. . . I alone am to blame, in perhaps ex- pecting too much of
its prowess and valor . . . could I have foreseen that the
attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried
some other course . . . but I do not know what better course
I could have pursued" [The Killer Angels, Ballantine Books,
page 349.] General Lee wanted to attack the Union troops
at Gettysburg, even though the North had the better ground,
more supplies, and thousands of more troops. Lee's mind
was already set and he did not want to change it. Overall,
Lee was a good general, but during this particular battle, he
did not make the best of decisions, which in the opinion of
the author led to the Confederate troops losing the war. In
conclusion, I recommend The Killer Angels to anyone who
is curious or inter- ested about finding out what the Civil
War was like. The book provides an accurate and detailed
description of the war. On the cover of the book, General
H. Norman Schwarzkopf is quoted as saying that the book
is "The best and most realistic historical novel about war I
have ever read."
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Killer Angels 2.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Killer Angels
Most people think of the Civil War as a military battle
between the North and South. Without studying the subject,
they do not appreciate the facts that make up this historical
event. When one reads the novel, The Killer Angels, the
reader will have a much better perception and understanding
of what actually happened during the war. The Killer Angels,
which is written by Michael Shaara, tells the epic story of the
great battle of Gettysburg, which left 50,000 Confederate
and Union soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. The tale is
told from the alternating points of view from several of each
side's significant participants. The book moves back and
forth from the North and South perspective. Shaara portrays
the terrible butchery of the three days' fighting through the
vividly ren- dered thoughts and emotions of men such as
General Robert E. Lee, Major General John Buford from
the South and from the North, Brigadier General Lewis
Armistead, and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. This is a
tremendously moving novel, guaranteed unforget- table. The
book instills in one's mind what a battle fought during the
Civil War was actu- ally like to be apart of for the soldiers.
The setting for the book takes place in Pennsylvania, where
the Battle of Gettys- burg is fought. The author provides
many detailed maps of both army's positions. Throughout
the book, the reader is shown the pain, difficulty, anguish,
and other dilemmas the armies face leading up to the final
confrontation. In the beginning of the book we learn about
the North from a spy for the South. His job was to scout the
North's position as well count the number of troops. He
reports to General Robert E. Lee and recalls what he saw.
The spy's information proved useful to the Confederates' at
the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg. The fight at
Gettysburg is a series of battles. At first the South gains
ground but eventually the North secures the better field
position and crushes the Southern forces. The author makes
it clear that it is General Robert E. Lee's poor judgment and
de- cisions that causes the South to lose the Battle of
Gettysburg. Lee even credits himself for the South's failure,
as quoted in the book, "No blame can be attached to the
army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me.
. . . I alone am to blame, in perhaps ex- pecting too much of
its prowess and valor . . . could I have foreseen that the
attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried
some other course . . . but I do not know what better course
I could have pursued" [The Killer Angels, Ballantine Books,
page 349.] General Lee wanted to attack the Union troops
at Gettysburg, even though the North had the better ground,
more supplies, and thousands of more troops. Lee's mind
was already set and he did not want to change it. Overall,
Lee was a good general, but during this particular battle, he
did not make the best of decisions, which in the opinion of
the author led to the Confederate troops losing the war. In
conclusion, I recommend The Killer Angels to anyone who
is curious or inter- ested about finding out what the Civil
War was like. The book provides an accurate and detailed
description of the war. On the cover of the book, General
H. Norman Schwarzkopf is quoted as saying that the book
is "The best and most realistic historical novel about war I
have ever read."
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Killer Angels again.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sean Brandewie
Period 6
10/1/03
The Killer Angels
1. Place and time setting of novel- The setting and time of my novel plays a key part in the storyline. The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, is about the Battle of Gettysburg, so it is set in Gettysburg, PA around the early 1860's.  The town is important in the battles because the terrain is situated so that whoever had control of the hills is at an extreme advantage. This plays a large role in the Northern victory, because they have control of the hills.  There isn't much of a moral advantage for the North despite being on their own ground in Pennsylvania, so this isn't much of a factor for their army. However, the terrain definitely favors the North because they are able to be successful with their conservative style because a hill is very easy to defend. 
2. Main Characters- There are several main characters in The Killer Angels, but the main three are the famous Robert E. Lee, Josh Chamberlain, and James Longstreet. Lee and Longstreet are Southern generals who are close friends but are broken up by Longstreet's questioning of Lee's military decisions. Chamberlain is a Northern colonel from Maine who is very loyal to people from his home state. He is a true hero of the Gettysburg battle. No physical description is really given of any, but an approximate age is known. Chamberlain is in his low 30's, Longstreet is in his 40's and an exact age is not known for Lee, but he is quite old. There are many significant character traits for each character however. Lee is very aggressive, which reflects his style of fighting. He talks a lot and wants to know what is going on. This is shown when he is constantly sending scouts to scout the area for Union troops. He must always know what is going on. Longstreet is a much more conservative person, also reflecting his fighting style. He won't talk to someone unless they talk to him. This is shown with the British reporter who is staying with the Southern army. The British man talks to Longstreet a lot, but Longstreet doesn't say much back. Chamberlain is a true motivator. He is able to get a large number of problem troops who have been kicked out of a few regiments to fight for him with a speech that sends chills down their spines and inspires everyone. His army may have taken out a lot of southern troops because they truly want to win for him. The most interesting character is Arthur Fremantle, the Brit staying with the Southern army. He is interesting because he is so naïve to the people of America. He still thinks America should be owned by Britain, and still thinks that will happen.
3. Main Conflict- The obvious main conflict in the novel is North vs. South, but the Civil War went much deeper than this. The main conflict in the novel is America vs. America. What this means is that nobody won the Civil War. It is America vs. itself. This war could have been easily avoided, but it had to be fought because neither side would ever budge, and this novel shows that in a very clear manner. It is shown through the characters personalities, mostly the southerners. This novel gave Lee, Longstreet, and other southerners an air of cockiness I believe they have in real life, and this showed that the south is determined on becoming part of America only through bloodshed. The Northerners such as Chamberlain don't seem to want to be fighting this war. It seems as if they wonder why they're dying for a few states they don't want as part of their fine country. The Civil War truly exposes everything wrong with mankind, and how a country can kill itself with a few key mistakes. The Killer Angels shows this in a realistic manner.
4. Main theme- The main theme of The Killer Angels is that enemies have more in common than they believe they do. The north and south actually have a lot in common in this book. They share extremely different views on slavery, but they both share the same positive qualities. Both fight with honor and courage against all odds, and both show respect for their enemy. 
5. Culture of time- The families and religion of the soldiers don't play a factor in the story, but one part of the culture that is unique is the warfare. The warfare seems simple, but lots of strategy is used. Bayonets and muskets are the weapons of choices, but flanking is very important. Military ranking also has a large effect on this book. No one ever questions General Lee. His word is the last word. Colonel Chamberlain doesn't have as much authority because he isonly a colonel, but it also seems the Southern officers are stricter than the Northern officers. 
6. Would I recommend this book? - If you are interested in the Civil War and American history, then this book is one you would definitely like. If you are not, then it might be boring and hard to get through. I never felt I was reading a novel, I felt like I was reading the journal of several Civil War soldiers. I enjoyed The Killer Angels, and I learned a lot about the Civil War and Gettysburg. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Killer Angels.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sean Brandewie
Period 6
10/1/03
The Killer Angels
1. Place and time setting of novel- The setting and time of my novel plays a key part in the storyline. The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, is about the Battle of Gettysburg, so it is set in Gettysburg, PA around the early 1860's.  The town is important in the battles because the terrain is situated so that whoever had control of the hills is at an extreme advantage. This plays a large role in the Northern victory, because they have control of the hills.  There isn't much of a moral advantage for the North despite being on their own ground in Pennsylvania, so this isn't much of a factor for their army. However, the terrain definitely favors the North because they are able to be successful with their conservative style because a hill is very easy to defend. 
2. Main Characters- There are several main characters in The Killer Angels, but the main three are the famous Robert E. Lee, Josh Chamberlain, and James Longstreet. Lee and Longstreet are Southern generals who are close friends but are broken up by Longstreet's questioning of Lee's military decisions. Chamberlain is a Northern colonel from Maine who is very loyal to people from his home state. He is a true hero of the Gettysburg battle. No physical description is really given of any, but an approximate age is known. Chamberlain is in his low 30's, Longstreet is in his 40's and an exact age is not known for Lee, but he is quite old. There are many significant character traits for each character however. Lee is very aggressive, which reflects his style of fighting. He talks a lot and wants to know what is going on. This is shown when he is constantly sending scouts to scout the area for Union troops. He must always know what is going on. Longstreet is a much more conservative person, also reflecting his fighting style. He won't talk to someone unless they talk to him. This is shown with the British reporter who is staying with the Southern army. The British man talks to Longstreet a lot, but Longstreet doesn't say much back. Chamberlain is a true motivator. He is able to get a large number of problem troops who have been kicked out of a few regiments to fight for him with a speech that sends chills down their spines and inspires everyone. His army may have taken out a lot of southern troops because they truly want to win for him. The most interesting character is Arthur Fremantle, the Brit staying with the Southern army. He is interesting because he is so naïve to the people of America. He still thinks America should be owned by Britain, and still thinks that will happen.
3. Main Conflict- The obvious main conflict in the novel is North vs. South, but the Civil War went much deeper than this. The main conflict in the novel is America vs. America. What this means is that nobody won the Civil War. It is America vs. itself. This war could have been easily avoided, but it had to be fought because neither side would ever budge, and this novel shows that in a very clear manner. It is shown through the characters personalities, mostly the southerners. This novel gave Lee, Longstreet, and other southerners an air of cockiness I believe they have in real life, and this showed that the south is determined on becoming part of America only through bloodshed. The Northerners such as Chamberlain don't seem to want to be fighting this war. It seems as if they wonder why they're dying for a few states they don't want as part of their fine country. The Civil War truly exposes everything wrong with mankind, and how a country can kill itself with a few key mistakes. The Killer Angels shows this in a realistic manner.
4. Main theme- The main theme of The Killer Angels is that enemies have more in common than they believe they do. The north and south actually have a lot in common in this book. They share extremely different views on slavery, but they both share the same positive qualities. Both fight with honor and courage against all odds, and both show respect for their enemy. 
5. Culture of time- The families and religion of the soldiers don't play a factor in the story, but one part of the culture that is unique is the warfare. The warfare seems simple, but lots of strategy is used. Bayonets and muskets are the weapons of choices, but flanking is very important. Military ranking also has a large effect on this book. No one ever questions General Lee. His word is the last word. Colonel Chamberlain doesn't have as much authority because he isonly a colonel, but it also seems the Southern officers are stricter than the Northern officers. 
6. Would I recommend this book? - If you are interested in the Civil War and American history, then this book is one you would definitely like. If you are not, then it might be boring and hard to get through. I never felt I was reading a novel, I felt like I was reading the journal of several Civil War soldiers. I enjoyed The Killer Angels, and I learned a lot about the Civil War and Gettysburg. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Klan Unmasked.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Klan Unmasked
The Ku Klux Klan has been the most organized of the many different White supremacy groups that came into being after the Civil War. The ill-reputed Knights of the Klan have been involved in countless incidents of human rights violations against blacks and other minority groups in America. Especially in the South, during and after the Reconstruction period, the Klan played a major part in formulating and forcefully employing many of the Jim Crow laws, that delayed black man's true freedom for a century. Stetson Kennedy is a native of Jacksonville, Florida where the Klan was very active. Kennedy saw first hand the working of the Klan when a maid in his house was taken for a ride by the Klan and badly tortured. Kennedy developed a hatred for the Ku Klux Klan and wanted to do all he could to limit the influence of and put a stop to its hate mongering. He wrote a book "Palmetto Country" in which he blasted the myth that the Klan was formed to "save the South" from Scalawags, Carpetbaggers and Negroes. This was the view held widely throughout the South and took root more so as it was romantically depicted in Southern writers publications and the ground breaking movie "The Birth of a Nation". Kennedy noted that the Klan was actually the handiwork of the rich Southern plantation holders, who wanted to keep the black labor force under chains similar to those of slavery. Also, Kennedy noted that the few things written about the KKK were editorials rather than exposes. He felt the need for not just words but for legal evidence against the Klan's inside machinations. For that purpose someone would have to go under a Klan robe and turn the hooded order's dirty linen for all the world to see. The author decided to volunteer for the job and thus began his adventures as a Klan-buster, in the headquarters of the Klan at the time in Atlanta. The first few chapters relate his experiences at the Klan meetings and his mostly successful efforts to report the planned acts of hooded terrorism to authorities.
Soon enough, Kennedy had enough incriminating evidence against the Klan. In an action packed moment in the courthouse, Kennedy disrobed from under his Klan mask in front of stunned Klansmen who had thought he was one of them. Kennedy testified against the vicious organization, and played an important role in bringing the Klan to its knees. Through the remainder of the book, Kennedy relays his experiences working against other similar outfits, like the Colombians in Florida, who had Nazi leaders perpetrating anti-Negro, anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic sentiments. As a result of his daring confrontations with the Klan and other organizations, Kennedy has had to face numerous threats to his life and property.
"The Klan Unmasked" is a real eye-opener into the devilish machinations of the Ku Klux Klan. Instead of sermonizing about the issue, Kennedy takes a very daring and practical approach and enthralls the readers with his Klan-busting adventures. It portrays the dangers of falling into the vicious business of hate-mongering very effectively and makes us think hard about the racial and social problems facing American society as it enters a new century.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The knife.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
712
The knife By: Alfred Hitchcock Everybody has read a horror story before at some point, but a story from Alfred Hitchcock is different because at the end he leaves the reader thinking what has happened. In "The Knife" he uses Plot, Setting, and Conflict to do just this. Edward Dawes and Herbert Smithers are just two friends having a drink with each other, but one of them has a knife that was found in a nearby sewer drain. Herbert is cleaning it widly as if he was possesed. Then a red ruby appears on the knife when he is done cleaning it, now the madness breaksout like a terrible plague.. While Herbert is admiring the knife, the maid walks in and asks to see the knife, but all of a sudden Herbert goes insane out of his mind when the maid touched him, then he stares right at the maid with a devilish look, and out of the blue he stabbed her, next thing you know the maid is on the floor dead and Herbert runs out the house as fast as he can. The reader may think this is the climax, but it is not, it is the rising action leading up to the climax. Alfred Hitchcock does not tell the reader why he stabbed her, he likes to leaving the reader thinking and get more into the story, which is kind of like a hook to keep the reader reading. The climax is where he will get the readers interested more in the story. After Herbert runs out Edward Dawes picks up the knife and notifys the police of the incident. once he has called the police for some reason he goes into the kitchen to clean the wicked knife. While he is cleaning it, it slips out of his hand and cuts his arm, then his wife walks in and trys to help him, then Edward goes bezerk just like his friend Herbert and for no reason stabbs her in her chest. The falling action and conclusion get a little weird because the police get to the scene, and they start discussing about this, but the sergeant remembers a murder on the same street a while back, and the person that was murdered on this street was Marie Kelly, the last victim of Jack The Ripper. When Jack The Ripper was getting away he dropped the knife into a sewer drain. Both men say it was the knife that made them stabb the two women. All of Jack The Ripper's victims were women. This how the story ends. "He picked up the knife, gripped if firmly, and struck a pose, winking broadly. "Be careful, Miss Maples!" he said. "Jack The Ripper!" Miss Maples giggled. "Well now", she breathed. Let me look at it, may I Sergeant Tobins, if you do not mind." "Her fingers touched his, and Sergeant Tobins drew his hand back abruptly. His face flushed, and a fierce anger unnacountably flared up in him at the touch of Miss Miss Maple's hand, but as he stared into her plain, bewildered face, the anger was soothed by the pleasurable tingling warmth in his right wrist. And as he took a swift step toward her, there was a strange, sweet singing in his ears, high and shrill and faraway. Or was it the sound of a woman screaming?" That's the end of the story and that's how Alfred Hitchcock leaves his readers. The setting physically is in a house in the in the evening. Two men and two women, one a wife of one of the men, and the other the maid. The mood is not that frightening especially for a horror story. Here is one quote, "The wind blew calmly that evening while we were inside having some drinks and talking." But the mood starts to get tense and rapid when women starting getting killed because of the knife. In "The Knife" the conflict was between men vs. women, or upon the reader's decision it could be knife vs. women because all of the women that were killed, were killed everytime they touced the man holding the horrible knife which gave the men bloodlust. All of the women killed were all killed by a different man, but all with the same knife.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Lady With The Pet Dog.TXT
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1591
In reading the short story The Lady With The Pet Dog by Anton Chekhov and A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin one can see key similarities of the two works. The short story by Anton Checkov deals with a man and a woman who are both married but regardless of this fact they fall in love with each other and have a secret affair. The short story by Kate Chopin deals with a married woman who is tempted to have an affair with one of her husbands friends, but she resist unlike the characters in The Lady With The Pet Dog. Both of the works deal with the fact that each of the characters are involved in committed relationships, but they are tempted to cheat in their relationships. The characters in the short story The Lady With The Pet Dog fall in love with each other and have an affair regardless of the fact that both of the individuals are married. A lady arrives in town with a little white dog, which would give her her name initially since no one knew of her true identity. "She walked along, always wearing the same beret and always with the white dog no one knew who she was and everyone called her simply 'the lady with the pet dog'"(194). The man that has an acute interest in this young woman is named Dmitrich Gurov who is married with a daughter twelve years old, and two sons away at school. He is dissatisfied to say the least with his present situation and his marriage to his wife. "...while he privately considered her of limited intelligence, narrow-minded, dowdy, was afraid of her, and did not like to be at home"(294). This man would often cheat on his wife because he is unhappy and thought very little of his wife. "He had begun being unfai! thful to her long ago-had been unfaithful to her often and, probably for that reason, almost always spoke ill of women, and when they were talked of in his presence used to call them 'the inferior race'"(194). When this man seen a new woman in his town he decides to introduce himself and find out about the lady with the pet dog. As the two of them become closer and closer the relationship becomes more serious. They often walked in the park together which made their friendship grow stronger each day. "...afterwards he meet her in the square several times a day"(193). After many acquaintances and talks he learns that this woman grew up in Petersburg and married two years previously. "In the evening when the wind had abated they went out on the pier to watch the steamer come in"(195). He soon learns that her name is Anna Sergeyevna. Also she will be staying in Yalta for about a month and she is there to take a well needed rest away from her husband, as he is in need of one too. He begins to make passes at her that she didn't notice at first such as offering to buy her a soft drink or some ice cream. "...Gurov often went into the restaurant and offered Anna Sergeyvna a soft drink or ice cream"(195). As they grow closer they finally go far beyond the limits of a friendship. "Then he looked at her intently, and suddenly embraced her and kissed her on the lips, and the moist fragrance of her flowers enveloped him at once he looked round him anxiously, wondering if anyone had seen them"(196). This sudden move was truly unexpected from the both of them and Gurov was afraid that someone would see them together for he is married as she is too and this is not tolerated in marriage. He is truly crossing the line and realizes that it is dangerous to be with Anna in public, because someone could see them. Anna felt tremendously guilty after this kiss from another man besides her husband. "'It's not right,' she said. 'You don't respect me now, you first of! all....'God forgive me,' she said, and her eyes filled with tears. 'It's terrible'"(196). Although she felt horrible she felt just in her actions because of the way that her husband has treated her. Events like these continue on for weeks, up until the day it is time for Anna to go back home to her husband. "...a letter came from him saying that he had eye- trouble, and begging his wife to return home as soon as possible. Anna Sergeyevna made haste to go"(198). She is truly not ready to leave the companion that she has met and fell madly in love with in her short stay in Yalta. "'It's a good thing I'm leaving', she said to Gurov. 'It's the hand of Fate"'(198)! As much as she hates to leave her newly acquired friend she knows it's best for the both of them. They are both married and this type of behavior can't be tolerated. "We are parting forever-it has to be, for we ought never have met"(198). She was going out of his life forever he thought, all he has left are sweet memories of his young loving companion. "And his memories glowed more and more vividly"(199). It seems as though he can't get Anna off of his mind even though she has been away for several months no! w. "When he shut his eyes he saw her before him as though she were there in the flesh, and she seemed to him lovelier, younger, tenderer than she had been..."(198). He can no longer be without her and he decides to go and find the woman that he misses and loves so much. He is terribly unhappy when she leaves and he continues to be unhappy with his family and wife. "He was fed up with his children...In December during the holidays he prepared to take a trip. He wanted to see Anna Sergeyevna and talk with her, to arrange a rendezvous if possible"(200). He finally meets with her at an orchestra, but she is with her husband so he has to secretly meet with her. During intermission her husband leaves the theater, and Gurov makes his move to go and talk to her. Anna was truly shocked to see Dmitrich and was frightened that he has shown up while her husband is around. "She glanced at him and turned pale, then looked at him again in horror, unable to believe her eyes, and gripped the fan and the lorgnette tightly in her hands, evidently trying to keep herself from fainting"(202). She agrees to visit him in Moscow, but he must leave her at once before her husband returns and sees the two of them together and becomes suspicious of this stranger that is talking to his wife. "I will come see you in Moscow"(202). After the meeting in Moscow both of them agree to visit each other regularly. The love and friendship they share those short few weeks is a bond that couldn't be broken. "And Anna Sergeyevna began coming to see him in Moscow"(202). The character in the short story A Respectable Woman is a housewife that is happily married unlike the man and woman in The Lady With The Pet Dog. This woman is pleased with her husband and home environment and has no intentions of cheating on her husband. Her husband invites one of his college friends that he has told his wife so much about to visit for a few weeks. He is a very busy man and needs a rest away from his work so he can relax and enjoy himself. From the stories that her husband has told her she formed a picture of him in her head and from this visualization she dislikes this man. "But she had unconsciously formed an image of him in her mind"(205). Although when the man actually comes to visit she takes a liking to him and realizes what she thought before not to be true of this man at all. "And she rather liked him when he first presented himself"(205). What her husband has told her didn't match up with this man that appears before her when he arrives. After the man arrives she truly is surprised at what the man is actually like. The man is not as much trouble as she expects and she begins to take a liking to this college friend of her husbands. "Gouvernail's personality puzzled Mrs. Baroda, but she liked him"(206). She didn't know what to think of this man who didn't speak much and makes no direct contact with her except the occasional hello or good evening. Mrs. Baroda has mixed feelings about this man who had come to visit her husband. "She had never known her thoughts or intentions to be so confused"(206). One night while sitting outside on a bench Governail comes and sits down with her for a talk and to deliver a white scarf her husband has sent. While the two of them sit down for a talk she fells strongly attracted to this man. It seems as if she wants to reach out and touch him, and have him hold her closely in his arms. The strong impulse seems to overwhelm her but she resist. "The stronger the impulse grew to bring herself near him, the further, in fact, did she draw away from him. But she did not yield to temptation"(207). When the time is right she rises and leaves Governail outside on the bench by himself. She fells that she needs to get away from him, and stay somewhere else until he leaves her home. To get away from this temptation she leaves and goes to her Aunt Octavies until her husbands visitor would be gone and she would not have this awful temptation to be with this man. When the two men awaken the next morning she is already gone to her Aunt's house. S! he has escaped this terrible temptation that overwhelmed her that night on the bench outside and wouldn't have to worry about it again. In conclusion the similarities of theses two stories is remarkable. Both of the works deal with committed people in relationships that are tempted to be with someone other than their spouse. In one of the story's the spouse resist the temptation and in the other the temptation is far too great and can't be resisted. Although in both of the works the temptation to cheat is present and greatly considered.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.TXT
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339
The main characters in this story are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. During a war in London they were sent to a professor's house outside London. Lucy, while exploring with her brothers and sister, found a secret passage through the wardrobe to Naria,a secret world. In Naria there are other characters. One of them is the White Witch,also known as the Queen of Naria, who was like a tyrant. If anyone disobeyed her she turned them to stone. Another character Aslan, a lion, saved Naria from the rule of the White Witch. Most of this story takes place in Naria. The main conflict is how Naria can live under the rule of the White Witch. The Beavers set out to take Peter, Susan, and Lucy (not Edmund because he went to the witch ) to the four thrones so they ( four children united ) can rule over Naria and destroy the witch. The Beavers and the three children were walking in the snow because there it was always winter. Although it was always winter Christmas never arrived. After they awoke the next day they saw Father Christmas who gave them gifts.Mrs. Beaver received a new sewing machine. Mr. Beaver's dam was fixed and finished. Peter was given a shield and sword. Susan received a bow, arrows, and a horn. Lucy's gift was a bottle of healing juice and a dagger. that was the climax of the book because the spell of the White Witch was fading. Then they met up with Aslan and he freed all the stone figures and made them his army. The resolution of the book is when Aslan's army and the witches army confront and Aslan's army wins. Peter kills the witch at the end of the battle. The impression I got from this book is that Naria is a land of surprises and I'm excited that this years assignment will allow me to read more of " The Chronicles of Naria " . I liked this book because of the surprising events like when Aslan died then came back to life. I would recommend this book to someone more or less at my reading level because I found this book neither difficult nor easy and simple.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Little Prince.TXT
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602
The Little Prince was a very interesting book to say the least. It opened my eyes to many things that I had no idea about. It was about a little prince who was against "grown-up" beliefs. He believed that children were the best. He thought this because they are open-minded and have much faith in what they believe. The little prince never experienced death or anything tragic so he was quite clueless when it came to "the real world." He didn't love anything in his life except his rose. She talked to him and was his only friend. She accidentally opened her mouth and out came a lie. The flower was created on the little prince's planet , so she had no idea what her home planet was. She was in a bad mood one time and she said , "It would be better on my planet" , or something of the sort and the little prince caught her. He did not tolerate being lied to , like most people , and so he left her and went away to see what else there was in the universe. He visited many stars and asteroids and on the stars and asteroids he met many people. All of which taught him a lesson or something valuable. The little prince was a very open-minded person. I am enjoying this book a lot. The most important character in the story was the fox. He told the little prince that to tame something or someone , you have to love them and get a routine down. You cannot just see them for a short time and then just expect them to be tame and love you back. He also told the little prince that once you tame someone or something , it is going to be sad when you have to let them go. This related to the little prince because of the single rose that he loved so much. He never really understood how much he loved her until he had left her. His rose is symbolic of a love relationship. It was "love at first sight" , just like in West Side Story. The rose is one of a kind or unique. The rose is a snob. She was very coquettish , which means flirtatious. When the little prince broke up with her , he was very sad. He runs away to seek answers about his broken heart. A very important character in the story is the snake. The little prince meets the snake in chapter 17. The snake is the first character that the little prince meets on earth. The snake tells the little prince that the earth is a very lonely place. The snake is decieving the little prince. The fox was the most important character in the story except the little prince himself. He told us that it is only with the heart that we can see clearly but what is essential is invisible to the eye. He also said ,"It is the time that you spend with your rose that makes it unique." He also taught the little prince about taming. To tame someone or something , is to learn to need eachother. You do something with eachother that makes you two unique.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Lottery.TXT
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703
Shirley Jackson's insights and observations about man and society are reflected in her famous short story "The Lottery". Many of her readers have found this story shocking and disturbing. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first, the shocking reality of human's tendency to select a scapegoat and second, society as a victim of tradition and ritual. Throughout history we have witnessed and participated in many events, where, in time of turmoil and hardship, society has a tendency to seize upon a scapegoat as means of resolution. The people of the village had been taught to believe that in order for their crop to be abundant for the year, some individual had to be sacrificed. "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon", said Old Man Warner. The irony here is that villagers are aware that this act is inhumane but none want to stand and voice their opinion, for fear of going against society's standards and being outcast or being stoned. "It's not the way it used to be," Old Man Warner said clearly. "People ain't the way they used to be." Fear that if they go against society they might be chosen as the lottery winner or there might be a truth, after all, that it would disrupt their corn season. "Some places have already quit lotteries," Mrs. Adams said. "Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools." In stoning Tessie, the villagers treat her as a scapegoat onto which they can project and repress their own temptations to rebel. The only person who shows their rebellious attitude is Tessie. She does not appear to take the ritual seriously, as she comes rushing to the square because she "clean forgot what day it was". The villagers are aware of her rebellious attitude and they are weary that she may be a possible cause for their crops not to be plentiful. "It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her. We can understand how traditions are easily lost through the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another. It is how traditions that lose their meaning due to human forgetfulness can cause dreadful consequences to occur. Although "the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original box, they still remembered to use stones". Do people just pick and choose which part of a tradition they want to keep? We tend to remember the actions and the objects necessary to proceed with a ritual, but we always seem to forget the purpose or the reason behind it. Are we correct in still continuing the tradition even though there is a victim involved? It seems we, as part of a society, are scared of being ridiculed if we change or end a tradition because everyone around us will still behave in the manner they were taught. "The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions," shows that the meaning and purpose behind the ritual had been lost and they were just acting it out through repetition. The villagers, who remember some bits of history about those forgotten aspects of the ritual, aren't even definite about the accuracy of their beliefs. Some believe that the "official of the lottery should stand" a certain way when he sang the chant, others believe that he should "walk among the people". No one exactly remembers the how and why of the tradition, most have become completely desensitized to the murderous rituals. Because the adults have forgotten the tradition's history, the children know even less and they are desensitized to murder, thinking it's just another fun holiday like Christmas. Jackson expressed clearly how violence that occurs around us or that we cause is pointless and has no purpose. Yet this violence and evil grows from a seed within our hearts and minds waiting to free itself in times of panic and turmoil. We need to learn to find solutions to our problems instead of putting the blame on others as means of a remedy. When there are no other corrupt and sinful human beings to kill, society will turn on itself. Even caring and normal human beings can throw stones. Forgotten traditions can also be extremely dangerous as Shirley Jackson points out in her short story. People hear what they want to hear and choose what rituals to keep for traditions. The simple game of telephone proves that as a society, we are just like the villagers, forgetting the original words but continuing on as if the words we know are the original.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Mad Hamlet.TXT
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The Mad Hamlet
William Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark". "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is a tragedy. William Shakespeare was born 1564 and died 1616. William Shakespeare himself, was one of the greatest play writers of all times. Hamlet was an odd character in the play because of the way he acted. Hamlet is intelligent, mad, and selfish. Hamlet is a very intelligent character. Claudius and Polonius planned to send Hamlet to England to be put to death, escorted by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet was supposed to be killed in England by getting beheaded, but he found a way around it. "... My head should be struck off," (V, 2) "...Read it at more leisure..." (V, 2) and "...Devised a new commission, wrote it fair..." (V, 2) shows how Hamlet outsmarted Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Claudius, and Polonius. Hamlet wrote a different letter that said that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were to be executed, and therefore cheated death. Hamlet revenged his father's death by murdering Claudius. After Hamlet found out that the sword he and Laertes were struck with was poisoned he then stabbed Claudius with it; "The point envenom'd too? Then, venom, to thy work." (V, 2) From Hamlet's point of view, what he did to Ophelia was intelligent. When Ophelia went mad she said, "Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day... Never departed more," (IV, 5) and "Young men will do't, if they come to't... You promised me to wed." (IV, 5) Ophelia was saying that Hamlet told her that they would get married if she had sex with him, and that he never showed any love for her, this was intelligent from Hamlet's or some males point of view.
Hamlet was mad throughout the whole play. Hamlet murdered Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, and may have been the reason Ophelia went mad and drowned. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: "He should the bearers..." (V, 2) Claudius: "... Then, venom, to thy work," (V, 2) Laertes: "They bleed on both sides..." (V, 2) Polonius: "...Dead for a ducat, dead," (III, 4) Ophelia: "What the fair Ophelia!" (V, 2) At one point Hamlet was so mad and depressed he wanted to kill himself. "To be, or not to be, that is the question..." (III, 1) The worst possible thoughts that Hamlet could have ever thought, he thought incestuously about his mother and himself. He never said that he wanted to be with his mother, but he was just mad that Claudius took the throne from him at the beginning of the play, not that his father was dead. Hamlet complained about Gertrude and Claudius incestuous acts, but rarely mentioned his father until towards the end of the play.
Hamlet was a very selfish man. He talked to his mother like a son shouldn't talk to his mother; "Come, come, and sit you down..." (III, 4) "...here's metal more attractive." (III, 2) Hamlet cared about himself more than anyone else. When his childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were executed he felt no remorse even though it was his fault; "He should the bearers put to sudden death, not shriving-time allow'd." (V, 2) Hamlet thinks that everyone should grieve for his father as long as he does. It had been at least a month and there was a party going on and he thought it was wrong; "The king doth wake tonight and takes his rouse..." (I, 4)
Hamlet is intelligent, mad, and selfish. Hamlet was the cause of Ophelia's death because she just gave up on life. Hamlet was intelligent enough to hide his pain and grieving about his father at the beginning well. Hamlet was mad because he had only one person he could trust and that was Horatio. Work Cited: Hamlet
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Magic Barrel.TXT
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The Magic Barrel
The Character of Salzman The character of Salzman, throughout the novel becomes increasingly mysterious. His appearance at many different times is extremely awkward. It is also spooky how he has the knowledge of things that he plainly should not be informed of. His character to put it plainly is just weird. Salzman has the typical salesman characteristics in the start of the novel. Instead of selling the products of material possession, he is already weird because he chooses to sell other people. His work is also mysterious. He doesn't simply lie out all he has on the table, but instead sifts through what he has, and shows what he wants. This is evident in his choosing of just a few perspective females out of the "magic barrel." He took the small amount of information that he acquired from a short conversation and said to have weeded out all of the choices that were not fit for Leo. Also, he made Leo wait and go through steps before he agreed to show the pictures of these individuals to him. It was just plainly weird. In the end of the story is where it becomes increasingly stranger. At the point in which Leo seemed to finally find out some of the secrets about Salzman, when he went to his house and found that it wasn't exactly what he had expected. The "magic barrel" was not there. This was the basis of the story and a main point in what we knew about the mysterious salesman of people. Leo was supposed to be one step closer to finding out what is hidden about Salzman, but instead after he returned to his apartment, he was more shocked by how the man knew exactly where to be at that time. The final sentence or final thought of the novel makes the reader even more confused about the actual character of Salzman. He commences to say a prayer when the man in whom he has been searching for a match for, finally found a female. He was supposed to be happy about his success, along with being satisfied that his "daughter" found a nice man to date. This should have been a happy time, yielded a prayer. This is plain awkward. Salzman is a mysterious person, and in this novel, even in the end, he was not "solved." He was just as mysterious at the end as he was in the start.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Martial Chronicles.TXT
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The Martial Chronicles
In The Martial Chronicals, Ray Bradbury provides a glimpse into the future that not only looks at people from a technological standpoint, but from a human one as well. His well crafted, almost poetic stories are science fiction in setting only. They put much more emphasis on the apathy and inhumanity of modern society, rather than the technology. (Bryfonski, 68) Ray Dougless Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920 to Leonard Spaulding and Ester Bradbury in Waukegan, Illinois. He began his writing at the young age of twelve, mostly for his own amusement. His fantastic sytle of writing was developed during this time as he read the Oz books, Alice in Wonderland, Tarzan, Grimms' Fairy Tales, and the works of Poe. In 1934 his family moved to Los Angeles, where Bradbury attended high school and joined the Los Angeles Science-Fantasy Society. While a member, Bradbury published four issues of his own magazine, Futuria Fantasia. After graduating from high school in 1938 he took various jobs which allowed him to devote much of his time to writing. His first story, published in 1940 by Script magazine, was "It's Not the Heat, It's the Hu" and established Bradbury's popular theme of social irritation. By 1942, Bradbury was able to earn enough money writing that he could give up his job selling newspapers and devote all of his time to what he loved. (Candee 88) As some critics would agree, the term "science-fiction" does not apply to Bradbury's work. Most of his stories are more along the lines of fantasy with an intense understanding of human nature. In "The Green Morning", a man named Benjamin Driscoll arives on Mars looking for a job and a way to fit in. Before long, however, he faints, as many people do, because of the thin air of Mars. Upon waking, the first thing he notices is the lack of trees on the Martian plains. He decides that his job should be to plant trees. He works for weeks planting trees of all kinds across the Martian countryside but the lack of rain leads him to believe that all of his efforts are in vain. That night the rains come, and when Driscoll awakens the next morning, he finds a Mars covered with trees over six feet tall, "nourished by alien and magical soil"(Bradbury 77), and producing a "mountain river"(Bradbury 77) of new air. As Bradbury says, "Science fiction is really sociological studies of the future, things that the writer believes are going to happen by putting two and two together...Fantasy fiction is the improbable" (Candee 88). Quite obvioulsy, that story is not very probable and should not be classified as science-fictioin. Another exaple of such an improbable story lies in the chapter entitled "YLLA". Bradbury goes to great lengths in this chapter to discribe the Martian setting using fastastic imagry such as crystal pillar houses, golden fruits growing from the walls, and martians with light brown skin and golden eyes. At one point he even mentions the "flame birds" that the martians use for transportation. Even the martian names in his stories are unbelievable. He uses names such as Mr. K, Mr. Xxx, Mr Iii, etc and doesn't even bother making them realistic. But for Bradbury's "purposes the trappings of science fiction are sufficient--mere stage settings" (Riley 43). He uses his sci-fi/fantasy settings as a medium to express human behaviors and shortcomings. In the stories of The Martian Chronicals, Bradbury is never hesitant to critisize mankind and our "misapplication of science to avaricious ends" (Bryfonski 68). In the chapter called "-And the Moon be Still as Bright", Bradbury details the arrival of the fourth expedition of men from earth and their discovery of a dead planet as a result of diseases transmitted from previous expeditions. A man named Spender was the sole voice of opposition against all of the disrespect shown by his crew members toward the once noble race of Martians. While many of the men are getting drunk and partying, Spender is grieving and appealling to his captain, who can do nothing. Spender is pushed over the edge when a drunk named Biggs gets sick in the middle of one of the most beautiful cities of Mars. Spender is so offened that he disappears into the Martian hills and does not return for two weeks. When he does return, he goes on a murderous rampage, first killing Biggs, and then four of his fellow crew members. Through Spender, Bradbury is showing his disapproval of mankind's exploit of other races by the misapplication of technology. (Bryfonski 68) Another important aspect of Bradbury's work in The Martian Chronicals is his demonstration of human's "inability to forget, or at least resist, the past" (Bryfonski 70). When the second expedition of Earthmen arrive on Mars, Captain Williams, its arogant leader, expects praise and congradulation from the Martians and is confused when no one takes him seriously. The crew walks from door to door looking for someone who will acknowlegde their accomplishment, but no one even seems to care. The men can't "accept the fact that this is Mars-a different, unique new land in which they must be ready to make personal adjustments"(Bryfonski 70) until after it is too late to do anything about it. They are thought to be insane Martians, who have the ability to project their thoughts, thus explaining their appearance. The only cure, as they are told, for such insanity, is death. Shortly after, each crew member is executed. Their executer's demise is also brought about by an inability to forget the past. He is the administrator of an insane isylum in which the men are placed. His job is to evaluate and, if nescessary, kill insane Martians. After he kills the Earthmen, he expects their bodies to return to the "normal" Martian form. When they do not, he is convinced that he has become insane and procedes to kill himself as well. Another story with incidents of human inability to change lies in chapter "The Earth Men", which, in some ways, "acts as a metaphor for the book as a whole"(Bryfonski 70). Here, a third expedition of Earthmen arrive on Mars, only to find a town not unlike one in the United States in the mid-1800's. Upon exiting their ship they were even more suprised to find people, old friends and relatives, that had been dead for years on Earth. They are told that this is the place where people come when they die, and before long the entire crew abandoneds their ship and reminisces with people from their past. That night all of the crew members settle in with their long lost families, and just a little too late, Captain John Black realizes their fatal mistake. The martians, endowed with the gift of telepathy, create an elaborate illusion to fool the humans into vacating their ship and leaving them defenseless. As the crew lies silently in bed, they are murdered by the Martians, thus ending the third expedtion. Although Bradbury's style of writing cannot be considered science fiction, it is a very unique and an important part of modern literature. His stories inThe Martian Chronicles established him as a serious writer of science fiction and fantasy and are full of wonderful images, messages, and truths about life (Solomon). "Bradbury's stories are not an escape from reality; they are windows looking upon enduring reality" (Bryfonski 69).
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Member of the Wedding.TXT
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The Member of the Wedding
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers is the story of an adolescent girl who triumphs over loneliness and gains maturity through an identity that she creates for herself in her mind. It is with this guise that twelve year old Frankie Addams begins to feel confident about herself and life. The author seems to indicate that one can feel good about oneself through positive thinking regardless of reality. The novel teaches that one's destiny is a self-fulfilled prophesy, seeing one's self in a certain light oftentimes creates an environment where one might become that which one would like to be. The world begins to look new and beautiful to Frankie when her older brother Jarvis returns from Alaska with his bride-to-be, Janice. The once clumsy Frankie, forlorn and lonely, feeling that she "was a member of nothing in the world" now decides that she is going to be "the member of the wedding." Frankie truly believes that she is going to be an integral part of her brother's new family and becomes infatuated with the idea that she will leave Georgia and live with Jarvis and Janice in Winter Hill. In her scheme to be part of this new unit, she dubs herself F. Jasmine so that she and the wedding couple will all have names beginning with the letters J and a. Her positive thinking induces a euphoria which contributes to a rejection of the old feeling that "the old Frankie had no we to claim.... Now all this was suddenly over with and changed. There was her brother and the bride, and it was as though when first she saw them something she had known inside of her: They are the we of me." Being a member of the wedding will, she feels, connect her irrevocably to her brother and his wife. Typical of many teenagers, she felt that in order to be someone she has to be a part of an intact, existing group, that is, Jarvis and Janice. The teen years are known as a time of soul-searching for a new and grown up identity. In an effort to find this identity teens seek to join a group. Frankie, too, is deperate for Jarvis and Janice's adult acceptance. Frankie is forced to spend the summer with John Henry, her six year old cousin, and Berenice Brown, her black cook. It is through her interactions with these two characters that the reader perceives Frankie's ascent from childhood. Before Jarvis and Janice arrive, Frankie is content to play with John Henry. When she becomes F. Jasmine and an imagined "we" of the couple, she feels too mature to have John Henry sleep over, preferring, instead, to occupy her time explaining her wedding plans to strangers in bars, a behavior she would not have considered doing before gaining this new confidence. When F. Jasmine tells her plans to Berenice, the cook immediately warns her that Jarvis and Janice will not want her to live with them. F. Jasmine smugly ignores the cook's warning that "you just laying yourself this fancy trap to catch yourself in trouble." The adolescent feels confident and cocky, refusing to believe that her plot is preposterous. After the wedding and the shattering reality that Frances (as she is now known) faces, it is evident, from the fact that their refusal doesn't crush her, that she has truly turned herself around, and that her maturity is an authentic and abiding one. At the conclusion of the story, the now confident Frances is able to plan a future for herself, by herself, which includes becoming a great writer. She, further, finds a sympathetic friend who becomes the other half of her new "we." Carson McCullers brilliantly portrays a teenage girl's maturation through a fabricated feeling of belonging, which ultimately leads to a true belonging. The reader sees how the girl grows from a childish "Frankie," to a disillusioned "F. Jasmine," and eventually to a matured Frances. When F. Jasmine questions Berenice as to why it is illegal to change one's name without consent of the court, the cook insightfully responds, "You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in various ways and do various things, so that soon the name begins to have a meaning." No matter how we might change externals, it is only when our innermost feelings are altered that we truly change and grow. The Member of the Wedding Novel by: Carson McCullers Copyright date: 1946
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Metomorphisis.TXT
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The Metomorphisis
Gregor was the most unselfish person in The Metamorphosis. This characteristic shows with his dedication to his work. He was the only family member with a job, believing he was the only one capable of it. Sacrificing his social life for his work, he had no friends at work, and never went out at night. His only hobby was fretwork, sitting alone in his room. The only person he was ever intimate with was his sister Grete. His devotion to his work was remarkable. In all of the five years he had worked for his father's creditor, he had never once been absent. Always ready to go out on his rounds as early as possible, he never took advantage of time for a break. By the time he got back, the other employees were still eating breakfast. Under the belief that he was the sole provider for the family, Gregor took up a job with his father's creditor, before even consulting his family. They, at the time, were of course impressed. The flat they were living in was chosen by Gregor. Making enough money, he hired a cook and servant. He was even thinking of sending Grete to the conservatorium to further enhance what he believed to be musical talents. Even after his metamorphosis, he never asked for much. Showing his concern for others' wellbeing, he hid under the couch so as not to disgust anyone by his sight. Although they brought him food everyday, he barely ate any of it. He even wished he were not such a burden on the family, and that he could have transformed back into his old self. All of the actions mentioned above displayed Gregor's unselfishness. After his metamorphosis, nobody indicated they were grateful for what he had done. After his first absence, the chief clerk himself appeared at Gregor's house to see what was the matter. When Gregor did not open his door, the chief clerk accused him of stealing the company's funds, and degraded him in front of his parents as being insubordinate. After the transformation, Gregor's father gave little or no love or support. Instead, he had hurt Gregor many times while ushering Gregor back into the room. Grete and her mother do, for some time, show a little support. After having Gregor around for a while however Grete asserted that they should somehow get rid of him. At this point, Gregor realized that his family no longer loves him, and gave up on life. Although Gregor did aid his family in a critical time of need, they hardly acknowledged this fact after his transformation. They never even tried to understand him. For the past five years, he provided for his family, and when he needed them, they did not care. After his metamorphosis, they all got jobs, something Gregor thought they were incapable of. After his death, they moved out of the flat, which was too expensive for them, leaving all of their memories, starting anew without him.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Mill on the Floss.TXT
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The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss is a book written by George Eliot, whose real name is Mary Anne (later Marian) Evans. There is a great deal of autobiography in this book. The facts of Mary Anne's life do not match Maggie Tulliver, but there is an obvious reflection of her own life. Book One: Chapter1-13 The novel opens up with a description of the countryside around the town of St. Ogg's and the river Floss. In the second chapter Maggie, Mr. Tulliver, Mrs. Tulliver, and Mr. Riley are introduced. Mr. Tulliver states his intention to send Tom to a different school. In the third chapter Mr. Riley gives his advice about a school for Tom. In the forth chapter Mr. Tulliver goes after Tom, while Mr. Tulliver is gone you learn about that Maggie's mother is concerned mainly with what her family thinks. In the fifth chapter Tom is home and you learn that he cares for his sister Maggie deeply, and that Tom's opinion is very important to Maggie. In the sixth chapter the Tulliver's are getting ready for the aunts and uncles to arrive. In the seventh chapter the family arrives and you are introduced to Mrs. Glegg, Mrs. Pullet, Mrs. Deane and Maggie's cousin Lucy. Mr. Tulliver states his intention to send Tom to school and it is met with opposition. In the eighth chapter he goes to his brother-in-laws house to demand the money that he owes him so that he can pay his wife's sister Mrs. Glegg. In chapter nine you read about the Tullivers going to visit the Pullets. In the tenth chapter Maggie pushed Lucy in the mud because she is receiving most of Tom's attention. When Tom goes to tell on her she runs off and can't be found. In the eleventh chapter Maggie decides to run away to the gypsies, but after learning how poor they were and how little of food they had she decides to go back home. In the twelfth chapter you read that St. Ogg is named for it's patron saint who showed pity on a woman and child. St. Ogg is the town where the Gleggs live. In the thirteenth chapter Mr. Tulliver borrows money from a client of his old enemy Wakem. Book One: Chapter 1-7 In the first chapter of this book Tom is at school, and he is Stelling's only student. Maggie goes to visit him in October. In the second chapter Tom gets to come home for Christmas. Mr. Tulliver has a lawsuit against Mr. Pivart , his next door neighbor. It has also become known that Wakem's son will be sent to school with Tom. In the third chapter Tom is back at school and meets Phillip Wakem. Philip Wakem is a small, deformed youth with a hump on his back, but is an exceptional artist and story teller. In the forth chapter read that Tom feels that Philip is an enemy. Tom and Philip get in an argument that left Phillip crying bitterly. Tom bribes Mr. Poulter to let him borrow his sword and keep it under his bed. In the fifth chapter Tom tries to make up the quarrel with Philip, but Wakem does not respond. Tom tries to impress Maggie and drops the sword on his foot. Also Maggie becomes very fond of Philip Wakem. In the sixth chapter Philip sends all his extra time with Tom and Maggie. Maggie kisses Philip in the library and promises to do so again next time she sees him. In the seventh chapter Tom goes on at King's Lorton until his fifth half year, and Maggie is sent to boarding school with Lucy. Also Mr. Tulliver loses his lawsuit against Mr. Pivart. Book Three: Chapters 1-9 In the first chapter Mr. Tullver falls off of his horse and is found insensible by the roadside. Tom ventures that Wakem is responsible and vows to make him "feel for it". In the second chapter Mr. Tulliver is found crying over the things that she has to sell to pay the mortgage. Maggie reproaches her mother for caring more about her possessions than Mr. Tulliver. In the third chapter the aunts and uncles gather for consultation. They help by buying some of Mrs. Tullivers good things. In the forth chapter Mr. Tulliver wakes up for a while and becomes excited, but soon falls back to bed. In the sixth chapter Tom goes to see his uncle Deane about a job. Mr. Deane gives him a job for no better reason than he is his nephew.. In the sixth chapter the sale of Mrs. Tullivers household goods is finally over. Bob Jakin, one of Tom's childhood friends, comes back to repay a favor. He offers them money, but they refuse it saying that it is not nearly enough to help. In the seventh chapter Mr. Tulliver slowly recovers but has lost track of time. Also Wakem decided that it would be a good investment to buy the mill. In the eighth chapter the land and the mill are sold to Wakem, and Mr. Tulliver agrees to be employed by Wakem as a manager. In the ninth chapter Mr. Tulliver struggles with himself to keep his promise to work for Wakem. Mr. Tulliver also has Tom write in the family bible that he will never forgive Wakem, and that Tom must make him feel for it when the chance comes. Book Four: Chapters 1-3 In the first chapter you read that the religion of the Dodsons and Tullivers is "of a simple, semi-pagan kind." Family life on the Floss os much like before. In the second chapter you read that Maggie is old for her years but lacks Tom's self command. Mrs. Tullivers uncontentment in this empty life is less painful to Maggie than her father's sullenness. In the third chapter Bob Jakin comes to the house and brings books for Maggie. One is by Thomas a Kempis, this book leads her to a new inner life . Book Five: Chapters 1-7 In the first chapter Maggie who is now seventeen years old and darkly beautiful tells Philip that she is glad that he has come, and they start meeting secretly. In the second chapter Tom borrows money from aunt and uncle Glegg to repay debts. In the third chapter Maggie feels that concealment is wrong and that they should not meet secretly anymore. In the forth chapter Maggie returns a book to Philip saying she did not like it because once again the fair-haired woman stole all the love from the dark woman. Philip also declares his love for her, but she says that she can do nothing about it because she does not want to hurt her father. In the fifth chapter Tom finds out about her meeting Philip and goes with her to meet him. He makes Maggie swear never to meet him again. In the sixth chapter the Tullivers finally have the money to pay off their debts. In the seventh chapter Tulliver meets with his creditors. He meets Wakem on his way back home and knocks him off of his horse. Mr. Tulliver is whipping Wakem when Maggie comes to restrain him. Later that night Mr. Tulliver gets very ill and dies, before his death he would not forgive Wakem. Book Six: Chapters 1-14 In the first chapter you read about Lucy Deane being courted by Stephen Guest. Also Maggie is coming to stay with her. Mrs. Tulliver has been their housekeeper since Mrs. Deane died. Stephen feels that Lucy is the sort of woman to marry. In the second chapter Maggie comes and meets Stephen who finds her beautiful and intelligent. He finds Maggie interesting but believes he could never love her. In the third chapter Maggie tells Lucy she feels that Stephen is too self-confident.. She also tells her the story of herself and Philip. In the forth chapter Maggie goes to visit Tom, who is lodging with Bob Jakin, and asked to be absolved of her promise not to see Philip. Tom agrees but says she must give him up if she begins to think of Philip as a lover. In the fifth chapter Tom tries to get Mr. Guest to buy Dorlcote mill, and says if it can be bought he would like to buy it by working off the price. In the sixth chapter Maggie is launched by Lucy into St. Ogg's society. Also Maggie and Stephen are becoming very aware of each other. In the seventh chapter Maggie sees Philip. Philip recognizes that Maggie and Stephen are in love but he will not allow himself to believe it. In chapter eight Philip tells his father that he wants to marry Maggie. At first Wakem disapproves but then says that he can if she will have him. In the ninth chapter Maggie helps Lucy in a booth selling large, plain articles. Mr. Wakem comes and speaks to Maggie amiably. Maggie goes to aunt Moss's house and has told Lucy that she will speak to Tom about marrying Philip, but she is still in love with Stephen. In chapter ten Stephen kisses Maggie and she sends him away. She tells Philip she is leaving and will speak to her brother. In the eleventh chapter Maggie has stayed with her aunt four days before Stephen comes to see her. Stephen asks her hand in marriage and she refuses, they exchange one kiss before he goes. In the twelfth chapter Tom refuses to give his blessing for Maggie and Philip to get married. In the thirteenth chapter Maggie tries to avoid Stephen but finds it impossible. She ends up going rowing with him. Stephen asks Maggie once again to marry him and she refuses. They rowed out way to far and ended up getting on a boat coming toward them. In the fourteenth chapter Maggie departs from Stephen telling him they can never get married. Book Seven: Chapters 1-5 In the first chapter Maggie returns home to Tom, but Tom hearing of her on the river with Stephen, and not being married, turned her out. Bob Jakin took her and her mother in. In the second chapter it becomes known that Maggie has returned unwed and she is cast out of society. Dr. Kenn tries finds her a position at the church. In the third chapter aunt Pullet offers to take Maggie in but she declines. There is also word that Lucy is no longer ill. Maggie receives a letter from Philip and it makes her sure that no happiness in love could make her forget the pain of others. In the forth chapter Dr. Kenn, unable to find her a position, employs her himself as a governess to his children. Lucy comes and visits Maggie and tells her that she is not angry with her and that Maggie is better than she. In the fifth chapter Dr. Kenn has to let Maggie because of rumors that he intends to marry her. Maggie receives another letter from Stephen asking her to come to him, but she resolves not to go. She is wondering how long it is until death. At that moment she feels water about her knees, knowing at once it is the flood. Maggie is swept away in one of the boats while trying to help Bob ready the boats. She paddles to reach the mill. Tom climbs out into the boat. They set off to find Lucy. Huge fragments are floating and people in a boat shout a warning , but Tom and Maggie are borne down by the drifting masses. They disappear under the current "in an embrace never to be parted."
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Mood of Othello.TXT
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The Mood of Othello
The Mood of Othello Othello is a play that evokes many emotions from a reader's mind. The mood is changing, yet throughout, it demands a lot of contempt for the villain, Iago. Beginning with act one, there is an immediate setting for suspicion which will remain characteristic throughout the whole story. There is a touch of happiness for the newlyweds, Othello and Desdemona, which quickly disintegrates with the mighty villains lies and deceit. There is a feeling of empathy for Othello when his extreme, yet falsely founded jealousy causes him to lose his mind, and his beloved wife. The mood is sad and frustrating when poor innocent Desdemona is being punished for a crime she didn't commit. And at the end there is a slight feeling of satisfaction that Iago's plan was revealed, yet the mood is overwhelmingly depressing because Othello and Desdemona both suffered severely and died. Iago introduces suspicion in the very first scene. He is discussing how he hates Othello, yet he must feign loyalty for his position. This is already a clue to the reader that Iago cannot be trusted. This feeling of mistrust is vital in the mood of the play because it is most ironic that Othello trusts Iago as much as to murder his own wife. This ironic plot creates a frustrating feeling for the reader which is felt throughout the play. The mood is tense when we find out that Brabantio is angry that Othello has taken his daughter. He is determined that Othello must have tricked Desdemona into loving him. Othello defends his love for her, and she in turn vows her love for him. This situation of a forbidden relationship is romantic, it makes the reader feel a great deal of respect and happiness for their mutual love. When Iago begins poisoning Othello's mind with false suspicion of Desdemona's fidelity, the mood is extremely frustrating. The reader is aware of Iago's lies, yet Othello is being easily led to believe them. This also evokes anger towards Iago, he is evil in his constant lying, yet he is referred to by Othello as kind and honest. This irony is painful to the reader because it is so blatant. Othello's extreme jealousy causes the reader a combination of emotions. Jealousy is a very painful emotion, and the reader sympathizes with Othello. Yet, since the reader is aware of the falseness in the roots of the jealousy, they feel a little disgusted by how easily Othello is being tricked. He is introduced as such a rational and strong man, yet the evil Iago is so easily deceiving him. The mood is tragic when we see that Iago's plan has worked and the poor Desdemona is his unknowing victim. She is lovingly faithful to Othello, and is confused and hurt by his false accusations. This makes the reader begin to dislike Othello for his irrational, cruel persecution of his loving wife. Still, we know the blame belongs to Iago, and our hostile feelings towards him are stronger than ever. As well as Desdemona, Cassio and Roderigo are also unexpecting victims to Iago's schemes. They all assume Iago's honesty, while in fact he is exploiting and using them as his pawns in his deceitful plotting. The mood in the acts IV, and V are continuously dreadful. Othello has been driven mad by Iago's insisting conversations of Desdemona's affair with Cassio. Othello's expresses his undeniable murderous thoughts which are rooted in his raging jealousy when he compares them to the current of the Pontic Sea, Whose icy current and compulsive course Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on... Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace, Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love, Till that a capable and wide revenge Swallow them up. Now, by yond marble heaven, In due reverence of a sacred vow I here engage my words. (3.3.502-510) The reader understands his pain, and longs for the truth to relieve it. On the contrary, Iago's plan to expose Cassio in front of Othello works perfectly. When Othello secretly observes Cassio's mistress with the handkerchief, he finally is completely convinced of the affair. He declared revenge for his lost love and pride, and has decides that death shall be the punishment for both Cassio and Desdemona. The ending of the story is disastrous, and the reader is devastated when Desdemona, while pleading her innocence, is murdered by the jealously insane Othello. Othello is tragically surprised when he finally realizes, a minute too late, that he was wrong and Desdemona had been faithful. Iago's lies were all uncovered by his wife Emilia, and Iago kills her for speaking the truth. Othello finally discovers Iago's rotten lies, and denounces him as a villain. Unfortunately this realization is too late, and he has destroyed his own fate. Othello kills himself in shame. The reader has a small feeling of justification that Iago was exposed, yet the mournful mood prevails since Othello, Desdemona, and Emilia, were all robbed of their happiness, and ultimately their lives for the lies that Iago told.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Moon.TXT
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The Moon
The Moon is Down Chapter One: Here we learn that a small town has been taken over by one of the many Nazi groups during World War Two. Mr. Corell " The town good guy", the way I view it, sent the town postmen and policemen on a boating trip, keeping them from the invasion (we learn later that "The town good guy" is really a back-stabber later in the book). After the invasion, the Nazis request a meeting with the town's Mayor, Mayor Orden. Joseph and Doctor Winter, two of Mayor Orden's colleagues, await the arrival of Nazis too. The two meet Captain Bentick, a rank lower than Colonel Lanser who is the one who had requested the meeting. Bentick searches the home. During the meeting Annie, Mayor Orden's cook, becomes very aggravated by the soldiers who wait outside the front porch of the Mayor's home, and throws a pot of boiling water at them. Chapter Two: In this chapter, Steinbeck explains the characteristics of each of the Nazis. Major Hunter, an engineer, "arithmatician", and seemingly indifferent to the fact that he is a soldier. Captain Bentick, a family man, was old and kind. Bentick also has certain admiration to the English. Captain Loft, a young man, took much pride in the fact that he was a soldier. He dreams of his own death on the battlefield, where he is respected. "Lieutenants Prackle and Tonder were snot noses, undergraduates, lieutenants, trained in the politics of the day" (Quoted out of the book; there seemed to be no sense putting it in my own words since it was right there, and couldn't have been worded any better). Colonel Lanser takes much pride in what he does. To me, he sees life as an order given by a higher rank that must be taken out. It is also in this chapter that Captain Bentick dies by one Alexander Morden, a town dweller. Chapter Three: The chapter begins with a discussion between Annie and Joseph, who are talking about Alexander Morden and the death of Captain Bentick. Joseph reveals to Annie what he surely thinks will happen... "They'll shoot him". Annie is rejecting the awful thought. Unfortunately it is true and Alex will be tried. Molly Morden, Alex's wife, met with the Mayor because of a rumor that had been circulating in the town. "You wouldn't convict Alex would you?", the replies, "No". To the Mayor's anger he found that he did have to sentence Alex to death; luckily he managed to shirk the awful duty. Chapter Four: This Chapter is very brief, it simply goes into Alex's trial, where he IS convicted, and shot in a public area. Because of Alex's death, the Mayor requests Annie to keep Molly company in her time of Mourning. Chapter Five: This snow begins to stick, and the Nazis begin a friendly discussion that turns into a bitter argument of being home for Christmas and when the war will end. Chapter Six: The chapter begins with a description of the town. The streets are quiet, lights are turned out, and fear is about. Annie arrives to the home of Molly to keep her company and to catch her up on current events. Mayor Orden will be arriving to her home soon to speak to her and the Anders' will be leaving that very night. When she left, minutes later, Molly heard a knock at the door. She thought of Annie and what she could've left behind or forgotten, but it was Lieutenant Tonder. Molly turned straight to her own defense by asking who he was and what he wanted. Tonder explained his feelings toward Molly, and Molly although seemingly flattered, she became bitter because of the death of her husband. She calms down and apologizes for her behavior. She then begins talking about her husband and how he was killed. She then tells him that he was the one who was told to publicly execute him. When Tonder remembers, he becomes crushed because he realizes the is no chance for the two of them to remain friends even though their relationship had only lasted minutes. Tonder leaves and Annie enters. "You haven't joined them have you?" Molly replies, "No Annie, I haven't". With Annie come the Anders brothers and the Mayor. The two brothers tell Molly how they plan to flee and who they will take with them. "We're also taking Mr. Corell; it's only fitting if we also take his boat.". The group began putting their heads together to think of some kind of retaliation. The Mayor tells the Anders brothers to tell people of what has been happening and to bring back defensive and offensive weapons. Tonder comes back and knocks on the door; Molly quickly rushes the group outside the backdoor not to be seen. Chapter Seven: To me, this chapter is what I think of as the turning point in the book. The chapter begins with two soldiers going back and fourth with meaningless dribble. One of them spots planes high in the sky. The planes begin to drop little devices with blue parachutes attached. The Nazis begin to fear what these packages are. Still some men go on to open them, and inside them reveal plans for a revolt. It gives directions on how to sabotage the railroads made by the Nazis. A meeting was then held about these devices (The Nazis were afraid to open them). When opened, Colonel Lanser's anger raged to find the directions to the revolt. (At this point, Steinbeck reveals Tonder is dead as a result of coming back to Molly's home. "Tonder's death was of no help to us; he was lonely")Prackle enters the room and asks to go home; he too is scared and lonely, and I believe hewants leave because these were the same conditions Tonder was in before he died. Colonel Lanser tells him he can't leave, and he may do whatever he wants to the girl he disires as long as when he is asked, he will shoot her. Mr. Corell enters; he is in pain and various bones in his body are broken. "The same night Tonder died, I was waylaid," he said (obviously by the Anders). "the two escaped in my boat, the patrol saved me". Mr. Corell is angered by what happened to him so he requests that Mr. Lanser place Mayor Orden and Doctor Winter under arrest and placed to be hostages because the two always seem to be at the scene of the crime. Mr. Corell is sure this will stop if not slow down the revolt. Chapter Eight: News begins to spread of the Mayor's arrest. Even children found the devices with the blue parachutes while playing. They ate what food was in the package and hid the dynamite and told the parents where they stored it. Widespread search for more packages began by both sides of the war. Annie is working on the house and sees Mayor Orden in his room guarded by a soldier. Doctor Winter enters with another soldier. The speak of what may happen to each other. Not surprisingly, they hadn't spoken of death. Finally the subject of death is brought up. The two began to move away from the subject of death, and began to reminisce about old times. They recalled a quote and the Mayor began to recite it. Through the quote he left out words or forgot them and Colonel Lanser corrected him as he quietly entered the room. Prackle barged in as the Mayor was reciting, but Lanser did not let him interrupt the Mayor. When he was done, Prackle told Lanser finding men with dynamite. Lanser tells the Mayor that this must stop, but he is denied. Not because he is angry, but because he has no control of the people. Mayor Orden told Lanser the people won't stand for being conquered they will fight, and they will be driven out. They begin to here explosions of rebellion, and the Mayor leaves the room awaiting his execution.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Mystery Of Drear House.TXT
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The Mystery Of Drear House
Virginia Hamilton. The Mystery of Drear House. Greenwillow Books, 1987. 217pp
In concluding her series of stories about the Small family, Virginia Hamilton compliments the original plot perfectly in The Mystery of Drear House. The books dark secrets begin to slowly unveil and are brought to end with a surprising friendship.
The book is again set around the house of Dies Eddington Drear, in a current year. The surrounding property and underground tunnels on premises play major roles in defining the plot and motive for the characters bizarre actions.
The main character in the book was Thomas small; he is a young boy about 12 years old. He is shy and timid but is very mature for his age. He sees things for how they should be, and he often gives too much due to his kind-hearted nature. Thomas best friend is Pesty Darrow a girl his age who lives on the property that borders theirs. The Darrows are a feuding family and believe that there is gold buried on the Small's land. They feel that it should belong to them and pull many risky stunts to try and find it. Mrs. Darrow is Pestys mother and the key to many secrets of the house and the tunnels that were once apart of the Underground Railroad. Due to her mental illness, she cannot speak and remember things clearly. Thomas's father has known the location of the gold, and being the good man that he is, arranges for the Darrows to find it. He did this so they could live next to each other without feuding.
I believe Hamilton was trying to show that stubborn people with different ideas can over come one another's differences. She shows how kindness and letting someone know that your care, and to be able to let the past go can bring even the worst of enemies together.
The book in itself was excellent; I thought it explained and answered many questions and brought the story to a sufficient close. I almost wish it wouldn't have, the mysteries of the house were quite interesting especially with the relevance to the Underground Railroad and the true history behind it, which she incorporated into the plot.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a twisting plot with many different leads and secrets to be found out later by the reader. It keeps you thinking and wishing your were there taking part in the whole experiences of creeping through the caves and hiking across the hilly woods around the house.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Odyssey.TXT
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The Odyssey
During the night Odysseus tosses and turns, worrying about the outcome of his encounter with the suitor. Athena appears to himin a dream and promises that he will aid in the struggle. Penelope also unable to sleep and prays to Artemis, begging that she be rescued from marriage to another man, even if it means her death. In the morning Odysseus appeals to Zeus for a sign of his favor and is answered by the rumbling of thunder and lightning. Others notice the sign and a general mood of imminant danger sets in. Odysseus observes the behavior of his servants to identify the faithful. Melanthius arrives with the goats for the banquet and persists in harasses Odysseus. Eumaeus comes to the place, driving the hogs for the slaughter, demonstrating his goodness. Another loyal servant, Philoetius, the chief cowherd, arrives from the mainland. The suitors, again plotting to assassinate Telemachus, eventually return to the place. As they lunch, Ctesippus insults Odysseus and throws a bone at him. Telemachus is outraged and gives a scolding to the suitors in which he lists all the bad stuff they have done.. His unexpected boldness shocks the group, but they are drunk and laugh at his warnings. , Theclymenus cautions them that a catastrophe is impending in which they will suffer for their evil ways, but they mock the him until he leaves the palace in a rage. The suitors continue to drink, and dont heed the warning. New Charters: Philoitios - the cattle foreman Vocabulary banter v. - to speak to or address in a witty and teasing manner. lustrous adj. - radiant in character or reputation. dregs n. - the most undesirable part stint n. - a definite quantity of work assigned coverlets n. - bedspread saunter v. - to walk about in an idle or leisurely manner hulking adj. - massive sardonic adj. - disdainfully or skeptically humorous : derisively mocking jeered v. - to speak or cry out with derision or mockery braying v. - to crush or grind fine Epic Conventions Epic Similies p. 411 - line 14 "as a bitch mounting over her weak, defenseless puppies growls, facing a stranger, bristling for a showdown- so he growled from his depths, hackles rising at their outrage." p.411 - 28 "as a cook before some white-hot blazing fire who rolls his sizzling saussage back and fourth, packed with fatand blood- keen to broil it quickly, tossing, turning it, this was, that way- so he cast about" Supernatural Involvment In this book the gods are constantly involved. Once, when Athena visits Odyssues in a dream to tell him that she favors him. A second time, when they pray to Zeus and he makes lightning and thunder, and a thrid time, when Theoklymenos, the visionary, sees blood running down the walls and ghosts crowding the courtyard and entryway. The first 2 accounts are only supernatural involvement if you consider intervention by the gods supernatural. Archetypal Themes What does it mean to be an adult? Throughout the book Telemachus shows traits of being grown up. When he is mocked by the suitors, he doesnt react in the way that a child would, he simply, keeps it to himself. What is the relationship of men to God? God and the gods are always protecting man. Athen and Zeus are going to protect Odysseus, showing the the gods care for the best intrest of man. Is man free? Man he the freedom of choice, but he is not totally free, because the gods intervene with each situation, not having men make the own decision 100%. What is the ralationship between men and women? In this book, Penelope, has to make a decision of which sutior to choose. In the begining of the book, it describes Odysseus tossing are turning at the thought of Penelope sleeping upstairs alone, showing that he cares for her. What is the role of suffering in out lives? To fully live life we must suffer to really see what the world is about, becuase with the bad come good and viceverse. Throughtout this book and the rest of the stoy, Odyesseus strugles with the different issues. In this book being the impending catastrophe. What are the heroic qualities that set man apart from other men? In this book the qualities displayed by Odyseus that he care for the well being of everyone else, shows that he is a true hero. Whats man's responsibility to other men? Man is support to look out for the best intrests of his fellow man, as Odysseus does when he prays to have the protected. What is the nature of good and evil? As in the traditional good and evil relationship, good will always prevail over evil, in the way that Odysseus will prevail over the suitors. What does it mean to "accept individual responsibility in out lives" mean? Odysseus accepts responsiblity over his life in the way that he tries constantly to prevent impending danger. In this book being the conflict that will take place.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Old Man And The Se1.TXT
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The Old Man And The Sea
This book takes place in the past and is about an old man that loves fishing in the Gulf Stream. The old man was a thin with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck and had scars on his hands from handling the fishing rope. He taught this young boy how to fish and the boy loved him. He even brought him fishing many times. But the past 84 days the old man had not caught one fish. After 40 days of not catching anything the boy left and fished on another boat. The boy still loved him and brought him food and fresh bait to fish. The old man and the boy always talked about baseball because they both enjoyed it. One day, the old man was out on the water fishing. The weather was beautiful, the currents were perfect, and he saw all birds flying over the water. He knew he had to catch a nice fish today. He saw one of his poles have a jerk so he pulled it in and it was a bonita fish, which he was goin to use for a nice piece of bait later in the day. The day progressed and he saw a real big jerk on the pole. He jumped up and held it, but the fish was not hooked yet. A couple more jerks he felt, but the fish was not taking it. Finally the fish did and he could feel that it had to be a fish of enormous size. He could not pull it up because it was so strong. He had to hold onto it until the fish was tired and decided to come up. Then when it would come up, he would take his harpoon and stab it in the heart so it would die. This fish was taking all the strength out of him and it was pulling his skiff farther and farther out. Now he wished that the boy was here with him to help him pull it up. It was 3 days later until he finally got the fish to jump out of the water. When it did he saw that it was the biggest marlin he ever saw. To regain strength and pull the fish in, he had to eat the bonita that he caught. He ate all of it and it helped his hand that was cut from the rope. The fish was now gettin tired and almost by the boat. It started circling the boat and when it was close enough, he stabbed it in the heart and killed it. He was so amazed of the size of it and he could not take his eyes off it. He tied it to the skiff and put his sails up. He was off on his way home, but no land was in sight. While on the way back, he sees a fin out of the water. He notices it is a large mako shark that is coming after his fish. He gets his harpoon out ready to kill. The shark takes a chunk out of his fish and the old man harpoons and kills the shark but his harpoon broke. Now he was left only with a knife to protect what was left of the fish. The fish is now bleeding, and sharks are attracted when they see and smell blood. A couple hours later on his voyage home, he sees to more sharks heading right for his fish. Both sharks take a chunk out of the fish but the old man manages to stab both sharks in the eye killing them. His fish was getting smaller and smaller because of the sharks. This time while stabbing the sharks in the eyes his knife breaks, now all he has to kill the sharks is a oar. If any more sharks come he is ruined. A couple more hours of sailing two more sharks come and eat the rest of his fish, leaving just the head and scales of the enormous fish he had. When he was back at the dock, he just got off the boat and went right into his house and fell asleep. Everyone was so amazed by the fish he caught even though nothing was left of it. The boy told the old man to rest and get better and he would fish with him again.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Old Man And The Se2.TXT
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The Old Man And The Sea
This book takes place in the past and is about an old man that loves fishing in the Gulf Stream. The old man was a thin with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck and had scars on his hands from handling the fishing rope. He taught this young boy how to fish and the boy loved him. He even brought him fishing many times. But the past 84 days the old man had not caught one fish. After 40 days of not catching anything the boy left and fished on another boat. The boy still loved him and brought him food and fresh bait to fish. The old man and the boy always talked about baseball because they both enjoyed it. One day, the old man was out on the water fishing. The weather was beautiful, the currents were perfect, and he saw all birds flying over the water. He knew he had to catch a nice fish today. He saw one of his poles have a jerk so he pulled it in and it was a bonita fish, which he was goin to use for a nice piece of bait later in the day. The day progressed and he saw a real big jerk on the pole. He jumped up and held it, but the fish was not hooked yet. A couple more jerks he felt, but the fish was not taking it. Finally the fish did and he could feel that it had to be a fish of enormous size. He could not pull it up because it was so strong. He had to hold onto it until the fish was tired and decided to come up. Then when it would come up, he would take his harpoon and stab it in the heart so it would die. This fish was taking all the strength out of him and it was pulling his skiff farther and farther out. Now he wished that the boy was here with him to help him pull it up. It was 3 days later until he finally got the fish to jump out of the water. When it did he saw that it was the biggest marlin he ever saw. To regain strength and pull the fish in, he had to eat the bonita that he caught. He ate all of it and it helped his hand that was cut from the rope. The fish was now gettin tired and almost by the boat. It started circling the boat and when it was close enough, he stabbed it in the heart and killed it. He was so amazed of the size of it and he could not take his eyes off it. He tied it to the skiff and put his sails up. He was off on his way home, but no land was in sight. While on the way back, he sees a fin out of the water. He notices it is a large mako shark that is coming after his fish. He gets his harpoon out ready to kill. The shark takes a chunk out of his fish and the old man harpoons and kills the shark but his harpoon broke. Now he was left only with a knife to protect what was left of the fish. The fish is now bleeding, and sharks are attracted when they see and smell blood. A couple hours later on his voyage home, he sees to more sharks heading right for his fish. Both sharks take a chunk out of the fish but the old man manages to stab both sharks in the eye killing them. His fish was getting smaller and smaller because of the sharks. This time while stabbing the sharks in the eyes his knife breaks, now all he has to kill the sharks is a oar. If any more sharks come he is ruined. A couple more hours of sailing two more sharks come and eat the rest of his fish, leaving just the head and scales of the enormous fish he had. When he was back at the dock, he just got off the boat and went right into his house and fell asleep. Everyone was so amazed by the fish he caught even though nothing was left of it. The boy told the old man to rest and get better and he would fish with him again.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Old Man and the Se3.TXT
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The Old Man and the Sea
In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway describes an old fisherman and the unfortunate trials he faces as his "luck" runs out. Through the novel, the fisherman, Santiago, replicates Hemingway's ideal man, a noble hero. Hemingway had a Code of Behavior that he himself followed. He had morals that were strict and an appreciation for instinct and human nature. He had a specific way of living life and an understanding of time. He believed in taking risks and acting upon instinct. He believed that a person who followed his Code of Behavior was a noble hero. In Hemingway's Code of Behavior, a noble hero is a master craftsman. This means that he is not dependent on other people or on technology. It also means that he is a master at his art and he keeps practicing it in order to better himself. The second characteristic of a noble hero is that he struggles in order to remain undefeated. This means that he does anything possible to reach his goal. He struggles and suffers in order to perfect his art and therefore, himself, "No matter what kind of suffering and trial he has to go Kapadia 2
through he has to fulfill his destiny..."(Harada 270). The third characteristic of Hemingway's noble hero is that he accepts defeat. Once he is defeated, once he can better himself no more, he should stop trying because, "He lives in time. And the goal of time is death and destruction"(Harada 276). He should accept that he is no longer useful and that he has been defeated. These three characteristics define Hemingway's ideal man. In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago exemplifies Hemingway's Code of Behavior for a noble hero.
In the novel, Santiago is a master craftsman. He is only dependent on himself. While the other fishermen use motor boats, Santiago uses his skiff. While the other men have many workers and helpers who hold several lines, Santiago has three lines all operated by his own hand. He is an expert, "...the old man goes much farther out than the other fishermen and casts bait in much deeper water"(Gurko 66). Because he knows the waters and the movements of the fish, he has a better chance of catching the fish. Although he is taking a greater risk by going out deeper, he has a better chance of catching the bigger fish. Another thing that makes Santiago a master craftsman is his experience. He has been a fisherman all his life. Therefore he has had much time to master this art. Though many fishermen might doubt him, he is great. He has skill and he applies it in order to succeed. He uses his hands and he uses his instincts to master the art of being a fisherman. Santiago uses himself, his physical and mental strength to catch the fish, and by doing these things, his difficult task becomes easier. He is a master craftsman not only through his skill, but also through his determination.
Kapadia 3
Determination defines the second characteristic that makes Santiago a noble hero. He is determined and he struggles in order to remain undefeated. Although he has gone 84 days without catching a fish, he does not give up. He goes out on his 85th day with the mentality that this is the day when he will catch a fish. This is what keeps him going. He knows that he still has the ability and strength to be a good fisherman. He never gives up. After catching the marlin, he states, "Fish...I'll stay with you until I am dead"(52). This shows his determination to win the battle and the fish. He has fought these battles hundreds of times before, he suffered, but he won. Still this battle is different. He fights in a way he has never fought before and he suffers. He suffers in catching the fish, killing the fish, attempting to return home, and fighting off the sharks. But through all this suffering, he still fights, "... for he alone has to endure the sufferings to fulfill his destiny"(Harada 270). This is his mentality, he knows what he must do and so, he does it. He never lets down his guard and he fights with consistent strength.
A third characteristic that makes Santiago a noble hero is that he accepts his defeat. The fish is eaten and he has returned home with its remains. He realizes that he went out too far and that he made a mistake. He fought a tough battle and in the end, he was defeated. He even admits to himself that he has been beaten. Although through most of the novel he has great strength in fighting the fish and he is determined to succeed, in the end he knows what has happened. Through out his life he has struggled and suffered and won but this was his final Kapadia 4
battle. And though he lost, he lost with a fight. He realized now that it is over for him. He is done fighting and it doesn't matter anymore, "... he knew he was beaten now finally and without remedy"(119). He knows also, that it is his fault. He realizes his mistake and that he cannot change what has already happened. He went out too far and although this caught him the bigger fish, it also caused him failure. He says it to himself, he was careless and he was responsible for his own failure. He tried to do more than he was capable of doing. He has lost, "Only I have no luck anymore,"(32) he says. There is nothing he can do to change this. He has been defeated.
"To be a hero means to dare more than other men, to expose oneself to greater dangers, and therefore more greatly risk the possibilities of defeat and death"(Gurko 66). Santiago fits this description perfectly. H dares more than other men do, and he strives for perfection. He exposes himself to dangers by going out much farther and casting bait in deeper waters. Because of this, he is able to catch the bigger fish. Yet still, the bigger fish is more powerful and pulls the skiff even farther out to sea. This makes it an even bigger risk. Another risk he takes is that he goes all by himself. He does this in order to fulfill his destiny using only his own resources. The problem is that he has no aid. And in the case of falling overboard or getting lost at sea, there will be no one there to help him. He proves to be a noble hero in the eyes of Hemingway as well. He is a master craftsman in his enduring strength, skill, and knowledge of fishing, "Santiago determinedly bends all his strength and accrued experience in his craft to the task Kapadia 5
of playing the fish well"(Rovit 86). He knows tricks and occupies himself with bettering his ability to fish. He struggles and suffers in order to stay undefeated. He beats all odds and fights all battles with the thought that he can and will win. And so he does. He goes far out and acts on what he thinks is right. He does not fear his actions nor does he regret them. He fights every battle as if it is his last and therefore comes out on top. Third, he accepts defeat. This is the most honorable characteristic. No matter how hard he has fought, once it is over, he does not look back wishing he could have acted differently. He accepts his mistakes and recognizes that, "He has overstepped the boundary of man's finite and limited nature"(Harada 275). He went out too far and this is what he gets. In these ways he is much like Hemingway, a noble hero. His actions and the consequences of them are easily notable and should not be look down upon. In the long run, Santiago answered his calling, fought his battles, and when he was finally defeated by his own pride, he recognized it and accepted it. This makes Santiago a noble hero.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Old Man and the Se4.TXT
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The Old Man and the Sea
In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway describes an old fisherman and the unfortunate trials he faces as his "luck" runs out. Through the novel, the fisherman, Santiago, replicates Hemingway's ideal man, a noble hero. Hemingway had a Code of Behavior that he himself followed. He had morals that were strict and an appreciation for instinct and human nature. He had a specific way of living life and an understanding of time. He believed in taking risks and acting upon instinct. He believed that a person who followed his Code of Behavior was a noble hero. In Hemingway's Code of Behavior, a noble hero is a master craftsman. This means that he is not dependent on other people or on technology. It also means that he is a master at his art and he keeps practicing it in order to better himself. The second characteristic of a noble hero is that he struggles in order to remain undefeated. This means that he does anything possible to reach his goal. He struggles and suffers in order to perfect his art and therefore, himself, "No matter what kind of suffering and trial he has to go Kapadia 2
through he has to fulfill his destiny..."(Harada 270). The third characteristic of Hemingway's noble hero is that he accepts defeat. Once he is defeated, once he can better himself no more, he should stop trying because, "He lives in time. And the goal of time is death and destruction"(Harada 276). He should accept that he is no longer useful and that he has been defeated. These three characteristics define Hemingway's ideal man. In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago exemplifies Hemingway's Code of Behavior for a noble hero.
In the novel, Santiago is a master craftsman. He is only dependent on himself. While the other fishermen use motor boats, Santiago uses his skiff. While the other men have many workers and helpers who hold several lines, Santiago has three lines all operated by his own hand. He is an expert, "...the old man goes much farther out than the other fishermen and casts bait in much deeper water"(Gurko 66). Because he knows the waters and the movements of the fish, he has a better chance of catching the fish. Although he is taking a greater risk by going out deeper, he has a better chance of catching the bigger fish. Another thing that makes Santiago a master craftsman is his experience. He has been a fisherman all his life. Therefore he has had much time to master this art. Though many fishermen might doubt him, he is great. He has skill and he applies it in order to succeed. He uses his hands and he uses his instincts to master the art of being a fisherman. Santiago uses himself, his physical and mental strength to catch the fish, and by doing these things, his difficult task becomes easier. He is a master craftsman not only through his skill, but also through his determination.
Kapadia 3
Determination defines the second characteristic that makes Santiago a noble hero. He is determined and he struggles in order to remain undefeated. Although he has gone 84 days without catching a fish, he does not give up. He goes out on his 85th day with the mentality that this is the day when he will catch a fish. This is what keeps him going. He knows that he still has the ability and strength to be a good fisherman. He never gives up. After catching the marlin, he states, "Fish...I'll stay with you until I am dead"(52). This shows his determination to win the battle and the fish. He has fought these battles hundreds of times before, he suffered, but he won. Still this battle is different. He fights in a way he has never fought before and he suffers. He suffers in catching the fish, killing the fish, attempting to return home, and fighting off the sharks. But through all this suffering, he still fights, "... for he alone has to endure the sufferings to fulfill his destiny"(Harada 270). This is his mentality, he knows what he must do and so, he does it. He never lets down his guard and he fights with consistent strength.
A third characteristic that makes Santiago a noble hero is that he accepts his defeat. The fish is eaten and he has returned home with its remains. He realizes that he went out too far and that he made a mistake. He fought a tough battle and in the end, he was defeated. He even admits to himself that he has been beaten. Although through most of the novel he has great strength in fighting the fish and he is determined to succeed, in the end he knows what has happened. Through out his life he has struggled and suffered and won but this was his final Kapadia 4
battle. And though he lost, he lost with a fight. He realized now that it is over for him. He is done fighting and it doesn't matter anymore, "... he knew he was beaten now finally and without remedy"(119). He knows also, that it is his fault. He realizes his mistake and that he cannot change what has already happened. He went out too far and although this caught him the bigger fish, it also caused him failure. He says it to himself, he was careless and he was responsible for his own failure. He tried to do more than he was capable of doing. He has lost, "Only I have no luck anymore,"(32) he says. There is nothing he can do to change this. He has been defeated.
"To be a hero means to dare more than other men, to expose oneself to greater dangers, and therefore more greatly risk the possibilities of defeat and death"(Gurko 66). Santiago fits this description perfectly. H dares more than other men do, and he strives for perfection. He exposes himself to dangers by going out much farther and casting bait in deeper waters. Because of this, he is able to catch the bigger fish. Yet still, the bigger fish is more powerful and pulls the skiff even farther out to sea. This makes it an even bigger risk. Another risk he takes is that he goes all by himself. He does this in order to fulfill his destiny using only his own resources. The problem is that he has no aid. And in the case of falling overboard or getting lost at sea, there will be no one there to help him. He proves to be a noble hero in the eyes of Hemingway as well. He is a master craftsman in his enduring strength, skill, and knowledge of fishing, "Santiago determinedly bends all his strength and accrued experience in his craft to the task Kapadia 5
of playing the fish well"(Rovit 86). He knows tricks and occupies himself with bettering his ability to fish. He struggles and suffers in order to stay undefeated. He beats all odds and fights all battles with the thought that he can and will win. And so he does. He goes far out and acts on what he thinks is right. He does not fear his actions nor does he regret them. He fights every battle as if it is his last and therefore comes out on top. Third, he accepts defeat. This is the most honorable characteristic. No matter how hard he has fought, once it is over, he does not look back wishing he could have acted differently. He accepts his mistakes and recognizes that, "He has overstepped the boundary of man's finite and limited nature"(Harada 275). He went out too far and this is what he gets. In these ways he is much like Hemingway, a noble hero. His actions and the consequences of them are easily notable and should not be look down upon. In the long run, Santiago answered his calling, fought his battles, and when he was finally defeated by his own pride, he recognized it and accepted it. This makes Santiago a noble hero.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.TXT
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THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
"The Old Man and the Sea" is a heroic tale of mans strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the "Old Man and the Sea" strives to teach important life lessons to the reader.
The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago's feelings. He even offers to go against his parent's wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore "unlucky". Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend.
Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith. In the story Santiago's bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the "great fish" that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago's actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his "luckiness" and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself. This is perhaps his greatest attribute because without it he would never have had the strength to persevere and defeat the giant Marlin.
Faith is not the only thing that drives his perseverance. Santiago also draws upon his past victories for strength. After he hooked the Marlin he frequently recalled his battle with a native in what he called "the hand game." It was not just an arm wrestling victory for him it was a reminder of his youthful days. His recollections of this event usually proceeded a favorite dream of his in which he saw many lions on a peaceful shore. These lions represented him when he was young and strong and could overcome any challenge. Although he was an old man and his body was no longer like it used to be his heart was still great and he eventually defeated the Marlin. Santiago's perseverance and bravery are further illustrated when he tries to fight off the sharks. He was a fisherman all his life and therefore he knew that the fate of his catch was inevitable yet he persisted to fight the sharks. The battle between him and the sharks was about principles not a mere fish. Santiago was still a great warrior at heart and warriors fight until the end.
One of the greatest and most obvious symbolisms in the story is Christianity. From the beginning of the story the reader is shown a unique relationship between Santiago and Manolin. Their relationship parallels that of Christ and his disciples. Manolin is Santiago's disciple and Santiago teaches Manolin about fishing and life. One of the greatest lessons that Santiago gives is that of a simple faith. "Have faith in the Yankees my son." This type of faith reflects the basic principles of Christianity. Hemingway's description of Santiago further illustrates Christian symbolism. Hemingway gives a reference to the nail-pierced hands of Christ by stating that Santiago's "hands had deep creased scars." Hemingway also parallels Santiago's suffering to that of Christ by stating that "he settled . against the wood and took his suffering as it came." Even more profound is the description of Santiago's response when he saw the sharks, "just a noise such a man might make, involuntarily feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood." Further symbolism is shown when Santiago arrives home and carries the mast across his shoulders as Christ carried the cross to Calvary. Also, like Christ, Santiago could not bare the weight and collapsed on the road. When he finally reached his cabin "he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up." Hemingway puts these themes together in such a way that they do not conflict with each other. He does allow Christianity to be a more dominant theme than the other but instead makes it more symbolic than intentional. He does not smother the relationship between the old man and the young boy but instead separates them for a large part of the story. Finally, he does not make Santiago's bravery a central them by highlighting his weaknesses. In the end the old mans perseverance and faith pay off. He finally gains the respect of the village and succeeds in teaching Manolin the lessons of faith and bravery.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Old Man The Sea.TXT
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The Old Man The Sea
The "Old Man and the Sea" is a heroic tale of man's strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a story about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the "Old Man and the Sea" strives to teach important life lessons to the reader while also epitomizing Santiago, the old fisherman, as a Hemingway code hero. The relationship between Santiago and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago's feelings. He even offers to disobey his parents and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore "unlucky". Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend. Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for a long time. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith. In the story Santiago's bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the "great fish" that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago's actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and tenacity in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a faith and willful heart will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his "luckiness" and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself. This is perhaps his greatest attribute because without it he would never have had the strength to persevere and defeat the giant Marlin. Faith is not the only thing that drives his perseverance. Santiago also draws upon his past victories for strength. After he hooks the Marlin he frequently recalls his battle with a native in what he calls "the hand game". It is not just an arm wrestling victory for him it is a reminder of his youthful days. His recollections of this event usually proceed a favorite dream of his in which he sees many lions on a peaceful shore. These lions represent him when he is young and strong and could overcome any challenge. Although he is an old man and his body is no longer like it used to be his heart is still great and he eventually defeats the Marlin. Santiago's perseverance and bravery are further illustrated when he tries to fight off the sharks. He was a fisherman all his life and therefore he knows that the fate of his catch is inevitable yet he persists to fight the sharks. The battle between him and the sharks is about principles not a mere fish. Santiago is still a great warrior at heart and warriors fight until the end. One of the greatest and most obvious pieces of symbolism in the story is Christianity. From the beginning of the story the reader is shown a unique relationship between Santiago and Manolin. Their relationship parallels that of Christ and his disciples. Manolin is Santiago's disciple and Santiago teaches Manolin about fishing and life. One of the greatest lessons that Santiago gives is that of a simple faith. "Have faith in the Yankees my son." This type of faith reflects the basic principles of Christianity. Hemingway's description of Santiago further illustrates
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Outcast Weaver.TXT
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The Outcast Weaver
The story of Silas Marner is a beautiful, eloquently told story which gives the reader a vived depiction of the period in which it takes place in a rustic village in England in the 1800s. The story evokes many emotions from the reader as well as teaches some moral lessons about life which are timeless. The author's overall theme is a powerful demonstration of the importance of friendship and love to one's life and the devatating, dehumanizing effect the lack of friendship and love causes.
Silas Marner, The Weaver of Raveloe, by George Eliot, is a fictional novel of what becomes of this once respected and esteemed young man, a weaver by trade, after he is framed for a thft by his best friend who them marries his fiancee. It is a poignant story which vividly demostrates the impact the lack of love and friendship has on one's life, and what becomes of Silas as a result of the injustices done to him.
Silas Marner, by George Eliot, is a fictional account of a frinedless, reclusive weaver whose only purpose in life is to weave and hoard gold. O once his hold is stolen, he feels totally lost without it. Then mysteriously, this beautiful golden haired baby girl comes into his life in its (the gold guineas) place which marks the "rebirth", the journely of Silas Marner back to humanity. This single event redeems his life through his love for the baby and his willingness to care for and take her as his own.
The story evokes a lot of emotion from the reader in response to the total injustice of what happened to Silas. First, complete anger as well as sympathy, for the betrayal by his best frined by framing him for a theft and framing him to get his fiancee. As is this was not bad enough, he is deemed huilty by his town, so feels forced to leave. This event nearly destroyed Silas. He moves to a nearby village called Raveloe, where he isnot accepted because he is an outsider, therefore is not to be trusted.
"and even a settler, if he came from distant parts hardly ever ceased to be viewed with a remnant of distrust," (p.2) One night after his gold had been stolen, Silas mistakes the golden- haired baby girl that crawled into his cottage for his stolen gold guines but soon realizes it is a baby girl. He decides to take care of her as his own child. Things begin to change in Silas' life, and this is the turning point of his life.
The plot of the story is that Silas Marner, a weaver of linen by trade, is betrayed by his supposed best friend William Dane. He framed Silas for a theft which caused him to basically be driven out of his hometown, losing all that he loved. He was betrayed by his best friend, his friends, his church and his fiancee. He had lost everything including his hometown. He moves to a nearby town called Raveloe where he is looked upon as a strange man with peculiar "fits" and unusual powers to heal and is basically feared as someone
who is of the occult. He becomes a lonely, reclusive miser who lives to work on his loom...his entire life beomes an endless pursuit to just weave and hoard his gold guineas, it ws all he had. He spent his days just weaving his linen like he was machine.
"Strangely, Marner's face and figure shrank and bent themselves into a constant mechanical relation to the objects of his life," (p.18)
"So this pattern would continue and for all the linen he would sell, he would keep hoarding the gold and spend almost nothing." (p.18) The gold became the only special thing in his life. Until one night when his gold mysteriously disapperared. What could have happened but a robbery? And who was the thief? Dunstan Cass, the son of Squire Cass, the most important, respected and wealthy man in Raveloe. But Silas has no idea who it was and neither does anyone else. On New Years Eve, he finds himseld at home that night away from the festivities at the Red House. He goes into one of his "fits" and awakens to catch this gold out of the corner of his eye.
He turned towards the hearth and notices an "uncertain glimmer", thinking it is his gold, he reaches for the gold, only to find the gold he sees is the golden curly hair of a baby girl. After finding the mother dead outside, he decides to claim the child as his own. But, Godfrey Cass, another son of Squire Cass, Dunstan's brother, is the father of the baby. This is a turning point in Silas Marner's Life. He turns from the crazed, workaholic existence to become a caring, attentive and loving father to this baby girl, whom he names Hepzipah after his mother and sister. The addition of Eppie into his life changes Silas completely, and he becomes accepted and looked upon favorably by the townspeople for his kindness of taking in the orphan baby girl.
The other characters in the book, most especially Squire Cass, Dunstan Cass and Godfey Cass, are used by the author to demostrate the injustices of society. The Cass family is the most prominent, wealthy and respected in town. Yet, Dunstan Cass is a thief and blackmailer. He is the thief who stole Silas' gold but is killed the same night when he falls in the Stone Pits and drowns with the gold.
Godfrey Cass is a liar and a coward, who has married this lowly woman Molly, has a child with her, but has kept is secret form his fatherand everyone else but his brother Dunstan (which is how Dunstan was blackmailing him, to keep his secret). He then abandons Molly, and after she died still told no one of his relationship to the mother and child. Years later, after marrying Nancy Lammeter, and tey ar eunable to have children and Nancy wants them so badly, Godfrey finallydecides to claim Eppie.
The author demostrated with her depiction of these characters, how society judges people by what they do and how much money they have and not by character. This is another underlying theme in this story, that your station in life and how much money one has, should not be the basis of how people are judged or viewed.
In the end, Silas is rewarded for taking in Eppie when his stolen gold is found and returned to hi m. Also, he is rewarded with Eppie's decisio to reject Godfrey Cass, who finally comes forward to claim Eppie as his daughter.He wants he rto come live with him and Nancy in the rich and prestigious part of town and she rejects him. Silas is her father, the man who has cared and loved her all her life.
In conclusion, the main theme of the book demostrated that without love, friendship, relationships in life, you are just existing. It shows the extreme powerof love has in life. Silas was so obsessed with his work, his only relationship was with his loom. The analogy made by the author depicts Silas as becoming like a machine. Machines do not have emotions and Silas for al lthe prior injustices that befell him. It succeeds in its demonstration of the importance of love in life. It also succeeds in showing the reader the wrongs of judging people based on stupid reasons, such as "don't judge a book by its cover." It also shows the reader the importance of getting to know someone, not making assumptions based on what they do, their appearance or what they have.
The failure would be the author was overly verbose in the tellling of the story. A large portion of the book was really kind of boring and unneccessary to the story. But I owuld recommend the book. At first, it is kind of difficult to read dut to the language of the period and hte lengthy, detailed style of the author in her telling the story. But overall, it was enjoyable and I loved the happy ending.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Outsiders.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Outsiders
In the book the Outsider by S.E. Hinton Ponyboy is the main character, in the book he is mostly referred to as Pony. Pony has two brothers, Sodapop and Darry. Pony is fourteen and doesn't have any parent's, they died in a car accident. Pony and Soda and Darry all live in the same house, with Darry and Soda supporting them. He has long black greasy hair, he has hair like that because most of the people do in the gang their part of the "Greasers", and it probably fit with the time period, the fifties. Pony's best friend Johnny who is also part of the gang; the"Greasers" that includes most of the kids that live around their part of town including Soda and Darry. Pony being part of the Greasers hates the Socs, short for socials; in the beginning the socs beat Pony for no reason just because he didn't dress like them or have money like them. The Socs are basically rich kids that dress nicely and beat the Greasers up. So far everyone likes Pony except the Socs. Pony is unlike all the other Greasers because he likes to watch movies and read books and look at the stars at night. The other Greasers don't give him a hard time about it sometimes they'll even go to movies with him and look at the stars with him. Towards the end of chapter two Johnny, Pony, and Dally, (another one of the guys in the Greasers), met Cherry and Marcia. They were two girlfriends of some Socs that they met at the drive in movie theater. At the end of chapter three Johnny, Pony, and the girls were walking home when their boyfriends pulled up and started trouble with Pony and Johnny. Johnny got beat up really bad by the same guys before so he wasn't going to take any chances so he pulled out his switch blade and Soda had a broken bottle, but nothing happened except the girls went with the Socs so there wouldn't be any trouble. The guys didn't know that the girls went with them for that reason, and they got furious with them and never wanted to talk to them again. So far I think that something is going to happen to Pony, but I don't know what but I think its going have to do with Johnny.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Oyster and the Pearl.TXT
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The Oyster and the Pearl
In William Saroyan's play The Oyster and the Pearl there is
a lot of symbolism. The theme of the play is to take it easy
and relax and life will be much happier. Harry Van Dusen is
a barber that has a philosophy of "Take it easy." He tries to
spread his philosophy by talking to people when he is cutting
their hair. It was almost as if the haircuts were just a way of
getting people in the barbershop to talk. The hats that Harry
wore symbolized the attitude that he was in. The sea
symbolizes life. The name of the small town that the story
takes place in is called O.K.-by-the-Sea. That name
symbolizes that life isn't perfect but by taking it easy it can be
more fun. Vivian McCutcheon is a new school teacher that
does everything "by the book." She just tries to fit in. This is
symbolized by her wanting a poodle haircut. She didn't really
want one but she was trying to be like everyone else. Harry
knew this and that is why he would not give her the haircut.
Harry's philosophy is superior to Vivian's philosophy of
fitting in. This is shown by how much happier Harry and
everyone else that lives by his philosophy is than Vivian. All
the little things in the story have symbolism too. The bottle of
sea water stands for the details of life that have to be looked
for. Clay and Clark Larrabee symbolize the problems and
difficulties that occur in life. Two of the most important
symbols in the story are the oyster and the pearl. The oyster
symbolizes obstacles that must be overcome to get to
hope(the pearl). Beach combing represents looking for the
obstacles to get to hope. The pearl is hope. When Clay
found the oyster he thought there was a pearl inside.
Everyone except Harry told him there was nothing inside of
the oyster. Harry probably knew there wasn't anything inside
of the oyster but he wanted to make Clay happy. The
Oyster and the Pearl is filled with symbolism. Much of it I
did not recognize. Taking it easy and relaxing is a great
philosophy to have because life will be a lot easier not
worrying about material things. Happiness is all a person
needs.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Pearl.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Pearl
Ever since Midas' lust for gold, it appears to be that man has
acquired a greed and appetite for wealth. Juana, the Priest,
and the doctor have all undergone a change due to money.
They are all affected by their hunger for wealth and inturn
are the base for their own destruction, and the destruction of
society. Steinbeck's "The Pearl" is a study of man's self
destruction through greed. Juana, the faithful wife of Kino, a
paltry peasant man, had lived a spiritual life for what had
seemed like as long as she could remember. When her son
Coyito fell ill from the bite of a scorpion, she eagerly turned
towards the spiritual aspects of life. Beginning to pray for her
son's endangered life. The doctor who had resided in the
upper-class section of the town, refused to assistant the
child, turning them away when they arrived at the door.
Lastly they turned to the sea to seek their fortune. When
Juana set sight on the "Pearl of The World." she felt as
though all her prayers had been answered, if she could have
foreseen the future what she would have seen would have
been a mirror image of her reality. Juana's husband was
caught in a twisted realm of mirrors, and they were all
shattering one by one. In the night he heard a "sound so soft
that it might have been simply a thought..." and quickly
attacked the trespasser. This is where the problems for
Juana and her family began. The fear that had mounted in
Kino's body had taken control over his actions. Soon even
Juana who had always had faith in her husband, had
doubted him greatly. "It will destroy us all" she yelled as her
attempt to rid the family of the pearl had failed. Kino had not
listened however, and soon Juana began to lose her spiritual
side and for a long time she had forgotten her prayers that
had at once meant so much to her. She had tried to help
Kino before to much trouble had aroused, only to discover
that she was not competent enough to help. A hypocrathic
oath is said before each medical student is granted a
Doctors degree. In the oath they swear to aid the ill, and
cure the injured. In the village of La Paz there lived a doctor
who had earned his wealth by helping those that were ill and
could afford his services. Not once in his long career would
he have dared refuse to aid a wealthy lawyer or noblemen.
However when Kino and the group of money hungry
peasants arrived at his door with a poisoned child he had
refused them entry saying "Have I nothing better to do than
cure insect bites for `little Indians'? I am a doctor, not a
veterinary." for the doctor had known that the peasants
hadn't any money. He had been to Paris and had enjoyed
the splendors of the world, and therefore he wouldn't be
seen dealing with the less fortunate as he knew that the less
fortunate would surely always be just that-less fortunate.
However it seemed that he had been stereotypical of the less
fortunate, as he soon discovered when hearing of a great
pearl discovered by the peasants who had knocked upon his
door earlier that day. A hunger for wealth was what pushed
him to visit the peasants house and aid their destitute son.
However he had already ended Coyito's life without
knowing he'd done so, for if he had administered aid to
Coyito when they were first at the doctors door, Kino
would have no reason to seek his fortune in the ocean, and
would not be led down the road to hardships. One might
think that a doctor, one who has the image of being passive,
and caring should not stoop to such a level. When one is
down on their luck, chances are they will turn to superstition
in hope to acquire what it is that they would want to achieve.
A good example of this would be a good luck charm such as
a rabbit's foot. In La Paz the peasants were uneducated and
probably had never heard of a superstition. The peasants
only reliability, there only scapegoat was God. God had
always been their to aid them in there times of need. The first
reaction of Juana when seeing the scorpion is a good
example of spirituality, rather than attempt to kill the
scorpion she began to pray to God for safety. In La Paz the
only form of God that the peasants knew was that of the
Priest of the church. To the peasants the Priest was so
God-like that they were unable to see any faults in his
actions. However the reader is able to determine that the
Priest is abusing his position in society. In order to receive
the sacraments the person requesting the sacrament must
"donate" a small amount of money to the church. Whether
this is correct or not is a matter of opinion. The church
definetly needs funding but the peasants are unable to donate
these funds, but, does that make them unable to receive the
sacraments should they want to acquire them? The Priest is
so set on achieving money and social status that he puts
aside the real reason one becomes a Priest- to help, and
teach the word of God. In "The Pearl", Steinbeck expresses
the fact that man's manifestation for wealth and property
leads to the self destruction of man, both mentally, and
physically. The Priest of La Paz, The doctor, and Juana
were all affected by the affects of greed. Whether they are
striving for wealth or are in the path of those that are, they
are all equally affected. The story of Midas lives on as a
caution to those who crave the warmth and comfort of
money. Beckoning to those who struggle to achieve wealth,
and hoping that they will respond, and possibly not put
wealth on the top shelf of life.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Picture of Doria1.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Picture of Dorian
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of
moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel,
the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian
Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical
Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully
affects his life forever. "If it were I who was to be always
young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I
would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole
world I would not give! I would give my soul for that"
(Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil that Dorian sells his
soul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not only as
something external to Dorian, but also as a voice within him
(Bloom 107). Dorian continues to lead a life of sensuality
which he learns about in a book given to him by Lord
Henry. Dorian's unethical devotion to pleasure becomes his
way of life. The novel underscores its disapproval of
aestheticism which negatively impacts the main characters.
Each of the three primary characters is an aesthete and
meets some form of terrible personal doom. Basil Hallward's
aestheticism is manifested in his dedication to his artistic
creations. He searches in the outside world for the perfect
manifestation of his own soul, when he finds this object, he
can create masterpieces by painting it (Bloom 109). He
refuses to display the portrait of Dorian Gray with the
explanation that, "I have put too much of myself into it"
(Wilde 106). He further demonstrates the extent to which he
holds this philosophy by later stating that, "only the artist is
truly reveled" (109). Lord Henry Wotton criticizes Basil
Hallward that, "An artist should create beautiful things but
should put nothing of his own life into them" (Wilde 25).
Ironically, the purpose of Basil Hallward's existence is that
he is an aesthete striving to become one with his art (Eriksen
105). It is this very work of art which Basil refuses to
display that provides Dorian Gray with the idea that there
are no consequences to his actions. Dorian has this belief in
mind when he murders Basil. Here we see that the artist is
killed for his excessive love of physical beauty; the same art
that he wished to merge with is the cause of his mortal
downfall (Juan 64). Lord Henry Wotton, the most influential
man in Dorian's life, is an aesthete of the mind. Basil is an
artist who uses a brush while Wotton is an artist who uses
words: There is no good, no evil, no morality and
immorality;there are modes of being. To live is to experiment
aesthetically in living to experiment all sensations, to know all
emotions, and to think all thoughts, in order that the self's
every capacity may be imaginatively realized (West 5811).
Lord Henry believes that, "it is better to be beautiful than to
be good" (Wilde 215). Although he attests that aestheticism
is a mode of thought, he does not act on his beliefs. Basil
Hallward accuses him saying, "You never say a moral thing
and you never do a wrong thing" (5). However, Lord Henry
does take the immoral action of influencing Dorian. Although
Lord Henry states that, "all influence is immoral" (Wilde 18),
he nonetheless drastically changes Dorian Gray. As Dorian
acts on the beliefs of Lord Henry, the portrait's beauty
becomes corrupted. "Lord Henry presents Dorian with the
tenants of his New Hedonism, whose basis is
self-development leading to the perfect realization of one's
nature" (Eriksen 97). If Lord Henry's aesthetic ideas have
validity ,Dorian Gray's portrait should not become ugly, but
rather more beautiful. Since the picture becomes loathsome,
it is evident that Lord Henry's beliefs are untrue (West
5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with the horrible
portrait that he slashes the canvas, and the knife pierces his
own heart. Because Lord Henry is responsible for
influencing Dorian Gray, he is partly the cause of the death
of Dorian (5810). While Lord Henry is indirectly the cause
of Dorian's death, he too causes his own downfall. Lord
Henry changes Dorian with the belief that morals have no
legitimate place in life. He gives Dorian a book about a man
who seeks beauty in evil sensations. Both Lord Henry's
actions and thoughts prove ruinous, as his wife leaves him
and the remaining focus of his life, youthful Dorian Gray, kills
himself in an attempt to further the lifestyle suggested to him
by Lord Henry. Eventually, he is left destitute, without
Dorian, the art he so cherishes, because he tried to mold it,
as dictated by aestheticism. Of all the protagonists, Dorian's
downfall is the most clearly recognized. A young man who
was pure at the beginning of the novel becomes depraved by
the influence of Lord Henry. "He grew more and more
enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in
the corruption of his own soul" (Bloom 121). He begins to
lead a life of immorality, including the murder of his dear
friend Basil Hallward. "There were moments when he
looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could
realize his conception of beautiful" (Wilde 196). However,
there is still a spark of good left in Dorian. He lashes out at
his twisted mentor, Lord Henry, declaring, "I can't bear this
Henry! You mock at everything, and then suggest the most
serious tragedies" (173). This trace of goodness is not
enough to save Dorian, for he has crossed too far towards
the perverted side of aestheticism and cannot escape it.
"Dorian experiments with himself and with men and women,
and watches the experiment recorded year by year in the
fouling and aging corruption of his portrait's beauty" (West
5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with this portrait of his
soul and his conscience, that he slashes the canvas, killing
himself. For Dorian, this is the ultimate evil act, the desire to
rid himself of all moral sense. Having failed the attempt to
escape through good actions, he decides to escape by
committing the most terrible of crimes. Aestheticism has
claimed its final victim. "Basil Hallward is what I think I am:
Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian Gray what
I would like to be - in other ages, perhaps" (Hart-Davis
352). Because of the endings he creates for these
characters, Oscar Wilde proves that he does not envisions
himself in the immoral characters of this story nor is he
attempting to promote their lifestyles. Of all the characters
whom he creates, he sees himself as Basil, the good artist
who sacrifices himself to fight immorality. "It was his beauty
that had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had
prayed for" (Wilde 242). Contrary to Wilde's claim in the
preface that, "there is no such thing as a moral or immoral
book" (vii), this novel has a deep and meaningful purpose.
"The moral is that an absence of spirituality, of faith, of
regard for human life, separates individuals like Wilde's
Dorian Gray from humanity and makes monsters of them"
(West 5831). W.H. Auden feels that the story is specifically
structured to provide a moral. He compares the story to that
of a fairy tale, complete with a princess, a wicked witch, and
a fairy godmother. This leaves "room for a moral with which
good every fairy tale ends." Not only is the novel seen as
existing on the pure level of fairy tales, but it is claimed to
contain "ethical beauty" (Auden 146). The Picture of Dorian
Gray is a novel including a moral dialogue between
conscience and temptation that is powerfully conveyed.
Though it is made to seem an advocate for aestheticism on
the surface, the story ultimately undermines that entire
philosophy. Wilde brings the question of "to what extent are
we shaped by our actions" (26). He also demonstrates that
"art cannot be a substitute for life" (Eriksen 104). It is a
fantastic tale of hedonism with a moral to be learned and
remembered. Works Cited Auden, W.H. "In Defense of the
Tall Story." The New Yorker. 29 November 1969.
pp.205-206, 208-210. Bloom, Harold. Oscar Wilde. New
York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Ellman, Richard.
Oscar Wilde. New york: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1987.
Eriksen, Donald. Oscar Wilde. Boston: Twayne Publishers,
1977. Hart-Davis, Rupert. The Letters of Oscar Wilde.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1962. Juan,
Efifanio. The Art of Oscar Wilde. New Jersey: Princetown
University Press, 1967. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian
Gray. New York: Random House, Inc., 1992.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Picture of Dorian.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Picture of Dorian
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of
moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel,
the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian
Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical
Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully
affects his life forever. "If it were I who was to be always
young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I
would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole
world I would not give! I would give my soul for that"
(Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil that Dorian sells his
soul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not only as
something external to Dorian, but also as a voice within him
(Bloom 107). Dorian continues to lead a life of sensuality
which he learns about in a book given to him by Lord
Henry. Dorian's unethical devotion to pleasure becomes his
way of life. The novel underscores its disapproval of
aestheticism which negatively impacts the main characters.
Each of the three primary characters is an aesthete and
meets some form of terrible personal doom. Basil Hallward's
aestheticism is manifested in his dedication to his artistic
creations. He searches in the outside world for the perfect
manifestation of his own soul, when he finds this object, he
can create masterpieces by painting it (Bloom 109). He
refuses to display the portrait of Dorian Gray with the
explanation that, "I have put too much of myself into it"
(Wilde 106). He further demonstrates the extent to which he
holds this philosophy by later stating that, "only the artist is
truly reveled" (109). Lord Henry Wotton criticizes Basil
Hallward that, "An artist should create beautiful things but
should put nothing of his own life into them" (Wilde 25).
Ironically, the purpose of Basil Hallward's existence is that
he is an aesthete striving to become one with his art (Eriksen
105). It is this very work of art which Basil refuses to
display that provides Dorian Gray with the idea that there
are no consequences to his actions. Dorian has this belief in
mind when he murders Basil. Here we see that the artist is
killed for his excessive love of physical beauty; the same art
that he wished to merge with is the cause of his mortal
downfall (Juan 64). Lord Henry Wotton, the most influential
man in Dorian's life, is an aesthete of the mind. Basil is an
artist who uses a brush while Wotton is an artist who uses
words: There is no good, no evil, no morality and
immorality;there are modes of being. To live is to experiment
aesthetically in living to experiment all sensations, to know all
emotions, and to think all thoughts, in order that the self's
every capacity may be imaginatively realized (West 5811).
Lord Henry believes that, "it is better to be beautiful than to
be good" (Wilde 215). Although he attests that aestheticism
is a mode of thought, he does not act on his beliefs. Basil
Hallward accuses him saying, "You never say a moral thing
and you never do a wrong thing" (5). However, Lord Henry
does take the immoral action of influencing Dorian. Although
Lord Henry states that, "all influence is immoral" (Wilde 18),
he nonetheless drastically changes Dorian Gray. As Dorian
acts on the beliefs of Lord Henry, the portrait's beauty
becomes corrupted. "Lord Henry presents Dorian with the
tenants of his New Hedonism, whose basis is
self-development leading to the perfect realization of one's
nature" (Eriksen 97). If Lord Henry's aesthetic ideas have
validity ,Dorian Gray's portrait should not become ugly, but
rather more beautiful. Since the picture becomes loathsome,
it is evident that Lord Henry's beliefs are untrue (West
5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with the horrible
portrait that he slashes the canvas, and the knife pierces his
own heart. Because Lord Henry is responsible for
influencing Dorian Gray, he is partly the cause of the death
of Dorian (5810). While Lord Henry is indirectly the cause
of Dorian's death, he too causes his own downfall. Lord
Henry changes Dorian with the belief that morals have no
legitimate place in life. He gives Dorian a book about a man
who seeks beauty in evil sensations. Both Lord Henry's
actions and thoughts prove ruinous, as his wife leaves him
and the remaining focus of his life, youthful Dorian Gray, kills
himself in an attempt to further the lifestyle suggested to him
by Lord Henry. Eventually, he is left destitute, without
Dorian, the art he so cherishes, because he tried to mold it,
as dictated by aestheticism. Of all the protagonists, Dorian's
downfall is the most clearly recognized. A young man who
was pure at the beginning of the novel becomes depraved by
the influence of Lord Henry. "He grew more and more
enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in
the corruption of his own soul" (Bloom 121). He begins to
lead a life of immorality, including the murder of his dear
friend Basil Hallward. "There were moments when he
looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could
realize his conception of beautiful" (Wilde 196). However,
there is still a spark of good left in Dorian. He lashes out at
his twisted mentor, Lord Henry, declaring, "I can't bear this
Henry! You mock at everything, and then suggest the most
serious tragedies" (173). This trace of goodness is not
enough to save Dorian, for he has crossed too far towards
the perverted side of aestheticism and cannot escape it.
"Dorian experiments with himself and with men and women,
and watches the experiment recorded year by year in the
fouling and aging corruption of his portrait's beauty" (West
5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with this portrait of his
soul and his conscience, that he slashes the canvas, killing
himself. For Dorian, this is the ultimate evil act, the desire to
rid himself of all moral sense. Having failed the attempt to
escape through good actions, he decides to escape by
committing the most terrible of crimes. Aestheticism has
claimed its final victim. "Basil Hallward is what I think I am:
Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian Gray what
I would like to be - in other ages, perhaps" (Hart-Davis
352). Because of the endings he creates for these
characters, Oscar Wilde proves that he does not envisions
himself in the immoral characters of this story nor is he
attempting to promote their lifestyles. Of all the characters
whom he creates, he sees himself as Basil, the good artist
who sacrifices himself to fight immorality. "It was his beauty
that had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had
prayed for" (Wilde 242). Contrary to Wilde's claim in the
preface that, "there is no such thing as a moral or immoral
book" (vii), this novel has a deep and meaningful purpose.
"The moral is that an absence of spirituality, of faith, of
regard for human life, separates individuals like Wilde's
Dorian Gray from humanity and makes monsters of them"
(West 5831). W.H. Auden feels that the story is specifically
structured to provide a moral. He compares the story to that
of a fairy tale, complete with a princess, a wicked witch, and
a fairy godmother. This leaves "room for a moral with which
good every fairy tale ends." Not only is the novel seen as
existing on the pure level of fairy tales, but it is claimed to
contain "ethical beauty" (Auden 146). The Picture of Dorian
Gray is a novel including a moral dialogue between
conscience and temptation that is powerfully conveyed.
Though it is made to seem an advocate for aestheticism on
the surface, the story ultimately undermines that entire
philosophy. Wilde brings the question of "to what extent are
we shaped by our actions" (26). He also demonstrates that
"art cannot be a substitute for life" (Eriksen 104). It is a
fantastic tale of hedonism with a moral to be learned and
remembered. Works Cited Auden, W.H. "In Defense of the
Tall Story." The New Yorker. 29 November 1969.
pp.205-206, 208-210. Bloom, Harold. Oscar Wilde. New
York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Ellman, Richard.
Oscar Wilde. New york: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1987.
Eriksen, Donald. Oscar Wilde. Boston: Twayne Publishers,
1977. Hart-Davis, Rupert. The Letters of Oscar Wilde.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1962. Juan,
Efifanio. The Art of Oscar Wilde. New Jersey: Princetown
University Press, 1967. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian
Gray. New York: Random House, Inc., 1992.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Place of Lions again.TXT
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Silvia Roman Cabezas
11-C
Book Report
The Place of Lions
				By Eric Campbell
General Information:
	I chose this book, because it seems to be a very interesting book. As well as I love animals and adventures. This book contains more and less 200 pages, which are full of excitement and enjoyment. The one I read, its editorial was Harcourt Brace, in San Diego, however the first edition of this book was in 1990 by Macmillan Children's Book London. Place of Lions does not have any illustration; the only one it has is the one of its cover. At the cover, there is a drawing pf a lion and a boy, in a big savannah in Africa. This drawing was designed by Linda Lockowitz.  
Setting:
	Only at the beginning of the book, the story is located in England, but later all the events are transferred to Africa. The actions of The Place of Lions develop mostly in Serengeti Plain, Tanzania, in a savannah full of wild animals and danger. In the book there is not showed the exact year where the story develops, but because of the descriptions, this story was developed at the 90s.
Main Characters:  
	The main character is Chris Harris, a 14 year old boy whose mother died a few years ago. He seems mature for his age, and his best friend at school is Henry, the caretaker. Chris' father grieves the loss of his wife and depends on his son for strength and moral support. Chris changes along the novel; he becomes more mature and responsible. Other important characters in the book are: Mike Taylor, a safari guide, Hyram T. Johnson, an American safari tourist, an air pilot, a band of poachers and last, an old lion preparing to die. 
Plot: 
	Chris' hometown in the beginning of the book is London, England, but his father receives a package that informs him that his new job will be located in Tanzania, Africa. Chris then finds himself on a plane, headed for Tanzania. Chris is amazed to find the beauty of Africa breath-taking and starts his curiosity about the mysteries of Africa. Chris and his father travel to the New Safari Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. There, Chris meets a hard-core naturalist by the name of Mike Taylor. Chris is amazed by Mike's determination to save and protect the wildlife in Africa, and is hoping to see him again. To get to their full destination, Chris and his father must take another plane trip across the Serengeti. During the plane trip, the plane crashes into a flock of vultures. In an instant, the plane is down leaving Chris as the only one not injured by the crash, right in the middle of the territory of a pride of lions. The older male is being challenged by a young one and only barely manages to maintain his supremacy after a fierce battle.
	Using his wit and strength, Chris must make his way across the perilous Serengeti, while being watched by a proud, prowling pride of vicious lions. Chris soon learns that he must travel to the village nearby armed with only a canteen half filled with water to get help. Chris decides to walk 30 miles to a site where he believes he can find help. Not only natural dangers stand between him and the nearest settlement; there's also a deadly pair of ivory poachers, who are surprised in action and vengefully chased by an American and a retired game warden who's there on a photographic safari; an aging lion, undertaking his last journey, also closely parallels Chris's course. 
	The poachers find Chris but first drive away and then decide to kidnap him. Chris has been followed across the plain by the old, dying lion and a mysterious connection has been made as both head for a hill where the lion hopes to die and Chris hopes to find help. 
Author:
	The English author Eric Campbell has spent most of his working life in Papua New Guinea and in Tanzania. He has written several novels from exotic places that he knows well, such as "Papa Tembo", about an elephant in Africa, and "The Call of the Whales", which events develop in New Zealand. 
	
Style:
	Throughout this book Eric Campbell used many different types of writing styles. The one style that he especially used was that of sensory images. Eric Campbell used sensory images countless times to describe important events in the book. He also used a wide stretch of vocabulary and figurative language, (similes and metaphors). 
	One thing that I thought Eric Campbell should have done was to explain what happened to the pilot and Chris' father while Chris set out to take on the Serengeti.
	The narrative shifts fairly smoothly from Chris's point of view to the lion's, and also follows the actions of Mike Taylor, a tour guide who is pursuing poachers in the same region. The novel is full of vivid descriptions of the life and land of Africa, although at times the flowery prose disrupts the flow of the story. 
	The opening chapters that lead up to the plane crash are rather slow, but after that the pace is fast and the story compelling. Chris shows bravery and ingenuity throughout his adventure, but never comes fully alive as a character. 	While other survival stories focus more on the growth and development of the hero, The Place of Lions is more concerned with the environment. Overall, the exciting action in a fascinating setting, coupled with the intriguing spiritual element, make this a worthwhile and thought-provoking book
	The point of view of the narrator varies. Most of the story is told from Chris' point of view, but some parts are told from the point of view of the safari guide, others from that of the lion.
Opinion:
	I thought that the reason the author wrote this book was because he wanted to convey that even when it seems that all hope is lost, if you keep on fighting you'll eventually pull through in the end. I would recommend this book to reader who enjoys survival stories, and is between the ages of 10-13 because, the subject matter is very sophisticated, intense, and because of the varied vocabulary. The book's anti-poaching message is laudable, and the author's intense affection for Africa and its animals is very much in evidence. Unfortunately, these good intentions are not remedy enough for the deadly combination of adjective-laden sentences and cartoon-like characters. 
	The Place of Lions is a book about loss and loneliness, about starting a new life, about courage and about the special friendship that can exist between animal and human being, between the beast and the boy. 
	I like the book very much, because it is easy to read and well written, and it is a dramatic and exciting story. The author shows that he knows a great deal about wildlife in Tanzania.
	"The exciting action in a fascinating setting, coupled with the intriguing spiritual element, make this a worthwhile and thought-provoking book.Â"--School Library Journal, 1995.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Place of Lions.TXT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Silvia Roman Cabezas
11-C
Book Report
The Place of Lions
				By Eric Campbell
General Information:
	I chose this book, because it seems to be a very interesting book. As well as I love animals and adventures. This book contains more and less 200 pages, which are full of excitement and enjoyment. The one I read, its editorial was Harcourt Brace, in San Diego, however the first edition of this book was in 1990 by Macmillan Children's Book London. Place of Lions does not have any illustration; the only one it has is the one of its cover. At the cover, there is a drawing pf a lion and a boy, in a big savannah in Africa. This drawing was designed by Linda Lockowitz.  
Setting:
	Only at the beginning of the book, the story is located in England, but later all the events are transferred to Africa. The actions of The Place of Lions develop mostly in Serengeti Plain, Tanzania, in a savannah full of wild animals and danger. In the book there is not showed the exact year where the story develops, but because of the descriptions, this story was developed at the 90s.
Main Characters:  
	The main character is Chris Harris, a 14 year old boy whose mother died a few years ago. He seems mature for his age, and his best friend at school is Henry, the caretaker. Chris' father grieves the loss of his wife and depends on his son for strength and moral support. Chris changes along the novel; he becomes more mature and responsible. Other important characters in the book are: Mike Taylor, a safari guide, Hyram T. Johnson, an American safari tourist, an air pilot, a band of poachers and last, an old lion preparing to die. 
Plot: 
	Chris' hometown in the beginning of the book is London, England, but his father receives a package that informs him that his new job will be located in Tanzania, Africa. Chris then finds himself on a plane, headed for Tanzania. Chris is amazed to find the beauty of Africa breath-taking and starts his curiosity about the mysteries of Africa. Chris and his father travel to the New Safari Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. There, Chris meets a hard-core naturalist by the name of Mike Taylor. Chris is amazed by Mike's determination to save and protect the wildlife in Africa, and is hoping to see him again. To get to their full destination, Chris and his father must take another plane trip across the Serengeti. During the plane trip, the plane crashes into a flock of vultures. In an instant, the plane is down leaving Chris as the only one not injured by the crash, right in the middle of the territory of a pride of lions. The older male is being challenged by a young one and only barely manages to maintain his supremacy after a fierce battle.
	Using his wit and strength, Chris must make his way across the perilous Serengeti, while being watched by a proud, prowling pride of vicious lions. Chris soon learns that he must travel to the village nearby armed with only a canteen half filled with water to get help. Chris decides to walk 30 miles to a site where he believes he can find help. Not only natural dangers stand between him and the nearest settlement; there's also a deadly pair of ivory poachers, who are surprised in action and vengefully chased by an American and a retired game warden who's there on a photographic safari; an aging lion, undertaking his last journey, also closely parallels Chris's course. 
	The poachers find Chris but first drive away and then decide to kidnap him. Chris has been followed across the plain by the old, dying lion and a mysterious connection has been made as both head for a hill where the lion hopes to die and Chris hopes to find help. 
Author:
	The English author Eric Campbell has spent most of his working life in Papua New Guinea and in Tanzania. He has written several novels from exotic places that he knows well, such as "Papa Tembo", about an elephant in Africa, and "The Call of the Whales", which events develop in New Zealand. 
	
Style:
	Throughout this book Eric Campbell used many different types of writing styles. The one style that he especially used was that of sensory images. Eric Campbell used sensory images countless times to describe important events in the book. He also used a wide stretch of vocabulary and figurative language, (similes and metaphors). 
	One thing that I thought Eric Campbell should have done was to explain what happened to the pilot and Chris' father while Chris set out to take on the Serengeti.
	The narrative shifts fairly smoothly from Chris's point of view to the lion's, and also follows the actions of Mike Taylor, a tour guide who is pursuing poachers in the same region. The novel is full of vivid descriptions of the life and land of Africa, although at times the flowery prose disrupts the flow of the story. 
	The opening chapters that lead up to the plane crash are rather slow, but after that the pace is fast and the story compelling. Chris shows bravery and ingenuity throughout his adventure, but never comes fully alive as a character. 	While other survival stories focus more on the growth and development of the hero, The Place of Lions is more concerned with the environment. Overall, the exciting action in a fascinating setting, coupled with the intriguing spiritual element, make this a worthwhile and thought-provoking book
	The point of view of the narrator varies. Most of the story is told from Chris' point of view, but some parts are told from the point of view of the safari guide, others from that of the lion.
Opinion:
	I thought that the reason the author wrote this book was because he wanted to convey that even when it seems that all hope is lost, if you keep on fighting you'll eventually pull through in the end. I would recommend this book to reader who enjoys survival stories, and is between the ages of 10-13 because, the subject matter is very sophisticated, intense, and because of the varied vocabulary. The book's anti-poaching message is laudable, and the author's intense affection for Africa and its animals is very much in evidence. Unfortunately, these good intentions are not remedy enough for the deadly combination of adjective-laden sentences and cartoon-like characters. 
	The Place of Lions is a book about loss and loneliness, about starting a new life, about courage and about the special friendship that can exist between animal and human being, between the beast and the boy. 
	I like the book very much, because it is easy to read and well written, and it is a dramatic and exciting story. The author shows that he knows a great deal about wildlife in Tanzania.
	"The exciting action in a fascinating setting, coupled with the intriguing spiritual element, make this a worthwhile and thought-provoking book.Â"--School Library Journal, 1995.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Plague.TXT
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The Plague
The novel that I chose to do this report on was, "The
Plague", by Albert Camus. It is about a plague that hit the
European countries in the middle ages. I chose to describe
the literary term of parallelism. Here are some following facts
about the story's plot that involve parallelism through the
novel. The novel begins at Oran where the plague becomes
known. The main character, Dr. Gernard Rieux, is a doctor.
In the beginning of the story he finds a dead rat on the floor.
Even in those times rats were not found dead on the middle
of the floor. This was unusual, but he threw out the rat and
forgot about it. Eventually the dead rats began to pile into
large masses and burned. Soon after there were some
people that got very sick, which made Mr. Rieux very
curious. These reports of these ill people and the death of
the rats were the beginning of the parallelism for this story.
Since Bernard was a doctor he was the first to actually
attempt to help one of these sick people. Michael was his
first patient in this matter. He was the sickest person that the
doctor had ever seen. Michael was pale white and vomited
often, he hurt so much from the vomiting that he seemed
paralyzed. Mr. Rieux tried to help the man the best that he
could, but he ended up dying. Michael was the first person
to die of this illness. After his death, many cases of this
illness were reported widespread. Again more details of
sickness and death, this is the parallelism for this novel. As
the reports of sickness and death came to inform Dr. Rieux,
he tried to comfort and cure the plagued patients. About
ninety percent of the people infected had died. He wanted a
stop to this plague. Quickly he linked the rats with the
people. He knew that the rats began to get sick before the
people did. At this time many people had the plague, except
for the Chinese visitors. They never were infected. As the
plot moves on death, sickness and the plague are still
relevant. He studied their behaviors and everyday tasks and
learned that they do something that was never often done in
these middle ages. Not many people in these days bathed.
The doctor began to notice that the people that bathed never
got sick. So he asked all of his, still living patients, to take
baths frequently. This proved to be the miracle cure for the
people. The doctor asked his other fellow doctors to follow
the same practice with their patients. The word was spread
and the plague was soon wiped out. So as you can see, the
literary term of parallelism was deemed very relevant
through the ongoing plot. Death, sickness, and the plague
epresented the story's parallelism. Albert Camus made
parallelism the main literary term for this novel, given away
by the title, "The Plague."
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\THE POSITRONIC MAN.TXT
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THE POSITRONIC MAN
An extraordinary story about an extraordinary robot.
In the twenty-first century the creation of the positronic brain leads to the development of robot labourers and revolutionises life on Earth. However, to the Martin family, their household robot NDR-113 is more than a tool, it is a trusted friend, a confidant, and a member of the family. Through some unknown manufacturing glitch, NDR-113 or known as Andrew has been blessed, with a capacity for love and a drive toward self-awareness and development that are almost...human. This story is set on an Earth, which is just starting to get used to the idea of robots. Even so, it is an earth that was not ready for Robot NDR-113. Andrew, with his ability to assimilate emotions, and an unexpected gift for fine arts, both astounded and worried people. In an attempt to become human, he develops several prosthetic devices, which prove a godsend to humans.
Almost, however, is not enough. Andrew's dream is to become accepted as human. Facing human prejudice, the laws of robotics, and his own mechanical limitations, Andrew used science and law in his quest for the impossible, arriving at last at a terrifying choice: to make his dream a reality, he must pay the ultimate price.
I must say that I didn't have very high expectations for this book because I am not a very big science fiction fan, but this book changed my mind. There are many reasons why this particular book changed my view on science fiction. One of the major reasons for my enjoyment of this book is the way in which it was written. Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg set this story up wonderfully. I personally liked the way the book is structured. The first chapter takes place at the end of the story so you start thinking about what is going to happen right from the start. Then, as you near then end of the story you return to where you began in the first chapter and finish the story with a thought provoking ending. Another major reason that I liked this particular story is because it touched on many ethical aspects, from different points of view. Such as, what it means to be human, how humans in general would be perceived by an intelligence that has no knowledge about the way we as human's reason or think. The authors also showed how humans will react when they find out that they can create a being with the ability to not just think in a logical pattern but also be creative and intelligent well beyond their own abilities. It was for this reason that the Three Laws of Robotics were created; to assuage the fears we will have of superior beings. The Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
By telling the story from the robot's point of view the book was able to show how we as humans would be perceived, by an intelligent robot that begins as a child with full talking and thinking capabilities and slowly comes to know what it is to be human. What we consider a simple gesture or saying would seem confusing to this robot (full grown child). This story enables us to view everyday commonplace events through a different pair of eyes. Things such as emotions, ageing and death are some examples of events and processes that would seem so illogical to a being that can only think in logical terms. What does it mean to be human? Must you have a heart? Or does being human depend on the ability to have and show emotions? This story shows what it means to be human. The dictionary states, that human is having human form and or attributes. Well Andrew had human form in his android body and had most all human characteristics and attributes. So why would he not be considered human? He shows all the traits of being human, except for the fact that his soul is housed in a metal android body whereas humans have cellular structure. Andrew spent all two hundred years of his life trying to be more human, but in the end the only thing that changed public opinion and the law, was that he would rather die a man than live an eternity as a robot. So Andrew arranged for his protective systems to be removed so his brain would deteriorate just like ageing human. So this ultimately showed how human Andrew was.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I would say that this books target audience is aimed more towards the seasoned science fiction reader. I would definitely recommend this book to people that I know are interested in psychology and or futuristic literature. I would recommend this book because of its uniqueness about the life of a robot and its ideas.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Red Badge of Courage.TXT
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The Red Badge of Courage
The Red Badge of Courage, by Steven Crane, has been proclaimed one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story that realistically depicts the American Civil War through the eyes of Henry Fleming, an ordinary farm boy who decides to become a soldier. Henry, who is fighting for the Union, is very determined to become a hero, and the story depicts Henrys voyage from being a young coward, to a brave man. This voyage is the classic trip from innocence to experience. The story starts out with a heated debate between the soldiers. One boy had heard a rumor that the regiment would be moving on to fight a battle the next day. Some of the soldiers agree with this boy, while others think that their regiment will never partake in a real battle. While watching this argument, Henry, the protagonist, decides that he would rather go lay down and think rather then take part in the heated argument between the soldiers. Henry, a simple farm boy, is rather excited when he hears the rumor that they will be fighting soon. It had always been a dream of his to fight in a war, and become a hero, and now his dream was coming true. Henry begins to think about what life was like before he entered the army, and remembers the stories of war he has heard from old veterans. This flashback is very effective in showing how his previous experiences have affected his thoughts on war now. It is blatantly obvious that he is afraid that he will not be able to withstand the pressures of a battle. He keeps telling himself that if he wants to become a hero, he can not run away. He must stick out the battle with the rest of his comrades. While marching along, Henry sees the first corpse he has ever seen. He shows pity for the man, because the dead man had died in such poor conditions. The souls of his shoes were worn bare. When Henry sees the corpse, he begins to wonder if his generals actually know what they are doing. He thinks that the generals are leading him right into a trap, right into the middle of the rebels. Henry deals with his fear of battle by acting arrogant. He acts as if he has been in a thousand battles, and complains about the walking, even though the reader knows that he would rather be walking forever then go to battle at this point in time. It shows one of Henry's defense mechanisms, how he uses his arrogance to hide his innocence. Regiment 304 moves on to battle the next day. Henry becomes very scared, but is too proud to talk to any of the others soldiers about his fears. All the soldiers are very anxious to fight in the war, and Tom and Henry talk about how they are not going to run away from war, and how they want to become big time war heroes. This is ironic, because in the end of the book their wishes come true. When the battle starts, all the soldiers get very anxious and nervous. Tom and Henry don't turn out to be as brave as they think that they could be. While hiding, Tom finds Henry, and gives him a manila envelope of letters for his family. Tom believes that this will be his first and his last battle. Henry ends up fulfilling his worst nightmare. Instead of sticking out the battle with the rest of his regiment, he hides behind some brush in order to spare himself from dying. He listens in on the battle, and to much of his surprise, he hears cheering from what's left of his regiment. He then takes off into the woods in anger. While running through the woods his conscience begins to speak to him. His conscience calls him a coward, and a deserter. Out of guilt, Henry runs back to the battle site, and meets again with his regiment. These actions showed Henry's maturity, and desire to be a war hero. When Henry meets up his regiment and older tattered man begins to have a discussion with him. The old man asks Henry "where yeh hit, ol' boy?" meaning, where he got shot. With massive feelings of guilt, Henry shrugs away from the man and runs back into the woods. From behind a tree, he looks at all the wounded soldiers. "At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be particularly happy. He wished that he, too had a wound, a red badge of courage" This shows Henrys desire to be a wounded war hero. He does not want to be set apart from the other boys as a coward. As soon as the old soldier passed him, he went back to the lines and continued on with the boys. He starts walking next to Jim Conklin, a soldier that he knew pretty well. They are talking, when all of a sudden Jim runs away. He falls onto the ground and dies. This death has a very big affect on Henry. Jim was his first friend to be killed in battle. He feels guilty that Jim was put through so much pain, and he just ran away, like a coward.
After spending the night sleeping near Jim's corpse, Henry woke up and was ready to march again. He meets up with another tattered soldier, who is crazy and dying. Henry gets very angry at the mad for talking to him, and runs away, swearing that the man knows his secret. He refuses to go back to the regiment, because he thinks that everyone will regard him as a coward.
All of a sudden, Henry sees the soldiers' frantically running. One grabs him, and Henry asks him why they are running so frantically. The only response he gets is a whack in the head with the soldiers' gun. A few moments later, when Henry is able to get up, he begins to march with passer by soldiers. A soldier walking next to him notices the wound on his head, and automatically assumes it to be a bullet wound. The kind-hearted soldier leads Henry back to his regiment. The first person Henry sees when he gets to the group is his friend Tom. In order to save face, Henry makes up a big story about how he got shot in the head, and then got separated from the regiment. Tom takes great care of Henry, cleans him up and makes sure that he gets enough food, and a good night's sleep. After being pampered by Tom, Henry realizes that this is not the way to becoming a hero. In order to become a hero, he must fight in battles, and get a real red badge of courage, not just a knock in the head. He returns the envelope of letters to Tom. This scene marks a dramatic change in character for both of the boys. It shows their movement from innocence to experience. From then on, the two men walk side by side while marching. They showed their courage often in tough situations. Henry suspected that his generals were leading them right into trouble, and he gets very angry about that fact. Henry tells Tom about his speculations, but Tom will not believe him. During the next battle, Henry shows his courage by being the first and the fastest soldier to fire. After the victorious battle, Henry and Tom over hear a conversation between generals and captains, and they find out that the next battle they are going to be fighting is going to be very tough, and the general is looking for spar regiment.. The leader feels that there is no way Regiment 304 will survive the battle, and calls the soldiers 'mule drivers', thinking that they are slow, and rather stupid. When Henry and Tom hear this, they are enraged. They are determined to fight as hard as the can, with all their heart and souls. Henry and Tom prove themselves well in the battle. They steal the confederate flag, and are both brave enough to go out on the field with out weapons. After the regiment retreats, the general recognizes both soldiers as extremely brave, and comment that they are fit to be generals themselves. This final action is what finalizes the movement from innocence to experience for Henry and Tom. They went into the war as little boys, and now they are moving on as men. They have both earned their red badges of courage, as well as the hero status they had dreamed of obtaining forever.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor.TXT
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge Part 1 an old man stops one man out of three that
were walking down the street to go to a wedding the man is
a relation of the married the man tries to get away but the
old man grabs the man with his skinny hand the man is held
there by the glitter of the old man's eye the man is listening
intently "Like a three years' child" the old man has the man's
attention the wedding guest sat down on a stone the mariner
went on with his story the boat was anchored by a kirk
KIRK- church EFTSOONS - unhand me ship was sailing
south because sun came up on the left side of the boat they
sailed closer to the equator every day because the sun came
overhead MINSTRIL - musicians the bride has started to
walk down the isle and the music is playing the old man
carries on there was a storm at the equator the storm drove
them to the south pole the storm was very strong they went
through mist and then it started to snow it became very cold
they went by very large chunks of ice floating through the
water (icebergs) there was nothing but ice and snow and
there was no animals, just ice an albatross flew over after a
few days the men were happy to see it because they needed
hope the men fed it the ice broke in front of the boat and
then they sailed through the ice to safety a good south wind
helped them sail north the bird followed them KEN - know
something NE'ER - never VESPERS -days the bird stayed
with them for nine days the ancient mariner shot the
albatross with his cross bow HOLLOW - called albatross
PART II burst of sea - ship wake there was no more bird
following the boat (the felt alone again) they ran out of food
the people on the boat cursed at the mariner for killing their
omen of good luck the wind had stopped Gods own head -
sun averred - swear, agree to they thought that the bird had
brought the fog because the fog had cleared after the bird
died the breeze stopped and the boat stopped the sky was
clear and it was very hot they were at the equator because
the sun at noon was above the mast they stayed there for a
few days without wind it was like they were a painting
"Water, water, everywhere," they could not see anything
except the water "Nor any drop to drink." there was no
more water to drink the water was churning a spirit had
followed them from 9 fathom deep-6 feet deep under the
boat no one could talk because their tongues had swollen,
because of the drought the people tied the albatross around
the neck of the mariner PART III after quite a while the
mariner saw something in the distance tack and veer - take
advantage of a side wind the mariner bit his arm and drank
blood to tell that there was a boat coming there was no wind
or tide but the boat still moved there are two people on the
boat the man is the grim reaper the woman is life in death the
ship was only a skeleton of a ship the two played dice for
the crew life in death won there was no sunset but from light
to sudden dark each of the men on the boat died and cursed
the mariner with open eyes 200 men died one by one in a
sudden thump the mariner watches the men's souls leave
their bodies they all went by the mariner like arrows from his
crossbow PART IV the wedding guest is afraid that the
mariner is a spirit and becomes scared the mariner tells him
that he was the only one to survive the mariner was all alone
on the ship "a thousand thousand slimy things" maggots that
are eating the bodies the mariner really feels alone when he
cannot pray the flesh fell from the bones "cold sweat melted
from their limbs," they did not rot or smell bad they still
stared at him the mariner lived for seven days and nights
after the men died and he could still not die the things on top
of the water made the mariner feel like he was no longer
alone "O happy living things!" the mariner blessed the living
things at that same moment the mariner could pray because
he felt that someone was listening to him the albatross fell off
his neck and sunk into the sea PART V the mariner could
finally sleep he thinks that Mary sent him sleep from the
heavens he had a dream that dew was coming down it
started to rain in buckets he drank more than he thought he
could and he still continued to drink the wind started to roar
the wind did not come very close but close enough to shake
the sails and make the boat move he could see the moon at
the edge of the cloud that gave him wind and rain lightning
fell straight down the dead men gave a groan the dead rose
and started to walk on the deck the helmsman steered and
the rest worked the ropes the body of his brother's son
stood by the mariner the mariner wanted to help him with the
rope but the boy would not let him the wedding guest is
scared of the mariner again This was a way to forgive the
mariner for killing the bird the men died later in the morning
around the mast birds filled the air and were singing the spirit
made the ship move the sound of the sails were "pleasant"
there was no wind but the boat kept on moving the wind
stopped moving at noon and the boat also stopped the boat
moved back and forth in the water the boat moved quickly
and then the blood went into his head and the mariner was
knocked out he doesn't know how long he was there but he
woke up hearing two voices the one man loved both the
albatross and the man who shot the bird they agree that the
mariner has paid his penance but he should continue to do
so. PART VI all of the men were looking at the mariner
when he woke up the mariner could not pray again but then
the curse finally broke the ship flew through the air and went
very fast it flew him back to his own country if it is a dream
he wants the dream to last forever the wind chaser was
steady upon the kirk a man of all light stood upon every
corpse all of them waved to the mariner he was happy that
they all forgave him before they went to heaven the piolot
and his son came in a boat to see the men in the mariner's
boat the hermit also came and the mariner believed that the
sins would be washed away PART VII the hermit likes to
talk with mariners the men in the small boat do not know
where the ship came from the men notice the bad shape of
the boat and its sails the hermit was afraid of the boat but
insisted on moving on the mariners ship suddenly sank when
the rowboat came upon the mariners ship the pilot saved the
mariner. the mariner was knocked out by the crash of the
boat and he was lying in the water the rowboat was spinning
in the whirl that was caused by the sinking ship the mariner
spoke and the pilot was amazed and he "fell down in a fit"
the hermit then prayed the pilot's boy took a fit the boy
thought that the mariner was the devil the hermit had a hard
time standing when they got back to land the mariner must
travel to different lands for the rest of his life and tell the
story he can speak any language just as long as someone will
listen the wedding was over and everyone came out of the
church the bridesmaids are singing mariner tells wedding
guest that he must love man and all animals the mariner is
gone and the wedding guest is stunned when he walks
toward the church but he is wiser man but he is sad for the
mariner
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Rise And Fall Of Adolf Hitler.TXT
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The Rise And Fall Of Adolf Hitler
This book was all about the life of Adolf Hitler, and how he rose to power, and in an instant lost it all. I enjoyed this book allot and could not put is down.This is the story from my point of veiw. The first part starts off by telling the reader about Hitler's upbringing. How he did not want to be like his father, the customs worker. Also how he thought that his teachers were not educated enough to teach him in school. How he quit school and, tried to prisue his dream of becoming an artist. He was not accepted into the Vienna art school and then became a bum. In the second part of the book the author tells of Hitler's start into politics and The Beer Hall Putsch. How he came into the political party so suddenly, and also how he became Chancellor. This author tells of the brut tactics that Hitler used against all of the opposing parties, and finally became dictator or the Fuhrer. The book also tells about while he was gaining all of this power he fell in love with a woman. This woman was his niece. Her name was Geli. He spent all of his free time with her, but when she said that she was running off to Vienna to study voice studies. He had her killed.
The third part of the book is all about Hitlers conquest of Europe. This was the only part of the book that disapointed me, because it did not really go into the fact that Hitler killed over 5,000,000 people of jewish descent. I guess that this proves that the author was not jewish and was not really dissturbed by the fact that this happened.
The fourth slice of the pie was all about Hitlers fall hence the name "The Rise AND FALL of Aldolf Hitler." It starts off by telling of Hitlers first big mistake in the war, which from the authors point of veiw was when the Fuhrer ( Hitler) declaired war aginst the united states. This was a bad mov on his behalf because he now not only had the great power of Russia to look out for but also the power of the United States. Then the author goes into how Hitler was trapped in his bunker at the end of the warand how he and his new love, who was named Eva Braun got merried. Then the author tells how Hitler said his last words and then killed himself and his new bride did the same.
This book was written in 1961 which meens that the hatred of hitler in the united states was still fresh. I know this because I have asked other peoplr who were in WWII about this, but for some strange reason the author who wrote this book did not seem this way. It might of been becaues the author did not want to have any bias aginst Hitler, so that the reader could read the book and not be offened in any way. Either way I liked this book and I recommend it to the reader of this essay. THE END

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Road Not Taken.TXT
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The Road Not Taken - an analysis
 "Do not follow where the path may lead... Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Robert Frost Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that "it was grassy and wanted wear." It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path therefore he calls it "the road less travelled by". The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he has, one that does not want to necessarily follow the crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and different. "And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black." The leaves had covered the ground and since the time they had fallen no one had yet to pass by on this road. Perhaps Frost does this because each time a person comes to the point where they have to make a choice, it is new to them, somewhere they have never been and they tend to feel as though no one else had ever been there either. "I kept the first for another day!" The desire to travel down both paths is expressed and is not unusual, but "knowing how way leads on to way", the speaker of this poem realizes that the decision is not just a temporary one and he "doubted if I should ever come back." This is his common sense speaking and acknowledging that what he chooses now will affect every other choice he makes afterward. Once you have performed an act or spoken a word that crystalizes who you are, there is no turning back, it cannot be undone. Once again at the end of the poem the regret hangs over the traveler like a heavy cloud about to burst. He realizes that at the end of his life, "somewhere ages and ages hence", he will have regrets about having never gone back and traveling down the roads he did not take. Yet he remains proud of his decision and he recognizes that it was this path that he chose that made him turn out the way and he did and live his life the way in which he lived. "I took the road less trvaeled by and that had made all the difference." To this man, what was most important, what really made the difference, is that he did what he wanted, even if it meant taking the road less traveled. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be the same man he is now. There are many equally valid meanings to this poem and Robert Frost may have intended this. He may have been trying to achieve a universal understanding. In other words, there is no judgement, no specificity, no moral. There is simply a narrator who makes a decision in his life that had changed the direction of his life from what it may ahve otherwise been. It allows all readers from all different experiences to relate to the poem.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Scarlet Letter 2.TXT
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The Scarlet Letter
People judge others they encounter based upon their own values. These values are acquired through experiences in the home, school, at work, and with friends. A person is taught from their parents at a very young age what is right and wrong, but they may fail to realize that the values they are taught are filtered through the minds of those who teach. Therefore one is a product of their previous generation adding our his or her judgement to the values that we will pass on. Hawthorne judges the characters in The Scarlet Letter by using his own values. These values were drastically different from other Puritans. Instead of the stern, harsh values of the Puritans, Hawthorne sees life through the eyes of a Romantic. He judges each person accordingly, characterizing each person's sin as the pardonable sin of nature or the unpardonable sin of the human soul. One can infer, by the writing style, that Hawthorne is most forgiving to Hester. He writes about Hester with a feeling of compassion that the descriptions of the other characters lack. Hawthorne approves of Hetser's feeling, vitality, and thirst to overcome the iron shackles of binding society. He shows us that although Hester is not permitted to express her feelings verbally because of social persecution, there is no one that can restrain the thoughts of the human mind. Hawthorne, being a romantic and man of nature himself, can relate to the this. - If you were to look up the human mating characteristics in a science book you may surprise yourself. The human instinct is to have more than one partner not to stay loyal to one partner- In fact Hester is often contrasted with the Puritan laws and rules, especially when Hawthorne states: "The world's law was no law for her mind." (70) Roger Chillingworth's personality is one of intelligence and knowledge but no feeling. Hawthorne considers Roger Chilingworth's sin the worst in the book. In one of his journal entrees he labels it the "unpardonable sin." Hawthorne describes him as very cold and Puritan-like, an educated man that looked very scholarly. As stated here: There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould to physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. (67) Hawthorne frequently refers to Chillingworth's genius and diction, but purposely fails to have Chillingworth show any slight sign of compassion. This lack of compassion is what made him the monster that he is. He treats people like a mathematical problem analyzing only the facts, caring nothing about the harm that he might cause.(my notes) He picks at Dimmsdale the same way as described here: He now dug into the poor clergyman's heart like a miner searching for gold or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave Possibly in the quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead mans bosom, but likely to find nothing save morality and corruption. (127) Chillingworth now takes room with Dimmsdale only pretending to be his friend but secretly plotting his demise. Shortly after people begin to notice "something ugly and evil in his face which the had not previously noticed and grew to the more obvious to sight the more they looked upon him." (67) Chillingworth's face seemed to change more and more. Hawthorne soon refers to Chillingworth as the black man, which is a derivative of the devil. Hawthorne describes Chillingworth with such strong disdain that in the end Chillingworth simply dies when there is no pain or suffering for him to live off of. He is a parasite, a leech that sucked dry the life of the once young and strong Dimmsdale. For this feat Chillingworth shall be eternally punished. He has committed the worst sin, not of the mind but the mortal sin that is the desecration of the human soul. The reader first comes across Arthur Dimmsdale in the church making his sermon. The people love him, regarding him as a good, young, Christian man. The one thing that no one knows is the secret that he holds within. We see that Dimmsdale watches Hetser being prosecuted, doing nothing to stop the injustice. He is a weak and immoral man that has no inner strength whatsoever. In some points of the story he cannot even bear to live with the sin, in some severe instances he even whips himself as punishment, but he will not tell of the sin because he fears the social persecution that he will receive if he admits to this hanous crime. Dimmsdale's sin is one of enigma. He commits a sin against two people, one being himself and the other being Hester. It is very clear that he has done Hester wrong but the sin against him is more complicated. By not telling the people that he has done wrong he lays tremendous guilt on his soul, so much so that it causes his physical appearance to fade and almost extinguishes as Hawthorne iterates here: His form grew emaciated his voice, still rich and sweet had a melancholy prophecy of decay in it he was often observed on a slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then paleness, indicative of pain. (119) Hawthorne is a romantic and has the personality of one. He is most forgiving to Hester because she is a Romantic person. She lives in a society many years before her time, but she is strong willed and fights societies disdain to overcome her own sin. He places Dimmsdale somewhere amidst the foggy middle, between these two characters. Dimmsdale is sat here because he commits no direct sin. By not telling anyone of his secret sin he causes the pain of himself and Hester. He clearly characterizes Chilingworth as the least pardonable because he commits the sin of the heart, the soul, and of God.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Scarlet Letter again.TXT
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	The ninth commandment tells man not to give false witness.(Exodus 20:16) Nathaniel Hawthorn and Charles Dickens in their novels The Scarlet Letter and A Tale of Two Cities, respectively, both use punishment for deception as a recurring theme.  Although they do so to different degrees and in dissimilar manners, both authors agree that deception is a sin that requires punishment.
	In The Scarlet Letter, the heroine, Hester Prynne conceived a child out of wedlock.  Despite the pleas and demands of the clerical community, she did not reveal the identity of the father.  The Puritanical community in which she lived in demanded her to give up her conspirator or bear the consequences of the deed alone.  Due to her doggedness, the townsmen sentenced her to wear a scarlet letter *A* embroidered on her chest.  The A served as a symbol of her crime, was a punishment of humiliation, gave her constant shame, and reminded her of her sin.  Hester*s penalization was a prime example where deception led to negative consequences in that she would have been spared the entire encumbrance of the crime if she did not deceive the townspeople.  Although seemingly, her paramour did not escape punishment.
	In fact, the father of her bastard child took a more severe sentence.  Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale seemed to be an upstanding, young priest.  The whole town liked him and respected him as a holy man.  Thus, his deception was much more direct and extreme when he did not confess that he impregnated Hester Prynne.  Unlike Hester, he was not publicly punished.  So although Hester overcame her ordeal and went on with her life, Dimmesdale exacted a constant, physical and mental reprobation on himself.  This inner pain was so intense that his physical health began to reflect his inner sufferings.  In the end, he redeemed himself by his confession in front of the whole town, but his long endurance of the secret took its toll and he died.  Roger Chillingworth had a similar fate.
	Like Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Hester*s husband, keeps his relation to her a secret.  Chillingworth*s deception allows him to become consumed with hatred and the desire to inflict his revenge on the one who stole his wife*s heart.  Because he had secretly lived his life in hate, he too began to show his rotten inner self on the outside.  Never having revealed his true identity to everyone, he died without solace and alone.   
	Although Charles Dickens is not so severe in the castigation of his characters, he too makes the crime of deception punishable even by death.  In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Darnay is an example of one who escapes punishment for his offense.
	Charles Darnay was his first line of deception.  Darnay used this pseudonym in order to hide his roots in the French aristocracy.  He was truly an Evr*monde.  This fact continuously haunted him later when he met and fell in love with Lucy Manette.  This was due to her roots which lied in her father, Dr.  Manette.  Dr.  Manette was imprisoned unjustly by an Evr*monde and saw their abuses of the peasant class.  He thusly accused all Evr*mondes of being monsters.  Later, he suspected that Charles was an Evr*monde, but did not tell anyone because of his daughter*s relationship with Charles.  This became a problem later when Charles needed to go to France after the start of the Revolution.  Because he had always been careful to hide his identity, he assumed no one knew his true identity so he left for France despite the danger the Revolution was for him.  When he arrived, he was immediately imprisoned and sentenced to death.  Only through the sacrifice of another man, he escaped his sentence.  Every character was 
not as lucky as him, however.
	Another character who despised the Evr*mondes was Madame Defarge.  She was not spared an unnatural death.  Like Dr.  Manette she hid the fact that an Evr*monde wronged her in the past.  In her case, it was an Evr*monde who impregnated her sister and killed her brother.  She secretly abhorred the family of Evr*mondes and nurtured hopes for someday exacting a revenge upon them.  Unlike Dr.  Manette, she could not separate Darnay from his infamous family and tried to have him killed during the Revolution.  Because of her secret, she tried to confront Charles alone.  This led to her confrontation with Ms.  Pross when looking for the Evr*mondes.  In her struggle with Ms.  Pross, she draws a gun, only to be accidentally shot with it by Ms.  Pross, ending her life.  
	Dr.  Manette had a secret hate for the Evr*mondes too, but his ability to see past Charles* name saved him from a fatal end.  As a victim of the Evr*mondes, it was necessary for him to risk his life when he wanted to save Darnay from death.  A letter, he wrote years ago before he knew Charles, that deemed all Evr*mondes as monsters made this impossible.  Because of this he almost caused his only love in life*s, his daughter, the pain of losing her husband.  The sacrifice of man named Sydney Carton saved him from going through his daughter*s grief and allowed his son in-law to live.
	The sacrifice of Sydney Carton was his punishment for secrecy.  He was in every outward aspect, Charles Darnay.  This included the fact that he was in love with Lucy Manette.  Unfortunately, his mirror image and Lucy were already in love and he knew that he could not win her heart.  Thus, he was consigned to love Lucy clandestinely and hated himself for the years of life he wasted making nothing of himself.  He was jealous of Charles, who was just like him, but had made something of himself, and thus, won Lucy*s heart.  When Charles was in prison and was waiting to be executed, these inner feelings of Carton came into play as he made Darnay switch clothing with him so that he would go to the guillotine and Darnay would go free.  Charles* life was his gift to Lucy and his revenge upon Darnay who, now, owed his life to Carton.  He was one who faced the punishment of death.
	The death of a character is the ultimate penalty in both The Scarlet Letter and A Tale of Two Cities.  Both Dickens and Hawthorn use this to compensate for a character*s falsification and the wrongdoings due to the secrets that each hide.  They both, however, also allow death to be an end with grace, as it was for Reverend Dimmesdale, in A Scarlet Letter, and Sydney Carton, in A Tale of Two Cities.  Both characters were allowed to die in peace because of the penitence each went through.  
	Although there were some similarities in the penalties, there were more differences.  Even in the death penalty, the two authors inflicted them upon their characters in different manners.  Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, in Hawthorn*s novel, died by a physical reaction to the inner deterioration of each man.  In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens had his characters go through violent and unnatural demises.  Another difference was the fate of the others.  Hawthorn let Hester Prynne live, but she lived alone and without comfort for her past.  On the other hand, Charles Darnay and Dr.  Manette both escaped the consequences of their dupery and went on to live with happiness.
	Whether by death, humiliation, or difficult trials, Nathaniel Hawthorn and Charles Dickens imprint upon the readers mind, that deception is an offense and must be punished.        
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Scarlet Letter.TXT
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	The ninth commandment tells man not to give false witness.(Exodus 20:16) Nathaniel Hawthorn and Charles Dickens in their novels The Scarlet Letter and A Tale of Two Cities, respectively, both use punishment for deception as a recurring theme.  Although they do so to different degrees and in dissimilar manners, both authors agree that deception is a sin that requires punishment.
	In The Scarlet Letter, the heroine, Hester Prynne conceived a child out of wedlock.  Despite the pleas and demands of the clerical community, she did not reveal the identity of the father.  The Puritanical community in which she lived in demanded her to give up her conspirator or bear the consequences of the deed alone.  Due to her doggedness, the townsmen sentenced her to wear a scarlet letter *A* embroidered on her chest.  The A served as a symbol of her crime, was a punishment of humiliation, gave her constant shame, and reminded her of her sin.  Hester*s penalization was a prime example where deception led to negative consequences in that she would have been spared the entire encumbrance of the crime if she did not deceive the townspeople.  Although seemingly, her paramour did not escape punishment.
	In fact, the father of her bastard child took a more severe sentence.  Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale seemed to be an upstanding, young priest.  The whole town liked him and respected him as a holy man.  Thus, his deception was much more direct and extreme when he did not confess that he impregnated Hester Prynne.  Unlike Hester, he was not publicly punished.  So although Hester overcame her ordeal and went on with her life, Dimmesdale exacted a constant, physical and mental reprobation on himself.  This inner pain was so intense that his physical health began to reflect his inner sufferings.  In the end, he redeemed himself by his confession in front of the whole town, but his long endurance of the secret took its toll and he died.  Roger Chillingworth had a similar fate.
	Like Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Hester*s husband, keeps his relation to her a secret.  Chillingworth*s deception allows him to become consumed with hatred and the desire to inflict his revenge on the one who stole his wife*s heart.  Because he had secretly lived his life in hate, he too began to show his rotten inner self on the outside.  Never having revealed his true identity to everyone, he died without solace and alone.   
	Although Charles Dickens is not so severe in the castigation of his characters, he too makes the crime of deception punishable even by death.  In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Darnay is an example of one who escapes punishment for his offense.
	Charles Darnay was his first line of deception.  Darnay used this pseudonym in order to hide his roots in the French aristocracy.  He was truly an Evr*monde.  This fact continuously haunted him later when he met and fell in love with Lucy Manette.  This was due to her roots which lied in her father, Dr.  Manette.  Dr.  Manette was imprisoned unjustly by an Evr*monde and saw their abuses of the peasant class.  He thusly accused all Evr*mondes of being monsters.  Later, he suspected that Charles was an Evr*monde, but did not tell anyone because of his daughter*s relationship with Charles.  This became a problem later when Charles needed to go to France after the start of the Revolution.  Because he had always been careful to hide his identity, he assumed no one knew his true identity so he left for France despite the danger the Revolution was for him.  When he arrived, he was immediately imprisoned and sentenced to death.  Only through the sacrifice of another man, he escaped his sentence.  Every character was 
not as lucky as him, however.
	Another character who despised the Evr*mondes was Madame Defarge.  She was not spared an unnatural death.  Like Dr.  Manette she hid the fact that an Evr*monde wronged her in the past.  In her case, it was an Evr*monde who impregnated her sister and killed her brother.  She secretly abhorred the family of Evr*mondes and nurtured hopes for someday exacting a revenge upon them.  Unlike Dr.  Manette, she could not separate Darnay from his infamous family and tried to have him killed during the Revolution.  Because of her secret, she tried to confront Charles alone.  This led to her confrontation with Ms.  Pross when looking for the Evr*mondes.  In her struggle with Ms.  Pross, she draws a gun, only to be accidentally shot with it by Ms.  Pross, ending her life.  
	Dr.  Manette had a secret hate for the Evr*mondes too, but his ability to see past Charles* name saved him from a fatal end.  As a victim of the Evr*mondes, it was necessary for him to risk his life when he wanted to save Darnay from death.  A letter, he wrote years ago before he knew Charles, that deemed all Evr*mondes as monsters made this impossible.  Because of this he almost caused his only love in life*s, his daughter, the pain of losing her husband.  The sacrifice of man named Sydney Carton saved him from going through his daughter*s grief and allowed his son in-law to live.
	The sacrifice of Sydney Carton was his punishment for secrecy.  He was in every outward aspect, Charles Darnay.  This included the fact that he was in love with Lucy Manette.  Unfortunately, his mirror image and Lucy were already in love and he knew that he could not win her heart.  Thus, he was consigned to love Lucy clandestinely and hated himself for the years of life he wasted making nothing of himself.  He was jealous of Charles, who was just like him, but had made something of himself, and thus, won Lucy*s heart.  When Charles was in prison and was waiting to be executed, these inner feelings of Carton came into play as he made Darnay switch clothing with him so that he would go to the guillotine and Darnay would go free.  Charles* life was his gift to Lucy and his revenge upon Darnay who, now, owed his life to Carton.  He was one who faced the punishment of death.
	The death of a character is the ultimate penalty in both The Scarlet Letter and A Tale of Two Cities.  Both Dickens and Hawthorn use this to compensate for a character*s falsification and the wrongdoings due to the secrets that each hide.  They both, however, also allow death to be an end with grace, as it was for Reverend Dimmesdale, in A Scarlet Letter, and Sydney Carton, in A Tale of Two Cities.  Both characters were allowed to die in peace because of the penitence each went through.  
	Although there were some similarities in the penalties, there were more differences.  Even in the death penalty, the two authors inflicted them upon their characters in different manners.  Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, in Hawthorn*s novel, died by a physical reaction to the inner deterioration of each man.  In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens had his characters go through violent and unnatural demises.  Another difference was the fate of the others.  Hawthorn let Hester Prynne live, but she lived alone and without comfort for her past.  On the other hand, Charles Darnay and Dr.  Manette both escaped the consequences of their dupery and went on to live with happiness.
	Whether by death, humiliation, or difficult trials, Nathaniel Hawthorn and Charles Dickens imprint upon the readers mind, that deception is an offense and must be punished.        
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Scarlett Letter.TXT
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The Scarlett Letter
The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic symbol - one that is always changing. In the following essay, I will explore some of the symbolism which Pearl came to represent throughout the novel.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, for her sins, received a scarlet letter, "A" which she had to wear upon her chest. This was the Puritan way of treating her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery ' At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead.' (Pg. 59) This is how some people felt about her punishment. The Puritan treatment continued, because as Hester would walk through the streets, she would be looked down upon as if she were some sort of demon from Hell that committed a terrible crime. This would give her much mental anguish and grief. On the other hand, God's treatment of Hester for her sin was quite different than just a physical token: he gave Hester the punishment of a very unique child which she named Pearl. This punishment handed down from God was a constant mental and physical reminder to Hester of what she had done wrong, and she could not escape it 'Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl on mine!' (pg.99) At times Hester would get frustrated. In this aspect, Pearl symbolized God's way of punishing Hester for adultery. The way Hester's life was ruined for so long was the ultimate price that Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester's life was one almost never filled with joy, but instead a constant nagging. Pearl would harass her mother over the scarlet "A" which she wore 'Mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean?-and why dost thou wear it on they bosom?-and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?' Pearl would also make her own "A" to wear, and sometimes she played games with her mother's, trying to hit it with rocks. 'I wonder if Mother will ask me what it means?' (Pg. 171) Little Pearl is opposite of what people think, she's a playful little girl. When Hester would go into the town with Pearl, the other children would make fun of her, and Pearl would yell and throw dirt at them. So, in this case, Pearl symbolized the decimation of Hester's life and mental state.
Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that Pearl was her treasure. "...her mother's only treasure!" (Pg. 91) Pearl was really the only thing that Hester had in life, and if Pearl wasn't in Hester's life, Hester would almost surely have committed suicide. Once in a while, Pearl would bring joy to Hester's life, and that helped her to keep on living. Pearl really symbolized a rose to her mother, at some times she could be bright and vibrant, and really love her mother, but at other times, she could be wilting. It was at these times when she was "wilting" that brought Hester the most grief.
One final way in which Pearl symbolized something in the novel was with her association with the scarlet letter. Pearl really was the scarlet letter, because if Pearl had never been born, Hester would have never been found guilty of adultery, and thus never would have had to wear that burden upon her chest. Without that burden, Hester would have led a much better life then the one she had throughout the novel.
In closing, Pearl was a source of many different kinds of symbolism. From being a rose, to representing the scarlet letter "A", she was a kind of burden, yet love for Hester. Pearl was more then her mother's only treasure; she was her mother's only source of survival.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Secet Of the Old Clock Book Report again.TXT
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Title: The Secret of the Old Clock
Author: Carolyn Keene
Characters: Nancy Drew, Mr. Drew, Mr. Crowley, Allison, Grace, and The Turners.
	 Nancy Drew was driving down the road in her new navy convertible that she got for her birthday from her father.  As she was driving down the road she could see a little girl, planning to across the street. Nancy thought the girl would wait but instead of waiting the girl ran in front of the car, Nancy almost drove over her.  Nancy ran over to the girl who was so frightened she was lying on the ground crying.  To her surprise she knew this little girl, her name was Judy.  A lady came out yelling Judy, Judy.  The lady introduced herself, her name was Mary Turner.  Then a second lady came out, her name was Edna Turner.  They apologized to Nancy for what had happened.   They went into the Turner's house, she realized it was very small, with barely any furniture, and the air was musty and stale.  Nancy asked why their house was so small, they replied, "Well we were supposed to get money from our Uncle Crowley because he died but instead in his will it said all the money would go to the Topham's."  A few moments later when Edna was about to make tea she realized that all her fine china was gone.  Nancy asked "Who was here today?"  and Edna answered "Just the movers."  The Turner's explained that the movers had come to move their only couch because if they sold it they could pay the taxes that were due.  "The movers must have taken the china,"  Nancy determined.  So as time went on they were talking and drinking tea out of mugs.  Nancy asked "What grade is Judy in?"   They told her that they couldn't afford Judy going to school.  How awful thought Nancy !
      Later at the Drew home Nancy was talking to her father Mr. Drew about what happened that day.  About how the Turner's thought Mr. Crowley had another will.    Mr. Drew said that the will did leave everything  to  the Topham sisters.  Nancy knew that name, the Topham sisters hated Nancy and Nancy disliked them.  They were very jealous of her, because they weren't popular and Nancy was.  Mr. Drew promised Nancy she would pass the word and try to find that last will Mr. Crowley made.  The next day Nancy was shopping for a new dress.  She saw the Turner sisters, they looked just like what Nancy remembered them as.  She could hear whispering coming from the two sisters, Nancy tried to hear what they were saying about her.  She heard one of the sisters say something about a will.   They left right after that.  Now Nancy was even more suspicious than before.  She even bought a dress from that particular store she was at.  It was a mauve dress with lots of frills and bows.  Once again she told her father that the Topham sisters had heard about the second will Mr Crowley had made.  
     Nancy thought she would visit one of Mr. Crowley's relatives.  She looked around searching for a phonebook, then finally she had found one.  Mr. Drew said that the Hoovers were related to Mr. Crowley.  She looked their name up, and found the address.  The next day after breakfast she headed straight for the Hoover home.  She didn't realize that it was on a farm till she got there.  It was a broken down farm with no animals and the house was small like the Turner's house.  She knocked on the door, a short girl answered the door.  She was surprised to see Nancy.  The girl led her into the house.  She introduced herself, her name was Allison Hoover.  Another girl came in the room, Allison explained that was her sister Grace (she looked much older than Allison did).  When Nancy started talking about the second will that Mr. Crowley made, Allison burst into tears.  Grace explained that when Mr. Crowley died some of the estate should have gone to them, but it didn't happen.  Allison said that she was going to use some of the money to take singing lessons.  Nancy asked where were their parents?  Grace and Allison answered at the same time, they died long ago in a car accident.  Allison started to cry again, but to dry her tears away she was going to sing a song for Nancy and her sister.  She sang beautifully both Nancy and Grace said.  Right before Nancy left she invited them for lunch on Monday.  On the way home she thought about what they said about the will.  She didn't talk much through supper, Mr. Drew asked what was wrong?  She said that the Hoovers said that Mr. Crowley did make a second will for sure.  So on Monday when the girls came for lunch they were talking constantly about the will.  After lunch when the girls went home Nancy went over to the William and Fred Turners.  They were good friends of Crowley's.  She explained to them about the will, Fred interrupted "We know we've been waiting for the money to travel somewhere."  But their dreams had been shattered.  They talked about the will but it was very painful for them to talk about it.  Nancy wanted to know if there was any place else to look for the will.  They said she could find one more person and her name was Mrs. Abby Rowen.  Nancy thanked them for their time. At supper Mr. Drew asked Nancy "Still no luck."  "No," replied Nancy. Early in the morning Nancy dressed quickly so she could get to Mrs. Abby Rowen's house before lunch.  She left right on time because she got to Mrs. Rowen's at the time wanted to get there.  When she pulled into the driveway there was no where to park because there were weeds and long grass sticking through the cement and on the yard.  She carefully crossed the yard watching for anything that might get in her way.  She rang the doorbell a couple of times, but no one answered so she just walked in the doorway.  She could see an old elderly women sitting in an old rocking chair that was  broken.  Nancy asked what had happened (she assumed that something happened).  "I fell down the stairs yesterday, so I can't get up."  Nancy could see that her ankle was quite swollen. Nancy tried to help the poor women.  When they were both settled on the couch Nancy asked the women if she knew a Josiah Crowley?  "Of course," she said with a smile, she knew him very well.  She said that he would come take a walk with her every morning.  But after he died that all changed.  When Nancy asked of a second will, she could see tears fall from the women's wrinkly face.  She asked if the women remembered anything of the last will, Mrs. Rowen said that Mr. Crowley always kept a notebook.  She said that he told her that the will was there.  She thought hard and remembered that the book was in a clock, a clock with a moon shape on top of it, and she said that the Topham's took that as well as the money. Nancy noticed  her wound again, she said that she would go and get her some bandages for her since Mrs. Rowen didn't have any.  The women said she should take money from the jar that was on top of her fridge, Nancy looked up there but there was only five dollars in it.  She just pretended to take money but she didn't really.  Nancy left for the store, she came back right away with the supplies she needed.  She wrapped a tensor bandage around Abby's ankle.  She also got the neighbor to take her on walks once her ankle healed like Mr. Crowley did  and to check on her from time to time.  Mrs. Rowen couldn't thank her enough for what she did.  Nancy left her house feeling very happy because of what she did.  
     When she got to her house she was surprised one of her friends Helen Corning was waiting for her in the living room.  Helen asked Nancy if she wanted to buy tickets she was selling for a Charity Dance.  Of course Nancy did buy a few as she was paying for them she thought of an idea, if she sold the tickets to the Tophams she could look for the clock at their house  checking to see if it really was there.   Nancy said that she would sell the tickets for her.  Helen praised Nancy for what she had done for her, she also wanted to know if Nancy was coming to camp.  Nancy said she might if she had time after she solved this mystery.  That day wasting no time, Nancy raced over to the Topham house, she rang the doorbell Mrs. Topham answered the door, she let Nancy in.  Nancy immediately started what she wanted to say but she got interrupted by one the sisters. "Don't waste your money mother, we don't go to balls that just anyone goes to!"  "Isabel, quiet!" "You too Ada!" said Mrs. Topham. Mr. Topham came into the room, reached into his wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill, "Keep the change for your charity," said Mr. Topham.  Once again Nancy left feeling happy.  She felt so good that she thought that she was going to accept the invitation that Helen had made to her about going to camp.   
     Early the next morning Nancy packed her bags, ate breakfast, said goodbye to her brother and set off to camp.  When she arrived at camp a whole group of girls came running toward Nancy.  They told her that she was just in time for lunch.  In the afternoon they had all kinds of activities to choose from.  By the end of the day Nancy hadn't had that much fun in along time.  The next morning at breakfast they were talking about the Isabel and Ada Topham and how they were so snooting rich and had no friends.  Then Nancy heard one girl say that the Tophans had a cabin right on that lake.  So while all the girls were at their activities Nancy packed her bags because she knew that she couldn't stay at camp any longer.  All the girls were sad that Nancy had to go but she promised that she would come back after the mystery was solved.  
     On the way home Nancy remembered hearing something about the Tophams' cabin being on that lake somewhere, and how the housekeeper lived there and kept it clean while they weren't staying there.  Nancy drove half an hour until she found their cabin, it was the biggest cabin of them all.  She saw the same big truck that she saw at the Turner's house and the same guys, she thought  they were trying to steal something of the Tophams's but than she saw the big truck pull away from the driveway.  Nancy parked a bit away from the cabin so if they came back they wouldn't know that someone was there.  Nancy went inside the cabin looked around a lot (for about half an hour) than she heard the truck pull up into the driveway. Nancy heard footsteps coming closer and closer so she hid in the closet that was nearby.  When the men were in the room, Nancy could hardly hold the sneeze she felt coming on.  Because the closet was so dusty she could hardly breathe .  But then she couldn't hold it any longer, so she sneezed very loud.  The men heard the sneeze and opened the closet doors and found Nancy laughing.  They didn't find it funny so they locked her in there and they threw away the key.  She tried and tried to break down the door but she couldn't bang anymore because she was starting to bleed and bruise.  The dustiness wasn't helping either it was making it even worse.  But then she heard more footsteps, she was sure that it wasn't those guys because this person was much lighter on his feet than they were.  The man was the janitor, he managed to have an extra key for each lock.   "The Topham's are going to kill me if they find out that most of their stuff was stolen except for this clock. (The janitor held up the clock) "What clock?" "this one" said the janitor. The janitor showed Nancy the clock, then she saw the moon at the top of it, she realized that was the clock she was looking for all along.  Nancy opened the clock but she didn't find the piece of paper or anything.  So Nancy thought maybe the lawyer of Josiah Crowley would have it.  But it turned out that Mr. Crowley didn't have a lawyer.  So she decided to go to the judge and ask him if he knew of a second will.  And he did, he knew exactly where it was too, in his file of private files.  The Judge gave  Nancy permission to see the will, and finally her dream came true she saw it.  
     The next day the Turners, Fred and William, Mrs. Abby Rowen and the Hoovers came to the trial between the Tophams and  Mr. Drew. (Since he was a lawyer.) The Topham were sure they would win their trial but to their surprise they ended up losing.  Everybody didn't know how to thank Nancy and Mr. Drew enough for what they did for them.   With the money that they recieved Judy started school, Fred and William went to Africa, Mrs. Rowen was put into a nursing home, and finally Allison was able to take singing lessons from the best in the city.  And everybody got what they wanted except for the Tophams.  Mr. Drew got a promotion in his job.  Even Nancy got what she wanted, she went to camp where all her friends were.  And they lived  happily until the next mystery needed to be solved.
                                  The End         
                                                               By: Lucia Trischuk
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Secet Of the Old Clock Book Report.TXT
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Title: The Secret of the Old Clock
Author: Carolyn Keene
Characters: Nancy Drew, Mr. Drew, Mr. Crowley, Allison, Grace, and The Turners.
	 Nancy Drew was driving down the road in her new navy convertible that she got for her birthday from her father.  As she was driving down the road she could see a little girl, planning to across the street. Nancy thought the girl would wait but instead of waiting the girl ran in front of the car, Nancy almost drove over her.  Nancy ran over to the girl who was so frightened she was lying on the ground crying.  To her surprise she knew this little girl, her name was Judy.  A lady came out yelling Judy, Judy.  The lady introduced herself, her name was Mary Turner.  Then a second lady came out, her name was Edna Turner.  They apologized to Nancy for what had happened.   They went into the Turner's house, she realized it was very small, with barely any furniture, and the air was musty and stale.  Nancy asked why their house was so small, they replied, "Well we were supposed to get money from our Uncle Crowley because he died but instead in his will it said all the money would go to the Topham's."  A few moments later when Edna was about to make tea she realized that all her fine china was gone.  Nancy asked "Who was here today?"  and Edna answered "Just the movers."  The Turner's explained that the movers had come to move their only couch because if they sold it they could pay the taxes that were due.  "The movers must have taken the china,"  Nancy determined.  So as time went on they were talking and drinking tea out of mugs.  Nancy asked "What grade is Judy in?"   They told her that they couldn't afford Judy going to school.  How awful thought Nancy !
      Later at the Drew home Nancy was talking to her father Mr. Drew about what happened that day.  About how the Turner's thought Mr. Crowley had another will.    Mr. Drew said that the will did leave everything  to  the Topham sisters.  Nancy knew that name, the Topham sisters hated Nancy and Nancy disliked them.  They were very jealous of her, because they weren't popular and Nancy was.  Mr. Drew promised Nancy she would pass the word and try to find that last will Mr. Crowley made.  The next day Nancy was shopping for a new dress.  She saw the Turner sisters, they looked just like what Nancy remembered them as.  She could hear whispering coming from the two sisters, Nancy tried to hear what they were saying about her.  She heard one of the sisters say something about a will.   They left right after that.  Now Nancy was even more suspicious than before.  She even bought a dress from that particular store she was at.  It was a mauve dress with lots of frills and bows.  Once again she told her father that the Topham sisters had heard about the second will Mr Crowley had made.  
     Nancy thought she would visit one of Mr. Crowley's relatives.  She looked around searching for a phonebook, then finally she had found one.  Mr. Drew said that the Hoovers were related to Mr. Crowley.  She looked their name up, and found the address.  The next day after breakfast she headed straight for the Hoover home.  She didn't realize that it was on a farm till she got there.  It was a broken down farm with no animals and the house was small like the Turner's house.  She knocked on the door, a short girl answered the door.  She was surprised to see Nancy.  The girl led her into the house.  She introduced herself, her name was Allison Hoover.  Another girl came in the room, Allison explained that was her sister Grace (she looked much older than Allison did).  When Nancy started talking about the second will that Mr. Crowley made, Allison burst into tears.  Grace explained that when Mr. Crowley died some of the estate should have gone to them, but it didn't happen.  Allison said that she was going to use some of the money to take singing lessons.  Nancy asked where were their parents?  Grace and Allison answered at the same time, they died long ago in a car accident.  Allison started to cry again, but to dry her tears away she was going to sing a song for Nancy and her sister.  She sang beautifully both Nancy and Grace said.  Right before Nancy left she invited them for lunch on Monday.  On the way home she thought about what they said about the will.  She didn't talk much through supper, Mr. Drew asked what was wrong?  She said that the Hoovers said that Mr. Crowley did make a second will for sure.  So on Monday when the girls came for lunch they were talking constantly about the will.  After lunch when the girls went home Nancy went over to the William and Fred Turners.  They were good friends of Crowley's.  She explained to them about the will, Fred interrupted "We know we've been waiting for the money to travel somewhere."  But their dreams had been shattered.  They talked about the will but it was very painful for them to talk about it.  Nancy wanted to know if there was any place else to look for the will.  They said she could find one more person and her name was Mrs. Abby Rowen.  Nancy thanked them for their time. At supper Mr. Drew asked Nancy "Still no luck."  "No," replied Nancy. Early in the morning Nancy dressed quickly so she could get to Mrs. Abby Rowen's house before lunch.  She left right on time because she got to Mrs. Rowen's at the time wanted to get there.  When she pulled into the driveway there was no where to park because there were weeds and long grass sticking through the cement and on the yard.  She carefully crossed the yard watching for anything that might get in her way.  She rang the doorbell a couple of times, but no one answered so she just walked in the doorway.  She could see an old elderly women sitting in an old rocking chair that was  broken.  Nancy asked what had happened (she assumed that something happened).  "I fell down the stairs yesterday, so I can't get up."  Nancy could see that her ankle was quite swollen. Nancy tried to help the poor women.  When they were both settled on the couch Nancy asked the women if she knew a Josiah Crowley?  "Of course," she said with a smile, she knew him very well.  She said that he would come take a walk with her every morning.  But after he died that all changed.  When Nancy asked of a second will, she could see tears fall from the women's wrinkly face.  She asked if the women remembered anything of the last will, Mrs. Rowen said that Mr. Crowley always kept a notebook.  She said that he told her that the will was there.  She thought hard and remembered that the book was in a clock, a clock with a moon shape on top of it, and she said that the Topham's took that as well as the money. Nancy noticed  her wound again, she said that she would go and get her some bandages for her since Mrs. Rowen didn't have any.  The women said she should take money from the jar that was on top of her fridge, Nancy looked up there but there was only five dollars in it.  She just pretended to take money but she didn't really.  Nancy left for the store, she came back right away with the supplies she needed.  She wrapped a tensor bandage around Abby's ankle.  She also got the neighbor to take her on walks once her ankle healed like Mr. Crowley did  and to check on her from time to time.  Mrs. Rowen couldn't thank her enough for what she did.  Nancy left her house feeling very happy because of what she did.  
     When she got to her house she was surprised one of her friends Helen Corning was waiting for her in the living room.  Helen asked Nancy if she wanted to buy tickets she was selling for a Charity Dance.  Of course Nancy did buy a few as she was paying for them she thought of an idea, if she sold the tickets to the Tophams she could look for the clock at their house  checking to see if it really was there.   Nancy said that she would sell the tickets for her.  Helen praised Nancy for what she had done for her, she also wanted to know if Nancy was coming to camp.  Nancy said she might if she had time after she solved this mystery.  That day wasting no time, Nancy raced over to the Topham house, she rang the doorbell Mrs. Topham answered the door, she let Nancy in.  Nancy immediately started what she wanted to say but she got interrupted by one the sisters. "Don't waste your money mother, we don't go to balls that just anyone goes to!"  "Isabel, quiet!" "You too Ada!" said Mrs. Topham. Mr. Topham came into the room, reached into his wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill, "Keep the change for your charity," said Mr. Topham.  Once again Nancy left feeling happy.  She felt so good that she thought that she was going to accept the invitation that Helen had made to her about going to camp.   
     Early the next morning Nancy packed her bags, ate breakfast, said goodbye to her brother and set off to camp.  When she arrived at camp a whole group of girls came running toward Nancy.  They told her that she was just in time for lunch.  In the afternoon they had all kinds of activities to choose from.  By the end of the day Nancy hadn't had that much fun in along time.  The next morning at breakfast they were talking about the Isabel and Ada Topham and how they were so snooting rich and had no friends.  Then Nancy heard one girl say that the Tophans had a cabin right on that lake.  So while all the girls were at their activities Nancy packed her bags because she knew that she couldn't stay at camp any longer.  All the girls were sad that Nancy had to go but she promised that she would come back after the mystery was solved.  
     On the way home Nancy remembered hearing something about the Tophams' cabin being on that lake somewhere, and how the housekeeper lived there and kept it clean while they weren't staying there.  Nancy drove half an hour until she found their cabin, it was the biggest cabin of them all.  She saw the same big truck that she saw at the Turner's house and the same guys, she thought  they were trying to steal something of the Tophams's but than she saw the big truck pull away from the driveway.  Nancy parked a bit away from the cabin so if they came back they wouldn't know that someone was there.  Nancy went inside the cabin looked around a lot (for about half an hour) than she heard the truck pull up into the driveway. Nancy heard footsteps coming closer and closer so she hid in the closet that was nearby.  When the men were in the room, Nancy could hardly hold the sneeze she felt coming on.  Because the closet was so dusty she could hardly breathe .  But then she couldn't hold it any longer, so she sneezed very loud.  The men heard the sneeze and opened the closet doors and found Nancy laughing.  They didn't find it funny so they locked her in there and they threw away the key.  She tried and tried to break down the door but she couldn't bang anymore because she was starting to bleed and bruise.  The dustiness wasn't helping either it was making it even worse.  But then she heard more footsteps, she was sure that it wasn't those guys because this person was much lighter on his feet than they were.  The man was the janitor, he managed to have an extra key for each lock.   "The Topham's are going to kill me if they find out that most of their stuff was stolen except for this clock. (The janitor held up the clock) "What clock?" "this one" said the janitor. The janitor showed Nancy the clock, then she saw the moon at the top of it, she realized that was the clock she was looking for all along.  Nancy opened the clock but she didn't find the piece of paper or anything.  So Nancy thought maybe the lawyer of Josiah Crowley would have it.  But it turned out that Mr. Crowley didn't have a lawyer.  So she decided to go to the judge and ask him if he knew of a second will.  And he did, he knew exactly where it was too, in his file of private files.  The Judge gave  Nancy permission to see the will, and finally her dream came true she saw it.  
     The next day the Turners, Fred and William, Mrs. Abby Rowen and the Hoovers came to the trial between the Tophams and  Mr. Drew. (Since he was a lawyer.) The Topham were sure they would win their trial but to their surprise they ended up losing.  Everybody didn't know how to thank Nancy and Mr. Drew enough for what they did for them.   With the money that they recieved Judy started school, Fred and William went to Africa, Mrs. Rowen was put into a nursing home, and finally Allison was able to take singing lessons from the best in the city.  And everybody got what they wanted except for the Tophams.  Mr. Drew got a promotion in his job.  Even Nancy got what she wanted, she went to camp where all her friends were.  And they lived  happily until the next mystery needed to be solved.
                                  The End         
                                                               By: Lucia Trischuk
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Second Coming Vs Things Fall Apart.TXT
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The Second Coming Vs. Things Fall Apart
The book Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe , is very similar to the
poem , "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats. A
comparison of "The Second Coming" to Things Fall Apart
will show many corresponding aspects between both of
these literary masterpieces. Seeing the line "Things fall apart"
in the poem , Achebe makes an outstanding association. At
this point in time he says to himself, "I should name my book
Things Fall Apart , It will show the main idea of the book."
One of the many coinciding concepts between the two is the
daunted apprehension of both the poem and the book. In
Things Fall Apart it seems like whenever the main character,
Okonkwo, gains hope things happen to fall apart . The
contents of "The Second Coming" told of a chaotic world
and a base that could not hold because of it's own inner
conflicts. In Addition to the synonymous feeling both the
book and the poem give, they both expose a great shift from
and old era to a new era. "The Second Coming" reveals an
apocolypse. Yeats shows this change by describing the
conversions our world, as a global community, made
throughout history . Key lines that refer to these changes in
time are "Turning and Turning in the widening gyre the falcon
cannot hear the falconer". These lines refer to the constant
adjustments we have to make and also the fact that we
cannot go back in time . Chinua Achebe also reveals a
major shift by describing Umuofa as it was in the beginning.
In describing Umuofa as it was originally he makes it easier
to catch sight of the major changes throughout the story .
Another coinciding idea in both pieces is the sacrifice of
something to avoid changes that come along . Okonkwo
ends his life as a last resort . In doing this he feels that he
saves his honor and heritage . He also kills himself to dodge
the pain and suffering that Christianity brought to his culture .
"The Second Coming" warns us of an apocolypse . The
apocolypse is the end of civilization in our world . What
makes the poem so synonymous to the book is that in either
case it is not possible to stop the changes from happening .
A fourth coinciding idea in "The Second Coming" and
Things Fall Apart is the loss of control of a higher power
over a lower power . In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo tries to
teach Nwoye the old ways of their people . He also tries to
make his son unlike Okonkwo's father . Nwoye wanted to
be his own man . He didn't want to have to live up to the
expectations of his father , Okonkwo . Nwoye takes on the
ways of Christianity in hope of a better life . Okonkwo feels
dishonored by Nwoye's turn towards Christianity.
Okonkwo now looks his son as he did his father . Nwoye's
move to Christianity shows the loss of Okonkwo's power
over his life . In "The Second Coming" the loss of control is
symbolized by the line "the falcon does not hear the falconer
" . Where the falcon is the symbol of the lesser power and
the falconer the symbol of the higher power . The line says
that after time passes and changes take place powers
change . The last reflective idea between the poem and the
book is the respect towards a superior force . The superior
force is not always an object that one can feel or hold in his
or her hand but it could be as simple as an idea. The
superior force in "The Second Coming" was not the
apocolypse but it was time . Time cannot be paused or
turned back so whatever is done may never be changed .
Time does not allow the world to prepare for "The Second
Coming" , So all hope is lost . The Superior force in Things
Fall Apart is the spread of Christianity . Christianity creates
Chaos in Umuofia . It makes all the people that were loyal to
their ancestors forget about where they were from . The
culture of the people in Umuofia was slowly put to extinction
by the spread of Christianity . Our world changes from day
to day . Everything we do now reflects on how the future
will be . If there is one concept one learns from comparing
these two fine literary works . It is to not dwell on mistakes
in the past but to make them up by doing well in the future .
Chinua Achebe and William Butler Yeats make this idea
understandable to us by using it in their works of art.
Okonkwo new the end of his culture was coming so he tries
to do whatever he can to stop it . After years of
hopelessness he finally sees a way out through death . In
"The Second Coming" there is no way to stop the
apocolypse from happening . So the world becomes
helpless and falls victim to "The Second Coming" . The
stories that both the book and the poem told were of life's
end.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Secret that Exploded.TXT
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The Secret that Exploded
by Howard Morland
"The Secret that Exploded" written by Howard Morland is
a non-fiction book based on his findings on the H-bomb.
Howard dedicated his life to finding out the secret of the
H-bomb and releasing his findings to the public who have
been in the dark since the beginnings of the Manhattan
Project. The book goes through everything he went through
from when he became an airforce pilot to him becoming
involved in radical groups to him fighting the government in
court for freedom of press. His book goes through everything
he had to do to get the information he needed to find out
the secret of the H-bomb. Howard felt that if "He would
attack secrecy; if secrecy could be dismantled, then the
opponents of nuclear weaponry would have a fighting chance.
(pg.50)" He wanted to break down the secrecy of the
government and give the radical groups that were against the
bomb a chance to get there views heard around the U.S. and
possibly bring a stop to the nuclear arms race. Howard
thought that the "secret of the H-bomb could be the
centerpiece of the secrecy structure and that if he could
crack it he could bring down the whole secrecy
structure.(pg.50)" This is what he wanted and he wanted all
of the secrets that the government has been keeping from the
public to be revealed so that the public could know what was
going on and not be in the dark. Howard knowing that finding the secret would be near
impossible moved on in his journey and visited every major
nuclear manufacturing sight in the U.S. that he knew about.
On his journey he encountered problems with security. The
government has bottled up the secret by giving security
clearances to anyone who knew the secret. These people could
not tell anyone anything that was deemed classified and they
could get in very big trouble if they did. Howard had to get
by this by asking questions that would bring back answers
that wasn't classified material but the information that he
needed. Howard got so good at asking questions that he
eventually put together all the information he found out
from all of his sources and put together his version of the
H-bomb. This version was so near accurate that the
government wanted to classify it so that Howard could not
publish it in the The Progressive magazine. Howard and The
Progressive took the government to the Supreme court where
the government dropped their case because the info that they
wanted to contain had already leaked out to the public.
Howard and The Progressive got what they wanted and earned
the right to print their article that revealed the secret of
the H-bomb. One major theme in the book was how the U.S. and Russia
both had so many nuclear bombs that they could end life on
both continents and possibly the world and still have bombs
left in their arsenal to do more damage. The carnage and the
fallout of a nuclear bomb is devastating. As shown on page
276 one "Poseidon submarine in the Gulf of Mexico could kill
50 million Americans who live in the 17 largest cities in
America. This attack would expend more explosive energy than
all the wars of history, and still use less than 1% of the
force of the U.S. Triad." If one sub could kill one fifth of
the U.S. population then the amount of nuclear bombs that
both Russia and the U.S. hold could kill every single person
on the earth. Bernard Feld said that "Fifty to a hundred
nuclear weapons, not ten thousand, were all we needed for
deterrence.(pg.61)" If we only need a hundred H-bombs to
deter the enemy then there is no reason for us to have ten
thousand. Something has to be done to decrease the amount of
bombs in our arsenal and the Russians. If a war was to break
out the world would end and there would be total
destruction. Some people don't understand that if we got in
a nuclear war that there would be total destruction.
Everything and everybody will die. Just because we have more
bombs than our enemy doesn't mean that we will win and
survive. All the Russians need to do is get off about fifty
bombs and more than half of the U.S. will be destroyed. The
fallout afterwards would bring death to all around the world
and the earth would become almost inhabitable. Howard saw
this and tried to crack the governments secrecy so that they
might start to listen to the public and reduce the nuclear
threat. Howard felt that the information that he discovered
should be released to the public because it was public
information. He stated that if he could go out and find the
secret by just asking questions and looking in books that
the government had not classified that any other person
could go out and do the same thing. "The defense of The
Progressive had to be base on a refutation of the
government's case for censorship. The case quickly became a
First Amendment contest, pure and simple; the real purposes
of the article were summarily put aside, and we had to fight
the case on constitutional grounds, on legal technicalities,
and on the claim that the article was harmless.(pg.154)" The
Progressive had to prove that if they printed this article
that nothing would happen to danger national security and
that even though the secret would be printed you still
couldn't produce a bomb without the knowledge and the
equipment that would make it possible to make one. The case
started out with the government putting a temporary
restraining order on the Progressive so that they could not
publish the article. Then they went to the Federal District
Court in Milwaukee. Any decision could be appealed to the
Seventh Circuit Court of appeals in Chicago and then on to
the Supreme Court. The government got it's TRO and the
Progressive took the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
The Progressive was trying to prove that the secret to the
H-bomb were already publicly accessible and that things that
are already public can be published again and can not be
deemed classified and that already published material could
not hurt the security of the U.S. if it is published again.
While the case moved on and it moved all the way up to the
Supreme Court, information that contained the secret leaked
out and it was spreading throughout the U.S. and even
Australia. When the case reached the Supreme Court someone
published an article that released the secret to the public.
The government saw that it was useless to try and keep
something from the public that was already out and
accessible to the public. The government was forced to drop
their case and The Progressive was allowed to publish
Howard's article that finally released the best kept secret
to the public. I feel that Howard should have been allowed to print
his article. He did get all of his information legally and
he should have been able to print his article that released
info any person doing the same thing could have found. The
government couldn't have kept this secret from getting out.
Once people got the info and made copies of it then more and
more people would learn the secret and there was no way that
the government could have prevented the spread of this
highly classified material. Once Howard brought this case to
court people that knew the secret confirmed that Howard had
the closest diagram of a H-bomb that they had ever seen.
Howard broke the secrecy of the government and broke the
door open for the public being against government secrecy.
Howard convinced me that his methods of obtaining
information was perfectly legal. He did nothing wrong and
nobody who knew the secret told him anything that was deemed
classified. He deducted from his findings and his personal
knowledge a H-bomb. He also made me feel that the amount of
nuclear weapons that we have in our arsenal today is totally
unnecessary and that we should remove some of these bombs
from our arsenal. We do not need the amount of bombs that we
have to deter the enemy. It may feel safer that we have more
bombs than our enemy but it really doesn't matter. The power
and the fallout of nuclear weapons is devastating and only a
few hundred bombs can devastate an entire continent.
I learned from this book that it is hard to keep
something secret. Once something if discovered and just one
person who is not sworn to secrecy discovers a secret it
will most likely find its way to the public. I also feel
that if someone can figure out a secret by legal means than
they should be allowed by First Amendment rights to publish
and info they find and feel that the public needs to know.
We haven't gone over anything like this in class yet but I
would like to know if the government would have come out
victorious if the secret did not get out to the public
before the case was over. I felt that the defense did not
have much of a defense and that they probably would have
lost to the power of the government. Howard was definitely against secrets and government.
It seemed as though he did not like a higher organization
withholding information that he wanted to discover from him.
It seemed as though he was one of those hippies and he
probably did some drugs when he was in all of those radical
groups trying to find his calling. I feel this book is of some value because it shows the
power that we have as a country and our power to end all
life on the face of the earth. It also shows the power of
the government to suppress information given to the public.
It is kind of scary that the government in some way controls
our lives by controlling what and what we don't see and what
we know. The government is probably holding some many
secrets from the public that the views of the nation would
change if all of them were released. I felt that the book was boring and that Howard did not
do a good job in describing the trial and the events that
took place during the case. He was more concerned on telling
the secret and how he derived it than telling anything of
importance that deals with our civil law class. I would not
recommend this book to anyone that wants to read it for the
legal aspects but I would recommend it to those would want
to find out more about the H-bomb and what makes it tick.
Bibliography
Morland, Howard; Random House Inc., 1981, p.288
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Setting And Theme In The Lottery.TXT
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803
The Lottery In many stories, settings are constructed to help build the mood and to foreshadow of things to come. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. However, this description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. In addition, the theme that we learn of at the end leads us to think of where the sanity of some human beings lies. The story begins with the establishment of the setting. To begin, Shirley Jackson tells the reader what time of day and what time of year the story takes place. This is important to get the reader to focus on what a typical day it is in this small town. The time of day is set in the morning and the time of year is early summer. She also describes that school has just recently let out for summer break, letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. Shirley Jackson also seems to stress on the beauty of the day and the brilliance of nature. This provides the positive outlook and lets the reader relax into what seems to be a comfortable setting for the story. In addition, the description of people and their actions are very typical and not anomalous. Children play happily, women gossip, and men casually talk about farming. Everyone is coming together for what seems to be enjoyable, festive, even celebratory occasion. However, the pleasant description of the setting creates a façade within the story. The setting covers the very ritualistic and brutally violent traditions such as the stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson, who dared to defy tradition. It is very apparent that tradition is very coveted in this small, simple town. This can be proven by the ancient, black box used for the lottery and the significance of farming for the community. Farming is also the only known way of life because of tradition. The men in "The Lottery" are "speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes". This is because the ritual performed in the story is supposed to have an effect on the harvest. "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" used to be a saying heard in that town. The abundance of their harvest supposedly depended upon their performing the ritual of the lottery. Although it is implied that the abundance of their harvest depends wholly on cruel act of stoning a human being to death, there is evidence that not all in the community agree with the ritual. Children are an important focus in "The Lottery". Jackson makes it easy for us to imagine their "boisterous play" and the children are described in depth. I think these children symbolize perceived states of happiness in the story. I also believe they are vital necessities in the story because they are taught and expected to carry the traditions. For instance, "someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles" so that he will then be able to participate in the stoning of his own mother. In the story, many parts of the ritual had been changed or even long forgotten by most of the people. This fact in itself, along with a few other clues, tells me that not everyone agrees with it. One character says, "seems like there's no time at all between lotteries anymore". This means that the lottery is much too frequent or should not even be done at all. I believe that many disagree with the practice of the ritual, I also think that the individual feels helpless in putting a stop to it. Mrs. Adams mentions to Old Man Warner, "that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery" and that "Some places have already quit the lotteries". He replies "Pack of crazy fools" and says, "There's always been a lottery". Although she does not say it in so many words, I find it obvious that she feels that the ritual should be put to an end. This in combination with the fact that many of the townspeople do not even remember the reasons behind the ritual has led me to the conclusion that they only continue the process for "tradition's sake". It just goes to show that humans are creatures of habit and that sometimes we continue to participate in (or tolerate) harmful practices. This is simply because as individuals we feel powerless and unable to stand up against behaviors that have always been accepted. The setting has set us up for a shocking and deadly end. What seemed like a wonderful, joy-filled day ended with an unfortunate, tragic death. This is what makes this story so disturbing and horrifying but a wonderful work of literature art.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Social Structure of Canterbury Tales.TXT
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The Social Structure of Canterbury Tales 
In the famous works, "Canterbury Tales," Geoffrey Chaucer tells of twenty-nine pilgrims that are "en route" to Canterbury. On the way there, the band of pilgrims entertain each other with a series of tall tales in order to shorten the trip. Chaucer, (the host) introduces the each of the pilgrims with honest and wholeheartedly descriptions introduce them with their own personality. Throughout the prologue, he finds an unusual uniqueness in their common lives and traits. Chaucer's characters represent an extremely broad cross-section of all parts of society, except for the nobility. His stories represented the people themselves and touched on all of the social classes that existed.
Chaucer treats all of the subjects as love, humor and death in poetry. In the romantic story of "The Knight's Tale," one can notice that the Knight fits loosely into the aristocrats, also known as the upper class. In the story, the Knight's character reflects on the conclusion, with courage, skill in battle, respect for one's lord, love for a fair lady, all the marks of chivalry, which are the ultimate experiences to which a nobleman should hope for. The Knight is established as an admirable but very static character. His story tells that People are always changeable, and they always love a winner. As the tales develop Chaucer creates more dynamic characters, which express themselves in "human" fashion.
"The Miller's Tale" is more than just an entertaining story. It contains a moral to the story but is played off within the comical tale. The Miller is fairly rude and vulgar, however amusing at the same time. His story reflects his personality with his rough and immoral jokes. When the Miller speaks, it is generally bawdy or weird, making his story even more interesting to listen to. In the Shipman's Tale, The Cook's Tale, and The
Miller's Tale, each story is told at the expense of a lower class, tradesperson or an outcast from an upper class, educated point of view.
The Wife of Bath begins her Prologue to her tale by establishing her authority on marriage. She has been married five times, beginning at the age of twelve. Although she is always criticized, the Wife of Bath is one of Chaucer's most interesting characters. Her prologue resembles that of an autobiography and tells her views on life and marriage. She uses her authority through experience and justifies her actions by having done them.
The Wife of Bath's tale compliments her prologue, because it supports the theme of dominance of men by women- what she strove for with all her husbands. Unlike the other storytellers, she does not represent a social class, however she represents all the women in the middle Ages, and power over husbands.
"The Pardoner's Tale" represents the class of clergymen. The Pardoner is a man who works for the church and relieves people from their sins. He carries scrolls that are supposedly written by the Pope and sells them t people that have committed immoral acts. Although the Pardoner knows he himself is committing immoral acts, he has no intent to change himself. His story shows the corruption of the church and how the clergymen were situated in the middle ages. In the end, the Pardoner still tries to make a sale.
Throughout "Canterbury Tales," each of the characters fits into a certain type or class of person; the Knight being a noble upperclassman, the Miller being a peasant/tradesman, the Wife of Bath representing the women/middle class, and the Pardoner portraying the Clergyman. Chaucer expresses corruption, immorality, honesty, comedy and love. He is also able to incorporate the values as well as the characterization of the belief systems and the existing society into the action of the Tales. In each of the prologues, Chaucer is able to make sure that each tale is presented in the manner and style of the character that is telling the story which also reflected his life.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Stan1.TXT
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The Stand
Stephen King's The Stand is a thrilling novel that portrays the forces of good against evil. In the year 1991, a plague strikes America, leaving only a few thousand people alive who are "immune" to the epidemic. Of the survivors, those who serve G-d instinctively join in Boulder, Colorado, while those who worship the "Dark Man" are drawn to Las Vegas, Nevada. The two groups separately re-build society, until one must destroy the other. Franni Goldsmith comes very close to killing herself. She thinks she can not deal with her parents' deaths, being unwed and pregnant, and having the only other survivor in her hometown of Ogunquit, Main be her recently deceased best friend's weird brother Harold Lauder. Fran puts aside her personal feelings for Harold aside, and goes with him to the place in her dreams, to Boulder, Colorado. On their way, they meet up with six people from various states in the United States who joined them on their journey. Fran is disturbed by her dreams, as all of them are by their own. She dreams of an old lady named Abigail, in Colorado. This lady is kind and loving and promises to protect them from the evil. In the dreams there is also a "Dark Man". He is always there lurking, waiting to attack. Harold admits to himself that he is in love with Fran and goes crazy when he realizes how serious Fran has become with Stuart Redman, one of the newcomers to their traveling group. Harold becomes insanely jealous and plots to separate them, even if it means murder. Harold doesn't admit it to any of them, but his dreams are different from theirs. In his dreams the "Dark Man" offers Harold power and respect, something Harold could never imagine in the past. Harold knows his destiny is to go to Las Vegas. The group arrives in Boulder, and soon after are joined by over one thousand others who dreamt of Abigail and this place. They inevitably form a society where they settled and has meetings to decide what they would do about the "Dark Man". Abigail tells the people that three of them, including Stuart, must be sent to destroy the "Dark Man". Meanwhile Harold secretly leaves with the "Dark Man's" bride-to-be, Nadine, to Las Vegas. Harold is ready to kill Stuart, but is killed instead by "the will of G-d". Nadine makes it safely to Las Vegas before Stuart and his two companions are about to be hanged. Out of the sky "the hand of G-d" comes and destroys the "Dark Man" sparing the three men. After much hardship, Stuart returns to Fran and her newborn son and together they plant the seeds of a new society. The Stand is a book about human nature. It shows people's inclination toward good or evil. Mostly, it shows how it is in man's nature to build society and to fight for his beliefs. I found this book to be extremely entertaining because it was well written and somewhat realistic, despite it's supernatural aspects. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys roller coasters, horror movies, or a good old fashioned suspense novel.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Stand.TXT
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The Stand
Stephen King's The Stand is a thrilling novel that portrays the forces of good against evil. In the year 1991, a plague strikes America, leaving only a few thousand people alive who are "immune" to the epidemic. Of the survivors, those who serve G-d instinctively join in Boulder, Colorado, while those who worship the "Dark Man" are drawn to Las Vegas, Nevada. The two groups separately re-build society, until one must destroy the other. Franni Goldsmith comes very close to killing herself. She thinks she can not deal with her parents' deaths, being unwed and pregnant, and having the only other survivor in her hometown of Ogunquit, Main be her recently deceased best friend's weird brother Harold Lauder. Fran puts aside her personal feelings for Harold aside, and goes with him to the place in her dreams, to Boulder, Colorado. On their way, they meet up with six people from various states in the United States who joined them on their journey. Fran is disturbed by her dreams, as all of them are by their own. She dreams of an old lady named Abigail, in Colorado. This lady is kind and loving and promises to protect them from the evil. In the dreams there is also a "Dark Man". He is always there lurking, waiting to attack. Harold admits to himself that he is in love with Fran and goes crazy when he realizes how serious Fran has become with Stuart Redman, one of the newcomers to their traveling group. Harold becomes insanely jealous and plots to separate them, even if it means murder. Harold doesn't admit it to any of them, but his dreams are different from theirs. In his dreams the "Dark Man" offers Harold power and respect, something Harold could never imagine in the past. Harold knows his destiny is to go to Las Vegas. The group arrives in Boulder, and soon after are joined by over one thousand others who dreamt of Abigail and this place. They inevitably form a society where they settled and has meetings to decide what they would do about the "Dark Man". Abigail tells the people that three of them, including Stuart, must be sent to destroy the "Dark Man". Meanwhile Harold secretly leaves with the "Dark Man's" bride-to-be, Nadine, to Las Vegas. Harold is ready to kill Stuart, but is killed instead by "the will of G-d". Nadine makes it safely to Las Vegas before Stuart and his two companions are about to be hanged. Out of the sky "the hand of G-d" comes and destroys the "Dark Man" sparing the three men. After much hardship, Stuart returns to Fran and her newborn son and together they plant the seeds of a new society. The Stand is a book about human nature. It shows people's inclination toward good or evil. Mostly, it shows how it is in man's nature to build society and to fight for his beliefs. I found this book to be extremely entertaining because it was well written and somewhat realistic, despite it's supernatural aspects. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys roller coasters, horror movies, or a good old fashioned suspense novel.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Standard of Living.TXT
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The Standard of Living  
   The story speaks of two girls who are born to be comrades. Annabel and Midge lives in the same milieu, and likes to eat the same kind of foods and sandwiches. The author describes in detail the way of living of these two friends. They like to eat sandwiches full of sugar, chocolate, butter, and sometimes they like to eat patties. These two girls work in the same office as a stenographer. They are alike in shape, but they are different in feature. They have fat bellies, and lean flanks. Their styles in movement are the same. The author out of this description likes to say that these two girls are alike in shape for they are living the standard living. Both of them live with their family and they have the same hope. Had any one of them changed the way of her living she would have became different in manner. Once Annabel had invented or evolved a new game Midge became not as Annabel in manner, behavior, or hope. Annabel played a new game, she asked a question: "What you would do if you had a million dollars?" Midge took the question seriously and added to it that in order to take these million dollars you have to spend every nickel of it on yourself. Annabel and Midge asked this question to Sylvia -a girl working in the same office. Sylvia answered that I like to hire a person to shoot Mrs. Cary Cooper. The two girls laughed at her and Sylvia lost the game for they like to use these million dollars for good purposes. When Midge asked Annabel the same question Annabel answered that she would like to buy a silver- fox coat. Midge did not agree with her answer and told her that this proposal is a common one. Here the two girls became different in their dream and for a while they did not speak with each other. This is the main purpose of the writer. That the two girls are friends for they have no dreams, no money, and no change in the standard of living. The next purpose of the author is that when the two girls agreed to buy a string of pearls. They walked along Fifth Avenue and entered a shop to buy this string of pearls. Hearing that it costs two hundred fifty dollars they move away and began to dream again. They wanted to dream of more money to buy more valuable thing that is not common. Midge asked Annabel that supposes the owner of the string of pearls dies and likes to leave you ten million dollars, "what would be the first thing you would do." Here we can say that the two girls will not be satisfied in their life. Have one of them gained money the two girls will not be friends again. So, according to the writer contentment is an essential thing in our life. 
 
  
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\THE STING.TXT
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608
The Sting is a classic story of revenge for the death of a good friend. Instead of the revenge being an eye for an eye, Hill has the leading characters get their revenge by coning the ,man responsible for the death, out of his money. Within the first ten minutes you are grabbed into the film. Hill breaks the conformity of other films by making the leading characters con-men. This is very different from other films because these men should not be looked at as the good guys but just the opposite. George Roy Hill's film The Sting uses many forms of irony in the setting of the 1920's Chicago to show the theme of revenge for a friends death. Johnny Hooker played by Robert Redford is the main character in the film. The irony in the film is that he is the 'good guy' and is also a gambling addict and street con-man. Hill also uses other forms of irony, Henry Gandorf played buy Paul Newman owns a gambling\whore house which has a giant carousal in the middle. The film starts out quickly and keeps up the pace as it goes on. The film is set up like a book its opening credits are shown over each page. The film is also split up into chapters each with its own title. When the title of the chapter shows up it looks like a piece of paper and is turned going into the next scene. The movie is very clever, the plan for the sting is very tricky and surprising to the viewer. Hill shows us most of the plan but leaves out small parts for an ending surprise. Johnny and Henry are very witty and smart, they make us like them from the very beginning and they keep it up until the end. The two con-men meet on behalf of the death of a mutual friend. Before Johnny's friend died he told him of a great man who could teach him to work the big con. The great man is referring to Henry and the big con is something larger that pickpocketing and small tricks. Listening to the music gives you the idea of exactly the type of film it is. The Entertainer is played many times throughout the film and is the perfect song. The song fits the pace of the movie and it shows that it is both fun and serious. The only problem that I had with the film is that there are some unneeded parts. There is a scene where Johnny meets a diner waitress and ends up going to bed with her. The next day we find that she is gone and the apartment is empty. When he next sees her she is shot and he is told that she was going to kill him. This whole section did not further the plot in any way and seemed to be meaningless to the film. In the film The Sting director George Roy Hill shows that the theme is the revenge for a friends death. Hill uses a more respectable way to gain revenge than just killing the man who is responsible. The main characters in the film con the gangster responsible for their friends death out of his money and his dignity. Using the main characters as the 'good guys' Hill makes them con men to go against the regular Hollywood style.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Story of An Hour.TXT
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The Story of An Hour
In Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," there is much irony. The first irony detected is in the way that Louise reacts to the news of the death of her husband, Brently Mallard. Before Louise's reaction is revealed, Chopin alludes to how the widow feels by describing the world according to her perception of it after the "horrible" news. Louise is said to "not hear the story as many women have heard the same." Rather, she accepts it and goes to her room to be alone. Now the reader starts to see the world through Louise's eyes, a world full of new and pure life. In her room, Louise sinks into a comfortable chair and looks out her window. Immediately the image of comfort seems to strike a odd note. One reading this story should question the use of this word " comfortable" and why Louise is not beating the furniture instead. Next, the newly widowed women is looking out of the window and sees spring and all the new life it brings. The descriptions used now are as far away from death as possible. "The delicios breath of rain...the notes of a distant song...countless sparrows were twittering...patches of blue sky...." All these are beautiful images of life , the reader is quite confused by this most unusual foreshadowing until Louise's reaction is explained. The widow whispers "Free, free, free!" Louise realizes that her husband had loved her, but she goes on to explain that as men and women often inhibit eachother, even if it is done with the best of intentions, they exert their own wills upon eachother. She realized that although at times she had loved him, she has regained her freedom, a state of beeing that all of G-d's creatures strive for. Although this reaction is completely unexpected, the reader quickly accepts it because of Louise's adequate explanation. She grows excited and begins to fantasize about living her life for herself. With this realization, she wishes that "life might be long," and she feels like a "goddess of Victory" as she walks down the stairs. This is an eerie forshadowing for an even more unexpected ending. The reader has just accepted Louise's reaction to her husband's death, when the most unexpected happens; her husband is actually alive and he enters the room shocking everyone, and Louise especially, as she is shocked to death. The irony continues, though, because the doctors say she died of joy, when the reader knows that she actually died because she had a glimps of freedom and could not go back to living under her husband's will again. In the title, the "story" refers to that of Louise's life. She lived in the true sense of the word, with the will and freedom to live for only one hour.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\the story of Medea again.TXT
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Will Hartless
ENG-2301.09
April 29, 2004
Dr. Wall
Similarities to Medea's Anger and Jealousy
	In the story of Medea, Medea is a character who has given her whole life to her husband.  Medea and her husband were happily married with children, living a wonderful life. Until the day she found out that her wonderful husband was in love with another woman.  After hearing about the horrible news, Medea began to be overwhelmingly jealous and very angry at her husband.  Medea started to do anything she could to make her husband feel terrible about what he had done to her.  Medea had every right to be angry and I could also see why she would be jealous.  But she went horribly wrong when she killed her own children to try and make her husband feel bad about what he had done.  I experienced a similar situation with one of my good friends a couple of years ago.  He was also very angry and jealous of his girlfriend at the time, but he let it go before something bad happened out of the situation.  Although their stories are different, both Meda and my friend shared similar feelings of anger and jealousy.
	Some years ago one of my good friends began to date this beautiful girl he had met out at the mall one day.  At first, I thought this maybe the girl of his future.  See, he really never dated anyone else because he said he was waiting for the right one to come his way.  So when he found this girl, I really thought this would be the girl that he would eventually get serious with.  They began to date and he never stopped talking about her.  He was so interested in her and what she was about, that he started to change little things about himself.  He started to spend all of his extra time and money on her.  Now, there is nothing wrong with spending time with some one you're dating, but he began to drop all of his own hobbies and friends that used to be so important to him, for this girl.  With myself being one of his closet friends, I tried to talked to him whenever I could because I knew he was spending too much of time with his girlfriend.  I started to notice that everything he talked about was about her and what she wants and likes to do.  He seemed to have lost what he was interested in including, cars, sports, and just hanging out with friends.  It was almost like he was living his life for her.  For everything he did, he would ask her opinion about it.  My friend couldn't even make decisions anymore because wanted to do what his girlfriend thought he should do.  This is where I see how Medea and he are alike.  In the story, Medea lived every day for her husband; her husband was everything to her.  I don't think she could have ever seen herself without him.  My friend, at such a young age began to act like similar to Medea.  He truly believed that his girlfriend would be his future wife and he was on a mission to do everything possible for her.  I tried to talk to him about the situation, but he couldn't understand because he was in so in love with her, or I considerate it was being obsessed with his girlfriend.  He told me that he knew what I was talking about, but he never changed anything.  I was just a friend who began to get worried about him because I didn't want him to forget his self in his own life.  I had heard stories like the one about Medea where people become so obsessed with a person, they get into situations where they act incredibly insane and do very stupid things that they later regret.  Such as what Medea did to her children by killing them to get back at their father.
	After we graduated from high school he started to change his mind about where he wanted to go to college at.  He had a full scholarship for wrestling at a college in Tennessee, but his girlfriend was going to NC State.  He tried and tried to get accepted, but he was unsuccessful. Now, he was so stupid that he was going to give up a full scholarship just to be around her.  After finding that out, I knew he had gone crazy.  He was a terrific wrestler who loved the sport and when I found out he was going to give it up, I felt like something had to be done.  I tried to talk to him once again but he was stubborn, he didn't want to hear anything I had to say.  He just wanted to be with girlfriend.  The following year he gave up his scholarship to then enroll at Forsyth Tech, so he could visit his girlfriend every weekend at NC State.  He traveled down to Raleigh every weekend and even during the week, sometimes just stay a few hours.  Whenever we were at school at Forsyth Tech he was always calling her on the phone trying to find out what she was doing when he wasn't around.  The following semester he finally got accepted to NC State and started in January.  After a few weeks into the semester he found out that she had been dating a guy since the fall semester.  My friend went absolutely out of control.  He was so angry at her that he didn't know what to do.  He called and argued with her every day to try and piss her off as much as he could, but she didn't pay him any attention.  My friend began to be very upset with life. He was comparable to Medea, because they both had given up so much for their significant others.  My friend gave up a full scholarship to wrestle at college for a girl who was cheating on him.  I believe he came real close one night to doing something foolish when he was at a party under the influence of alcohol. My friend started to argue and fight with his ex-girlfriend. Luckily, one of my other friends was at the party and took him home.  Later that night he walked over to his ex-girlfriend's apartment and insisted to come in.  He was still under the influence of alcohol when he started to tear things up in her room.  She almost called the police, but first called my other friend to drag him out and take him home.  The next day I talked to him for a very long time and started to get him to calm down about the whole situation. 
      He finally started to realize how ridiculous and immature he had acted. He decided that it would in his best interest to move back to Winston-Salem before he would put himself into a situation where he might do something he would later regret.  He enrolled back at Forsyth Tech in a couple of half semester courses and is doing all right now.  I'm glad he came to an understanding about his emotions before he did something horrible like Medea, when she killed her own children to get back at husband who cheated on her.  Overall, I think Medea and my friend shared similar experiences of anger and jealousy through the situations they went through in their relationships.            
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f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\the story of Medea.TXT
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Will Hartless
ENG-2301.09
April 29, 2004
Dr. Wall
Similarities to Medea's Anger and Jealousy
	In the story of Medea, Medea is a character who has given her whole life to her husband.  Medea and her husband were happily married with children, living a wonderful life. Until the day she found out that her wonderful husband was in love with another woman.  After hearing about the horrible news, Medea began to be overwhelmingly jealous and very angry at her husband.  Medea started to do anything she could to make her husband feel terrible about what he had done to her.  Medea had every right to be angry and I could also see why she would be jealous.  But she went horribly wrong when she killed her own children to try and make her husband feel bad about what he had done.  I experienced a similar situation with one of my good friends a couple of years ago.  He was also very angry and jealous of his girlfriend at the time, but he let it go before something bad happened out of the situation.  Although their stories are different, both Meda and my friend shared similar feelings of anger and jealousy.
	Some years ago one of my good friends began to date this beautiful girl he had met out at the mall one day.  At first, I thought this maybe the girl of his future.  See, he really never dated anyone else because he said he was waiting for the right one to come his way.  So when he found this girl, I really thought this would be the girl that he would eventually get serious with.  They began to date and he never stopped talking about her.  He was so interested in her and what she was about, that he started to change little things about himself.  He started to spend all of his extra time and money on her.  Now, there is nothing wrong with spending time with some one you're dating, but he began to drop all of his own hobbies and friends that used to be so important to him, for this girl.  With myself being one of his closet friends, I tried to talked to him whenever I could because I knew he was spending too much of time with his girlfriend.  I started to notice that everything he talked about was about her and what she wants and likes to do.  He seemed to have lost what he was interested in including, cars, sports, and just hanging out with friends.  It was almost like he was living his life for her.  For everything he did, he would ask her opinion about it.  My friend couldn't even make decisions anymore because wanted to do what his girlfriend thought he should do.  This is where I see how Medea and he are alike.  In the story, Medea lived every day for her husband; her husband was everything to her.  I don't think she could have ever seen herself without him.  My friend, at such a young age began to act like similar to Medea.  He truly believed that his girlfriend would be his future wife and he was on a mission to do everything possible for her.  I tried to talk to him about the situation, but he couldn't understand because he was in so in love with her, or I considerate it was being obsessed with his girlfriend.  He told me that he knew what I was talking about, but he never changed anything.  I was just a friend who began to get worried about him because I didn't want him to forget his self in his own life.  I had heard stories like the one about Medea where people become so obsessed with a person, they get into situations where they act incredibly insane and do very stupid things that they later regret.  Such as what Medea did to her children by killing them to get back at their father.
	After we graduated from high school he started to change his mind about where he wanted to go to college at.  He had a full scholarship for wrestling at a college in Tennessee, but his girlfriend was going to NC State.  He tried and tried to get accepted, but he was unsuccessful. Now, he was so stupid that he was going to give up a full scholarship just to be around her.  After finding that out, I knew he had gone crazy.  He was a terrific wrestler who loved the sport and when I found out he was going to give it up, I felt like something had to be done.  I tried to talk to him once again but he was stubborn, he didn't want to hear anything I had to say.  He just wanted to be with girlfriend.  The following year he gave up his scholarship to then enroll at Forsyth Tech, so he could visit his girlfriend every weekend at NC State.  He traveled down to Raleigh every weekend and even during the week, sometimes just stay a few hours.  Whenever we were at school at Forsyth Tech he was always calling her on the phone trying to find out what she was doing when he wasn't around.  The following semester he finally got accepted to NC State and started in January.  After a few weeks into the semester he found out that she had been dating a guy since the fall semester.  My friend went absolutely out of control.  He was so angry at her that he didn't know what to do.  He called and argued with her every day to try and piss her off as much as he could, but she didn't pay him any attention.  My friend began to be very upset with life. He was comparable to Medea, because they both had given up so much for their significant others.  My friend gave up a full scholarship to wrestle at college for a girl who was cheating on him.  I believe he came real close one night to doing something foolish when he was at a party under the influence of alcohol. My friend started to argue and fight with his ex-girlfriend. Luckily, one of my other friends was at the party and took him home.  Later that night he walked over to his ex-girlfriend's apartment and insisted to come in.  He was still under the influence of alcohol when he started to tear things up in her room.  She almost called the police, but first called my other friend to drag him out and take him home.  The next day I talked to him for a very long time and started to get him to calm down about the whole situation. 
      He finally started to realize how ridiculous and immature he had acted. He decided that it would in his best interest to move back to Winston-Salem before he would put himself into a situation where he might do something he would later regret.  He enrolled back at Forsyth Tech in a couple of half semester courses and is doing all right now.  I'm glad he came to an understanding about his emotions before he did something horrible like Medea, when she killed her own children to get back at husband who cheated on her.  Overall, I think Medea and my friend shared similar experiences of anger and jealousy through the situations they went through in their relationships.            
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f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Stranger.TXT
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The Stranger
In The Stranger, Albert Camus portrays Meursault, the book's narrator and main character, as aloof, detached, and unemotional. He does not think much about events or their consequences, nor does he express much feeling in relationships or during emotional times. He displays an impassiveness throughout the book in his reactions to the people and events described in the book. After his mother's death he sheds no tears; seems to show no emotions. He displays limited feelings for his girlfriend, Marie Cardona, and shows no remorse at all for killing an Arab. His reactions to life and to people distances him from his emotions, positive or negative, and from intimate relationships with others, thus he is called by the book's title, "the stranger". While this behavior can be seen as a negative trait, there is a young woman who seems to want to have a relationship with Meursault and a neighbor who wants friendship. He seems content to be indifferent, possibly protected from pain by his indifference. Meursault rarely shows any feeling when in situations which would, for most people, elicit strong emotions. Throughout the vigil, watching over his mother's dead body, and at her funeral, he never cries. He is, further, depicted enjoying a cup of coffee with milk during the vigil, and having a smoke with a caretaker at the nursing home in which his mother died. The following day, after his mother's funeral, he goes to the beach and meets a former colleague named Marie Cardona. They swim, go to a movie, and then spend the night together. Later in their relationship, Marie asks Meursault if he wants to marry her. He responds that it doesn't matter to him, and if she wants to get married, he would agree. She then asks him if he loves her. To that question he responds that he probably doesn't, and explains that marriage really isn't such a serious thing and doesn't require love. This reaction is fairly typical of Meursault as portrayed in the book. He appears to be casual and indifferent about life events. Nothing seems to be very significant to him. Later on in the book, after he kills an Arab, not once does he show any remorse or guilt for what he did. Did he really feel nothing? Camus seems to indicate that Meursault is almost oblivious and totally unruffled and untouched by events and people around him. He is unwilling to lie, during his trial, about killing the Arab. His reluctance to get involved in defending himself results in a verdict of death by guillotine. Had Meursault been engaged in his defense, explaining his actions, he might have been set free. Meursault's unresponsive behavior, distant from any apparent emotions, is probably reinforced by the despair which he sees open and feeling individuals experience. He observes, for example, Raymond cheated on and hurt by a girlfriend, and sees his other neighbor, Salamano, very depressed when he loses a dear companion, his dog. Meursault's responses are very different, he doesn't get depressed at death nor does he get emotionally involved. He appears to be totally apathetic. Thus, he seems to feel no pain and is protected from life's disappointments. Sometimes a person like Meursault can be appealing to others because he is so non-judgmental and uncritical, probably a result of indifference rather than sympathetic feelings. His limited involvement might attract some people because an end result of his distance is a sort of acceptance of others, thus he is not a threat to their egos. Raymond Sintes, a neighbor who is a pimp, seems to feel comfortable with Meursault. Sintes does not have to justify himself because Meursault doesn't comment on how Sintes makes money or how he chooses to live his life. Even though Meursault shows no strong emotions or deep affection, Marie, his girlfriend, is still attracted and interested in him. She is aware of, possibly even fascinated by, his indifference. Despite the seemingly negative qualities of this unemotional man, people nevertheless seem to care for him. There are individuals who, because of different or strange behavior, might be outcasts of society, but find, in spite of or because of their unconventional behavior, that there are some people who want to be a part of their lives. Meursault, an asocial person is such an individual. His behavior, while not antagonistic or truly antisocial, is distant, yet it does not get in the way of certain relationships. While there are some people who might find such relationships unsatisfying and limited, Meursault and those he is connected to seem to be content with their "friendships". His aloofness, though, may not have saved him from suffering. It might actually have been the cause of the guilty verdict at his trial for killing the Arab. Withdrawing from involvement with people or life events might not mean total isolation or rejection but it does not necessarily protect an individual from pain or a bad end.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Street Car Named Desire.TXT
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624
Stanley's Brutality In the Street Car Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Stanley Kowalski displays his brutality in many ways. This classical play is about Blanche Dubois's visit to Elysian Fields and her encounters with her sister's brutal and arrogant husband, Stanley Kowalski, and the reveling truth of why Blanche really came. Stanley Kowalski is a very brutal and barbaric person who always has to feel that no one is better than him. His brutish and ferocious actions during the play leave the reader with a bad taste in their mouths. Stanley's brutality is shown in several places during the duration of The Street Car Named Desire . For example, his first array of brutality is evident at the poker night when he gets so angry and throws the radio out the window. Another example of his brutality is displayed when he beats his wife, Stella. Lastly, his arrogance and ferocious actions are most apparent when he rapes Blanche, while his wife is in labor in the hospital. Stanley Kowalski's first exhibition of his brutal actions occurs at poker night. Blanche turns on the radio, but Stanley demands her to turn it off. Blanche refuses and so Stanley gets up himself and turns it off himself. When Stanley's friend, Mitch, drops out of the game to talk to Blanche, Stanley gets upset and he even gets more upset when Blanche flicks on the radio. Due to the music being on, Stanley, in a rage, stalks in the room and grabs the radio and throws it out the window. His friends immediately jump up, and then they drag him to the shower to try to sober him up. This is the first example of Stanley's rage and brutality. Not only does throwing the radio out the window represent an impure demeanor, but so does beating your wife. During his entire rage during poker night he is not sober which leads to another problem. When he threw the radio out the window, he then immediately charged right at his wife, Stella. He was in such rage and he was so drunk that when he reached her he hit her in the face. Luckily, before he can get another blow off his friends grabbed him and pinned him to the floor. This action leads the reader to believe that he is a very brutal person and needs some psychological help to aid him to control his temper. This is another example of why Stanley is so brutal. Lastly, and the most evident action that leads the reader to believe that Stanley is very ferocious and rapacious is when he rapes Blanche Dubois. When Blanche finds out that Stanley has to spend the night at home because Stella did not give birth yet, she becomes wary and is alarmed at the thought that of being alone in the house alone with him is a scary thought. When Blanche tells Stanley that she has put Mitch in his place for being mean to her, Stanley explodes in terror. Then Stanley retreats to the bathroom to put on his silk pajamas. When he comes out of the bathroom, Blanche is threatened by his words and she smashes a bottle on the table to use the sharp edge to fend him off. Stanley approaches her carefully, but Blanche swings at him and Stanley catches her arm and forces her to drop the weapon. She then collapses at his feet and he picks her up and carries her to the bedroom and rapes her. This event shows that Stanley is very brutal and avaricious because it shows that he was greedy to the fact that he could not just have one woman, and it also showed that he is very arrogant because he feels that now because he "conquered" Blanche and he has won. In Conclusion, in The Street Car Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Stanley's brutality is evident throughout the entire course of the play. Clearly, his rape of Blanche, beating of Stella, and throwing the radio out the window are all examples of why Stanley is such a fierce and intimidating character in this play.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\THE SUMMARY OF THE COSTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT.TXT
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THE SUMMARY OF THE COSTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Some people believe that recessions are neither good nor bad but simply part of the natural survival of the fittest in the business world. Actually, it is not true. In The Costs of Unemployment, the authors tell us both the good and bad influences of recessions.
Recessions will cause unemployment because of the loss of output and GNP. Some people may argue that unemployment is ¡°a part of the functioning of the economy¡±. They are partly right, for the unemployment is inevitable because of the dynamic economy. This kind of unemployment is called natural rate of unemployment(c)¤the sum of frictional and structural unemployment. However, this is only a part of unemployment. Because the firms ¡°cut back and produce less¡± when they experience recessions, they will employ fewer workers. Therefore, the unemployment rate rises. This increase in unemployment caused by recessions and depressions is called cyclical unemployment. Recessions cause social consequences. During the recessions, the unemployed L¨¹ 2
suffers a lot. The authors say that many people lost their savings as the stock market crashed and thousands of banks failed. What they can depend on is only the meager relief distributed by the government. In addition, ¡°prolonged unemployment may also bring with it a number of social and person ills: anxiety, depression, a deterioration of physical and psychological health, drug abuse, and suicide¡±. Thirdly, ¡°recessions may lead to lost output in the future¡±. When the companies experience recessions, they will reduce their investment and produce fewer products. As we all know, the investment is very important to ¡°future economic growth and progress¡±. The more the investment is reduced, the longer we will spend on the growth of economy.
On the other hand, recessions also have some benefits. First of all, recessions may reduce the rate of inflation. Secondly, in order to get survival in the recessions, companies must take some measures, such as trimming waste, managing resources better, and so on. Those who are inefficient will be driven out of business. Therefore, the efficiency is increased. Finally, ¡°recessions lead to a decrease in the demand for imports, which improves a nation¡¯s balance of payment¡±.
All in all, this article shows that the recessions have both the good and bad influences. We can not simply regard it as a part of the natural survival of the fittest in the business world.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Sun Also Rises.TXT
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The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises [I cannot express to you how glad I am that I am taking this class. I am thoroughly enjoying Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises is one of the best books I've read in quite a long time. For a while there, I was, for God knows what reason, taking Physics and Chemistry and Biology. It is really an adventure to be back with books and words and reading. I am also amazed that I never could read more of Him when it wasn't an assignment. And how is it that when I am told to write "a 3-5 page essay" I can only come through with two-and-a-half, but a "one-page response" always wants to be twenty pages long?] I finished reading SAR around ten o'clock tonight. I could have taken it all in one big gulp when I began a week ago, but I couldn't do that. It wanted me to bring it out slowly, so I often found myself reading five or ten pages and laying it aside to absorb without engulfing. A man gets used to reading Star Wars and pulp fiction and New York Times Bestsellers and forgets what literature is until it slaps him in the face. This book was written, not churned out or word-processed. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I never noticed it until it was brought up in class, maybe because it wasn't a point for me in In Our Time, but He doesn't often enough credit quotations with, ",he said," or, ",said Brett," or, ",Bill replied." In SAR it stood and called attention to itself. I wasn't particularly bothered by His not telling me who said what, but it was very...pointed. I first noticed around the hundredth page or so. Then I realized I couldn't keep track of who was speaking. By not dwelling on it, though, sort of (hate to say this) accepting it, I managed to assign speech to whomever I felt was speaking. Gradually I came to enjoy it, in another plane of reading, figuring out from whom words were originating. To not notice it, as if it were one of those annoying 3-D posters that you can't see until you make a concerted effort not to try and see, became simple - much like those 3-D pictures are once you know what not to look for. (I abhor ending sentences with prepositions...) His not telling was heightening to the story. It made things come even more alive. As a conversation that you're hearing at a nearby table in a restaurant, the exchanges flowed, with me as a more passive reader than in a story written to be read instead of lived. It has always been troubling for me to read a book with the knowledge that there are things I am supposed to be catching, but not quite. The fish in the pools and the allegory and analogy and symbolism aren't fond of me. Trying to see that the bull-fighters and their purity or lack and how it relates to Him as a writer surrounded by a universe of new fiction printed for the masses, that is all fine and well. The short sentences, the lack of qualifying, "he said"s and "she saids" and such, the tragedy of his love for Brett, those are the things I enjoy reading. Those are the reasons I read and the reasons a man like Him writes. There are stranger things, Horatio...or something like that. I believe Paul Simon read Hemingway at some point in his life. Stillcrazymotherandchildreunionreneandgeorgettemagrittewith... It is a good book. I was surprised that more was not given to the bulls. The entire story was leading to it, and then it was done and they were gone. Very powerful they were but fleeting. I want to go now, of course, to Pamplona, as I'm sure everyone who reads does after finishing. It is probably terrrrrrrible now with touristas and Coke and Nike all around, but I bet still beautiful. A man was killed this year, did you know?
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Tale of Two Cities again.TXT
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The Tale of Two Cities has many assorted themes.  The themes are interconnected with each other.  Theme plays a big part in the plot a book.  The opinions formed by the audience, of the characters, are also affected by the themes in a book.  Three themes in this book are sacrifice, love and hate, and death; these themes show up many times in this book.  The themes in this book are shown through the characters and their actions.      
	Sacrifice shows up in the book many times.  Sacrifice is giving up something that is apart of your life that you do not really want to give up.  The greatest sacrifice in the book is Carton's death.  He sacrifices his life for his love for Lucie Manette.  Sydney Carton met his death with great dignity.  In fulfilling his old promise to Lucie, Carton attains peace; those watching see "The peacefullest man's face ever beheld"(366) at the guillotine.  Charles Darnay gives up his estate in France, for the idea of working in England.  His decision to become a teacher put him in a conflict with his uncle, the Marquis St. Evremonde.  Miss Pross lost her hearing when she tried to stop Madame Defarge from killing Lucie and her family.  Miss Pross was the loyal servant for Lucie.  She showed her loving devotion to Lucie by fighting off Madame Defarge.  
	Many characters are skilled with the force of love in this book.  Miss Pross, fought off Madame Defarge for the reason that she loved Lucie, and did not want anything to happen to her. The true love was the feelings of Sydney for Lucie.  This love was so great he sacrificed his own life for her.  He showed more love for her than for himself.  Hate is also plays a big part in the book.  Madame Defarge had so much hate she went to the extent of trying to kill Lucie.  This backfired and instead of Lucie dying she died in a struggle versus Miss Pross.  Even Madame Defarge's husband Earnest Defarge shows hate when he accidentally runs over a peasant's son and kills him.  Mr. Defarge showed no remorse for what he had done, and instead was very hateful toward the father of the child.  The boy's father shows his hate toward Mr. Defarge by getting revenge for his son's death.  The boy's father was powered by hate when he took Mr. Defarge's life into his own hands and killed Mr. Defarge. 
	Death plays a tremendous part of this book.  Death in this book shows up in many different ways by accidents, murders, and even the death penalty.  The death of the peasant boy was a total accident.  The boy was hit by Mr. Defarge's horse carriage when the boy was trying to cross the road.  This incident caused the murder of Mr. Defarge.  Mr. Defarge was killed by the peasant boy's father later on.  The boy's father killed Mr. Defarge because he did not try to help the boy out at all.  He just went on as nothing had happened.  The death of Madame Defarge was an accident for the reason the she has shot will she was in a struggle with Miss Pross.  Madame Defarge was trying to kill Lucie and her family when she was found out, and then she shot her self by accident.  The death of Sydney Carton was caused by his love for Lucie.  Charles Darnay was tried for treason and was sentenced to die by the guillotine.  Charles was married to Lucie.  Sydney pronouncing his love for Lucie died in the place of Charles.  Sydney
 did this so Lucie would be happy with Charles for the rest of her life.
	All these themes are interconnected in one way or another.  They all end up to be talking about the same people and the actions they took to make something happen the way they want it too.  The themes above are a couple of the major themes in this book by Charles Dickens.  The theme of sacrifice in this book shows the audience it is sometimes all right to give up something means something to them.  The theme of love and hate gives the audience a real look at life and how love and hate effects the life of a person.  The theme of death is a theme of many books, because it happens to everybody no matter how hard they try to stop it from happening.  
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Tale of Two Cities.TXT
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The Tale of Two Cities has many assorted themes.  The themes are interconnected with each other.  Theme plays a big part in the plot a book.  The opinions formed by the audience, of the characters, are also affected by the themes in a book.  Three themes in this book are sacrifice, love and hate, and death; these themes show up many times in this book.  The themes in this book are shown through the characters and their actions.      
	Sacrifice shows up in the book many times.  Sacrifice is giving up something that is apart of your life that you do not really want to give up.  The greatest sacrifice in the book is Carton's death.  He sacrifices his life for his love for Lucie Manette.  Sydney Carton met his death with great dignity.  In fulfilling his old promise to Lucie, Carton attains peace; those watching see "The peacefullest man's face ever beheld"(366) at the guillotine.  Charles Darnay gives up his estate in France, for the idea of working in England.  His decision to become a teacher put him in a conflict with his uncle, the Marquis St. Evremonde.  Miss Pross lost her hearing when she tried to stop Madame Defarge from killing Lucie and her family.  Miss Pross was the loyal servant for Lucie.  She showed her loving devotion to Lucie by fighting off Madame Defarge.  
	Many characters are skilled with the force of love in this book.  Miss Pross, fought off Madame Defarge for the reason that she loved Lucie, and did not want anything to happen to her. The true love was the feelings of Sydney for Lucie.  This love was so great he sacrificed his own life for her.  He showed more love for her than for himself.  Hate is also plays a big part in the book.  Madame Defarge had so much hate she went to the extent of trying to kill Lucie.  This backfired and instead of Lucie dying she died in a struggle versus Miss Pross.  Even Madame Defarge's husband Earnest Defarge shows hate when he accidentally runs over a peasant's son and kills him.  Mr. Defarge showed no remorse for what he had done, and instead was very hateful toward the father of the child.  The boy's father shows his hate toward Mr. Defarge by getting revenge for his son's death.  The boy's father was powered by hate when he took Mr. Defarge's life into his own hands and killed Mr. Defarge. 
	Death plays a tremendous part of this book.  Death in this book shows up in many different ways by accidents, murders, and even the death penalty.  The death of the peasant boy was a total accident.  The boy was hit by Mr. Defarge's horse carriage when the boy was trying to cross the road.  This incident caused the murder of Mr. Defarge.  Mr. Defarge was killed by the peasant boy's father later on.  The boy's father killed Mr. Defarge because he did not try to help the boy out at all.  He just went on as nothing had happened.  The death of Madame Defarge was an accident for the reason the she has shot will she was in a struggle with Miss Pross.  Madame Defarge was trying to kill Lucie and her family when she was found out, and then she shot her self by accident.  The death of Sydney Carton was caused by his love for Lucie.  Charles Darnay was tried for treason and was sentenced to die by the guillotine.  Charles was married to Lucie.  Sydney pronouncing his love for Lucie died in the place of Charles.  Sydney
 did this so Lucie would be happy with Charles for the rest of her life.
	All these themes are interconnected in one way or another.  They all end up to be talking about the same people and the actions they took to make something happen the way they want it too.  The themes above are a couple of the major themes in this book by Charles Dickens.  The theme of sacrifice in this book shows the audience it is sometimes all right to give up something means something to them.  The theme of love and hate gives the audience a real look at life and how love and hate effects the life of a person.  The theme of death is a theme of many books, because it happens to everybody no matter how hard they try to stop it from happening.  
 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Tell Tale Heart.TXT
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The Tell Tale Heart
Edgar Allan Poe, whose personal torment so powerfully informed his visionary prose and poetry, is a towering figure in the history of American literature. A Virginia gentleman and the son of itinerant actors, the heir to great fortune and a disinherited outcast, a university man who had failed to graduate, a soldier brought out of the army, a husband with an unapproachable child-bride, a brilliant editor and low salaried hack, a world renowned but impoverish author, a temperate man and uncontrollable alcoholic, a materialist who yearned for a final union with God. His fevered imagination brought him to great heights of creativity and the depths of paranoiac despair. Yet although he produced a relatively small volume of work, he virtually invented the horror and detective genres and his literary legacy endures to this day. In the Tell Tale Heart the main character, the narrator, has a problem with an old man, the antagonist, whom he is living with. The odd thing is that the problem has nothing to do with old man, how he acts, or even his attitude towards the narrator. It is simply one of the old man's eyes which is blind or he can't see a hundred percent in one eye. The narrator's description of the eye is that it resembled that of a vulture, pale blue with a film over it. When the narrator looked at it, it caused his blood to run cold. This drove him crazy and caused him to kill the old man He begins to believe that he is hearing the old man's heart beating, while he was killing him and after he is dead. The pounding becomes louder and louder, and drives him crazy. It forces him to tell the police officers, who are searching his house, that he killed the old man and showed them were the body is buried, which is the most ironic and the last thing you would think to happen. The irony comes into play when his heightened sense of hearing and sober madness is the cause of his downfall. How ironic, the same craze that led him to kill the man is the same craze that led him to his demise. The story takes place in a house around the turn of the 1800, probably in the northeastern part of the United States, and covers the period of one week and the relentless pursuit of perfect preparation the narrator went through to commit murder without getting caught. The story involves an old man, the antagonist, the police, and the protagonist, who is also the narrator, and tells the story from his point of view. On the other hand we have no idea of the relationship between the antagonist, the old man and the narrator, but what is told to us by the narrator. One tends to wander if they were related or was he simply a servant for hire and therefore cared for the old man. The narrator has left a lot to our imagination on the relationship of the characters. His insanity has made him a very paranoid man, he believes that everyone is trying to make a full of him, even thought he believed he carried out a perfect murder. He bragged about his preparation, and thought that the old suspected nothing of his plain of terror and mayhem. The narrator who is aware of what is it to be mad, but cannot bring himself to believe that he himself is insane. He believes that since he is able to recollect and present every detail of the events that took place proves that he is not insane. He believes that he is sane because of the manner in which he carried out the crime of murder. His reason for wanting the old man dead is without motive. "I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire" the narrator thinks that he has no clear motive and that he loves the old man. The truth in the matter is that he knows he cannot bring himself to admit to the point that only a mad man would kill someone just because of the way their eyes looked. ' It was not the old man who vexed me, but his evil eye.' He tries to explain his reason without implicating himself. The narrator makes us aware of his illness by presenting us with the fact that his sense of hearing is acute. " I heard all things in the heavens and in the earth." Who in their right mind have the hearing capability to hear sounds in heaven or hell to further prove a point of insanity? One must also asked oneself, who in their right mind would go through such a process to kill some old man, just because of an old eye? By telling the story in such detail, the narrator proves himself mad. The title of the story in itself presents a puzzle with its title. Which heart was the author referring to? He first hears the old man's heart in the room on the night of the murder. But the heart in question belongs to the narrator. Due to his heightened sense of hearing and the police refusal to leave his fear of being caught increases his heartbeat. As the sound grew louder and louder, he became uneven and suspected that the officer heard the sound and decided to neglect it, because they were making a mockery of his horror. To him anything was better than going through with the agony and pain of the pounding hear beat. So in the end his conscience led him to admit to his crime. The story tries to tell many stories, but the one point that I gathered from the story is that one should not hate or dislike someone simply for the way they look. I sometimes asked myself why do racism exists and the story paints a clear picture of the insanity that goes on in the minds of racist individuals. Simply wanting to kill a fellow human being, just because of the way they look is insane no matter how people try to rationalize it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Terminal Man.TXT
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The Terminal Man
The Terminal Man was about the neuropsychiatric section of a hospital doing a breakthrough surgery to help reverse the effects of psychomotor epilepsy. The patient's name was Harry Benson. Harry had psychomotor epilepsy because he hit his head in a car accident and it resulted in brain damage. Harry was a good subject for the operation because he was brilliant, being a computer programmer with top level government security clearance. The type of epilepsy that he had caused him to black out for periods of time and during his blackouts he would become extremely violent and when he woke up he remembered nothing. The operation would envolve the inserting of two electrodes into the brain along with a microcomputer in his neck and a plutonium power pack located under his shoulder near his armpit. Harry had his operation soon after he was admitted to the hospital. The operation took roughly three hours and in that time they drilled into his head and inserted the electrodes. They also put in the microcomputer and the power pack at this time. After the operation was over Harry was heavily sedated and put in a room. After the sedatives wore off Harry snuck into a closet and stole an orderly's gown and left the hospital. He was picked up by a lady named Angela Black, who Harry killed when they got to her apartment. After the investigation of the murder of Angela Black Dr. Ross went home to take a shower. When Dr. Ross got out of the shower she found Harry standing in her living room. The computer in Harry's neck was somehow malfunctioning and shocking him every few minuites. When the computer shocked him enough times it would cause a siezure. After a few minuites of talking to Dr. Ross, Harry had a siezure and attacked her. While Harry was choking her she reached and turned on the mircowave, which messed up the atomic power pack in his shoulder and caused him to pass out. When all of the doctors got back to the hospital they got a phone call from Harry that came from inside the hospital. They soon figured out that he was in the basement near the main computer. The cops and Dr. Ross went down to the basement to find Benson. When they found Harry he took off running so the cop went after him. Dr. Ross went into the computer section and found the main computer smashed. Suddenly Benson came into the room and saw that Dr. Ross had his gun which she had found near the computer. Harry asked for the gun and Dr. Ross said no. Harry came up to her and tried to take it and she shot him in the chest and he died. 3. One personality trait in Harry is that he is smart and knows a lot about computers. This effects the story line because he felt that computers were taking over the world so he went and smashed up the main computer at the hospital. 4. "I'm a fallen man," Benson said. "I've succumbed." "To what?" "To the process of being turned into a machine. Or a time bomb." Harry is telling Dr. Ellis about how he thinks machines are taking over the world. 5. I feel I am most like Harry. I am like him in that we are both somewhat intrigued by computers. I don't, however, share in his idea that computers are concious and are trying to take over the world. 6. The biggest surprise and dissappointment of this book is when Harry died. I thought that he would live and the doctors could fix the computer and Harry would be fine but Dr. Ross shot him and he died. 7. One thing I would change is harry dying. I would have had Harry live and get the computer fixed so he would be alright. 8. My one sentance moral would be not to take computers for granted. I say this because they can easily have glitches and those mistakes can be costly and even fatal. 9. Yes, because it wasn't boring and it has a good story line that was exciting.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Things They Carried.TXT
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The Things They Carried
In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien the author tells about his experiences in the Vietnam war by telling various war stories. The quote, "It has been said of war that it is a world where the past has a strong grip on the present, where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me, where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them, where bodies ruptured and burned and stand, where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic." relates to each of his stories.
The first part of the quote matches with the first story, The Things They Carried. The story told about the items that each soldier took with them to the war. The quote says that the past has a strong grip on the present. The items that the soldiers have with them remind them of there past. Sometimes the soldiers have to let go of something they have because of certain conditions. For example Jimmy Cross had a good luck from his girlfriend Martha, it was a pebble that was from the Jersey shoreline. She sent it to him because it reminded her of how they are "together but separate". Jimmy took this everywhere during the war and kept it in his mouth. When one of his friends got killed during action he got rid of the pebble because he thought it was a distraction.
The second part of the quote, which says, "Where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me" Relates to the story "The Man I Killed". In this story the author talks about the man he killed. He starts out by describing the dead person then he starts to regret it. The quote states than in war a machine, which could be a gun, sometimes has more power than a person does. The author noticed this after he killed the enemy soldier, he noticed that it was the gun that killed the person and not him. This made him feel better after a while, but never forgot about the person he killed.
The war story named "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" relates to the third part of the quote, which says "where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them". The story was about a girl that was changed dramatically by the Vietnam War. It started in an outpost were injured soldiers were brought so that they can be treated. A person named Mark Fossie brought his girlfriend from Cleveland Heights Senior High, she was about 17 years old. All of the other people were amazed at this. As time went on the girl began to learn to do many war related task. Soon she has changed so much that her boyfriend no longer liked her so they left each other and Mark Fossie never heard of her again. The quote means boys and girls are supposed to like each other, but not in war. War changes people a lot, for example Mark Fossie's girl friend was a beautiful blond and he never imaged her killing people and liking it, but war turned her into that type of person and now he regrets bringing her to Vietnam.
The story that I found very interesting was "Spin" and it relates to the fourth part of the quote, "where bodies ruptured and burned and stand". In this story Mitchell Sanders was prying off body lice from a dead person and putting it in an envelope addressed to the USO. This part of the quotes talks about dead and rotting bodies, this story spin is also based on that idea.
The last portion of the quote which says "where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic" relates perfectly to the story where the author was telling about his attempted escape from the war. The name of this story is "On the Rainy River" the title is well chosen too because it was on the river where the author made the decision to stay because he was a coward. He calls himself a coward for going to war which sounds very weird. The quote means it is very hard to be brave during a war like Vietnam. Since the author turned in to a coward right when he was on the edge of the border, this quote relates well to this story.
As you have read war is a very different type of world everything is turned around and it confuses people. The author of the book The Things They Carried and the writer of the quote "It has been said of war that it is a world where the past has a strong grip on the present, where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me, where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them, where bodies ruptured and burned and stand, where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic." relates to each of his stories. Wrote about war so people could have a better understanding of it.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Thoroughbred again.TXT
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Mallory De Witt
English 6
Book Report
      The book I read was The Thoroughbred by Joanna Campbell. The book is fiction and was made in Daniel Weiss Associates Inc.
       In the story Samantha the main character lives on a farm. She helps train a horse named Pride for racing. During the story the people who own Pride take him to a lot of and he wins them all. But Samantha is really worried about Pride because he needs to have a week off of working and all the races are just a week apart. So now something bad might be coming up.
	One of the important events in this story is the Kentucky Derby. The importance of this event is that Pride the horse and Ashley the rider have to win this race to get into the even bigger race the Preakness Stakes. Every one who has helped with Pride, Ashley and Samantha get ready for this big race where there. While Samantha was helping with Ashley and Pride, Samantha's best friend Yvonne was sitting buy Samantha's father. Every one involved with Pride was very nervous and scared. This is the biggest race Pride was ever in. So this is one of the biggest events in the whole book because if Pride weren't in the race he wouldn't have made it into the Preakness Stakes.
	The main character in the book is Samantha. She is a very nice person. She also loves horses a lot, and trains them. She will always stand up for what she believes in. Samantha will help out her friends, family and horses. Samantha is a very calm and relaxed person. She is not a jumping person like others. Everyone really likes her as a friend.
	The age group I would put this book into is a 7th and up grade book. I would have to say that because you have to know some things about horses and racing. Also there are a lot of things younger kids might not know about. Well if you have been riding for a while like me for 5 1\2 years you could read it if you were younger. But over all this is a good book for 7th graders and up. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Thoroughbred.TXT
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Mallory De Witt
English 6
Book Report
      The book I read was The Thoroughbred by Joanna Campbell. The book is fiction and was made in Daniel Weiss Associates Inc.
       In the story Samantha the main character lives on a farm. She helps train a horse named Pride for racing. During the story the people who own Pride take him to a lot of and he wins them all. But Samantha is really worried about Pride because he needs to have a week off of working and all the races are just a week apart. So now something bad might be coming up.
	One of the important events in this story is the Kentucky Derby. The importance of this event is that Pride the horse and Ashley the rider have to win this race to get into the even bigger race the Preakness Stakes. Every one who has helped with Pride, Ashley and Samantha get ready for this big race where there. While Samantha was helping with Ashley and Pride, Samantha's best friend Yvonne was sitting buy Samantha's father. Every one involved with Pride was very nervous and scared. This is the biggest race Pride was ever in. So this is one of the biggest events in the whole book because if Pride weren't in the race he wouldn't have made it into the Preakness Stakes.
	The main character in the book is Samantha. She is a very nice person. She also loves horses a lot, and trains them. She will always stand up for what she believes in. Samantha will help out her friends, family and horses. Samantha is a very calm and relaxed person. She is not a jumping person like others. Everyone really likes her as a friend.
	The age group I would put this book into is a 7th and up grade book. I would have to say that because you have to know some things about horses and racing. Also there are a lot of things younger kids might not know about. Well if you have been riding for a while like me for 5 1\2 years you could read it if you were younger. But over all this is a good book for 7th graders and up. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Time Machine.TXT
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The Time Machine
I choose The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells, for my movie book
comparison. H. G. Wells copyrighted it in 1895. Rod Taylor and Yvette
Mimieux played the main characters in the movie. It was directed by
George Pal and opened in the year of 1960.
There were two main characters in the book and the movie. One of them
was the time traveler, George, whom Rod Taylor played. And the other one
was Weena, the child like woman that George the time traveler saves.
Yvette Mimieux played her.
Both the characters in the movie and the book where very similar in a
lot of ways but I think that George was more action packed in the movie
and a little bit more aggressive. And Weena seemed to be a lot quieter
in the book then in the movie and you could understand her more in the
movie then in the book.
The Time Machine starts out with the time traveler trying to explain
the time machine and how it works to four other science guys. He goes
on about four dimensions and how nobody thinks that there is a fourth
dimension and how there is only three. He goes on describing the fourth
dimension to them and then he demonstrates how the time machine works.
The whole time he is demonstrating it the other four scientists don't
know what to think. And then it disappears into thin air. All of his
friends can't believe it and leave. Except one of his friends, David
Filby a good friend of his. He tries to talk him into not going through
with this whole time travel notion, and then he leaves.
The time traveler descides to try it anyways and goes into his
laboratory. The first thing he does is sets his pocket watch to the same
time as the clock on his desk and then he starts to proceed with the
experiment. He gets in his time machine and starts it up and travels
into the future. He doesn't travel too far but just enough to see if it
works and it does. He decides to travel father and this time he
travels through both World War 1 and World War 2. And finds out the
world is all most destroyed by war.
He finds himself trapped under layers and layers of molten rock and he
keeps shooting through time hoping that time will ware away the rock and
free him. He finally ends up in the year 802,701 A. D. He finds himself
in a world of flowers and trees. He gets off of the time machine and
starts to wander around and finally finds humans known as the Eloa. He
finds a woman by the name of Weena who helps him find out more about the
Eloa. It turns out that the Eloa are actually slaves of an underground
race of mutants known as Morlocks. They have been living off of the
Eloa for centuries by capturing them and eating them.
The Morelocks brain washed the Eloa and made them think they had to go
to this temple every time they herd the sirens.
The time traveler decides to go back to his time but he finds out the
Morelocks had stolen his time machine and when he is trying to get it
back the sirens start to go off and Wenna is captured. That is when the
time traveler decides to go after the Morelocks and save the Eloa from
them.
He gets underground and destroys the Morelocks and saves the Eloa form
them. And at the same time he finds his time machine and travels back to
his own time. But in all the commotion he loses Eloa and goes back
home.
When he arrives home he had already set up a time to arrive home just
in time to have dinner with his four friends. He finally gets back and
tells his friends about the whole thing. But the only one that believes
him is his friend David Filby because the time traveler has a flower
that Weena gave him that his friend has never seen this flower before
and he supposable knows every thing about plants.
Every body leaves his house and he just goes off and disappears. His
friend David comes back and finds that his friend has went back into the
future to find Weena.
The only thing different about the movie and the book that I caught was
that in the movie it starts out were the time traveler, George, has just
gotten back from the future and he starts to tell the story from there.
And in the book it starts out were he is showing them how the time
machine works and explaining the fourth dominion thing to them.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Tragedy Of Hamlet.TXT
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The Tragedy Of Hamlet
Arguably the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the is the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison tipped sword. But that is not all that is needed to consider a play a tragedy, and sometimes a hero doesn't even need to die. Making Not every play in which a Hero dies is considered a tragedy. There are more elements needed to label a play one. Probably the most important element is an amount of free will. In every tragedy, the characters must displays some. If every action is controlled by a hero's destiny, then the hero's death can't be avoided, and in a tragedy the sad part is that it could. Hamlet's death could have been avoided many times. Hamlet had many opportunities to kill Claudius, but did not take advantage of them. He also had the option of making his claim public, but instead he chose not too. A tragic hero doesn't need to be good. For example, MacBeth was evil, yet he was a tragic hero, because he had free will. He also had only one flaw, and that was pride. He had many good traits such as bravery, but his one bad trait made him evil. Also a tragic hero doesn't have to die. While in all Shakespearean tragedies, the hero dies, in others he may live but suffer "Moral Destruction". In Oedipus Rex, the proud yet morally blind king plucks out his eyes, and has to spend his remaining days as a wandering, sightless beggar, guided at every painful step by his daughter, Antigone. A misconception about tragedies is that nothing good comes out of them, but it is actually the opposite. In Romeo and Juliet, although both die, they end the feud between the Capulets and the Montegues. Also, Romeo and Juliet can be together in heaven. In Hamlet, although Hamlet dies, it is almost for the best. How could he have any pleasure during the rest of his life, with his parents and Ophelia dead. Also, although Hamlet dies, he is able to kill Claudius and get rid of the evil ruling the throne. Every tragic play must have a tragic hero. The tragic hero must possess many good traits, as well as one flaw, which eventually leads to his downfall. A tragic hero must be brave and noble. In Othello, Othello had one fatal flaw, he was too great. Othello was too brave, too noble, and especially too proud to allow himself to be led back to Venice in chains. A tragic hero must not back down from his position. He also has to have free will, in order to stand up for what he believes in. Finally, the audience must have some sympathy for the tragic hero. In MacBeth, although MacBeth commits many murders, one almost feels sorry for him and his fate. Hamlet is the perfect example of the tragic hero. Hamlet has all the good traits needed to be a tragic hero. He is brave and daring. One example of this is that when he went to England, he was taking a big risk. If his plan didn't work, he would have been executed He also is also loyal. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was so angry at Claudius and his Mother. Another trait was that he was intelligent. He was able to think up the idea of faking insanity, in order to get more information about Claudius. But Hamlet like all other tragic hero's had a flaw. He couldn't get around to doing anything, because he couldn't move on. He was a full grown adult, yet he still attended school in England, because he couldn't move on. Also, it took him a long time to stop grieving about his father, because he didn't want to move past that part of his life. And after he finally did, Hamlet couldn't get around to killing Claudius. He kept pretending he was insane even after he was sure that Claudius killed his father. The final example of Hamlet's inability to get around to do anything was that he was dating Ophelia for a long time, but never got around to marrying her. The audience was able to feel sympathy for Hamlet too. He had just lost his father, and his mother remarried so quickly that according to him they could have used the leftover food from the funeral in the wedding reception. Also, the audience could feel that Hamlet loved his parents and this sudden change was hurting him. In any tragedy there is a tragic hero, and he must possess certain characteristics in order to be one. He must have many good traits such as loyalty and bravery, but one bad one such as pride. Also the audience must have sympathy for the hero. A tragic hero also must have free will or his fate would be decided for him, and his death could be avoided. Finally, the audience must have sympathy for the tragic hero, or it wouldn't seem so tragic. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero. He was brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he couldn't move on past one thing, which led to his death. he had a choice of how he would deal with Claudius, and like other tragic hero's made a decision. Also, the audience was able to feel sympathy for the position Hamlet was in. These attributes made Hamlet the perfect example of a tragic hero.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The True Sinners.TXT
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The True Sinners
The main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and the Puritan society represented by the townspeople, all sinned. The story is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into the villain. Hester Prynne's sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished by death. Hester's punishment was to endure a public shaming on a scaffold for three hours and wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life in the town. Although Hawthorne does not pardon Hester's sin, he interprets it in a diminished way that is less serious than of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Hester's sin was a sin of desire. This sin was openly acknowledged as she wore the "A" on her chest. Although she is not justified, Hester did not commit the greatest sin of the novel. She did not deliberately commit her sin or mean to hurt others. Hester's sin is that her passions and love were of more importance to her than the Puritan moral code. This is shown when she says to Dimmesdale, "What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other!" Hester fully acknowledged her guilt and displayed it with pride to the world. This was obvious by the way she displayed the scarlet letter. It was elaborately designed as if to show Hester was proud of what she had done. Hester is indeed a sinner; adultery is not a minor affair, even today. On the other hand, her sin has brought her not evil, but good. Her charity to the poor, her comfort to the broken-hearted, her unquestionable presence in times of trouble are all direct results of her quest for repentance. Her salvation also lies in the truth. She tells Dimmesdale of Chillingworth's real identity, keeping it a secret before, to aid in her salvation. Her pursuit in telling the truth is evident in the lines, "In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue, which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity save when thy good--the life--they fame--were put in question! Then I consented a deception. But a lie is never good, even though death threaten the other side!" Even though Hester's sin is the one the book is titled after and centered around, it is not nearly the worst sin committed. Hester learns from her sin, and grows strong, a direct result from her punishment. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not go. "Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, stern and wild ones, and they had made her strong..." Hester also deceived Dimmesdale, also committing the sin of deception. She swore to Chillingworth that she would keep him being her husband a secret. She even withheld this from Dimmesdale, who she truly loved. Hester finally insisted on telling Dimmesdale and clearing her conscience. In this passage, it can be seen how he grows angry at Hester: "O Hester Prynne, thou little, little knowest all the horror of this thing! And the shame! the indelicacy! The horrible ugliness of this exposure of a sick and guilty heart to the very eye that would gloat over it! Woman, woman, thou art accountable for this! I cannot forgive thee!" Dimmesdale does forgive Hester. She has done the right thing in telling him. Her sin of deception is then lifted off her chest. Hester's vow of truth is then kept. Arthur Dimmesdale's sin was the same as Hester's. He is Hester's silent partner in crime. The guilty one who has confessed nothing in order to save himself. Actually, Dimmesdale is a coward, a man who is too weak to confess his guilt, even though he desires to greatly. As a way of self-punishment, Dimmesdale has created a supposed "A" on his own chest by beating himself. Dimmesdale has committed the crime of hypocrisy. He is a minister and every week gets up on his pulpit to hear his congregation's sins. Somehow, Dimmesdale is too weak to confess his own sin. By hiding it, his sin becomes even worse; it's now a concealed sin. Dimmesdale pleads with Hester, while she is sentenced on the scaffold, to confess his guilt. "I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer! Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea compel him, as it were-to add hypocrisy to sin?" Dimmesdale's guilt is overwhelming. He must act as if nothing has happened. He remains silent so that he can continue to do God's work as a minister. Throughout the seven years of the novel, Dimmesdale's sermons get more and more tantalizing the weaker he grows. He must wear one face for the world, another for himself. Dimmesdale is trying to excuse his behavior, when his soaring career may be a justification for concealing a sin. He is struggling to confess, and in each sermon, he comes closer and closer in doing so. He is also under pressure from Chillingworth, who has brought Dimmesdale almost to the point of insanity. His guilt is heightened when he sees Hester suffer alone with the sin he was a part of. It seems to be Dimmesdale's nature that has led him to be a coward. Dimmesdale's triumphant day, when he finally confesses the truth, comes on Election Day. After giving the greatest sermon of his life, he climbs the scaffold. It is on the very scaffold that he first pleaded with Hester to reveal his identity, now he releases his secret. Chillingworth's remarks show the importance of Dimmesdale's confession: "Hadst thou sought the world earth over, there was no place so secret no high place not lowly place where thou couldst have escaped me save on this very scaffold!" I think Dimmesdale has not created the worst sin of the book, even though he inflicted much pain onto himself over guilt and remorse. His confession helped save his soul. Among many morals, which press upon one from the poor minister's miserable experience, one puts only this into a sentence: "Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!" Roger Chillingworth is the worst sinner of the book, in my opinion. At first glance, Chillingworth seems to be sinned against, not a sinner. His first sin is one against nature and Hester more specifically. It was committed the day he married Hester. He knew she did not love him, and he was not fit to make her a proper husband. He did not wrong her on purpose. Chillingworth does look back and sympathize. "It seemed not so wild a dream, old as I was, and sombre as I was, and misshapen as I was, that the simple bliss, which is scattered far and wide, for all mankind to gather up, might yet be mine. And so, Hester, I drew thee into my heart, into its innermost chamber, and sought to warm thee by the warmth which they presence made there!" Chillingworth's ignorance does not even excuse him. He sinned and knows it: "Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with my decay." Hester knows he sinned also. She knew she was very young when she married him. His admittance to persuading her to be with him comes as no surprise to Hester. Chillingworth is a classic case of that sin Hawthorne developed called the "unpardonable sin." For seven years, Chillingworth's purpose is to search out and torment the man who has betrayed him. He has become a leech and sucks the life out of Dimmesdale. Vengeance is what he is obsessed with. In the process of carrying out his own vengeance, he destroys himself. He attempts to play God, and instead turns into the devil. A large number...affirmed that Roger Chillingworth's aspect had undergone a remarkable change while he had dwelt in town, and especially since his abode with Mr.Dimmesdale. At first his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him. Hester begins to feel that Chillingworth's transformation is her fault. But he must assume the responsibility for having destroyed himself. It is he who surrendered his human sympathies in his quest for revenge. Chillingworth's worst sin is violating the sanctity of the human heart. He suffers the most, dying shortly after Dimmesdale's death. His vengeance was all that was driving him forward. It was his sole purpose for living. All his strength and energy all his vital and intellectual force--seemed at once to desert him insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun. This unhappy man had made the very principle of his life to consist of the pursuit and systematic exercise of revenge and when, by its completest triumph and actualization, that evil principle was left no further material to support it, when, in short, there was no more Devil's work on earth for him to do so. The townspeople made Hester's situation even worse. They punished her for committing a sin, even though they committed sins themselves. The townspeople were then guilty of hypocrisy. The worst sin committed by the townspeople is the isolation they put Hester through. She was at a point where she would not go out in the daytime, just to avoid the people. Wearing her sin on her chest made the townspeople isolate her. They were all clear hypocrites for being the same people who went to church weekly, repenting their own sins. Nathaniel Hawthorne was immersed in the redemption sin and of the sin itself. Hawthorne was a Puritan descendant, a child to a strong tradition of sin. Puritan theology was based upon the conviction of sins. The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and mind of each of Hawthorne's characters. Hester and Dimmesdale seek redemption. Chillingworth, the worst sinner of the story, never seeks redemption. Hawthorne has written one of the first symbolic novels in American history. One of the most obvious symbols of sin in the story was Pearl. Pearl is the embodiment of her parents' sin. She is the incarnate of the letter "A" on Hester's chest. Pearl also is Hester's constant reminder that she has committed a great sin. Pearl almost seemed inhuman until the end of the novel. Lastly, I feel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is an almost history novel of the Puritan society, and its conviction of sin, in his view and research.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Vision.TXT
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The Vision
The Vision by Dean Koontz Most people are skeptical about psychics and psychic powers. In the book The Vision by Dean Koontz, there arises a real convincing psychic Mary, who has visions of murders that are yet to happen. But, a new twist to the story causes Mary to see a different kind of vision. Murders more gruesome than ever. More difficult to see. Harder to pursue. All these factors cause the reader , and possibly be someone she loves? Or maybe a haunting truth about the past. The story takes place in various locations of modern day California. Some of the story takes place in Los Angeles, but the most momentous part of the story takes place in a little town called King's Point. The town is on the Pacific Coast Highway, and expensive houses dot the shoreline. Pertaining to the visions, Dean Koontz vividly describes the scene of each of them, as they take place. For example, he takes the reader to one of the scenes of a murder. A small beauty shop in Santa Ana, California. He forces the reader to picture the various aspects of a normal beauty shop, such as, the exterior. The neon lights, the palm tree, the jade-plant hedges, and the money-scented air. He informs the reader of the scent of the shampoo, cream rinse cologne, and perspiration. He tells how the floor was covered in air, and the purple color of the walls, and the plush purple carpet. He describes the sound of the hair dryer and the gunshot in which the murderer shot the cashier. As one can see, the author thoroughly describes the setting. The main character is of course, Mary Bergen. She is the author of a syndicated newspaper column about psychic phenomena, and the one who pursues the visions in which the murderer creates. The true identity of the murderer is not clear until the end of the book. Max Bergen, Mary's husband, and Alan Tanner, Mary's brother, each try to help Mary pursue her visions to catch the killer, and to free Mary's life of the horrible stress that encompasses her. But Max and Alan don't get along very well. Alan feels that Mary could of picked a better man to marry, because he believes that all Max is after is Mary's money, and that Max doesn't really realize how fragile she is. Max knows how Alan feels, but obviously disagrees. Max is pretty a strong man, six inches taller, and forty pounds heavier then Alan. Although Max had promised Mary that he would never physically fight another person, he feels a strong need to fight Alan, but knows that won't stop him from being so arrogant. Alan on the other hand, can easily persuade people with his sweet voice, and pleasing appearance. There is also Dr. Cauvel, Mary's psychiatrist, and Lou Pasternak, one of Mary's old friends. Cauvel desperately tries to link Mary's visions to the past. Pasternak, an alcoholic journalist, helps Mary and Max try to find the killer, and stop him. Mary Bergen, the well-known psychic, has unfortunate visions of murderers killing their victims. One day, a terrible vision appears with no warning, And from then on, these vision are even more macabre than her usual visions, and they always prevent Mary from seeing the killer's face. This puzzles Mary, so she goes to her psychiatrist Dr. Cauvel, to seek some answers. He tries to delve into her past and unveil some truths. She was abused as a child by one of her neighbors, who supposedly killed all of her brother Alan's pets. And her father died when she was really young. Mary doesn't clearly recall any of the abuse she experienced. All she can really remember is the flapping of a lot of wings, those of like a bird. She often has visions of just the wings, and it is an enigma which severely frightens Mary. All she knows, is the wings relate to her abuse. Considering that Mary has blocked this part of her past out, Cauvel believes that her abuse is what caused her to start having these visions. That same day, a vision comes to her. As she tries to pursue the vision and see the killers face, hundreds of glass dogs that the Doctor had collected, flew off the shelves, and at Mary. Scared and confused, Mary later looks for comfort in Max. He of course comforts her, and tries to help solve the mystery. He takes her to King's Point where the next murder is to take place and to meet with Lou, who helps them by having a seance to answer some of Mary's questions. A Ouji board assists in answering these questions. But, there are a few questions asked by the reader, such as: Is the killer actually someone who is close to Mary? The Vision by Dean Koontz, is a very exiting book that will most definitely keep one turning the pages. It has a lot of suspense, and most of all, a lot of mystery. The author does a good a job in letting the reader know what is going on at all times. He does so in such an interesting manner, which keeps one begging for more. The book itself has a very attractive cover which also gets one's attention. This book is recommended to almost anyone, but mostly to those who like murder mysteries. In reading this book, one will find that the main character Mary goes through many perils but never seems to give up. She persists with her visions until she feels that justice has been served. Even though she has some people against her, mainly the skeptics, she also has people who love her helping. This just shows that even though one might feel like the world is against them, they actually have friends who love them enough to help them solve all their problems. It just takes persistence and patience.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The wave.TXT
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The wave
Nazism The wave is about a history teacher whose name is Ben Ross. His class was starting to study the time that Hitler began making all the Jewish people stay in camps. Ben Ross could not find a way to get his class interested into this time period, so he decided to try to make a group, He would play like a Hitler type scenario and his class would be the Jewish people. He would make this group open to the whole school. Ben Ross told his idea to his class. He announced the group, and he had a pretty good turnout. They called the group that wave and they made a handshake, and a symbol. Laurie a girl in Ben Ross's class joined the wave at first and was in it for a while, but she saw that it was becoming way too serious. She decided to drop out of the wave. The wave became so popular that almost all the school was in the group. Ben Ross started to dress in suits, instead of his usual jeans and a nice shirt. He started to dress like a dictator. Ben Ross had the kids in his group sit with very good posture, and if they wanted to talk they had to address him as sir and they Stood up and talked very crisp and clear. When they were through talking they had to sit back down the proper position. Ben Ross thought that his experiment was going really good. All the kids were really taking it serious and he was enjoying it too. Laurie who quit the group saw that everyone was in the wave and she was on the staff of the Gordon Grapevine the school newspaper she decide to write and article about how everyone was taking this wave thing way to serious. Her article in the paper was published and everyone saw what she wrote. This made all of the group members very upset, they started to threaten her, and make her feel left out because she had quit the wave. Laurie had a boyfriend David who was in the wave, kept telling her that she should join the wave again, he didn't realize that why she didn't want to be in the group. This was splitting them apart. Laurie and David were talking one night and David brought up that she still was not in the wave, and she needed to join the wave. Laurie told him that she did not want to be involved in it, it was getting way to serious. People were getting hurt. David got really mad and grabbed her arm. He then saw what he was doing and let go it made him very mad. He knew it was all because of a silly group he was in. He was hurting someone that he really cared about. David then decided that he needed to drop out. The wave started to get very to serious, kids started to threaten and even beat up other kids that weren't in the wave. They were not one of them so they had to be taught a lesson. Ben Ross discovered that his wave group was getting way to serious, he called a meeting to tell his group that it was getting out of hand. He realized this when he discovered that other kids were getting hurt just because they choose not to participate in the group. He told them that he never meant for it to get this far out of hand. He also told them that he had to put a stop to it now. It was a good lesson untill it got out of hand. This book was based on a true story that happened in a High School History class in Palo Alto, California.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Wedding.TXT
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The Wedding
In "The Wedding," by Dorothy West, the major development I saw was in the character of Shelby. From the beginning till the end, the character changes and deals with many changes. Throughout the novel Shelby knows what she wants, knows she never gave a black a chance, and then decides whom she will marry.
At the beginning of the novel, Shelby is well focused and knows what she wants. She doesn't care of what others think. Shelby stays focused on what going to take place and continues with the wedding. Many of her relative's tries to talk her out of the marriage between her and the white-man, Meade. Although, she did have a little feeling for Lute.
Towards the middle of the novel, Shelby seems to feel a little confused and doesn't really know what she wants. What people have been telling her seems to be sinking in. She begins to feel a little confused on what she really wants. Especially after the argument between her and her father, Clark. She expected him to support her, yet he also turns his back on her. At this time she feel confused and doesn't know what to think or what to do. A talk with Liz, Shelby's sister, convinces her to give a black a chance. Liz explains to Shelby on how she will have to live with her knowing she didn't give a black a chance. It might come back to haunt her later.
Shelby decides to give the black a chance and decides see Lute. She feels good about seeing Lute, giving her a new sensation, a new feeling. Things seem to be okay and she is almost convinced of not marring Meade. Shelby gives Lute the idea she likes him and want to marry him. Right when Shelby is beginning to feel for Lute, he blows it when he decides to fight with his wife for a divorce. Shelby then is convinced of who she wants to marry.
Toward the end of the novel, Shelby is convinced and decides whom she really wants to marry. She decides to stick with her original plans and marries Meade. Her family decides to support her and gives her the encouragement to proceed with her feelings.
In conclusion, the character of Shelby jumps from being focused on whom she wants to marry to being confused. She is convinced of giving a black a chance and takes a load off her head. Consequently, everything goes wrong and nothing worked out between her and Lute. After giving a black a chance she is convinced of continuing her marriage ceremony with Meade.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The Witch hunt In Modern Europe.TXT
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The Withch-hunt In Modern Europe
The Witch-Hunt in Modern Europe by Brian Levack proved to be an interesting as well as insightful look at the intriguing world of the European practice of witchcraft and witch-hunts. The book offers a solid, reasonable interpretation of the accusation, prosecution, and execution for witchcraft in Europe between 1450 and 1750. Levack focuses mainly on the circumstances from which the witch-hunts emerged, as this report will examine. The causes of witch-hunting have been sometimes in publications portrayed differently from reality. The hunts were not prisoner escapee type hunts but rather a hunt that involved the identification of individuals who were believed to be engaged in a secret activity. Sometimes professional witch-hunters carried on the task, but judicial authorities performed most. The cause of most of these hunts is the multi-causal approach, which sees the emergence of new ideas about the witches and changes in the criminal law statutes. Both point to major religious changes and a lot of social tension among society. The intellectual foundations of the hunts were attributed to the witch's face-to-face pact with the devil and the periodic meetings of witches to engage in practices considered to be barbaric and heinous. The cumulative concept of witchcraft pointed immediately to the devil, the source of the magic and the one most witches adored. There was strong belief then that witches made pacts with the devil. Some would barter their soul to the devil in exchange for a gift or a taste of well being. Many believed that these witches observed a nocturnal Sabbath where they worshipped the devil and paid their homage to him. They were also accused of being an organization known for its cannibalistic practices of infanticide incest. Another component of this cumulative concept was the belief of the flight of witches. The belief for this was contributed to by the assumption that witches took flight from their homes to goto nocturnal meetings without their absence from home being detected. The belief in "flying night witches" was shared by many cultures in the modern world. These women were referred to as strigae, which was one of the many Latin terms for witches. As the reader first opens the legal foundations of witch-hunting, one finds that historically it was a judicial process from discovery to elimination. Levack states that before the thirteenth century European courts used a system of criminal procedure that made all crimes difficult to prosecute. This system was known as the accusatorial system and existed predominantly in northwestern Europe. When the thirteenth century came into being, a new technique, which gave more human judgement in the criminal process, was adopted in Western Europe secular courts. This new court was known as inquisitorial courts. The only difference between the new system and the old when suits were begun by accusation was that the accuser was no longer responsible for the actual prosecution of the case (pg. 72). The new procedures were not in reality an improvement due to the fact that the standards of proof according to inquisitorial procedure were very demanding. Since the adoption of inquisitorial procedure represented a shift from reliance upon man's rational judgement, jurists agreed that it was absolutely necessary for judges to have conclusive proof of guilt before passing sentence (pg. 79). They relied on Roman law and based their conclusions on two eyewitnesses and the confession of the accused. The development of full judicial power given to the state in the prosecution of a crime was a major event. From the early times, the secular courts in Europe had taken part in the witch-hunts, and now as the hunt developed further along, the secular courts grew an even greater role in the process. This caused a decline in ecclesiastical court participation due to the fact that governments defined witchcraft as a secular crime, and the temporal courts of some countries had a monopoly on the prosecution. The prosecution of magic was a "mixed jurisdiction" taken on by both courts but when convicted the guilty were executed under secular law. Since secular courts had jurisdiction over magic and maleficium they primarily assumed the significant role in prosecuting witches. As the hunt gathered steam in the sixteenth century, the developments resulted in a reduction of clerical jurisdiction and an increase in the amount of secular concern with it. The main reason was the defining of witchcraft as a secular crime. All of these factors led to a large-scale witch-hunts in Scotland but in some countries the retention of ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the crime led to a decline in the number of prosecutions. Local court decisions during this time also played a role in the conviction of witches. They had the ability to perform with a certain amount of independence from higher political and judicial control. There are two main reasons why local courts proved to be less lenient than central courts in the prosecutions of witchcraft (pg. 93). The first is that local authorities that presided over witch trials were far more likely than their central superiors to develop an intense and immediate fear of witchcraft (pg. 93). The second is that central judges were generally more committed to the proper operation of the judicial system and more willing therefore to afford accused witches whatever procedural safeguards the law might allow them (pg. 94). The decentralization of judicial life had lasting effects in countries like Germany, where no effective control by central authority led to increased hunts and more torturous executions. The formation of the cumulative concept of witchcraft and all the legal precedents introduced made the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth century witch-hunts possible. To look at the understanding of the hunt one must examine the religious, social, and economic conditions that began in modern Europe. During the time of the Reformation, the Europeans increased their awareness of satin and started to wage a larger war against him. A second effect of the Reformation on witchcraft arose from the emphasis that both Protestant and Catholic reformers placed on personal piety and sanctity (pg. 106). The Christianization of Europe also added to this war against the devil by eradication superstitious beliefs, eliminating paganism and suppressing magic. Witch-hunting was the most frequent in countries where large minorities adhered to different religions. Witch-hunting was the most intense in Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, and Scotland (pg. 114). The effects of the Protestant and Catholic Reformation did have an effect on witch-hunts; they laid the foundation for their decline. There were various types of hunts that took place during European witch-hunt times. The main feature of the small hunt is that the search for malefactors is limited to the individuals who were originally accused (172). The main characteristic of a medium style hunt was that it included five to ten victims. The final type of hunt was the large hunt where tens to hundreds of witches were hunted and panic and hysteria were rampant everywhere. The end of the witch-hunts was usually an abrupt procedure. The small hunts for example were isolated prosecutions that ended when the accused were either executed or given an acquittal. Most of the time the end of a hunt lasted for many years, and up to generations. The explanations for the geographical unevenness in the hunts cannot be simply put. According to Levack, there were four separate but related factors. The first was the nature of witch beliefs in a particular region and the strength in which they were held (231). The disparity can be seen for example in countries like England, the Scandinavian countries, and Spain where the prosecutions included a number of individual trials for maleficium and some for Devil-worship. The second factor is determining the relative intensity of hunts was the criminal procedure used. Not all countries used the inquisitorial procedure and torture method. The third determinant was the extent to which the central judicial authority had control on the trials. Central control did not always prevail, since some rulers wanted to completely exterminate witchcraft. The final factor is the degree of religious zeal manifested by the people of a region (232). This was most evident in large hunts and countries known for their large numerous executions and not known for their Christianity. The decline in witchcraft can be attributed to a multitude of factors. There were three main judicial and legal developments that contributed to the decline of witchcraft: the demand for conclusive evidence regarding maleficium and the pact, the adoption of stricter rules regarding the use of torture, the promulgation of decrees either restricting or eliminating prosecutions for witchcraft (236). The mental outlook was also changing at the time as judges and princes set out to create new rules for torture and restricting witchcraft. The most important religious factor in this decline was the change of the religious climate that occurred in the late seventeenth century. The socioeconomic changes could be felt in a general improvement of living conditions that reduced some of the local village tensions that lay at the basis of witchcraft prosecutions. Witches no longer posed the threat that they once did. The economic and social chaos of this century and the political and religious instability caused anxiety that led to witches becoming a scapegoat for the general ills of society during their rapid time of change. Witchcraft had become somewhat of a hobby! In conclusion, Levack gives the reader a full understanding of witchcraft during this time and the historical insight and vivid description adds to the livelihood of the period. Levack's insight gives the consistency that witch-hunts were sparked by diverse and complex causes, which he supports in his book. According to a book review by Elizabeth Furdell, "Levack uses many sources to provide national examinations of the witchcraze." An example of this Levack's conclusion that while German communities exhibited frenzied paranoia directed at "witches," England did only a little witch-hunting. He uses reliable and multiple reasons to prove his thesis. The book offers a solid, reasonable interpretation of the accusations, prosecutions, and execution of thousands of witches in Europe, and Levack leaves the reader wondering if he the individual if he/she had lived during this period would have been hunting witches or hunting fox?
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\The World Turned Upside Down.TXT
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The World Turned Upside Down
When the Europeans established colonies in the New World, they sought
to convert the Indians way of civilization. Their obsession was to
spread Christianity and their culture throughout all of the colonies
including the Indian villages. Some Indian people accepted these
traditions because they felt as if they had no where else to turn. When
the settlers invaded the new land they brought with them many diseases
which wiped out many Indian villages and tribes. The Indians also had a
hard time excepting the invasions on new territories, which led to many
wars. This resulted in a large decrease of the Indian population, so
some Indians turned to Cristianity and other European traditions. On
the otherhand, many Indians insisted that European beliefs should exist
only amongst themselves. They had no business trying to introduce a new
religion when the Indian's traditions have been practiced for years.
The Indians during this time were forced to accept the Europeans
establishing new territories, even if they did not belong to them. As
the Indian populations continued to decrease, some Indians intermarried
with the Europeans and even the Africans to try and boost the population
once again. This of course produced mixed children who were confused
and could not decide which culture they would accept. This mix of
people changed the ways of living for the Native Americans as well as
the Europeans throughout early America.
It is obvious to me that land was the largest reason for war among the
Indians and the Europeans. It was simple: the Indians did not want to
give up their land that they had claimed for so many years to a bunch of
irrogant settlers who take what ever they want. The English felt that
God had granted them the land and the Indians should be removed.
However, the Native Americans also wanted something from the new
colonists, trade. The American Indians were great hunters who collected
many furs that were valuable trade products. After time some Indian
tribes grew in debt with the settlers and the only way they could pay
their debts is by giving them land. That is where the Europeans and the
Indian's attitudes differ over land. The Indians were willing to
sometimes negotiate about certain territories, where most of the
Europeans were going to take the land whether the Indians were going to
cooperate or not. Battles often broke out when larger Indian tribes
felt they could fight for their land. Sometimes they were able to
defeat the English in battles, but most of the time they were out
numbered. During this time the English were very greety. The King was
giving away land that did not even belong to him, and did not care that
he was dimininshing the population of the American Indians in the
process.
Native American speeches, letters, and opinions have given historians a
very good understanding of what life was like when the colonists were
establishing new land. Many of the Indian's letters were agreements to
land parcels (deeds) in exchange for goods. This supports the ideas I
stated earlier about the importance of trade with the Europeans.
In different Indian communities trade became a necessity and actually
destablized their ability to fend for themselves. The Indians turned to
the English for guns and ammunition to kill their deer and buffalo.
Some also turned to alcohol, hoping that it would erase some of their
problems. The leaders of certain tribes would place blame on the white
people for making them unstable. Through speeches, letters, and opinions
historians are able to unravel the truth and determine what, when, and
why the colonists did what they did to the American Indians. For United
States history in general, these sources of information show us the
importance of the land. To establish a successful colony, one must have
water, and descent soil for farming. This is everything the English
wanted and what chased the Indians off the land. The colonists were the
founders of industry and government. Written documents show how the
colonists began mining, farming, and factories. They were also the first
to set up an elected legislative body, a system similar to the one we
still use today.
Documents that were written by the Europeans about Native Americans
would explain why the English did what they did. They probably wouldn't
make themselves out to be as aggressive as the Indians might suggest.
They would support themselves as independent settlers making their life
the only way they knew how. I'm sure some documents would state that
the Indians were at fault for their own deaths. Speeches by the Indians
would also probably exaggerated how evil the white men really were, and
that they had no rights to any of the land they landed on. Limitations
on the Indian treaties would explain that the Indians had no other
alternative but to give their land to the white man in exchange for
goods. Lastly records containing oral traditions of the Native
Americans would imply that they were taken away and replaced with the
beliefs of the Englishmen.
The Native American Indians and the English settlers faced many
hardships throughout this period of history. The Indians were faced
with invasions of their land and the settlers were faced with saluatary
neglect. These historical events that took place hundreds of years ago
formed the United States today. These events can also make one
appreciate living in this country in 1999.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Their Eyes Were Watching God.TXT
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Their Eyes Were Watching God 
Three Marriages, Three Lessons
In the beginning of Zora Neale Hurston's book, Their Eye Were Watching God, Janie had an adolescent view on love until she learns many lessons through her three marriages. She learned from her marriage to Logan Killicks that she could not learn to love someone. After her marriage to Jody Starks, Janie realized that equality is important within a marriage. When Janie married Tea Cake, she realized true love could be found. Janie learned through her three marriages even though she had bad experiences with love; there was a thing as true love.
Before her three marriages, Janie was very naïve about love. Zora Neale Hurston shows Janie's view on marriage, "She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from the root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was marriage!" (pg. 11) To Janie, marriage was perfect harmony between two people like a pear tree and its surroundings. Janie felt like being like a pear tree and its surroundings would be in true love, "Oh to be a pear tree - any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! She was sixteen."
When Janie married Logan Killicks, she realized that she could not learn to love someone. Janie was forced be Nanny to marry Logan Killicks for her financial stability. She thought that she could love him after their marriage, "Yes, she would love Logan after they were married." (Pg. 21) But after two months and two weeks, Janie visits Nanny pouting about her marriage. She tries to get Nanny to teach her how to love Logan, "'Cause you told me Ah mus gointer love him, and, and Ah don't. Maybe if somebody was to tell me how, Ah could do it." (Pg. 23) After Nanny died and Logan Killicks started to treat Janie as if he was doing her a favor, Janie knew just because she was married, she was not in love.
Janie learned from her marriage to Jody Starks that she needs to think about her happiness and that a married couple should see each other as equals. Janie fell in love with Jody because of his big plans and his success. Jody treated Janie as an accessory, a bonus to his success. Jody only wanted Janie to make him look good. Janie realized that Jody never respected her, "Ah knowed you wasn't goingtuh listen tuh me. You changes everything but nothin' don't change you - not even death. But Ah ain't goin' outa here and Ah ain't gointuh hush." (Pg. 86) Janie knew that Jody never treated her as an equal and she did not love him because of it.
Janie recognized when she married Tea Cake that, although she had gone through two marriages without love, true love could be found. Janie was very careful when falling for Tea Cake. She took her time and made sure he was the right person for her. She knew she wanted someone she was going to love on her own, not forced, and someone that was going to treat her as an equal. Tea Cake treated her as an equal. He allowed her to do things Jody never would have like shooting and playing checkers. Janie loved Tea Cake, their marriage was like a pear tree and its surroundings, a perfect harmony. Zora Neale Hurston compares their marriage with the pear tree, "Then Tea Cake came prancing around her where she was and the song of the sigh flew out of the window and lit in the top of the pine trees. Tea Cake, with the sun for a shawl. Of course he wasn't dead. He could never be dead until she herself finished feeling and thinking. The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall." (Pg. 193) Janie finally found real love with her marriage to Tea Cake.
Although in the beginning of the book Janie was naïve about love, she learned through her three marriages many lessons about love, including the major lesson, that love actually existed. Janie's view of love was of the pear tree. The perfect harmony between the pear tree and its surroundings was what she thought love was. Her marriages to Logan Killicks and Jody Starks failed to fulfill her vision of love. Tea Cake and Janie went together like the pear tree and its surroundings. She learned that even though her first two marriages failed to fulfill her vision of love, she found love with Tea Cake and realized that there is love.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\They Shouldnt Make You Promise That.TXT
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They Shouldnt Make You Promise That
In everyone's life there comes a point in time when you assess your life, not just look back in time, but see the progression, the triumphs and the failures.....Eleanor Smith had reached this point. She sees that things aren't as they seem, the passion and desire is gone from her marriage, she is unable to influence her children's life, her best friend, who is an alcoholic seems to have her life in more order then Eleanor. How did her happy life slip away before her eyes. The story evolves around Eleanor, emotions and feelings. On the outside side she tries to be the happy homemaker, and plans dinnners for the prestge of her husband, Hugh. She tries to get in touch with her rebelious teenage daughter, and play the friend figure, but whatever she does nothing seems to make them as close as they used to be, bot even buying her gifts seems to work anymore. Her son, who is going through a rough time, because he recently broke up eith his girlfriend, won't allow her to help him through his problem. Inside Eleanor is dying from the lcak of love she recieves. Even what used to be a young vibrant even beautiful face, has been washed out by the stress she feels. The purpose of the story, is to inform the reader that things aren't all ways as it seem, and that change is inevtitable. After a disatorous dinner party, Hugh's best friends wife, whom Eleanor was always quite envious of because, she always seemed happy and she seemed have a perfect marriage, but she soon realizes that like herself, she feels lost in the shuffle of a over dominant husband. Another lesson it teaches, is you can't always do the right thing. Eleanor feels the need to escape from her life, if just for a while, on a visit to her mother, Eleanor's mother even tries o convince her that it would be insane to leave such a comfortable life. Who would leave a handsome, well off husband, three children that need a mother figure, and a beautiful home. They Shouldn't Make You Promise That takes place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Smith's live in a fairly prominate community, making Eleanors situation even worse, because she must contend with the fact of disgracing her husband infront of the upity people she lives around, and in a small community news of that caliber makes a good topic for gossip. The subject matter deals with current situations, it takes place during the 1980's when woman are becoming more liberated. The tension between Hugh and Eleanor grows throughout the book She finally leaves Hugh to visit her mother, but when she returns she stays at another mans house. While on her trip she took her dog with her, she decides to take her the dog back to her family's house, she also faces the decision of whether to return or do the brave thing and start a new life. If she returns the choke chain while get a little tighter, and there will always be another psychiatrist to subscribe another pill for depression. If she doesn't return she leaves her comfortable prison, and she would leave her kids, how could she bare to live without her kids. This is where the book reaches it's climax the whole underlying meaning of the book depends on if she breaks down and goes back or never looks back.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Thier Eyes Were Watching God.TXT
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Thier Eyes Were Watching God
In life everyone tries to find their true identity. For some it comes naturally, for others it might take years to find their identity, or they might never find it at all. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God; Zora Neale Hurston reveals a woman's identity through her struggles in life, her treatment by society, and her thoughts on life. Janie a young African American girl who grew up in white life style; believed she was related of them till about the age of six. This impact changed Janie's view on life. While she thought she was able to do things the color of her skin held her back. This made her try harder to accomplish her goals. When her grandmother insisted that she marry Logan she did not want to. Janie married him to fulfill her grandmother's dreams. Even though Janie did not love him she struggled till she could not stand it and left with Joe." It had always been his wish and desire to be a big voice and he had to live nearly thirty years to find a chance." (28) While, Janie was with Joe in Eaton Vile she had a higher status then the rest of the towns people. Janie tried to interact with them, but Joe would not let her. He thought of Janie as being better then all of them. This led to the way she was treated in society. All of the women in the town thought Janie had everything, but Janie did not. She wanted to be excepted as part of them. When Joe died people in the town expected Janie to be mournful, so she put on an act for them. "She sent her face to Joe's funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world." (88) After, Joe's death Janie still ran the store. While working she meet Tea Cake, he showed her how to play checkers. "Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play." (96) This represents how he treated her as equal. Tea Cake compared to the other two husbands in Janie's life was everything she was looking for. Tea Cake taught her so much that she started to fell more independent. After, Tea Cake's death Janie grieves on the inside so much that she did not care what people thought of her. She wore overhauls that were all muddy. (189) After, all the struggles Janie went through she finally found who she was. She did everything everyone else wanted for her, but never did what she really wanted for herself. After she found her true love she found her identity, because this brought her closer to herself. This made her whole and she finally knew what she wanted. It did not come easy for Janie to find her identity. It took her years to find out who she really was.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Things Fall Apart.TXT
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Things Fall Apart
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, women of the Ibo tribe are terribly mistreated, and viewed as weak and receive little or no respect outside of their role as a mother. Tradition dictates their role in life. These women are courageous and obedient. These women are nurturers above all and they are anything but weak. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo has several wives. He orders them around like dogs. They are never to question what they are instructed to do; they are expected to be obedient. We clearly see this early in the story, when Okonkwo brings Ikemefuna into his home. Okonkwo tells his senior wife that Ikemefuna belongs to the tribe and that she is expected to look after him. She in turn asks him if he will be staying with them for a long period of time. This sends Okonkwo into a fury. He snaps at her in a very degrading manner, "Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie (meaning elders) of Umuofia?"(pg.12) Clearly she receives no respect. Later in the story we see this woman try to comfort Ikemefuna. She "mothers" him as if he is one of her own children. She tries to put him at ease and can almost instinctively feel how much he misses his own mother. In keeping with the Ibo view of female nature, the tribe allows wife beating. Okonkwo beats his youngest wife one-day because she was visiting with a friend and did not get home in time to prepare a meal for him. Another one of his wives tries to cover for her when she is questioned as to whether or not the youngest wife has fed the children before she left. Certainly she does this in effort to protect the youngest wife, knowing full well what she faced. Okonkwo does not let them down, he beats his youngest wife severely until he is satisfied. Even in spite of pleas from his other wives reminding him that it is forbidden to beat your wife during the Week of Peace. Okonkwo will face consequences, not for beating another human being, but only because of his timing. He beats his second wife when she refers to him as one of those "guns that never shot". When a severe case of wife beating comes before the egwugwu, he finds in favor of the wife, but at the end of the trial a man wonders "why such a trifle should come before the egwugwu"(pg.83). The husband considers his wife as a property. He either wants his wife back or his bride price. The omniscient narrator acknowledges a near-invisibility of women in Things Fall Apart. Describing a communal ceremony, he confesses, "It was clear from the way the crowd stood that the ceremony was for men. There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders"(pg.77). They are not invited to stay when men are engaged in any discussion; they are not included in council of war; they do not form part of the masquerades representing the judiciary and ancestral spirits. Okonkwo views women to be weak and foolish. He has a different expectation for men and women. This can be seen clearly by the way that he raises his children. He tries his best to train Nwoye to be strong and brave while he feels sorry that Ezinma is a girl. Okonkwo knows that "Ezinma has the right spirit", but he does not try to make her to be brave or strong. He favors her the most out of all of his children, yet "if Ezinma had been a boy [he] would have been happier"(pg.69). This kind of contradiction comes up in the novel repeatedly. Those practical, daily life examples of how Okonkwo views women play an important role in showing Okonkwo's real drive for his behaviors. From those examples, we can see that Okonkwo hates any women's characteristics because they remind him of his father. He is afraid of becoming like his father. He hates the fact that his father is so unsuccessful; therefore, he does not want to be like his father. The underlying theme for those examples is not to show that Okonkwo does not respect women at all. In fact they are used to show that Okonkwo does respect women for their ability if he does not fear to become like his father. Unoka is considered agbala, an untitled man or a woman. Yam, of smaller size and lesser value than other yams, is regarded as female. Osugo has taken to title; and so, in a gathering of his peers, Okonkwo unkindly tells him, "This meeting is for men"(pg.22). Guilt-ridden after murdering Ikemefuna, his surrogate son, Okonkwo sternly reprimands himself not to "become like a shivering old woman"(pg.56) - this he considers the worst insult. Such extreme accent on manliness, sex-role stereotyping, gender discriminations, and violence create an imbalance, resulting in denigration of the female principle. Achebe shows that the Ibo nonetheless assigns important roles to women. For instance, Chielo, the priestess of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, who in the ordinary life is a widow with two kids and Ekwefi's friend. Clothed in the mystic mantle of the divinity she serves, Chielo transforms from the ordinary; she can reprimand Okonkwo and even scream curses at him: "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. Does a man speak when a God speaks? Beware!"(pg.89) Yet if Okonkwo is powerless before a goddess's priestess, he can, at least, control his own women. Women, also, painted the houses of the egwugwu. Furthermore, the first wife of a man in the Ibo society is paid some respect. This deference is illustrated by the palm wine ceremony at Nwakibie's obi. Anasi, Nwakibie's first wife, had not yet arrived and "the others (other wives) could not drink before her"(pg.16). The importance of woman's role appears when Okonkwo is exiled to his motherland. His uncle, Uchendu, noticing Okonkwo's distress, eloquently explains how Okonkwo should view his exile: "A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. And that is why we say that Mother is Supreme"(pg.116). The only glory and satisfaction these women enjoyed was being a mother. They receive respect and love from their children. They are strong for their children. Women are viewed to be very gentle and caring. They are expected to take care of their children with the best of their ability. Women are trusted totally by their children. This honorable presentation of women is used by Achebe to identify women's role in the Ibo society. This presentation is necessary to show that women indeed play an important role in society.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Thinner.TXT
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Thinner
In the novel Thinner, Billy Halleck represents a wrongfully accused human with a curse to kill him. First off, Billy receives a curse from the oldest gypsy in North America after murdering his daughter while she was jaywalking. Since Billy did not get punished at any rate for this crime, the gypsies most likely felt they had to take matters into their own hands so they delivered the curse of "Thinner." The gypsies probably chose this curse for Billy was already approximately fifty pounds over weight, therefore they tried to kill him by him being ninety to one hundred pounds underweight. In addition, the old man refused to take the spell off so drastic measures had to be taken, and they were. This decision was probably established because a crime was committed to the pack and the law had to be taken into their own hands. If one had the power to get revenge and not get criminally prosecuted then most everyone would jump at the chance. When a person is angry revenge could seem like the best cure yet a friendship or acquaintance could be lost and not recoverable.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\This Perfect Day.TXT
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This Perfect Day
This Perfect Day is probably Ira Levin's greatest work of his
career. Levin's work, despite being written in 1970, is very
plausible having realistic technology, such as scanners and
computers which watch over the entire family, the entire
population of the world. This novel could be used to show
the dangers of a Utopian society as well as being full of
anti-Communist and anti-racist sentiment. This Perfect Day
also displays the feeling that communist and segregated
institutions can be defeated, as the protagonist Chip over
powers the "family" and their vile Uni Comp as well as rising
above the segregated community he reaches after fleeing the
family.
This work could best be placed in an area of the curriculum
where it is the students job to learn that although everyone
might not be equal, nor should they be, they are still human
and deserve to be treated with the respect and kindness we
would expect to be treated with. This work could be used in
conjunction with other works of literature that display the
same ideals against communism and discrimination as well as
a lack of compassion for others. Other works that could be
used in cohorts with Levin's This Perfect Day, are
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut and even the
Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Both of these
novels show the dangers of trying to create a Utopian
society and the chaos it causes. In Harrison Bergeron,
handicapping has become an American institution and it is
the governments responsibility to make sure that everyone is
equal in every way which ends up causing chaos and
rebellion. The Handmaid's Tale shows the dangers of when
an extreme group takes over the United States after a
nuclear holocaust, with women being placed in a submissive
role to men, only being used to reproduce. This Perfect
Day could also be used in a section with novels such as
Uncle Tom's Cabin which portray the evils of racism and
discrimination, just as the land where Chip ends up after
escaping the family, is very racist and segregated. He is
forced to endure the taunts and tortures of the folks who had
fought Uni from the beginning, yet he rises above these
bounds to return and destroy Uni Comp, thereby destroying
the family.
This Perfect Day begins in a land that has been unified
under, Uni Comp, a large computer that monitors all family
activities and controls any portions of their daily lives lies
deep in a cave below the Swiss Alps. The computer decides
on the work, residence, consumption of goods, whether they
will marry and if so whether they will have children.
Promotion of the family's good is the main importance in any
member's life. "Losing's the same as winning" is one of the
phrases taught to small children. "Hate" and "fight" are dirty
words while fuck is not. Genetics has progressed to the
point where skin color is universally tan, while body shape is
unisex, and facial features are programmed, with most
members containing brown slanted eyes. The family is trying
to genetically remove such undesired elements of life such as
aggressiveness and egotism while implanting docility and
loving kindness in their place. While searching for the genetic
basis to these undesired elements, Uni Comp subjects every
member of the family to monthly treatments which contain
vaccines, contraceptives, and tranquilizers, as well as some
substance that reduces one's sex drive down to only being
able to perform on Saturday night. All of this is watched
over by one's counselor, one who watches the members
individual mental health very closely.
The novel starts early in the life of a boy named Chip, or Li
RM35M4419, his official 'family' given name. His
grandfather, Papa Jan had given him the nickname Chip.
Chip had always though his grandfather was a bit eccentric,
twisting words and displaying feelings that did not fall in line
with the rest of the 'family's', Chip thought that his
grandfather might be a sick member. On a family trip to the
biggest tourist attraction on the planet, Uni Comp, Papa Jan
leads Chip downstairs, without touching scanners as they
pass, to a large cold room filled with large black boxes.
Papa Jan begins telling Chip how he helped build Uni Comp
and this is the real computer, not the pastel posies upstairs
for the tourists to view. Chip feels unsure because he has
lied to Uni by not touching the scanners and now it does not
know where he is. He also wonders why Uni Comp would
lie to them and why Papa Jan brought him down here. This
is Chip's first experiences with anti-family feelings and those
associated with sick members. As Chip grows up, he
continues having thoughts that go against the grain.
Everything about his unified world seems strange and not
quite right, but these feelings are quickly suppressed at the
end of each month when it is time for his monthly treatment.
As time goes on, Chip explores his feelings, sometimes
putting off a treatment for a day or two so that he becomes
more aware of his surroundings. Eventually, a band of folks
like himself notices Chip. They too are dissatisfied with their
current lives and how Uni represses their thoughts and
feelings, as well as actions with it's prescribed monthly
treatments. They show him how to act so that he can get his
monthly treatments reduced and begin to explore his new
found wants and desires. This band meets and talk about
how they wish the world were better and they also skip off
for un-repressed sex and to smoke tabacco. Eventually,
Chip wants more. He wants more freedom, and he wants
the leader of the pack's girlfriend, Lilac. He eventually
explores, finding that there are many places in the world
such as Madagascar and others where un-treated people
live not under the watchful eye of Uni Comp. He also finds
that the leader of the group, King also knows of these
islands, but is too afraid to go despite his cool outer
appearance. Eventually, in a sudden rage, Chip is caught, his
treatments increased to normal. Once treated Chip admits to
all he knows and tells everything about the sick members
leading the group to be broken up and for all the "sick"
member's treatments to be returned to normal. Chip lives
how a good member should, until the end of one month
when he spies a leaf on a wet rock and considers the
possibilities. He could make a small flesh colored covering
that goes over his arm and it would not allow the treatments
to penetrate his skin. What would happen when he was not
treated at all. He would be able to explore all of his feelings
to the fullest. After a few months of planning and calculating
without treatment. Chip sneaks his way to Africa where he
has found that Lilac now lives. He steals her away and of
course she resists, after she says some nasty things a few
weeks later, he rapes her which pushes her even further
away. But eventually as her last treatment wears off she
begins to agree with Chip and at first says she'll only go to
the island with him, then they'll go their separate ways, but
then she says she will stay with him once they arrive as well.
Eventually they reach the island and find nothing but
segregation and racism against those who were former
members of the family by those whom originally rebelled
against Uni Comp. Chip becomes dissatisfied with his life on
the island as well. He decides he will only truly be happy and
free once he destroys Uni Comp and releases the family
from it's grip. He formulates a plan and a party and sets out
to destroy the true Uni Comp. The one that lies deep under
the mountains. He and his party set out, but are tricked by
one member of the party who really was a spy. He takes
them deep into the mountains where they meet the
programmers of Uni Comp, who due to the bands ingenuity
in trying to destroy Uni Comp, want them to join the group
of programmers. They agree and live their lives in luxury
served in any way they could possible imagine, while looking
over the needs and concerns of the family. Chip never loses
sight of his true goal though and eventually when another
band of rebels is caught, he takes the impounded explosives
and sets out to destroy Uni Comp. Wei, the head
programmer as well as one of the main figure heads along
with Christ, Wood and Marx in designing the new unified
world, is the only thing standing in his way once he reaches
his destination and he fights him. Chip eventually traps Wei
and leaves him to die in the explosion. The family is now free
of Uni's grip and Chip heads off to find Lilac. 
The only real controversial element of Ira Levin's novel is the
fact that Chip rapes Lilac. Rape has occurred in other works
studied before in the curriculum. Such as in the Kind Arthur
stories and The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. This issue
was also dealt with in novels read by students in seventh
grade, as in So Far From the Bamboo Grove. The rape
that occurs in this work is really no different from any that
occurred in any other novel listed here. It is no worse in any
way, and even shows how wrong this act really is. Lilac is
hurt by Chip and tries to leave him several times after this
event occurs and Chip sees how wrong he was in
committing this act and must learn to control his new found
animal urges. The only other controversial material are
swears, and those have been scattered throughout any
novels already read by students even as young as eighth
grade, such as many of the John Steinbeck novels read in
that curriculum. There is nothing in This Perfect Day that
students haven't already experienced in other works of
literature already in the curriculum.
The only large worthwhile literary review found, that was
more than a sentence or two was, "This Perfect Hell" by
Ralph Raico. Raico is a history professor at SUNY College
in Buffalo and published his review in American Enterprise.
(Sep/Oct 98, Vol. 9 Issue 5, p82, 1p.) Raico speaks of
Levin's other works, but says that This Perfect Day was by
far his best and deserves to be filmed just as many others
such as Rosemary's Baby and Sliver were. He gives nothing
but praise to the novel, he says, " This Perfect Day belongs
to the genre of "dystopian" or anti-utopian novels, like
Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984. Yet it is
more satisfying than either." He is very enthusiastic about the
quality and meaningfulness of Levin's novel and gives it the
highest regards.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tiger Eyes.TXT
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Tiger Eyes
The title of the piece of literature I chose to read was Tiger Eyes,
by Judy Blume. This book contained 205 pages. My choice for
reading this book was that I enjoyed reading many of her works
when I was younger. She always had a way of relating well with
the younger generations, which draws me to her books quite
often.
The main protagonist in Tiger Eyes was Davey Wexler,
a 15 year old girl from Atlantic City. Davey's headstrong ways
and her beautiful heroicness gave her a unique individuality
which grew through out the book. Another main character in
this story was Wolf, a young man who enjoyed rock climbing.
His unique ways also gave him an almost mystical heir which
fascinated Davey. The last main character in this novel was
Gwendolyn Wexler, Davey's mother. Her extreme love and
support for Davey through out the novel was her main role.
In Atlantic City, on a hot summer night, Adam Wexler
was the victim in a hold up of his 7-Eleven store. He was shot
several time in the chest. The assailant was never found. Davey
Wexler was there to experience it all, holding her dying father in
her arms, helpless and frightened. These are the memories that
faced Davey every day. Giving the family time to recover,
Davey, her mother, and her younger brother visited her father's
sister in Los Alamos, New Mexico. While there Davey met Wolf,
an adventurous rock climber, and many other new friends.
With their help Davey is able to overcome the fear and despair
she had encountered from her father's death and was able to
see the world again as someplace where good adventures
could occur.
My father's death was the most horrifying experience
of my life. As he laid in my arms, bleeding and still hanging on
to life, there was nothing I could do to save him. After the
funeral, all I could do was sleep. I did not want to open my
eyes, for fear would consume all of me. I was so afraid of
everything that I slept with a bread knife under my pillow for
protection. When we arrived in New Mexico, it was still hard to
deal with it all. Although my mother encouraged me to try and
explore, I was still upset and extremely angry. Then, meeting
Wolf gave me a new hope and realization of it all. He showed
me that life was a true adventure and that living it to its full
potential was the best way to live. I know what I felt for him
was not love, but a strong connection between the
experiences that we had endured. His father was,
unfortunately, dying of cancer. The support that we gave each
other made us stronger and more able to face the world each
day. If it was not for Wolf, along with Reuben and Jane, I would
not be able to experience life without fear.
Tiger Eyes was an extremely realistic novel, with
characters which you could almost transform yourself into.
Through out the story, each character metamorphousized into
a stronger, courageous, more capable being. It is those
transformations which give the book its wonderful, and almost
haunting actuality. This is one of my all time favorite novels.
Each time I read it the experience is new, different, and better
than that of the first.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tinkering with Eden again.TXT
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Jillian Middlebrook
Bio105 TR 1:00
April 20, 2004
Book Report
Tinkering with Eden
	
	Tinkering with Eden by Kim Todd was more history-oriented than biology-oriented but interesting and educational nonetheless.  Ms. Todd received a Bachelor's Degree from Yale University and went on to receive her Master's Degree from the University of Montana.  She remains living in Montana today.  Giving the background of how various outlandish species found their way to America and then set up their niches, the author strolled through creature after creature from the disgustingly creepy sea lamprey to those cute little monkeys humans always wish to have as pets.  Giving a more-than-sufficient story for each animal throughout the book, Ms. Todd focuses on how each living thing appeared in America and how its existence in this part of the world has made a difference to the landscape in which it commonly appears.  
	Starting with the emergence of pigeons, the author describes what is visible today-hungry pigeons pecking around for food anywhere and everywhere it's available.  Ms. Todd discusses their colors and how pigeons in certain areas have evolved over time.  She attributes their American arrival and specific traits to a span of time in the early 1600s when travelers brought these amusing birds to the States.  For years, these birds had been bred as a symbol of loftiness and if a person was wealthy and heralded in society, they would own a pigeon house.  Pigeons were not allowed to be killed in that time period because they were so important.  These same birds three centuries later are simply known as a nuisance.  They dirty places like Venice, Italy and New York City.  Currently, projects in cities such as those are attempting to raise awareness that these birds are part of our rich history and humans should learn to live alongside them.
	The next segment described the influence of honeybees within the Virginia Company in the seventeenth century.  Including much of the history of John Smith and Pocahontas, the author noted the extreme interest that the colonists had in the honeybee.  Since its natural honey seemed so easy to make and then use to spawn growth in the economy, new citizens jumped at the opportunity.  At this point in history, a realization was made that some of these exotic new creatures seemed magical and that they could even give humans something to be jealous of.  They are not selfish, yet they are very organized and they know their role.  From this point on, honey was looked at as if it was gold and the world and economy began to grow much more rapidly because of it.
	Ms. Todd also focused on the influx of insects such as the dreadful mosquito in Hawaii that would attack twilight slumbers or those lovely silkworms that one man believed could jump-start the silk industry where he could reap the benefits.  Leopold Trouvelot in 1868 decided that it was possible to produce a better silkworm than what nature had already provided.  His plan was to cross European gypsy moth eggs with a similar American species.  One day a few of the moths escaped and before long, an infestation occurred and silkworms were spread.  Before long, people were urged to breed their own silkworms and could buy land at a discounted price if they agreed to keep a silkworm farm.  Trouvelot was thrilled because there were so many being produced-"In their season I used to gather them literally by the quart before going to work in the morning."  Vedalia ladybugs also persisted during the nineteenth century.  Entomologist Benjamin Walsh was stumped around the time of their arrival because they were not traditional and he knew nothing of him.  This challenge was hard for him to accept because he had not come across many nonnative species of insects in his day.  They became more common, these striped ladybugs, and America has been living with them ever since.
	The most compelling story recounted in this book was the story of the man named Eugene Schieffelin who enjoyed the works of Shakespeare thoroughly and desired to make Shakespeare's legacy even more encumbered in America.  He took eight starlings that were freshly sent over from Europe and released them in Central Park.  This was the time when Coney Island was becoming popular for its abundance of circus-like enticements and Chicago, not so far away, was attempting to raise enough funds to begin a World's Fair.  Scheiffelin took those eight birds, which Shakespeare had mentioned in his plays, and released them in order to draw attention to the beauty and flow of poetry.  Many people assumed the worst and considered him a lunatic, but his actions proved nothing but admiration for true beauty in the form of literature.  Compelling acts like this are what helped America's wildlife become so diverse.  If each person was to have a revolutionary idea and a desire to make a difference like Scheiffelin did, imagine the possibilities.  
	Referring back to the arrival of monkeys here in America, Tarzan may not be immediately dismissed as the cause.  That's what many people blamed this influx on.  In the early twentieth century down in Florida, the first Tarzan film was set to be made and as various creatures were brought in to film the movie, monkeys began to populate the land but the truth is that they were around all along.  The real story behind America's monkey population lies within the amusement of tourists in Florida when a man named Colonel Tooey wanted to import them to spice up activity on his Jungle Cruise attraction.  Many people had had the same idea to bring these creatures into Florida because of the landscape and dense areas of forest.  It was a perfect place to bring up such an exotic animal and the tourists were impressed and captivated by what they saw.  Tooey was a genius for his contribution to the growth of this alien species in this country.  
	The one major failure in bringing exotic species to America was the kangaroo.  Its inability to adapt to one or more elements of this environment keeps the kangaroo from existing in America.  The author quotes a cattle breeder originally from Scotland in saying, "What the West needed was a new large ruminant to take its place.  A beast to graze, to convert all that grass to cash, to offer amusement in those long prairie days.  The kangaroo would be perfect."  There is no real explanation for why we cannot bring up these animals-maybe it's simply because when the time was right, there wasn't enough money to import them.  Or maybe there was a deeper cause.  Either way, Ms. Todd called this mistake "a quirk of fate" that must be accepted.  
	Overall, this book was thorough in nature and it has made an impact on me in understanding how a biologist views the world and analyzes various situations.  Although the nature of creatures appearing in America is necessary to know in order to understand the world and how we are all connected, it was something that I had never really considered.  I know that every time a mosquito appears, I go after it but I never stopped to think of the journey its ancestors took from Hawaii into the mainland to become one of the most well-known pests of our time.  I also never took the time to examine why Venice seemed so dirty last summer upon my visit-all I noticed was that the town was bathed in the filth of pigeons and what they actually symbolized once upon a time is nearly unfathomable.  It is very easy to simply assume that throughout time, all animals just appeared here and have evolved.  I never would have thought that monkeys basically did not exist to this part of the world until the early 1900's in this country.  
      All of these ideas relate to my train of thought at one point in time and prove relevant to my life.  It most definitely proved useful in helping me understand the history of this world I live in and the wildlife around me but it did not spawn any desire for me to pursue a career in the field.  It was definitely fascinating material, but my true calling is elsewhere.  I am sure this knowledge may help me out in the future.  I really liked the individual description that the author used in making this story come to life.  She was able to clarify and pinpoint interesting stories about the appearance of certain animals and also describe with enough detail each situation involving people and their actions.  My favorite tale was Schieffelin's work in releasing the Shakespearean starlings in Central Park.  His idea just seemed so magical and original that it is inspiring.  The only thing I really disliked about this book was the section about the sea lamprey and its viciousness simply because of the animal itself.  With sharp teeth and a slithering nature, I got a chill down my back.
      	This book slightly enhanced my interest in biology just because it opened a new door in my imagination.  It brought to light various subjects that I had never taken the time to ponder.  Biology is not simply a hard subject that I cannot grasp-it is made up of so many elements such as this that contribute to an overall science.  I must say I am more open-minded after having examined this book so carefully and becoming more educated on a subject I knew hardly anything about.  This fact leads me to believe that I would not hesitate in recommending the book to others simply because of the clarity it offered and the new explorations I was able to take in my mind after learning the way the Americas have grasped the entrance of exotic species into their environment.  We have been enriched by these colorful creatures and our expanding is never limited as long as this worldwide expedition continues.
      	
	
	
	
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tinkering with Eden.TXT
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Jillian Middlebrook
Bio105 TR 1:00
April 20, 2004
Book Report
Tinkering with Eden
	
	Tinkering with Eden by Kim Todd was more history-oriented than biology-oriented but interesting and educational nonetheless.  Ms. Todd received a Bachelor's Degree from Yale University and went on to receive her Master's Degree from the University of Montana.  She remains living in Montana today.  Giving the background of how various outlandish species found their way to America and then set up their niches, the author strolled through creature after creature from the disgustingly creepy sea lamprey to those cute little monkeys humans always wish to have as pets.  Giving a more-than-sufficient story for each animal throughout the book, Ms. Todd focuses on how each living thing appeared in America and how its existence in this part of the world has made a difference to the landscape in which it commonly appears.  
	Starting with the emergence of pigeons, the author describes what is visible today-hungry pigeons pecking around for food anywhere and everywhere it's available.  Ms. Todd discusses their colors and how pigeons in certain areas have evolved over time.  She attributes their American arrival and specific traits to a span of time in the early 1600s when travelers brought these amusing birds to the States.  For years, these birds had been bred as a symbol of loftiness and if a person was wealthy and heralded in society, they would own a pigeon house.  Pigeons were not allowed to be killed in that time period because they were so important.  These same birds three centuries later are simply known as a nuisance.  They dirty places like Venice, Italy and New York City.  Currently, projects in cities such as those are attempting to raise awareness that these birds are part of our rich history and humans should learn to live alongside them.
	The next segment described the influence of honeybees within the Virginia Company in the seventeenth century.  Including much of the history of John Smith and Pocahontas, the author noted the extreme interest that the colonists had in the honeybee.  Since its natural honey seemed so easy to make and then use to spawn growth in the economy, new citizens jumped at the opportunity.  At this point in history, a realization was made that some of these exotic new creatures seemed magical and that they could even give humans something to be jealous of.  They are not selfish, yet they are very organized and they know their role.  From this point on, honey was looked at as if it was gold and the world and economy began to grow much more rapidly because of it.
	Ms. Todd also focused on the influx of insects such as the dreadful mosquito in Hawaii that would attack twilight slumbers or those lovely silkworms that one man believed could jump-start the silk industry where he could reap the benefits.  Leopold Trouvelot in 1868 decided that it was possible to produce a better silkworm than what nature had already provided.  His plan was to cross European gypsy moth eggs with a similar American species.  One day a few of the moths escaped and before long, an infestation occurred and silkworms were spread.  Before long, people were urged to breed their own silkworms and could buy land at a discounted price if they agreed to keep a silkworm farm.  Trouvelot was thrilled because there were so many being produced-"In their season I used to gather them literally by the quart before going to work in the morning."  Vedalia ladybugs also persisted during the nineteenth century.  Entomologist Benjamin Walsh was stumped around the time of their arrival because they were not traditional and he knew nothing of him.  This challenge was hard for him to accept because he had not come across many nonnative species of insects in his day.  They became more common, these striped ladybugs, and America has been living with them ever since.
	The most compelling story recounted in this book was the story of the man named Eugene Schieffelin who enjoyed the works of Shakespeare thoroughly and desired to make Shakespeare's legacy even more encumbered in America.  He took eight starlings that were freshly sent over from Europe and released them in Central Park.  This was the time when Coney Island was becoming popular for its abundance of circus-like enticements and Chicago, not so far away, was attempting to raise enough funds to begin a World's Fair.  Scheiffelin took those eight birds, which Shakespeare had mentioned in his plays, and released them in order to draw attention to the beauty and flow of poetry.  Many people assumed the worst and considered him a lunatic, but his actions proved nothing but admiration for true beauty in the form of literature.  Compelling acts like this are what helped America's wildlife become so diverse.  If each person was to have a revolutionary idea and a desire to make a difference like Scheiffelin did, imagine the possibilities.  
	Referring back to the arrival of monkeys here in America, Tarzan may not be immediately dismissed as the cause.  That's what many people blamed this influx on.  In the early twentieth century down in Florida, the first Tarzan film was set to be made and as various creatures were brought in to film the movie, monkeys began to populate the land but the truth is that they were around all along.  The real story behind America's monkey population lies within the amusement of tourists in Florida when a man named Colonel Tooey wanted to import them to spice up activity on his Jungle Cruise attraction.  Many people had had the same idea to bring these creatures into Florida because of the landscape and dense areas of forest.  It was a perfect place to bring up such an exotic animal and the tourists were impressed and captivated by what they saw.  Tooey was a genius for his contribution to the growth of this alien species in this country.  
	The one major failure in bringing exotic species to America was the kangaroo.  Its inability to adapt to one or more elements of this environment keeps the kangaroo from existing in America.  The author quotes a cattle breeder originally from Scotland in saying, "What the West needed was a new large ruminant to take its place.  A beast to graze, to convert all that grass to cash, to offer amusement in those long prairie days.  The kangaroo would be perfect."  There is no real explanation for why we cannot bring up these animals-maybe it's simply because when the time was right, there wasn't enough money to import them.  Or maybe there was a deeper cause.  Either way, Ms. Todd called this mistake "a quirk of fate" that must be accepted.  
	Overall, this book was thorough in nature and it has made an impact on me in understanding how a biologist views the world and analyzes various situations.  Although the nature of creatures appearing in America is necessary to know in order to understand the world and how we are all connected, it was something that I had never really considered.  I know that every time a mosquito appears, I go after it but I never stopped to think of the journey its ancestors took from Hawaii into the mainland to become one of the most well-known pests of our time.  I also never took the time to examine why Venice seemed so dirty last summer upon my visit-all I noticed was that the town was bathed in the filth of pigeons and what they actually symbolized once upon a time is nearly unfathomable.  It is very easy to simply assume that throughout time, all animals just appeared here and have evolved.  I never would have thought that monkeys basically did not exist to this part of the world until the early 1900's in this country.  
      All of these ideas relate to my train of thought at one point in time and prove relevant to my life.  It most definitely proved useful in helping me understand the history of this world I live in and the wildlife around me but it did not spawn any desire for me to pursue a career in the field.  It was definitely fascinating material, but my true calling is elsewhere.  I am sure this knowledge may help me out in the future.  I really liked the individual description that the author used in making this story come to life.  She was able to clarify and pinpoint interesting stories about the appearance of certain animals and also describe with enough detail each situation involving people and their actions.  My favorite tale was Schieffelin's work in releasing the Shakespearean starlings in Central Park.  His idea just seemed so magical and original that it is inspiring.  The only thing I really disliked about this book was the section about the sea lamprey and its viciousness simply because of the animal itself.  With sharp teeth and a slithering nature, I got a chill down my back.
      	This book slightly enhanced my interest in biology just because it opened a new door in my imagination.  It brought to light various subjects that I had never taken the time to ponder.  Biology is not simply a hard subject that I cannot grasp-it is made up of so many elements such as this that contribute to an overall science.  I must say I am more open-minded after having examined this book so carefully and becoming more educated on a subject I knew hardly anything about.  This fact leads me to believe that I would not hesitate in recommending the book to others simply because of the clarity it offered and the new explorations I was able to take in my mind after learning the way the Americas have grasped the entrance of exotic species into their environment.  We have been enriched by these colorful creatures and our expanding is never limited as long as this worldwide expedition continues.
      	
	
	
	
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\To Kill A Mocking Bird.TXT
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To Kill A Mocking Bird
Usually, my method of writing a book review starts off with a quote. However, this time with this particular book I've decided to begin with a description of the author. Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. She studied law along with her father and sister. In her allegorical novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes about a young girl in a small southern town by showing the difficulties she will have to face as she grows up.
The author's purpose is to show us how life isn't always fair. I strongly agree with her on that for several reasons. For example, look at what happened to Tom Robinson. He was accused of a crime he didn't commit and then he was killed because someone was lonely. She got him in trouble, which drove him to his death. In this example, life is definitely not fair because he never should have been accused of something he did not do. I could give several examples of smaller, less important situations that have the same theme as this story does "do not harm people who do not harm you." The setting of this book was in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930's. Scout, Jem and Dill spend the summer trying to get Boo Radley out of his house. None of them had ever seen him. Scout started to school and on his way there and back, he and Jem would find gifts in a hole in the tree by the rocky place. Scout and Jem started hearing their father referred to as a "nigger-lover" because he was defending Tom Robinson - a Negro man accused of rape. When Scout, Jem and Calpurnia come home from church, they find Aunt Alexandrea is staying with them for the trial. One night, Atticus mysteriously leaves the house. Scout, Jem, Dill follow him. A lynch mob appears and was trying to force Atticus to let them have the Negro prisoner, but then the kids show up. On the way back from a Halloween pageant, the children were attacked by someone and caused Jem a broken arm.
During the book, Scout changes a lot. She goes from being an immature young girl to a mature young lady. She had a lot to adjust to in this story. For example, Jem felt her was older and too old to hang out with his little sister. This changed Scout because it meant she had to grow up.
The theme of this story is very important. It is "do not harm people who do not harm you". For example, why did some of the characters want Tom Robinson to be found guilty when they knew he was innocent? It doesn't make sense-for people to want to harm others when they haven't done anything.
As hard as this is to say, this was a very interesting book-and that's a lot coming from me considering I am not used to being able to just pick up a book as easy as this was to just pick it up and read it. Usually I am forced into reading but with a book like this it was easy to read. It was exciting and suspenseful because you never know what would happen next. One part of this book I personally like was when Scout becomes friends with Boo Radley. This is special because Scout gives Boo a chance to prove himself to be a nice person, a chance very few would give him. The most believable character in this book has to be Atticus. He said to Scout, "When one stands in someone else's shoes, than one can see things from that person's point of view. This man has a full time job as a lawyer, has two kids, and has to deal with the strenuous Tom Robinson case. He does everything he possible could do in this case. This is a perfect example of life today. I think the moral of this story is to inform people not to harm the people who do not harm you. As Atticus says, "Never kill a mockingbird." This book can reach out to so many people.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\To Kill a Mockingbird 1.TXT
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To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill A Mocking Bird deals with many primal and basic lessons in human nature. The book exposes many issues that affect most people throughout their lives. Scout, the main character was one of the most affected by these lessons. During the book she was exposed to many profound experiences, which no doubt will leave a lasting impression. In the three years that the book took place, she may have learned the most important things she will learn over her entire life. One person that affected Scouts life was Boo Radley. He brought wonder, fear and then finally relief to her heart. At first kids thought he was evil. There were rumours that while he cut out the newspaper for his scrap book he "drove the scissors into his parent's leg."(pg11) He had tried to kill them. Even though this may have been just a rumor the kids were terrified of the Radleys. They described him often as a monster "six-and-a-half feet tall" with "bloodstained" hands. He was said to eat "raw squirrels and any cats he could catch".(pg12) During the rest of the book Scout and companions tried to meet Arthur (Boo) and get over their fear of him. They did not succeed. But he showed affection for them by leaving them gifts in a tree. Finally at the end of the book he proves he is a good person by saving Scout and Jem's lives. In this instance Scout may have found that to negatively prejudge someone is wrong. She also learned compassion. Scout also learnt about the ugliness of life. About death and pain. This lesson occurred while her brother had to read to a sick and dieing old lady. This lady's name was Mrs. Dubose. She had been a morphine addict and had decided to go clean till her death. To die as a free women, to die knowing she had won. Scout describes her as a ugly lady and during their reading sessions she would have some kind of spasm-fits. Her head moved side to side. She would drool. "Her mouth seemed to have a private existence of it's own." (pg.107) After many reading sessions with her having a fit each time, she died one day. Probably the most important person in Scout's life was the one who had set the best examples for her. This was Atticus. He taught Scout how to deal with people. One of his teachings was to be the bigger person. When Bob Ewell spit in Atticus's face and threatened his life, he did nothing and walked away. All he had to say later was,"I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco."(pg.217) Atticus reacts with his brain not emotions. He encourages Scout to do the same. Another trait that he teaches is respect. Respect for people who are different. People such as Boo Radley. The kids had been acting out a play which involved Boo's scissor incident. They also tried to give a letter to him, so that he would come out to meet them. Atticus found out about both incidents. They were put in their place and told to, "stop tormenting that man." He then told them that, "what Mr.Radley did was his own business."(pg.49) Atticus also commanded respect for black people. He once told Jem that if a white man cheats a black man, "no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that man is trash."(pg.220) At the trial he also explained that there are bad and good black men as there are good and bad white men.(pg.204) Two more models that helped Scout out. The first was a valuable example set by Atticus. He had been told to defend Tom Robinson. The case was a lost cause because he was beat before he began, and it would bring hardship to himself and his family. He knew this, but did not give up. It was the right thing to do. As he told his brother, "do you think I could face my children otherwise"(pg.88) Scout heard this conversation and understood it in later years. Again teaching this gives her a valuable example; Stick to what you believe in. A lesson in effort and commitment was also demonstrated by Mrs. Dubose. After finding out that she would soon die, she decided to kick the morphine. This was a very hard thing for her or for that matter anyone to do. "She was the bravest person I knew." said Atticus. He also again repeated that courage is when, "you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway".(pg.112) This is in fact a mirror image example of what he was doing by taking on the Robinson case. And finally not so much a lesson but a warning for Scout. The warning comes from Boo Radley, a man who keeps away from society as he seems to fear it. His life is a perfect testimony for all the bad and ugliness of our world. As Jem said best. "I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all this time......It's because he wants to stay inside." It become apparent that the things that Scout has learned are all very important. Some maybe the most important during her lifetime. This is why these may have been some of the most important years of here life. And that all the experiences that she went though were essential.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\To Kill a Mockingbird 2.TXT
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To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is an ageless classic that takes place during the 1930s. In the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, there was a deadly racial attitude towards the people who were different then the general public. In a town of tunnel vision and hatred, Atticus and Scout stood out with open minds. Atticus was the anchor of reason in Maycomb. He understood many people in town and taught his children how to understand other people's feeling as well. Atticus believed that if you knew what someone had been through, then you would understand them better. Atticus also made Jem and Scout realize that no one is pure evil; meaning that if you look hard enough, you would find that there is good in every person you meet. Mrs. Dubose, who was perceived as an "old witch" by Jem and Scout, showed great bravery in her fight against drug addiction. Atticus believed Jem would change his opinions of Mrs. Dubose if he spends some time with her. Only after Mrs. Dubose's death did Jem begin to perceive Mrs. Dubose the same way his father did. Likewise Atticus defended Tom Robinson when no other lawyer would. He was one of the few respectable people who were not blinded by the racial injustice Tom Robinson faced. Not only did Atticus defend Tom in the courthouse, he defended him at jail on one occasion too. It happened when an angry mob was trying to kill Tom Robinson, but Atticus risked his life to save him from that mob. If only the people of Maycomb were willing to listen to Atticus' wise advice, then the town would be free of racism. Scout, symbolizing the leaders of tomorrow, began to see how other people perceived things. She started to understand the meaning of "to kill a mockingbird." At first Scout couldn't comprehend what Atticus meant when he said, "It was a sin to kill a mockingbird." As the novel progressed, Scout begun to realize how people contributed to the community without harming others. For example when Boo Radley (the shy neighbor who never went outside) killed Bob Ewell to save Jem and Scout, the sheriff of Maycomb County tried to cover it up. Heck Tate, who was the sheriff, believed that "...taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight" (279) was a sin. Tate reasoned that Boo would have hated being praised a hero by the townspeople because he was so shy. Because she had a child-like innocence and believed that racism is wrong, she could have been the perfect role model for people of all ages. Atticus and Scout, the few people in Maycomb who had enough senses to see the injustice of discrimination. Some people may ask how a whole town could be consumed by hatred. But even today our world continues to deal with racism. If people like Atticus and Scout did not exist in our world, then mankind would be in forever war until we completely destroy each other.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\To Kill A Mockingbird.TXT
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To Kill A Mockingbird
Scout, the main character and narrorator of the story, Jem, her brother, and Dill,
their neighbor friend that visited every summer, loved to act out stories they knew. They
did all kinds of stories like Tarzan and Dracula. Signaling the end of summer and the
absence of Dill, the school year began. Scout started school, having a very rough first day. 
The days flying by, the school year passed quickly for Scout and Jem. Looking forward to
seeing Dill again, they found the summer fast aproaching. Begining to play their game as
soon as possible, they grew tired of acting out the same old stories, wanting to do
something new and exciting. Jem came up with an idea, playing Boo Radley. The story
of Boo Radley, the neighborhood weird guy, went as follows: Boo going slightly crazy,
stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors. Being a small town, everyone knew the
story but no one realy knew or understood what hapened. So they began to act out the
story of Boo Radley. Scout played Mrs. Radley, Jem-Boo Radley, and Dill played Mr.
Radley. Making their scenes more complex everyday, the three entertained themselves for
most of the summer before Atticus caught them, forbidding them to play that game again.
D. Two Characters:
Scout, the main character, is a tomboy. Knowing she can do anything her brother,
Jem, can do she is confident and able to stand up for herself. She never let anybody push
her around, for instance, when Walter Cunninghum, refusing to take the money from Miss
Caroline, accidentally got her in trouble she beat him up. The other main character is Jem.
Wanting to get Boo Radley to come out, he goes to all kinds of lengths to acheive his
goal. Like losing his pants over the fence trying to sneak over to Boo's house.
E. Summarization
Atticus took on a case for a black man accused of raping a white woman. The case
did not go well and Atticus's family went through some rough times because of the case.
Atticus's sister Alexandria came to stay with them during the case and Scout developed a
strong dislike for her. The jury decided the black man was guilty and Jem nad Scout took
it hard. Dressed for her part in the school play, Scout and Jam are attacked on their way
home. Jem received a broken arm and Scout had been saved by the chicken wire around
her from her costume and Boo Radley. Meeting Boo for the first time, Scout and him
later became good friends.
F. Theme:
I think the theme of this book is being able to overcome the toughest odds to do
what you think is right, even if the result isn't what you wanted it to be. G. Does the title fit?
I think the title fits perfectly because falsely accusing someone of a crime is kind of
like killing a mockingbird.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tom Clancy Rainbow 6.TXT
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Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6
Rainbow Six
This book was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in New York, USA.
Copyright date is 1998. There are 740 pages in this book.
Thomas L. Clancy, Jr. was born on the 12th of April 1947, he is married
and lives in Maryland, USA. Clancy's novels can be classified as
Military-Techno-Thrillers. He has written fiction and non-fiction books,
Rainbow Six is a fiction book. As for other titles, well there are just
to many to list, in total 23. Some books that he has written are The
Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, to list a
few. According to Clancy "Rainbow Six, is one of my all time
favourites."
The book starts with a prologue that introduces us to the one main
character, John Clark, an ex-Navy SEAL, and two other characters,
Alistair Stanley the executive commander of Rainbow Six, and Domingo
(Ding) Chavez, the Captain of Team 2. There are two other insignificant
character introduced, Clark's wife Sandy and his daughter Patsy, who is
married to Ding. Patsy is pregnant. The other main character is Dmitriy
Arkadeyevich Popov, he is an ex-KGB agent who is now working as a
'special consultant'. He will become very important later on in the
book.
Clark is the commander and in charge of starting a new European
anti-terrorist group called Rainbow Six. Rainbow Six is split into two
teams; Team 1 and Team 2. These teams are the best there is. They are
based in Hereford, England, but any European country can call on them at
any time. They run 3 miles in 20 minutes every morning at 6:00 am. Only
one team will be on-call at a time. The team that is not on-call will
be doing live fire practices. In the first 6 months of being in
operation they are called on three times which is a lot for this type of
thing. The first incident happens in a Swiss bank where terrorists have
taken control. They also have hostages. Team 2 successfully takes them
out, with only one hostage killed, but he is killed before they had
gotten there. The first mission helps them organize themselves and fix
a few holes in their planning.
The second mission is in Germany. An international trader is taken
hostage in his mansion/castle. This mission goes well too, thanks to
the snipers. No hostage deaths, but all the terrorists are killed.
After this mission is over they realize they should have a helicopter
and pilot on the team, this is done. The last mission that they are
called on in the book is in Spain, in a huge amusement park. Earlier on
in the book we hear a conversation in a french high security jail, with
the Jackal and his lawyer. The Jackal tells his lawyer he is sick of
being in jail and to call his friends and they would know what to do.
The terrorists at the amusement park are well prepared, but not well
enough to take on the Rainbow Six team. They take 30 children hostage,
and demand for the Jackal and several other prisoners release. One of
the major things that goes awary for the terrorists is that the Rainbow
six have a program that would disable all cellular phones. They vary
phones that the terrorists are using to communicate, with each other.
Once their communication is out Rainbow Six easily takes them out one by
one. They then take out the large group. Only one child is killed.
The terrorists do this killing to show they are serious. One terrorist
goes outside and takes a child that is in a wheelchair and shoots her in
the back. The team just had to sit there and watch. If they had
interrupted, they know more children will die.
In the meantime while this is happening, Popov, the ex-KGB agent now
freelance is hired by an American. Popov is hired to get people to do
the job in Switzerland, the bank taking, and the taking of the
international trader in Germany. The person that has hired him is the
president of a multi-national pharmaceutical company, that has access to
and deals with extremely deadly viruses, he is extremely wealthy. Lets
call him the Boss (sorry forgot his name). Popov has nothing to do with
the hostage taking of the children in Spain, that was the Jackal. Popov
is living in New York will he is organizing these jobs and flies back
and forth from Europe to organize them. After all three incidents
happen, Popov thought there was something weird about the way the take
downs went. So he started watching tapes of the take downs by the
media. He sees the same person smoking a cigar after each mission, he
puts things together and realizes all the take downs are done by the
same team. Popov tells the Boss, who, through his numerous connections,
one of them being Bill Henriksen he is the president of Global Security,
finds out it is the Rainbow Six team. This worries him because they
could get in the way of his ultimate goal. So he has Popov do one more
job, to attack Rainbow Six in their home base, Hereford,England. Popov
goes to Ireland where he knows some IRA people that would do this, for a
fee of course, 5 million dollars and weapons.
The IRA people decide to go after Clark's wife and daughter, since they
are the easiest to get at, in the hospital they both work at. Their
plan works well, they take them Sandy and Pasty hostage and they get
both teams to come out and stop them. The IRA's goal is only to take
out about 5 of the Rainbow Six team's enough to disable them. Then they
have the same problem the terrorist in Spain did they used cell phones
so when Rainbow used there scrambler they started to fall apart. Some
of the IRA people tried to escape unsuccessfully and others stayed with
the hostages to use as bargaining tools. The physiologist on the team
was able to talk them into surrendering. No civilian casualties, but 2
Rainbow people where killed and one injured. Most of the IRA people
were killed except a few of them and, the leader he was badly injured.
When the leader was coming out of unconsciousness they managed tricking
him into talking and telling them who put him up to this. They managed
to track it back to Popov, but they could not find him, he was in New
York by now.
During this time, Global Security gets a contract from the Australian
government, because they are about to host the Olympics.
The whole point of the Boss having these operations done is to get the
Australians thinking they need a security consultant company to keep the
Olympics safe. The only problem is that the Australians have also asked
that some people from Rainbow Six be there. But the Boss tells
Henriksen to go ahead with the mission, which if successful, could mean
the end of human life on the planet as we know it!
This book ends with the goods guys winning, but you are sitting on the
edge of your seat for the last few chapters. The ending is slightly
comedic.
This book was extremely well written, giving you clues as to what is
happening as it goes along. I found that character development was done
very well, you could relate to everyone, understand them and know what
they where going to do next. But what made this book great is the plot,
the way it slowly expands and just the main idea of the plot makes you
think, what if?
(If you want to know how the book ends read on, if not stop reading, I
will explain it in a few lines.)
The Boss and several thousand other people who know about this mission
are extreme environmentalists. They believe that humankind should be
wiped off the face of the plant except them, who will treat the plant
with respect. So they plant a deadly virus at the Australian Olympics.
But when Popov finds out what they are doing he goes right to Clark, who
tells his men in Australia and they make sure the virus is not
released. Then the Rainbow team raids the environmentalists compound in
Brazil and destroy it. Only a few hundred of the important radicals are
in Brazil. The important ones (leaders) left the compound in the States
(their main headquarters) for Brail when they knew the plan was not
going well. They knew something was wrong because they had not heard
from Henriksen who was caught trying to release the virus in Australia.
The radicals including the Boss was left totally naked in the middle of
the Brazilian rain forest. Because Clark knows they could never be
tried in any court for various reasons

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tom Sawyer.TXT
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970
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", By Mark Twain is a story told from the eyes of the young Tom Sawyer. The story takes place in the small rustic town of St. Petersburg Missouri. Tom Sawyer is the main character of the book. Tom is an imaginative young man who always seems to be getting into trouble. Tom is very adventurous, he never passes up a chance to play pirates, robbers, or soldiers. This book has multiple themes but the most important is knowing when its right to talk and tell the truth and when its better to be quiet or lie. At the beginning of the story Tom is introduced by climbing in his window after a long night of cavorting with his friends. Soon after the start of the story Tom meets Huckleberry Fin. Huck is a local outcast of society who likes to live by his own terms. Tom and Huck become good friends. One night the two boys go to the grave yard. While they are there they witness the murder of the town doctor, Mr. Robinson. The boys watched as Injun Joe kills the doctor and frames a drunk by the name of Muff Potter who just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The boys swear never to speak of this again. Soon after this Tom falls in love with his new neighbor, Becky Thatcher. Eventually the two become engaged but the engagement falls through when Tom accidentally mentions his former love while talking with Becky. The two fued and do not speak. Meanwhile, the whole town is gossiping of the murder of Dr. Robinson and the prosecution of Muff Potter. A trail quickly forms and Muff is put on the stand. Tom knows he can not let the innocent Muff go to jail so as the trial comes to a close Tom testifies, proving Injun Joe guilty. This is the climax of the story. After the trial ends, the man hunt for Injun Joe begins. Tom is treated like a hero, but feels bad knowing that he broke Huck's oath. Becky and Tom soon become friends again after Tom takes Becky's punishment at school for being careless with the teachers things. Becky finds Tom to be very noble. Summer is coming near. Injun Joe is still at large and Tom and Huck are searching for treasure. While searching near an old ghost house one night the two boys over hear Injun Joe talking about some loot that he hid. The boys are determined to find it . As an end of the year celebration, Tom's whole class goes on a picnic and on a cave exploration near the wood outside of town. While in the caves Tom and Becky get lost. The whole town searches for them but they are not found. also in the caves Tom sees Injun Joe snooping around. This inspires him to find a way out, which he does. After Tom and Becky are home the caves are sealed, leaving Injun Joe and his treasure locked inside. Injun Joe dies of starvation at the gated entrance of the cave and his treasure is discovered buy Tom and Huck who had found a secret way into the cave. The boys become the richest men in town. Huck decides to break away from the outcast life and moves in with a respectable widow in town. Tom and Huck are happy and rich and they promise to always stay together. The main character of the book is Tom Sawyer. Tom is an imaginative young man. Whenever Tom plays he pretends to be a pirate or Robin Hood and his friends would be his merry men. "Just here the blast of a toy tin trumpet came faintly Tom flung off his shirt using it as a belt sticking in it a rude bow and arrow and a wooden sword. "Hold on me merry men! keep hid till I blow." (page 59) Tom is also very adventurous and loves to go hunting for treasure with Huck. "There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a ragging desire to go somewhere and dig for buried treasure." (page 151) This feeling suddenly came upon Tom one day. Tom got Huck and the went to search for treasure by the old abandoned ghost house. Tom often uses his creative imagination to get out of punishment from his Aunt Polly. Tom could make up lies like nobody else. He was very slick. Tom would use his adventures to escape the havoc of daily life. When Tom had a hard day at school or a problem with Sid, he would go on a treasure hunt , or go play Robin Hood in the woods. This book is known to have multiple themes but I tried to connect all of them into one. The presence of truth is the cornerstone of my theme. I believe it can best be summed up by a quote from Alexander Jablokov. "The road to truth is long, and lined the whole way with annoying bastards." Tom has many important decisions to make throughout the book. It is his truth that saves the life of Muff Potter during his trial and actually his lie that saves Becky Thatcher from being whipped(page 134). Tom is made out to be this wild conniving little cheater at the beginning of the book, but as the story proceeds Tom begins to mature, tell the truth, show signs of nobility and charisma, and not be such a naughty little boy. Tom goes from boy to man in this book. His view of the importance of truth changes and he understands that in order to do what is right it wont be easy and that there may be some hardships along the way.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Too Bare Hamlet.TXT
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732
A son's tragedy, a brother's betrayal. A story of responsibility and revenge is that of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The theme in the play Hamlet is one that is great in age and remains present even in today's entertainment. A modern story which shares this theme is Disney's The Lion King. The characters Simba and Hamlet are the main characters in both stories and both share many similarities. Treachery from within the family was the cause of both character's losses, and the initial conflict of the entire story. Along with major characters, the stories also share similar secondary characters. The characters Rosencranz and Guildenstern can be compared to the Disney characters Timon and Pumbaa. The Lion King and Hamlet share a common theme and reflect one another. The Prince of Denmark, the Prince of the Pride Lands, Hamlet and Simba are the main characters of both stories and share similar situations and traits. Both characters think highly of their fathers and share a close bond of love with them. "With all my love I do commend me to you"( II I 184 ), proving that Hamlet not only loves his father but also respects and obeys his wishes. "I was just trying to be brave like you." Simba says this to his father showing how much he looks up to him. Hamlet and Simba delay their action of revenge over their father's death. The loss of the fatherly figure leaves Hamlet extremely depressed, and Simba with feelings of guilt and without a teacher. Each character runs from their responsibility, although they both know what must be done inside. It is remarkable that such similarities exist in the conflicts and actions of both characters. Hamlet and Simba are betrayed by their uncles whom murder their fathers in order to fulfill their own ambitions. Scar and Claudius were both the brother of the proclaimed King. They both lived in their older brother's shadow and were envious of their success. Claudius and Scar's envy led them to kill their brothers which allowed them to seize the throne. "The serpent that did sting thy father's life/Now wears his crown. ( I V 38,39 )" "Here's my little secret, I killed Mufasa." To keep their newly claimed throne Scar and Claudius had to guarantee that there would be no interference from their nephews. Both Hamlet and Simba were led astray from their home by their uncle, therefore guaranteeing no interference. "The associates tend, and every thing is bent/For England."( IV III 45,46) "Run away! Run away and never return!" In Hamlet and The Lion King the main characters were betrayed by their uncle by the murdering of their father and the seizure of the crown. With major characters in both works aside, the similarities between secondary characters in The Lion King and Hamlet are still quite alike. The characters Rosencranz and Guildenstern can be compared to the Disney characters Timon and Pumbaa. Both pairs of characters give relief from the main focus of the stories. Timon and Pumbaa provided a welcome distraction from Simba's responsibilities by introducing him to a carefree life of "Hakuna Matata." Rosencranz and Guildenstern showed that Hamlet does enjoy a life outside of the royal house by mingling with the two friends. Rosencranz and Guildenstern were used by Claudius to spy upon Hamlet. Hamlet was aware of his friends betrayal and this was a constant reminder to Hamlet and the revenge that must be acted upon Claudius. Timon and Pumbaa were not under the employment of Scar, nevertheless the sidekick pair provide a similar function. At one point they attempt to obtain Simba's past from his memory. Once Simba gives in, his memories begin to come back to him and he remembers his responsibility. He is then convinced to return back to the Pride Lands and face his problems by the arrival of his old friend Nala. Although Timon and Pumbaa had no intention of doing so, they performed the same act of reminding the main character of their responsibility to their fathers and their kingdoms that Rosencranz and Guildenstern did. The theme in Hamlet can be compared to the Walt Disney movie The Lion King. The influences that Hamlet had on The Lion King were constant through many things. The main characters, Hamlet and Simba are comparable by situations and their actions. The initial conflict was constant within the two stories in that it was caused by treachery from within. Along with the main characters and plot details, the stories were similar in the representation of the secondary characters. With Hamlet as the influential theme for the movie The Lion King it resulted in arguably one of the best animated films of all time. Classical influences should be more widely recognized by the entertainment industry for the use of an extraordinary theme. "Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage" ( V II 386 ).
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Tradition A Rose For Emily The Lottery.TXT
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613
Tradition People throughout the world do things for many different reasons. Religion, peer pressure, or tradition are some of the reasons the people do things. In the U.S. we have many traditions such as Christmas. Some people have strange or out of the ordinary traditions. The two short stories "The Lottery" and "A Rose for Emily" both portray tradition. In "The Lottery", tradition is showed in three main ways. First, Old Man Warner says, "there has always been a lottery (Jackson 11)." The town people accept The Lottery because there has always been a lottery. The older people in the town such as Old Man Warner keep the tradition alive with their ideals. Second, The Lottery is held every year. Tradition is upheld in this way because it introduces the younger generation to the tradition. This shows that the lottery is a tradition because traditions happen over and over again. Lastly, tradition is shown with the parifanilia used in the story of "The Lottery". The black box used to draw names is a duplicate of the original. The black box is a symbol of what was in the years past. In "A Rose for Emily", tradition is also shown in three main ways. First, Emily does not get courted by anyone. This would not seem to be a normal tradition but in the story her father did not want Emily to become involved with anyone. Emily's father was not following tradition when doing this because normal tradition would be to allow Emily to become involved with someone. Second, "A Rose for Emily" shows tradition in the way the townspeople treated Miss. Emily. Tradition is shown when the older generation of people put lime down instead of confronting Emily with the smell. The elders of the town also allowed Emily to go without paying taxes after she told them she did not have to pay them. Finally, tradition is shown with Emily cutting her hair. Emily cut her hair after her father died (Faulkner ?). This shows some tradition because women in that time and place of society do not cut their hair unless they want to show something. Emily was showing she had gotten over her father's death and ready to move on with her life. "The Lottery" and "A Rose for Emily" both show tradition in the same ways. First, both stories have women as the main characters as the ones showing tradition. Miss. Emily was the woman in "A Rose for Emily" that showed tradition. Tessie was the woman in "The Lottery" that showed tradition in the story. Second, in both stories the elders had the strongest tradition. In the story "A Rose for Emily" the older generation are the ones that respected Emily and let her get away with many things such as the taxes. In "The Lottery" old man Warner was the person keeping "The Lottery" alive with his ideals and his role in "The Lottery" throughout the years. Finally, in both stories the tradition changed a little. In "A Rose for Emily" the younger generation was changing the tradition in the way they treat the elder, august named people. In "The Lottery" the rituals and sayings that have been taken out of the agenda of "The Lottery" changed the tradition. The short stories "A Rose for Emily" and "The Lottery" both have their own ways of showing tradition. "A Rose for Emily" had three main ways of showing tradition, "The Lottery" had three main ways of showing tradition also, and both stories have some of the same concepts of traditions.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Treasure Island.TXT
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2204
Treasure Island I have written a report on one of Robert Louis Stevenson's most popular books, Treasure Island. Stevenson, as writer, is mostly admired for his style, imagination and narrative skill. Stevenson combines mystery, suspense, and adventure throwing in pieces of how life would be with pirates in this story. As a young boy he was fascinated about pirates and wanted to be one himself. The story takes place in the year 1700 and it is described as a year of grace. The general idea of the plot is young Jim Hawkins and his friends discover a map of a deserted island. The map is marking a location of a hidden pirate treasure. Jim becomes curious and decides to go searching for this treasure. On board the Hispaniola, Jim sails toward an unknown island and an exciting adventure. Out at sea, he realizes too late that the crew contains none other then the infamous Long John Silver and his crew of Pirates. They, too, want to find the buried gold, and are willing to kill for it. The main characters of the story are Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones, Blind Pew, Squire Trelawney, Doctor Livesey, Captain Flint, Long John Silver, Captain Smollett, and Ben Gunn. Jim Hawkins is a young man is his late twenties. He is a hansom man with blonde hair, brown eyes, big broad shoulders, and a very good sense of humor. He is a brave, curious, and out-going person. Jim is the hero of the book. It was Jim who finds the map and eventually saves everyone from the pirates. After many adventures on Treasure Island he returns to England with the treasure. Jim thought the adventure was quite scary, but he enjoyed it and would do it again. Billy Bones is a tall, strong, heavy, tan man. He has pigtails falling over his shoulders. He always wares the same soiled blue coat. He also has a scar on his face that's a bright white color. Billy plays a drunken, violent and yet terrified man who brings the map to Jim's Inn. He is given the Black Spot by Blind Pew and dies of a heart attack from terror. Blind Pew is plainly blind and uses a stick to help him walk in the right direction. He wares a great green shade over his eyes and nose. He is always hunched over, as if it was from age or weakness. He wares a huge old tattered sea-cloak with a hood, which made him appear positively deformed. Blind Pew plays an evil and sinister pirate who was blinded in a pirate attack. He is a cruel, scary and determined to get the map. He gives Billy Bones the Black Spot and is trampled to death by horses. Squire Trelawney is a he was a tall man, over six feet high, and broad in proportion. He had a bluff, rough-and-ready face. His eyebrows were very black and moved readily. They gave him a look of some temper, but he didn't have a bad one just a quick one. Squire's role in the story in the story is that he funds the secret treasure hunt, but due to his big mouth he lets he secret out, alerting Long John Silver and his pirate mates. He is brave, means well, but a little but stupid and is hopeless at keeping secrets. Doctor Livesey is a very neat and polite person. He has black eyes and gray hair. He is an old and bright doctor. His role in the story in a decent, honorable man, who is practical and sensible even when things get tough. Due to his commonsense the treasure is found and brought safely home. Captain Flint is the most bloodthirsty buccaneer that sailed. He is willing to do anything to get that gold. He is the most evil, cruel, and heartless pirate to sail the seven seas. Long John Silver lost his leg near the hip, so under the left shoulder he uses a crutch. He can manage this wonderfully by hopping about upon it like a bird. He is very tall and strong, with a face as big as a ham. He has a plain and pale, but intelligent and smiling. The role he plays is a man that is hired by the Squire to be the cook on the Hispaniola. He turns out not to be a cook, but an evil pirate who is also hunting for Captain Flint's treasure. Generally he is not to be trusted. He is a clever, sneaky and dastardly villain who is feared by all. He escapes at the end of the book with some of the treasure and is never seen again. Captain Smollett is a sharp looking man who seemed angry with everything on board. His role is the story is a fine, upstanding gentleman and an excellent captain. He is immediately suspicious of his motley crew, but taken in by Long John Silver. He proves to be very brave and eventually retires on the money made from the treasure. The sun burned Ben Gunn's skin wherever it was exposed. His lips were black and his fair eyes looked quite startling in such a dark face. Of all the beggar-men that I have saw in this story he was the chief for raggedness. He was clothed with tatters of old ships' canvas and old sea cloth. This extraordinary patchwork was all held together by a system of the most various and incongruous fastenings, brass bottons, bits of stick, and loops of tarry gaskin. All around his waist he wore an old brass-buckled leather belt which was the one thing solid in his whole hidden supplies. His role is a stranded on the island for three years and is also a reformed pirate. He helps Jim and the others overcome the pirates and take the treasure home. Once home he manages to spend all his money in three days and becomes a porter for the rest of his life. The plot of the story is something like this: In the beginning the story begins at Jim's parent's Inn. A mysterious stranger called Billy Bones Rents a room at he inn. Billy lives in fear of an one-legged man and continually warns Jim to keep a look out for him. One day he is visited by a fearful blind beggar called Blind Pew who gives him the Black Spot -the mark of imminent death among pirate crews. After Blind Pew leaves Billy collapses on dies of "Thundering Apoplexy." Jim finds a map in Billy's sea chest just before Blind Pew returns with a band of evil pirates. Jim and his mother only just have time to hide before the pirates start to ransack the Inn looking for the map. Suddenly soldiers arrive and the pirates escape except for Blind Pew who is accidentally trampled to death by the soldier's horses. Jim takes the map to Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey who realize it is a treasure map that Captain Flint- and evil and infamous dead pirate-buried his ill gotten gains. The Squire and the Doctor decided to go and find the treasure and invite Jim to come along. In a few weeks the Squire has bought a ship called the Hispaniola and has hired a good crew headed by the admirable Captain Smollett. The cook is an one-legged man called Long John Silver whom everyone who admires. The ship sets sail and Captain Smollett immediately begins to have doubts about the trustworthiness of this crew- but no trouble develops. However, the night before they reach Treasure Island Jim over hears Silver and other members of the crew plotting to kill them all. He realizes that Silver and most of the crew are actually pirates and were once members of Captain's Flint's crew. Jim warns the doctor, Squire and the Captain about the evil plans that are afoot. The Captain sends most of the pirates ashore as a reward for arriving at the island. Jim decides at the last moment to go ashore with them and once ashore hide in the woods that cover the island. While hiding he comes across Ben Gunn an ex-pirate who was marooned on the island three years ago bye his crew mates. Ben has renounced piracy and promises to help Jim and his friends. Meanwhile, the Captain and the others have abandoned the Hispaniola and taken refuge in an old stockade on the island. The pirates quickly realize that their plans have been discovered and then attack Captain and the others in an attempt to get the treasure map. However, for the time being the Captain and co. are safe in the stockade. Jim splits, then manages to sneak into the stockade and is reunited with his friends. They spend an uneasy night in the stockade and the next morning Silver approaches waving a flag of truce. Silver offers their lives in exchange for the treasure map; the Captain refuses and soon another gun fight starts. The stockade is attacked by the pirates, but are fought off, though they are men killed on both sides. Captain Smollett is also injured. Jim decides to escape from the stockade and sneaks off without telling the others. He finds a boat that Ben Gun had told him he had hidden and sails out to the Hispaniola and cuts its morning ropes. He falls asleep in the boat exhausted. In the mooring he only just manages to escape from drowning, as the sea has become very rough. Luckily he spots the drifting Hispaniola and manages to board her. There are only two pirates on board and one of who has been killed in a drunken brawl by the other. After a terrifying fight Jim kills the last pirate and manages to steer the ship in a small cove. He then heads back to the stockade to rejoin his friends. The stockade is now in the hands of Silver and his mates. Jim is captured and is given the choice to join them. When he refuses the pirates want to kill him, but Silver talks them out of it. Silver tells Jim that the Doctor has given him the map and also abandoned the stockade in exchange for being allowed to go free. Silver tells Jim that he is now on the side of the doctor. At this point the pirates attempt to give Silver the Black Spot, but withdraw it when he reveals that he has the map. The treasure hunt begins and Jim is dragged along. The weather is hot and sweaty and the pirates are edgy. When they finally reach the spot where the treasure should be hidden they discover it's only an empty chest and the treasure is gone. Silver immediately realizes that there will be trouble and gives Jim a pistol with which to defend himself. The pirates turn angrily on Silver and are just about to attack him when there is a shot from among the trees. The remaining pirates run off, heading for the remaining long boat left from the Hispaniola. Jim and his friends easily get there before them and demolish the boat. At this point Ben Gunn reveals that he dug up the treasure several years ago and it is now in his cave. Jim now takes everyone to the Hispaniola and they transport the treasure from Ben's cave to her hold. Silver still claims to be on the Doctor's side and helps them at every opportunity. Finally, they set sail and leave Treasure Island and the last couple of pirates behind. They first sail the Hispaniola to America to get more crewmen and docked there for the night. In the morning they discover that Silver and some of the treasure had disappeared. Finally, they return home, the Captain makes a full recovery. Ben Gunn becomes a more respectable citizen (for three days) and Jim says he would do it again anyday. No one ever hears of Long John Silver again. The conflict is solved when silver and the pirates capture Jim. The problem of the story is solved when Jim and his friends finding the treasure. Then escaping off the island without getting attacked by the pirates. The only other problem is that Long John Silver took some of the treasure and disappeared. My opinion of the story is it was very cool and interesting. I liked it because it had a lot of detail and exciting events. I enjoy reading stories with suspense and action. I also like reading about science fiction. If I were to change anything I would change how Long John Silver disappeared at the end. I didn't like how they just told you he disappeared like that. I like cliffhanger, but not in this book. I also don't like how Billy Bones died so early. I would have made it so he live and they found the map on Treasure Island in an old chest in the attic. I liked his character, so I would have liked it to tell more about him. I would recommend this book to children 12 and above. I think this age is expectable because some of the language might have been harder for younger children.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Uncle Toms Cabin.TXT
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1431
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut. She was the daughter of a Calvinist minister and she and her family was all devout Christians, her father being a preacher and her siblings following. Her Christian attitude much reflected her attitude towards slavery. She was for abolishing it, because it was, to her, a very unchristian and cruel institution. Her novel, therefore, focused on the ghastly points of slavery, including the whippings, beatings, and forced sexual encounters brought upon slaves by their masters. She wrote the book to be a force against slavery, and was joining in with the feelings of many other women of her time, whom all became more outspoken and influential in reform movements, including temperance and women's suffrage. The main point of Harriet Beecher Stowe in the writing of Uncle Tom's Cabin was to bring to light slavery to people in the north. In this she hoped to eventually sway people against slavery. The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin focuses on the lives of two slaves, who both start under the ownership of a Mr. Shelby, who is known as a man who treats his slaves well. Mr. Shelby, however, was indebted to a man of the name Haley, who is a slave-trader. In return for the debt owed to him, Haley wants two slaves one being the son of a beautiful mulatto woman named Eliza, and the other the devout Christian Tom, who is called Father Tom because of his sermons. Eliza is also a Christian, as are the rest of the slaves on Shelby's farm. Eliza loves her son dearly and rather than lose him to the slave-trader she takes him and heads to Canada, where she can be free. Haley follows but can't catch her before she goes from Kentucky, the state of the Shelby Farm, to Ohio. Haley then sends slave-catchers after her. He also goes back to the farm, and brings Tom on a steamboat to the South, a place where slaves are known to die, but Tom meets and makes a great impression on a little girl, Evangeline St. Clare, or Eva as she is called, and she persuades her father, Augustine St. Clare to purchase Tom. Augustine is a man against slavery, but too intelligent and idle to openly oppose it, instead choosing to let his slaves run freely and do whatsoever they please, within reason. Tom is bought as a man who works at the stable, and is the private driver of Marie St. Clare. Marie was a conceited woman who is too busy worrying about herself to take proper care of Eva, which results in Augustine bringing his cousin, Ophelia, to take care of her and was the reason for his and Eva's traveling on the steamboat where Tom meets them. Meanwhile, Eliza is taken to a Quaker settlement on the border of the slave states where she meets up with George, her husband, who is a highly intelligent slave. He escaped to the Quaker settlement by dressing as a white man, which he isn't very far away from because of his mulatto descendance. He then uses another slave to act as his slave and makes it to the settlement after hearing Eliza, his wife, is there. They are soon told that men are after them, so they flee, have a confrontation in which one of the Quaker men pushes a slave-catcher into a ravine. The catcher is then taken to a Quaker home to be tended to where he heals and decides to no longer be a slave-catcher. They then, dressing as two men and their daughter, as opposed to husband, wife, and son, ride a ferry to Canada. Tom, on the other hand, is enjoying himself at St. Clare's, where he is having an easy life, until Eva becomes sick, and dies. St. Clare is deeply affected by this, and begins to think about his own mortality, and the rights and wrongs of slavery. After much reflection he decides to initiate the freeing of Tom, whose wife, back in Kentucky, is trying to earn enough money to buy him back by being a confectioner. Tom is overjoyed when hearing the news of his freedom, but St. Clare dies before he can finish the proceedings, and Tom was sold at an auction before the Shelby's can be reached, for they would have surely came and bought him back. Tom is sold to a man named Legree, the character of the average hard slaveholder, dirty, mean and ugly. Tom is then beaten to death before George Shelby could come and buy him back. Tom didn't die scared because he was being beaten for not confessing the hiding place of two female slaves, and knew he was going to heaven. One of these females and another woman that the two meet on the way to Canada are relatives of George and Eliza and meet with them. They all eventually move to Liberia, a state created in Africa which was created for free blacks. Uncle Tom's cabin comes to represent the beauty and humanity of slaves, and Tom's legacy of Christian faith and obedience. Stowe did a great job with this book. What is believed to be one of the influential books of all time, ranking with the works of Adam Smith and Machiavelli, Uncle Tom's Cabin became an abolitionist's bible. During its time it was revised, dramatized, and published often. The effect of her book on the north and everywhere in the US was unforeseen. The book was popular and caused abolitionism to run wild among northerners. The south hated the book because of its portrayal of its (The South's) "peculiar institution". It might have been influential enough to be considered one of the causes of the civil war, by creating a greater number of northerners against slavery. It displayed to the north all the evils of slavery, by creating human characters out of slaves, who were thought to be inhuman. Stowe's ideas were that slavery is wrong, which is a correct assumption. A human should not be owned because we are not animals, plants, or minerals. Humans have souls and should and can not be owned by other r humans, because they are all created equal. Stowe's style of staggering chapters about Tom with chapters about Eliza was effective by showing hope in two different situations. Eliza hoped for freedom while Tom hoped for eternity. Stowe plays these two motivations of her characters off each other to project the point of the book to the intelligent. She emphasizes her main points throughout the whole book, perhaps too much, but she was right in doing this, too make sure no one missed the point. She is biased against slaves, oddly enough. She portrays the whiter ones as more intelligent and clever, as is seen with George and Eliza, and the darker ones as more slow-witted, for example, Tom. Stowe also did what any intelligent reader from the beginning of the book expects of her. She creates a chapter at the end reinforcing the story in the book with historical facts, meaning that it's based loosely on the real world. She seems to do her research well for the story, and her perspective was rather open, backing up slaveholders as well as abolitionists by expressing the slaveholders feelings of hopelessness towards going against society, seen in St. Clare. She made the slaves more human and the slaveholders appear to be morally wrong, but not by always using morally correct slaves and masters without morals. For example, Stowe creates a character, Adolf, the overseer of sorts for St. Clare. Adolf is a slave who is not morally correct he steals from St. Clare often, yet he appears more human for doing so. The slaves or human but not divine, as are the masters, creating a sense of equality, which Stowe wanted to put across. She wrote the book well, choosing where it was best to put which idea, and making many allusions to historical events around the time, which made her book more popular to the people of her time by involving other things they knew of into the story. Overall, Uncle Tom's Cabin was well written, organized, and historically accurate. Harriet Beecher Stowe used her knowledge of the past to write a clear argument for the abolition of slavery, by creating an interesting enough book to get her ideas to the common people. Her book was influential because it not only told her ideas, but because it states her ideas understandably, something not all writers are able to do.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Under the Iron Curtain.TXT
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Under the Iron Curtain
Under the Iron Curtain Imagine what the world would be like if we were all "under the iron curtain." In his foreword to the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley envisioned this statement when he wrote: "To make them love it is the task assigned, in present- day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda...." Thus, through hypnopaedic teaching (brainwashing), mandatory attendance to community gatherings, and allusions to prominent political dictators, Huxley bitterly satirized totalitarian propaganda and political technique to point out the problems of a dystopian society. The way the fascist and totalitarian regimes used mass propaganda techniques to brainwash their people was nearly identical to the way Huxley described the hypnopaedic teachings in his novel. He also thought, however, that the present-day totalitarian states' methods were still "crude and unscientific." For example, in the novel the different classes had been brainwashed since birth to believe that they all contributed equally to society. Therefore, the people wouldn't go against the World Controllers because they had never been trained to think anything differently. In addition, they didn't have any knowledge of a society which they could compare themselves. This was evident in the saying "History is bunk." Similarly, the totalitarian dictators attempted to control but failed because they weren't able to persuade the entire world to think like them. In addition, Communism attempted to rewrite history, but the society in Brave New World took the next step and forgot abou! t history altogether. The only people who had access to any knowledge of the past were the ones who had the power: the World Controllers. Thus, they were able to create a stable society. Since the hypnopaedic ideas in the society were continuously repeated throughout one's lifetime, mandatory attendance to community gatherings, such as the Solidarity Service, were strictly enforced. The main purpose of the Solidarity Service was to promote social stability. The people were driven to this idea by singing songs like the First Solidarity Hymn, which began, "Ford, we are twelve oh, make us one." During this time, people were also consuming soma rations, which drugged them and caused them to get swept up in the service. Consequently, at the end an orgy took place, which brought them together as one being. In comparison, the political rallies Hitler and other fascists held served a similar purpose. Just as people would chant "Hail Hitler" at these mass rallies, people in the novel would also chant their idol's name, Ford, during the Solidarity Services. Although these uses of political satire are evident, the most obvious are Huxley's allusions to the prominent totalitarian dictators. Bernard Marx, for example, was used as an allusion to Karl Marx, the founder of socialism. Socialism's main idea was that no one had individual property. Likewise, the hypnopaedic proverb "Everyone belongs to everyone else" kept the society from becoming attached to one particular individual. Huxley also included allusions to other totalitarian dictators to show how the society in the novel was closer to a fascist dystopian society instead of the perfect world they perceived. For example, Lenina, who briefly dated Bernard, was an allusion to Lenin, the founder of the Communist Party. Contrary to socialism, communism is a society controlled by a few elite. Likewise, the Ten World Controllers controlled the society in Brave New World. Finally, Benito Hoover alluded to Benito Mussolini, a dictator of Italy, in the novel. Mussolini's name ! was included to reinforce the ideas of socialism that were brought out in the novel. In conclusion, Huxley satirized political tactics and leaders in his discussion of hypnopaedic teachings, community gatherings, and allusions to certain political figures. It is nearly impossible to imagine our world "under the iron curtain." Huxley, however, was able to shape a realistic society through his broad knowledge of fascist ideas. Thus, the reader was able to point out the problems associated with a dystopian society.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\up a road slowly again.TXT
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                                                      Up A Road Slowly
October 13, 2002                                                                                             Jaime Glantz
English ~ Mrs. Adams                                                                                        Period 7
     For my book report, I read a book titled Up a Road Slowly. Irene Hunt wrote this story. The novel takes place about 1970-1988, in Aunt Cordelia and her brother Haskell's neighborhood. The neighborhood, which is out in the country, is usually very quiet and orderly since the population is so few. All the children attend a one-room schoolhouse. Aunt Cordelia runs the schoolhouse and she teaches students from preschool through jr. high. Occasionally, the story's setting will switch to Julie's real home, which is in the city. The city is about 20 minutes away from Aunt Cordelia's. That is where Aunt Cordelia's students attend high school.
     Julie didn't always live with her aunt. She lived with her mother, father, sister, and brother until she was 7. That was the year her mother died. The doctors said that Mrs. Trelling's death was upsetting Julie too much and that she was near hysteria. Thinking a change of scenery would do her some good, they sent her to live with her Aunt Cordelia and Uncle Haskell. Aunt Cordelia's life was run very strict and proper. She was elegant and kind to everyone. She wanted her little Julie to be the same, so she warned Julie to be nice to an outcast named Aggie. Despite many warnings, Julie was never kind to Aggie. So when Aggie is taken over by an intense fever that soon kills her, Julie feels very guilty and vows to be a better person from that point on. She does become much more cooperative and respectful, but she still feels like she doesn't belong. This feeling becomes stronger when her father remarries to her high school English teacher.
     High school begins and the most gorgeous boy in school, named Brett, is interested in Julie. This makes her life-long friend, Danny Trevort, (who she has always been secretly in love with) a little jealous. Julie thinks she's in love with Brett, but Brett has other ideas. He is talking Julie into doing his work so he doesn't get expelled. Eventually this is realized, and while she breaks things off with him, she becomes heartbroken. A few long months later she recovers and realizes that even though she was attracted to Brett, she never loved anyone like she loves Danny. When she is riding home with Danny, they both admit that they have loved each other forever and they can't deny it anymore. Everyone had always suspected the two were meant to be. So obviously, everyone was very pleased when Julie and Danny announced that they were "together".  She graduates as valedictorian from her high school and is ready to leave the country life for college. Danny is also in college, but he attends one that is very far from Julie. The story ends with Julie and Danny attending different colleges, but still together because they know if there love could survive everything they'd been through, it could survive being apart for a while. Julie is now seeing the world through the eyes of a woman, and is ready to take on whatever comes her way. 
             There are six main characters in the story. Aunt Cordelia is very strong-willed and loving. She raises Julie the best she can. She is very understanding when it comes to her niece because she can relate to some of the pain Julie faces while growing up. Uncle Haskell's life is a lie. He makes himself sound so amazing, when really he's nothing but an old drunk who's dreams never came true because he was raised very badly. His life lesson to Julie was never pretend to be someone you're not, in the end, it doesn't get you anywhere. Chris (Julie's brother) goes to a boarding school and helps Julie accept her new life with her aunt. Laura (Julie's sister) is Julie's ideal. Julie often makes very good decisions when she asks herself "What would Laura do?" Danny Trevort is the love of Julie's life. He is the man who backs her up when she is right, stands up to her when she is wrong, encourages her when she is discouraged, and believes in her when no one else does. Lastly, there is Julie Trelling. She is a teenage girl who is forced to deal with many life-changing experiences. She lives a very complicated life. Somehow, she makes it through these tough times and turns into a wonderful woman.
     My favorite character is Julie. She is the main character, so she is the one I know most about. I really liked Julie because she was very loyal to those she loved.  When they were put down, she stood up to whoever was saying bad things, no matter how influential they were. She was also very creative. She wrote some exceptional poems and stories. Above all, I feel Julie has two extremely important character traits. One of these traits is optimism. Although she does occasionally become depressed, the majority of the time she sees good in horrible situations. I don't think many people could have gone through all the horrors she went through and turn out as wonderful a woman as she did. If she hadn't been optimistic, I think Julie might have become hysterical and needed mental as well as medical help. The other character trait I most admired was her high sense of self-esteem. Julie was very down-to-earth in all that happened to her. She was deeply affected when something bad happed, but she didn't pretend it was a dream. She didn't pretend it didn't happen. Julie let reality hit her full force and then dealt with the problem. Julie never lied to make herself fit in or be greater than the rest. Julie knew that she was amazing just the way she was and that no one could take that away. 
     Throughout the story you see Julie grow up both physically and mentally. I think the biggest lesson she learned was everything happens for a reason. If her mother hadn't got sick, then Julie never would have known her Aunt Cordelia. If she hadn't known her aunt, she never would have met Danny Trevort, the man she loves. Although her life was extremely difficult, she did make it through. The message the author sent out to me was, nothing will be put upon your shoulders that you cannot handle. 
     Up a Road Slowly was a fantastic book. I thought Irene hunt did a fabulous job when wording Julie's emotions. The word were so powerful, you could feel her heart breaking, her tears of joy, and her days of loneliness as clearly as if it was happening to you. The entire story was very realistic. Being a twelve-year-old girl myself, and reading about a lost girl who finds her place in life is very encouraging. Up a Road Slowly is the first book I have read in a very long time that I can honestly say I loved. I will definitely continue to look for more novels written by Irene hunt. Her style is truly unique and I have never read another book quite like hers.  
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\up a road slowly.TXT
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                                                      Up A Road Slowly
October 13, 2002                                                                                             Jaime Glantz
English ~ Mrs. Adams                                                                                        Period 7
     For my book report, I read a book titled Up a Road Slowly. Irene Hunt wrote this story. The novel takes place about 1970-1988, in Aunt Cordelia and her brother Haskell's neighborhood. The neighborhood, which is out in the country, is usually very quiet and orderly since the population is so few. All the children attend a one-room schoolhouse. Aunt Cordelia runs the schoolhouse and she teaches students from preschool through jr. high. Occasionally, the story's setting will switch to Julie's real home, which is in the city. The city is about 20 minutes away from Aunt Cordelia's. That is where Aunt Cordelia's students attend high school.
     Julie didn't always live with her aunt. She lived with her mother, father, sister, and brother until she was 7. That was the year her mother died. The doctors said that Mrs. Trelling's death was upsetting Julie too much and that she was near hysteria. Thinking a change of scenery would do her some good, they sent her to live with her Aunt Cordelia and Uncle Haskell. Aunt Cordelia's life was run very strict and proper. She was elegant and kind to everyone. She wanted her little Julie to be the same, so she warned Julie to be nice to an outcast named Aggie. Despite many warnings, Julie was never kind to Aggie. So when Aggie is taken over by an intense fever that soon kills her, Julie feels very guilty and vows to be a better person from that point on. She does become much more cooperative and respectful, but she still feels like she doesn't belong. This feeling becomes stronger when her father remarries to her high school English teacher.
     High school begins and the most gorgeous boy in school, named Brett, is interested in Julie. This makes her life-long friend, Danny Trevort, (who she has always been secretly in love with) a little jealous. Julie thinks she's in love with Brett, but Brett has other ideas. He is talking Julie into doing his work so he doesn't get expelled. Eventually this is realized, and while she breaks things off with him, she becomes heartbroken. A few long months later she recovers and realizes that even though she was attracted to Brett, she never loved anyone like she loves Danny. When she is riding home with Danny, they both admit that they have loved each other forever and they can't deny it anymore. Everyone had always suspected the two were meant to be. So obviously, everyone was very pleased when Julie and Danny announced that they were "together".  She graduates as valedictorian from her high school and is ready to leave the country life for college. Danny is also in college, but he attends one that is very far from Julie. The story ends with Julie and Danny attending different colleges, but still together because they know if there love could survive everything they'd been through, it could survive being apart for a while. Julie is now seeing the world through the eyes of a woman, and is ready to take on whatever comes her way. 
             There are six main characters in the story. Aunt Cordelia is very strong-willed and loving. She raises Julie the best she can. She is very understanding when it comes to her niece because she can relate to some of the pain Julie faces while growing up. Uncle Haskell's life is a lie. He makes himself sound so amazing, when really he's nothing but an old drunk who's dreams never came true because he was raised very badly. His life lesson to Julie was never pretend to be someone you're not, in the end, it doesn't get you anywhere. Chris (Julie's brother) goes to a boarding school and helps Julie accept her new life with her aunt. Laura (Julie's sister) is Julie's ideal. Julie often makes very good decisions when she asks herself "What would Laura do?" Danny Trevort is the love of Julie's life. He is the man who backs her up when she is right, stands up to her when she is wrong, encourages her when she is discouraged, and believes in her when no one else does. Lastly, there is Julie Trelling. She is a teenage girl who is forced to deal with many life-changing experiences. She lives a very complicated life. Somehow, she makes it through these tough times and turns into a wonderful woman.
     My favorite character is Julie. She is the main character, so she is the one I know most about. I really liked Julie because she was very loyal to those she loved.  When they were put down, she stood up to whoever was saying bad things, no matter how influential they were. She was also very creative. She wrote some exceptional poems and stories. Above all, I feel Julie has two extremely important character traits. One of these traits is optimism. Although she does occasionally become depressed, the majority of the time she sees good in horrible situations. I don't think many people could have gone through all the horrors she went through and turn out as wonderful a woman as she did. If she hadn't been optimistic, I think Julie might have become hysterical and needed mental as well as medical help. The other character trait I most admired was her high sense of self-esteem. Julie was very down-to-earth in all that happened to her. She was deeply affected when something bad happed, but she didn't pretend it was a dream. She didn't pretend it didn't happen. Julie let reality hit her full force and then dealt with the problem. Julie never lied to make herself fit in or be greater than the rest. Julie knew that she was amazing just the way she was and that no one could take that away. 
     Throughout the story you see Julie grow up both physically and mentally. I think the biggest lesson she learned was everything happens for a reason. If her mother hadn't got sick, then Julie never would have known her Aunt Cordelia. If she hadn't known her aunt, she never would have met Danny Trevort, the man she loves. Although her life was extremely difficult, she did make it through. The message the author sent out to me was, nothing will be put upon your shoulders that you cannot handle. 
     Up a Road Slowly was a fantastic book. I thought Irene hunt did a fabulous job when wording Julie's emotions. The word were so powerful, you could feel her heart breaking, her tears of joy, and her days of loneliness as clearly as if it was happening to you. The entire story was very realistic. Being a twelve-year-old girl myself, and reading about a lost girl who finds her place in life is very encouraging. Up a Road Slowly is the first book I have read in a very long time that I can honestly say I loved. I will definitely continue to look for more novels written by Irene hunt. Her style is truly unique and I have never read another book quite like hers.  
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Use of Technology in Communication.TXT
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Use of Technology in Communication
?        Multi-Media: using, involving, or encompassing several media, a multimedia approach to learning. 
?        Use of Computers in Education: 
?        Use of Computers in Business: 
?        Electronic Mail: a means or system for transmitting messages electronically -as between terminals linked by telephone lines or microwave relays- or a message sent electronically. 
?        Automatic Teller Machines: 
?        Magnetic Pens: 
?        Virtual Reality (Simulation): an artificial environment, which is experienced through sensory stimuli (as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment. 
?        Fibers Optic: 
?        Teleconferencing: the holding of a conference among people remote from one another by means of telecommunication devices (as telephones or computer terminals) 
?        Facsimiles: an exact copy. A system of transmitting and reproducing graphic matter (as printing or still pictures) by means of signals sent over telephone lines. 
?        Information Highways: 
 ?        Networking (LAN, WAN, Internet): to join (as computers) in a network intransitive senses : to engage in networking. 
?        Geographical Information System: 
 ?        Lap Top: of a size and design that makes operation and use on one's lap convenient, a laptop personal computer. 
?        Cellular Phones: 
?        Green Management: 
?        Green Products / Marketing: to deal in a market. To expose for sale in a market. : The act or process of selling or purchasing in a market. The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service. 
?        Bar coding: a code consisting of a group of printed and variously patterned bars and spaces and sometimes numerals that is designed to be scanned and read into computer memory as identification for the object it labels. 
?        Computers: a programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data. 
Business Softwares: something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware. The entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a system and especially a computer system which has to do with business programs.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Viva La Liberta.TXT
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Viva La Liberta
Politics in Opera Imprint Information Viva la Liberta! - Politics in Opera by Anthony Arblaster is published by Verso in 1992 in London, Great Britain. It was the book's first edition and publication. The book contains 340 pages of text, no illustrations, and includes a tables of contents, nine main chapters, conclusion, notes and and an index. The chapters start with the period of modern politics, the French Revolution in 1789 and with "Mozart: Class Conflict and Enlightenment" from that period till modern opera / musicals in "Democratic Opera: Victims as Heroes". All nine chapters are written by the same author, Anthony Arblaster. Each chapter tries to concentrate on one to a few composers from the same period who share similar political views and actions. Each chapter can be viewed as an individual work / essay. The nine chapters follow the time frame sequentially and are respectively: Ch.1 Mozart: Class Conflict and Enlightenment, Ch.2 Opera and Revolution, Ch.3 Patria Oppressa: Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Risorgimento (Nationalism I), Ch.4 Verdi: the Liberal Patriot, Ch.5 Wagner: from Revolution to Racism, Ch.6 Russia, Czechoslovakia and a Footnote on England (Nationalism II), Ch.7 Women in Opera, Ch.8 Interlude - Opera without Politics: Puccini and Strauss and Ch.9 Democratic Opera: Victims as Heroes. The introduction and conclusion helps in giving coherence to the vast time frame of two hundread years and the different emphasis on political of composers in their works. The detailed index is also helpful in the cross referencing a particular work or composer which might be mentioned in different chapters for comparisons. The notes offer a detailed bibliography with chance for further reference material on the issue of politics in opera. General Summary Although the book does not formally state the meaning of "politics", the definition used throughout the book is the "beliefs about how a country ought to be governed" instead of politics as in political power and actions or activities. The book also presents the argument of social context at the particular period and place as "politics" and that if opera lacks the political element (social context), it lacks a convincing element in which communication and mutual consensus among composer and audience would be neglected, that opera cannot be 'pure' music. Music and especially opera has to be out of 'something', a 'something' that lies outside and beyond the music itself and in many instances, political beliefs play are a major part in it. The book's intend is not to illustrate politics as the major cause or result of opera but that the influence exist and to refute the common downplay and negligence of politics in opera from critics. In all chapters, the author follows a similar pattern in presenting his arguments. First, the history and beliefs of the composer in various stages of his life is discussed. Letters and books (in case of Wagner) of the composer are presented as evidence. The viewpoint of the composer in that should opera include politics is also discussed. Individual operas are then discussed, citing particular portions of the libretto as reference and evidence. The story lines for the operas are also discussed in detail. The audience's reaction and the popularity at the time of the initial performance is presented. Critics of different periods for the interpretation of the work is also quoted to give a more subjective point of view on the issue. Finally, for each chapter, a brief conclusion on the period or the composer is given and the central themes are reiterated. Chapter Summeries Although Mozart by no means was a political person, his works were cited as the dawn of modern opera with its certain political meaning in chapter one. In his operas, there were the ideas of class and sex conflicts and war. Class conflicts involved the abuse of aristocratic position and rise of the common people in both Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. The sex war occures in Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte where women should be treated with respect, rather than assuming in age old chauvinist way that is the women rather than men who are to be mistrusted in matters of love and sex. In Die Zauberflote, the moment of hope and optimism after the French Revolution can easily be seen where light and wisdom triumph over the Queen of the Night and superstition. Arblaster in chapter three and six argues that music, and therefore opera played a central role in creating a sense of national identity and rallying people to the national cause in the various European countries. Often opera provided a forum for the expression of subversive political sentiments disguised to get around census in patriotic arias or choruses. In Italy's case, the most explicit of all for the independence of Italy came from Rossini's Guillaume Tell. Arblaster also states that all three operas of Rossini: Mose in Egitto, Maometto Secondo and Guillaume Tell are about national oppression and use of chorus in which arias are not for individuals but of whole nations. All three depicted the idea of militant liberal nationalism. Other composers of opera of Italy and other countries spread similar ideas of nationalism in which helped to lead to the rise of the independent nations. However, the most important emphasis of the book is placed on two composers: Verdi and Wagner. Arblaster uses one-third of the book to portray Verdi as the liberal patriot with his heart for the Republic and Wagner as the German with strong nationalist, racist and anti-Semitic views. It is also in Chapter 5 devoted to Wagner that the author changes the format to a more argumentative fashion. Other critic's arguments are put forth followed by his own rebuttal and presentation of evidence. Verdi was one of the composers with the strongest political convictions and at one time even actually ran and succeeded in entering the national parliament. However, the most important aspect is that he allowed himself and his personality to be in his music and his operas, and lacks the feeling of distance between creator and creation that we find in Mozart or Rossini. One of his great display of nationalism was stated in Nabucco with the High Priest, Zaccaria which famous chorus 'Va pernsiero' was spontaneously sung at Verdi's funeral, sixty years after its initial performance. In the 1840s, Verdi's operas could be roughly divided into primarily dramas for individuals which would include Ernani, I due Foscari, Il corsaro, I masnadieri and Luisa Miller with Alzira and Macbeth as borderline cases. The second category, which are primarily political, public and patriotic include Attila, Giovanna d' Arco and La battaglia di Legnano. Issues such as conflict between patriotic duty and personal emotions in Giovanna d'Arco and Aida are discussed. Italian patriots, against barbarian invaders as in Attila are also portrayed. After the defeat of the Italian upraise and fall of the Roman republic in 1849, Verdi switches to more personal dilemmas and social matters. Rigoletto and Boccanegra were both about class conflict and La traviata about social issues. Near the end of his career, Don Carlos was targeted at the Catholic Church indicating that is more powerful and more ruthless than the state. Aida, ended Verdi's line of political or party political operas with anti-clericalism sentiments. Although Wagner's works were adopted as cultural symbols by Hitler and the Third Reich and Wagner shared many of the anti-Semitic and racist views of the Nazis, Arblaster stressed that that does not indicate that Wagner would approve the actions of the Nazis. He simply states that the racist and nationalistic views of Wagner in his operas, or music-dramas cannot be ignored. Rienzi, was against aristocratic rule and carried a strong suggestion of fascism which many say turned Hitler's ambitions away from art towards politics after seeing the first performance. The Ring, which spanned twenty-six years carried different political meaning during various stages of the opera corresponding to Wagner's beliefs in life. In Die Walkure, there was incest which in a way signified 'pure blood' and 'pure race'. In Siegfried, there was thinly disguised racism with Siegfried's treatment of Mime. Siegfried, arrogant, aggressive and above all mindless Nordic hero was supposed to be the 'most perfect human being'. In Das Rheigold, Wagner's obsession with the 'fire-cure' to cleanse the world was indicated by the doom of the gods even with the return of the gold. With Chapter 7, Arblaster discusses the social role of women in opera and that they are almost always the victims but are given more weight and sympathy in opera than in the real world. Puccini and Strauss in Chapter 8 are shown as composers who try to compose non-political operas in an increasing political world and how this affects the coherence and validity of their operas. Finally in Chapter 9, modern day opera to Broadway musicals are included stating that opera is no longer about the elite or privileged but about common people as heroes. Critique Arblaster in both the introduction and conclusion emphasized that music was the basic and the most important element of opera. However, throughout the book, his discussions were around the libretto giving little reference to the music and how they express political, nationalistic or patriotic feelings. He had no detailed analysis of the orchestra or the score. At best, he indicated the instruments in a particular section. This might be due to the strong history but weak music background of the author. Arblaster sometimes also use the original versions of operas rather than the revised or the version that we can obtain. This might provide limited benefit to our studies and practical use. The author also stretches the definition of politics to the social context in the opera, especially in the chapters of Mozart and women in opera. The social context might just be a background in which an action takes place instead of the beliefs of the composer in which he would want to spread to increase awareness. For example, in Le nozze di Figaro, there is class and sex conflict. However, theses are ideas which were rising at the time but not politics which are beliefs which would help govern the country. Opera in many cases spread ideals and visions but that does not equal to spreading ideas of politics. Opera carries more meaning than sheer entertainment but not necessarily politics. This also give rises to the pinpointing of certain parts of the libretto to establish the political element of the opera. The opera might to a great extent non-political and trying to express other ideas but by extracting and emphasizing these elements, the reader might get a wrong intention of what the opera is about. For example, although in the conclusion the author stressed Wagner's musical achievements are not impacted by his racist views, the reader would concentrate too much on these controversial and politically non-correct libretto of the composer while neglecting the music and the other meanings to the great work such as The Ring. To conclude, Anthony Arblaster might have tried too hard in that instead of looking for a line that would connect all the operas, he searched too deep for individual evidence for each opera for the composers he discussed. The content does not correspond accurately with the title Viva la Liberta -- Politics in Opera.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\WAR And PEACE And How It Effected The World.TXT
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WAR And PEACE And How It Effected The World
If your computer starts up in the 24 bit version of the game with fuzzy
looking graphics, try re-selecting the screen mode from the F11 menu. This
should cure this problem.
High colour GTA uses a built-in version of the "univbe" display driver to
provide its multitude of 15, 16 and 32-bit display modes. If your video card
is not recognised by the univbe check, or if you change your video card and
the check does not update to it, try running uvconfig.exe in the gtados
directory. If that doesn't work, try running 24-bit GTA by typing
"gta24 -nounivbe" in the gtados directory. This will cause it to skip univbe
and use your video card's native drivers instead. Alternatively, get hold of
the latest version of univbe from SciTech Software, and run it as a TSR before
running GTA.
Windows Drivers ( Grand Theft Auto DirectX )
---------------
GTA DirectX will only work correctly if you have the latest Windows 95 Direct
X Microsoft-certified driver for your video card. Your video card vendor
should be able to supply this.
Some of the latest versions of drivers will allow the use of
High colour / Low resolution screen modes (recommended). An example of this
is the Matrox Millenium.
Gravis Ultrasound
-----------------
The DOS version of GTA, run under Windows 95, will not play any
sound effects with an Ultrasound, UNLESS you shut down windows into MS-DOS
mode, or change the PIF from DOS-Box to MS-DOS mode.
DOS Version - CD Sound
----------------------
To allow CD audio to play on the DOS version of GTA, when run under a
bootable version of DOS, make sure that you have the MSCDEX driver loaded. On a
Windows 95 machine, if you play the DOS version through Windows, or
in a DOS box, you should get CD audio.
Sidewinder Control Pad - In DOS GTA
-----------------------------------
The Microsoft Sidewinder pad is not compatible with DOS GTA. However, it
can be used with Windows (DirectX) GTA.
Voodoo Graphics (3Dfx) Users
----------------------------
GTA supports 3Dfx Glide 2.42 and higher. Voodoo Graphics users must have
this updated version of Glide installed on their system. To install the
updated Glide runtime driver kit, run the grtvgr.exe file in the 3Dfx
folder of the GTA CD. Note that we recommend 32MB of RAM to run 3DFX GTA.
EMM386 (DOS)
------------
In DOS 6.22, If you have the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE in your CONFIG.SYS,
play GTA, quit then press Ctrl-Alt-Del to reset the machine, you may find
that the keyboard does not respond any more.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\War Of The Worlds.TXT
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War Of The Worlds...Compare Contrast
There are many similarities and differences between the book version
of War of the Worlds and the movie version. One main difference between
the two stories was the place in which the Martians landed first. In the book
the Martians landed in England first, but in the movie the Martians landed in
California. Another difference was the time period in which the stories took
place. In the novel it was a few years from the end of the 19th century.
While in the movie World Wars I and II had already passed. Last, the
weapons used to try to stop the Martians were different because of the
different time periods. In the movie an atomic bomb was dropped on the
invaders but in the book all mankind used was cannons and rifles. Despite 
the differences in the stories there were also many similarities. When a streak
of light ran across the sky and crashed into the earth the
people in both stories had thought is was a meteor. Many people were
curious about the meteors and soon found out that the meteors were the
invading Martians. When the Martians came out of their cylinders in both
stories they attacked the first humans they saw with their deadly heat rays. In
the movie and the novel our most powerful weapons had no effect on the
foreign creatures. Finally, when the fate of mankind seemed doomed forever
the Martians in both stories died from a bacteria in the atmosphere that they
were not immune to. As you can see there are many similarities and
differences between the movie version of War of the Worlds and the book
version.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Where the Red Fern Grow1.TXT
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Where the Red Fern Grows
The book Where the Red Fern Grows is a great story about a boy named Billy and his two dogs. The book is written by Wilson Rawls. He did an outstanding job in describing some of Billy's thoughts and feelings. Mr. Rawls has really outdone himself this time. If it isn't obvious, I really liked this book. I really liked the part when Billy got his two dogs, Little Ann and Old Dan. He saved all of his money for those dogs. He had big plans of the three of them being a hunting team. This goes to show that dreams can and do come true if the dreamer works hard enough for it. I like how Mr. Rawls described Billy's exuberance and the cute little puppies' sense of innocence. Another one of the many good parts in the book Where the Red Fern Grows is the death of Old Dan and then Little Ann. Billy had worked so hard to get those dogs and he had grown so attached to them both through their many adventures, topped off by the mountain lion incident. This part in the book is by far the saddest and almost brought a tear to my eye. By far the most touching part of the book and my personal favorite part is when Billy goes to say good-bye to his buried dogs and he sees the red fern. He then remembers the old Indian legend about where the red fern grows, hence the name of the book. Mr. Rawls did a great thing when he made the ending a happy one. This is a terrific book that is very happy and sad at the same time. It's a literary masterpiece. While reading the book I felt what Billy was feeling. It was written so good that I could just put myself in Billy's place. Once again, this is a great book.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Where The Red Fern Grows.TXT
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Where The Red Fern Grows
This book is about a young boy living in the great bottoms of Cherokee country with his mother, father, three sisters and his two dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann. Dan is a large dog with plain brute force, Ann is the one with intelligence, and Billy is the one with the heart to train them. Together they made an unbeatable hunting team. Billy saved up for the two dogs through hard work, sweat and a little help from his grandpa. After a grueling two years of saving he finally gets the fifty dollars needed for the two pups. He then sneaks out of his house for one night and walks all the way to the nearest town of Tahlequah where he picks up his dogs as well as getting into a rumble with some local boys and talking with the sheriff. He works and trains with the pups until finally they are ready to hunt. He hunts all year getting many coon skins and giving all the money he makes with the hides back to his parents. When winter approaches he enters in a hunting contest and it ends up that he is the best hunter there and he wins the gold trophy. In the spring he starts hunting again but tragically, in their last hunt, the two dogs treed a mountain lion. The lion attacks the dogs and they barely manage to fight it off. Old Dan is mortally wounded and after he dies Little Ann dies of a broken heart. At the end of this story Billy buries both of his two beloved dogs atop a hill only to find later that a Red Fern had grown between them.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Whirlpool Corporation.TXT
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Whirlpool Corporation
Product Development
The Whirlpool vision is to create the world's best home appliances that make life a little easier and enjoyable for all people. Their goal is a Whirlpool product in every home, everywhere. They will achieve this by creating a performance results that excite and reward global investors with superior returns. Whirlpool strategy to shape and lead the emerging global home appliance industry is working because the company consistently improves the quality of its products and services by using new technologies and refining its understanding of customers and what they want from Whirlpool. As a result, the company's total return to shareholders including share price appreciation and reinvested dividends has averaged 6.3 percent over the past five years.
Whirlpool's technology and procurement operations are organised to take advantage of the company's considerable technical resources around the world. The cross-regional design of the technology organisation allows it to integrate best practices in product creation, technology development, manufacturing processes.
Corporate Technology and Engineering Development manages strategic products and technology capabilities and provides technical transfer to Whirlpool business units. Technology development is managed in Benton Harbor and cassinetta and transfer of best practices occurs across all product lines and regions. New product ideas are developed by studying consumer behaviour and analysing new technologies for impact on consumers.
Global Technology Centers share technical expertise and capabilities from the regions to develop products that meet consumers' needs. The new product designs target global as well as specific consumer needs in different parts of the world.
Global procurement develops and manages the company's strategy for cost-effective purchasing. This includes the buying strategy of materials, components and finished products for all Whirlpool's production facilities globally. A central buying group orders all finished products, commodities sourced on a regional or global basis, and standardised parts and components. Most other parts and materials acquired from suppliers located near the production facilities where they will be used.
Microwave ovens and air control products such as air conditioners and dehumidifiers have become such global products that Whirlpool has established two novel product-oriented business units to support them. These business units are responsible for product planning, development, manufacturing and physical distribution on a global basis.
The Global Microwave Ovens Business unit manages microwave oven production and development activities for Whirlpool on global basis with manufacturing and product development facilities in Norrkoping, Sweden and China. Today, Whirlpool is one of the top five microwave oven producers in the world.
The Global air treatment Business Unit is responsible for development and manufacturing of air control products, including air conditioners and dehumidifiers. Established in 1995, this business unit offers bright prospects for steady growth through global cooperation.

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Wideman Vs Limerick.TXT
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Wideman Vs. Limerick
John Edgar Wideman's "Our Time", and Patricia Nelson Limerick's "Empire of Innocence", are two very different stories about one particular theme. In these selections both authors are writing history. Wideman is writing the history of his brother's life, and Limerick is writing the history of the old west. Although the theme is the same, the two authors' styles, methods, and writing concerns differ greatly. In the following passage from "Our Time", John is visiting his brother, Robby, in prison. While listening to Robby's story, John begins to question the type of book this project will become:
The business of making a book together was new for both of us. Difficult. Awkward. Another book could be constructed about a writer who goes to a prison to interview his bother but comes away with his own story....the inevitible conflict between his role as detached observer and his responsibility as a brother would be at the center of such a book. When I stopped hearing Robby and listened to myself listening, that kind of book shouldered its way into my consciousness. I didn't like that feeling. That book compromised the intimacy I wanted to achieve with my brother. (Wideman p. 723)
This passage stresses the concern Wideman expresses on how to make this book the type of book he wants to present. Later in the selection the answer to this problem appears.
Still listening to Robby's story, John discovers their recollections of the past are very different. Through this discovery Wideman's problem is solved. He shows this by writing:
Words are nothing and everything. If I don't speak I have no past. Except the nothing, the emptiness. My brother's memories are not mine, so I have to break into the silence with my own version of the past. My words. My whistling in the dark. His story freeing me, because it forces me to tell my own. (Wideman p. 739)
The variance between John and Robby's stories brings Wideman to the decision to write the selection as both of the brothers' recollections. As Limerick tells the story of the old west, she explains, "One skill essential to the writing of Western American history is a capacity to deal with multiple points of view" (Limerick p. 504). She explains this through many stories, including the stories of Narcissa Whitman, the missionary sent to save the Indian tribes, and Julia Bulette, a prostitute. Both were murdered. Narcissa by the Indian tribe she was working with, and Julia by John Milleain of Virginia City. The Indians were looked upon as beasts, and Milleain was praised by the "respectable women" of Virginia City. In perspective, and in Limericks opinion, the Indians may not have been to blame, due to the fact that they were merely protecting themselves from the diseases brought on by Narcissa that had already killed every infected tribe member. Not to forget Julia Bulette's favored death just because her profession was not morally accepted. These are the "views" referred to by Limerick that are often skipped over in stories of the old west. In finishing "The Empire of Innocence" Limerick writes:
In movies and novels, as will as in histories, the stories of men and women who both entered and created a moral wilderness have begun to replace the simple contests of savagery and civilization, cowboys and Indians, white hats and black hats. By questioning the Westerner's traditional stance as innocent victim, we do not debunk Western history but enrich it.
(Limerick p. 516)
In this passage Limerick pulls together the essence of her argument. She stresses that the old west is not simply black or white, good or bad. People like Narcissa Whitman and Julia Bulette can be both victim and villain. Bringing this to the peoples attention is Limericks way of enriching history.
Both authors tell their story well, but do their different methods keep them from reaching the same level? Wideman wrote the story of his brother's life by letting his brother tell the story in his own words. John then reflects on his brother's accounts of the past. By doing this he is able to avoid distorting his brother's story with fiction. Wideman writes his story in an entertaining way and is able to draw readers in from the very beginning. He does this with the use of slang and a personal struggle. However, by doing this Wideman is not able to use as many factual examples as Limerick. This makes the main point of his story less evident. Most historians write history from one perspective. Usually of the cowboy defeating the Indian for the commonplace purpose of attaining land. Limerick uses an idealists approach by expressing how we, as a society, should view the old west. We, in Limerick's opinion, should take in all views before accepting anything as history. Her factual approach gets her point across quickly, but is not as entertaining as Wideman's. However, Limerick is able to give a strong opinion by presenting many examples.
The different methods used by these authors both work well in presenting their stories. Not one is better or worse than the other. These selections merely prove a main theme can be approached from many different angles with the same result, a well told story.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\WIld Meat and the Bully Burgers.TXT
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WIld Meat and the Bully Burgers
In the beginning, Lovey and her best friend, Jerry, are watching the Shirley Temple movie before they go to church. They never get to see the end because they have to go and leave. They make up the endings and cry in the middle of the pastor's sermon. On Lovey's birthday, Jerry would make her a gift certificate from the toy store for $500. Lovey is very embarrassed to be speaking pidgin English. She doesn't tell anyone, not even Jerry, how she is ashamed of how she talks, looks, or even where she lives. Lovey secretly wants to be haole, but she knows that she can't. Everyone in her class has a very hard time speaking proper English, and the teacher yells at them for not being able too. Lovey has a hard time in math class and gets teased for being Japanese. It's as if the rest of the students expect her to be smart just because she is Japanese. Lovey is supposed to write her own obituary for her English class. It gets her thinking about death, and consequently she thinks about it all the time. Lovey dreams and fantasizes about being haole. She thinks up of the perfect house with all the trimmings. She wants to marry a haole so she can have a haole last name. Lovey makes haole friends so that she can sleep over their houses and eat their food. Her father says that she is crazy for wanting to be friends with haoles, and that she should stop. Lovey and her family do many things together. They sit on the back porch picking fleas off of their dogs, squeezes blackheads off of her mothers back, count all white cows, sing war songs, and pick macadamia nuts for extra money. A normal Sunday afternoon would be their Mother smoking Parliaments on the porch of their house, grumbling about white hairs, and Lovey picking fleas off of their dogs. Lovey and her sister, Calhoon, goes to their Aunt Helen's on Saturdays while their mother sews leis or cashiers at the Lei Stand for extra money. They watch the old crazy ladies stand behind the fence, muttering to themselves. Lovey wants to become pregnant just like her neighbor Katy is. She secretly dresses up and acts like she is pregnant. Her mother tells her that it is hard because there is a lot of pain that comes with labor. Lovey's mother gives her an at home perm. It's called a Toni Perm, and it gets messed up bad. Lovey comes out with an Afro, and Calhoon teases her about it and calls her an Oompah Loompah. Lovey is given rabbits to breed and take care off. She loves them very much, but one day the cages are torn open by wild dogs that kill all the rabbits. To make Lovey feel better, her father plays home movies, and Calhoon threatens to kill the dogs with their fathers gun. Calhoon never lies. She tells Lovey one day, while they are out hunting, not to shoot the Japanese blue pheasant or it will haunt her. Calhoon and her Father both have the ghost eye. They can see ghosts in their house and are drawn to them. Since Lovey killed the bird, she now is awakened by a ghost that bothers her in the middle of the night. Lovey's father bought a cow to raise so that they could kill it, and eat it. Calhoon and Lovey get to attached to it and name it Bully. One day, the kitchen smells of wild meat. Their father is cooking hamburgers. After the first bite, none of them can finish eating it. They realize that it is a Bully burger. Pages 85-116 Everyone at school tease Lovey and Jerry for being friends. No one understands what they are to each other. They do have many things in common and are the best of friends. Lovey and Jerry play Barbie together, and Jerry steals Barbie clothes from his rich cousin, Ingrid. Jerry's brother, Larry, goes into Lovey's room one day, and marks up the Barbie and cuts her hair. Lovey is devastated and they swear to get even. Halloween comes, and they go trick-or-treating at the rich peoples houses on Reed's Island. They give out real chocolate, and lots of candy. Jerry finds a bag full of marijuana in Larry's shoe box under his bed. He brings it over to Lovey's and they decide to roll it and sell it so that they can get money to buy more Barbies that Larry had messed up. After they had sold all the dope, the go over to Wigwam to buy all the Barbie stuff. They run home and stash it in the back of Lovey's closet. The next time that they go over to Jerry's house, Larry is there with his friends and they want to know where their dope is. Larry and his friends beat Jerry and Lovey up for taking it. They laugh at how much they bleed, and blame it on each other. Pages 118-180 For the first time, Lovey has gotten her period. She is very scared that everyone can tell that she has it. She doesn't want anyone to know, because she will be teased at school. Lovey's teacher French-braids her hair everyday. She loves her teacher very much. She spends her school days with her, getting her lunch, taking role, and then she even starts to sleep over her house, and do the chores. Jerry and Lovey go there almost everyday, helping out around the house. One night, the teacher tells them about God. How in the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses says only 44,000 can live on earth after God destroys the planet. She wants them to be one of the 44,000 that live. One night they hear the teacher laughing hysterically with a green glow coming from her room. They get real scared and run home in the middle of the night. Lovey's mother gets mad because now they are both scared of everything. She puts Lovey on a plane to Molokai to live with her grandmother for a while so that she can forget what has happened. Grandmother does her best to pass the time for Lovey, but she doesn't know that Lovey is still scared of her teacher. She doesn't sleep until the sun comes up the next day, that she hears little men laughing. Lovey tells Grandmother one day, and they go to the church to talk to the reverend. They pray for her. Lovey and her father have a new moneymaking idea, to pluck feathers off of dead peacocks and to sell them to the feather lei makers. They go on long drives together, and her father tells her stories of when he was young. She enjoys these times very much because he would have never told anyone these stories unless they were in such circumstances as that. He talks about his house back in Haupu and how he misses it. He would like to go back there with Lovey and climb the mountain. Pages 183-276 The town has a carnival, and Lovey and Jerry go together. They each don't have very much money, but win a Coke bottle. They see Larry and his girlfriend, Crystal, in the games area, and ask her if they could carry around some of their stuffed animals. She says 'yes' and they get a big pink bear, and a snake that Lovey wraps around her neck. When they see girls from their school, they shake up the Coke bottle and dump it on them from the top of the Ferris wheel. Lovey doesn't understand why Jerry wants to be friends with Lori, a Japanese girl that hates her. She is a popular snob with no respect for anyone. He doesn't know, and just shrugs. Lovey and Calhoon take sewing classes in the bottom of the Singer basement. When Lovey makes clothes and wears it the next day, Gina makes fun of it. Lovey wants to give up, but her father tells her that you can't win if you quit. So, she tries again, and Calhoon and Lovey work very hard to make a pair of patchwork denim hip-hugger bell-bottoms for her. It looked like real store- bought ones, and Gina could not say a thing about it. Lovey feels real proud. At the end of the year, they have a grad dance that Jerry and Lovey go to. They both have been trying their hardest to become popular. Jerry keeps insisting that Jenks likes her, even though he doesn't show it when they are at school. He is real nice to both of them on the weekends when they are at the beach, but because he is popular, he doesn't even give them a nod at school. When the dance comes, Lovey waits in anticipation for Jenks to ask her to dance. She got all dressed up, but he never does. Until the last slow dance of the night. They dance together and Lovey is happy. Lovey's father goes on a three day hunting trip with his friends. They go out and hunt goats near the lava flow. When he comes back he has blown out his eyes. He can't see, and he's scared. Father is still mad at Lovey for burning Calhoon when they were at the incinerator. He is so depressed and sad that Lovey can think of only one thing to do. She borrows some money from Katy, and buys a plane ticket to Kauai. She gets a cab there and goes to Kipu. She fills a ziplock bag with dirt, and then goes back to the Big Island. She fills another ziplock bag with dirt from their backyard. Lovey's mother is really mad at her. No one knew where she went, and they were all worried about her. They take her back to her father's hospital room to explain herself. She tells her father where she was, what she has done, and why. He is so happy that they all forget that they were worried about her. The dirt is so that when he dies, he will be buried in dirt from two places. His ! home in Kipu, and his home in Hawaii. When he is buried like that, he will know that he is finally home and at peace. The Main Characters Lovey Nariyoshi- A young girl living in Hawaii. She has a sister named Calhoon, and a best friend named Jerry. She is an outcast at her school, and is teased constantly. Lovey wants to be someone she isn't. She always fantasizes about being haole or popular. Jerome (Jerry)- Lovey's best friend, they spend all their time together. The one person that keeps Lovey happy and together. He has a brother names Larry that always picks on them and hurts them physically. Jerry and Lovey are the best of friends, they love each other to death. Hubert (Inky) Nariyoshi- Lovey's father. He is her inspiration, and what she tries to imitate. She always tries to please him, and be just like him. Hubert loses his eyesight and becomes depressed. Lovey remembers him telling her that he wants to be buried in dirt from his house in Kipu and his house in Hawaii. She gets him happy by going to Kauai and getting the dirt as he wanted. He loves her very much. Throughout this whole book, Lovey is wishing that she is haole. She occupies her time by thinking what her life would be like if she was white. I think the author is trying to tell us that we should accept our life just as it is. To strive to make it better, but also, not to have unrealistic dreams. In the end of this book, I think Lovey finally gets the message from her father to stop trying to be someone your not, and to just be yourself. That is what this whole book is about. To be who you are, not someone that your not.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Wild West.TXT
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Wild West
In the beginning moving West was the majority of the barriers and obstructions that the setters had to face. Indian attacks, blizzards, tornadoes, flash floods and just being ill prepared among and numerous other hard ships took many settlers lives and were tough to over come. The journey was across a uniform, dusty, wind-swept, treeless nothingness. The temperatures would very a lot between 110 and below freezing. Not to mention that there was no trees for shade or cover from the storms. In this book there is a lot of first hand diaries, artifacts and photographs that show how it was in the 1800's and how hard it really was to make the trip to the west and live there. This book is about how the west was won. It is also about emigrants from China and Europe, slaves that had just been freed, teachers from New England schools, and just some farm boys or opportunist from the south and mid west. They all found out that the west was so enormous and commendatory. They could not believe this native land was so immense and enormous. One reason for heading west was the Homestead Act, which would give deserving people sites or land to individuals who stayed on there land for five years. There were six main Trails that they took; the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, Mormon Trail, Gila River Trail, California Trail and the Old Spanish Trail.
Some people even came out West on the Transcontinental Railroad that was recently built. The settlers could even buy the land on the plains from the Rail Company. The rail road company had been granted great tracks of land by the United States government on both sides of the railroad and was later sold to settlers. The Native Americans suffered from this flow of people from the east and this would change their lives forever. There were many struggles and the quest to just stay alive is why today we call it the "Wild West". Especially when a good number of them were dishonest scoundrels or just drifters and adventurers. Plus, most of them were armed.
The first thing the settlers needed to get done was to dig a well. Well digging was very hard job and often had to be done many times because they would run dry or they just couldn't hit water. For the families that just arrived getting a crop in was another one of the many important chores. Much needed indeed, but tasks like haying, threshing, harvesting and weeding among others keep the farmers hard at work. All of the family had some part in the farming. Boys and girls all helped out in some way or another. The work was hard and there was a lot of it. Some farmed for themselves, others sold their crops for things that they needed. In all, just about everyone did farm in one way or another. Moving cattle to the Indians reservations and the railroad construction crew the cowboys became American archetype. For this new booming industry cowboys would be the rugged new personnel. Most cowboys were young and were ether union or confederate soldier that had finished the Civil War. Others were drop outs from Eastern Universities but a lot were from every background, state and race just looking for excitement and challenge.
Making houses in the plains with no trees for lumber made a bit of a challenge for the pioneers. The pioneers made sod houses out of the land they were standing on, this land needed to have the sod removed to farm anyway. An acre of farmland would be the amount of turf that was required to build a "Soddie" (sod house). The Soddies were infested with animals and bugs along with the dust that covered every thing in the house. This was just one dilemma the settlers encountered with these houses. Nature often had other ideas for the settlers though. Many violent disasters like blizzards, tornadoes, dust storms and plain fires hit them and wrecked homes and crops. Many of these catastrophes had a devastating effect on them and it could take years to get back to where they were. Once again this was another one of the struggles on the plains.
Once they have arrived in the West problems with gun fighters and drinking quickly launched. Some moved from border states after the Civil War where sympathies ran high with dislike of the federal government. Others turned to gun fighting in the west because of the denial of amnesty offered to confederate regulars. So being a outlaw in there town they moved west. There was much violence in these communities and this was one of the main problems with the town life. Even though the legends were some times stretched most were cold-blooded killers that were mainly molded by the civil war. Fueling this problem was limited law over the people and not having enough law enforcers. Along with having shady and two faced sheriffs who changed sides of the law many times as in the case of Wild Bill Hickok and Henry Brown. Most of the attractions to coming to the west were the free land and gold or silver mines. Towns quickly turned into havens for gunfighters, gamblers, merchants and fortune hunters. One case of this was in the town of Tombstone, Arizona. The sheriff Josie Earp said, "Tombstone had a man for breakfast every morning." This was very true unfortionly for many of these wild insufficiently lawless towns. Towns sometime sprang out into gunfire because of the number of outlaws roaming the west. Even though many gunfight died young there seemed to be enough to go around. If it was robing the local bank like the Dalton Gang or just a drunken shooting like Clay Allison once they were outlaws it was a different game. In many towns the citizens and hired gun fighters took it upon themselves to in force the sometimes-weak law. These citizens though seldom attempted to separate the innocent from the guilty when they discovered questionable people. Justice was harsh and could be deliver by any one with a "piece".
Towns sprung up fast in the West. The birth grew because of the letters they sent in the west of how pleasant it was in the west. In many Western towns the newspaper editor was one of the most important members. He was the one that got more people and females to come out and see them. There was a scarcity of females in the west and many setters put in ads in newspapers in the east to try to solve this problem. Even dances where held and because of having so few women men had to dance with each other.
Settling the lands the people of the America forgot whom these lands belonged to and this started many bloody wars between the two. The Indians and the whites got along at first but once the amount of people coming into there lands was hundreds by day there were arose confrontations. So the United States sent in troops and the Indians fought back with all their strength. This started a number of wars that would change the relation between whites and Indians forever. The federal government eventually forced the Indians on to reservation where they had to abandon their nomadic ways.
Gold was discovered in Clear Creek, Colorado and news was sent home back east. Soon a rush that would last 30 years was started. Many people hoped to find a better life by getting striking it rich but many did not find much gold and often lost money on overpriced supplies. This gold fever struck ever group of people and soon brought many people to the so-called gold plentiful towns.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\William Shakespear1.TXT
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William Shakespeare 
William Shakespeare is sometimes considered the greatest playwright of all time. What is it that made Shakespeare so famous? In his plays he combined the elements that people of his time loved and that people still like today. Many things greatly influenced the writing of Shakespeare's plays.
William Shakespeare had a very interesting life that undoubtedly greatly affected his plays. He was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and was the third of eight children. Shakespeare went to grammar school and learned Latin and literature. He went on and married a woman named Annie Hathaway on November 27, 1582 and had three children. His first daughter was named Susanna and was born on May 26, 1583 and then, two years later, he had twins-Hamnet and Judith-that were born on February 2, 1585. By 1592, Shakespeare was a well-known popular actor in the Elizabethan theatres. Without a doubt, this probably had a great affect on him when he later on became a playwright. Shakespeare retired completely in 1613. On April 23, 1616, three years after his retirement, and on his fifty-second birthday, William Shakespeare died.
Shakespeare gathered ideas for some of his plays from other popular writers of his time. Although this may not have made for one hundred percent originality, his plays were interesting and became very popular. For The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare got the names for some of his characters from Sir Phillip Sidney's Arcadia. This was one of the most popular romances appealing to a courtly audience. People of Shakespeare's time enjoyed romances set in far away lands, which was one of the reasons why people enjoyed Sir Phillip Sidney's Arcadia so much. Such stories like, Guy of Warwick, Bevis of Hampton, Amadis of Gaul, Plamerin of England, and many others may have also inspired The Winter's Tale. Shakespeare was very smart to have taken ideas from other popular plays of the time when writing The Winter's Tale. Shakespeare used a very popular technique of the time called pastoral romance. Pastoral romance is romance that is not true to life and unreal. By using ideas from other popular plays and using the popular writing technique of pastoral romance, Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, as many of his other plays, were sure to captivate the audience.
Theatre in the sixteenth century was extremely different from theatre today. For one thing, there was no curtain like there is today. This made it more difficult to perform and sometimes playwrights had to add special scenes to clear everyone from the stage to signify the ending of a scene or act and the beginning of a new one. Also, the place on the main floor right in front of the stage (called the pit but now called the orchestra) was the place where the poor people stood to watch the show and it was the worst place to watch from. However, in modern theatres, orchestra seats are the most expensive and the best seats. Another big difference was that there were very few props whereas today there are many. The kind of props one would've found may have included a curtained area that could've been used as an inside room, etc., a balcony that could've been used as a window or as the deck of a ship, and a trap door that could've provided a way for ghosts and such to come onto the stage. These may seem like very simple and primitive things and when compared to what theatres have today, but in Elizabethan times those simple things helped for many of the elements in the plays. One other big difference was that there were no female actors like there are today, therefore a woman's part had to be played by a young man who still had a high voice. Theatres have come a long way since the sixteenth century and there are many more differences between the theatres of the sixteenth century and the present day theatres.
In conclusion, many things influenced the writing of Shakespeare's plays, including The Winter's Tale. Without Sir Phillip Sidney's Arcadia and other plays of the time, Shakespeare's acting career and the theatres of the sixteenth century; Shakespeare's writing would not have been the same. William Shakespeare is sometimes considered the greatest playwright of all time and may not have been without the many things that influenced his writing
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\William Shakespeare.TXT
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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father, John, was a Stratford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well known and respected man in the town. He held several important local governmental positions. William Shakespeare's mother was Mary Arden. Though she was the daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a family of considerable wealth and social standing. Mary Arden and John Shakespeare were married in 1557. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564. He was one of eight children. The Shakespeare's were well respected prominent people. When William Shakespeare was about seven years old, he probably began attending the Stratford Grammar School with other boys of his social class. Students went to school year round attending school for nine hours a day. The teachers were strict disciplinarians. Though Shakespeare spent long hours at school, his boyhood was probably fascinating. Stratford was a lively town and during holidays, it was known to put on pageants and many popular shows. It also held several large fairs during the year. Stratford was a exciting place to live. Stratford also had fields and woods surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt and trap small game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fish also. Shakespeare's' poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life which reflects his childhood. On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway of the neighboring village of Shottery. She was twenty-six, and he was only eighteen at the time. They had three children. Susana was their first and then they had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, died in 1596. In 1607, his daughter Susana got married. Shakespeare's other daughter, Judith, got married in 1616. In London, Shakespeare's career took off. It is believed that he may have become well known in London theatrical life by 1592. By that time, he had joined one of the city's repertory theater companies. These companies were made up of a permanent cast of actors who presented different plays week after week. The companies were commercial organizations that depended on admission from their audience. Scholars know that Shakespeare belonged to one of the most popular acting companies in London called The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Shakespeare was a leading member of the group from 1594 for the rest of his career. By 1594, at least six of Shakespeare's plays had been produced. During Shakespeare's life, there were two monarchs who ruled England. They were Henry the eighth and Elizabeth the first. Both were impressed with Shakespeare which made his name known. There is evidence that he was a member of a traveling theater group, and a schoolmaster. In 1594, he became an actor and playwright for Lord Chamberlain's Men. In 1599, he became a part owner of the prosperous Globe Theater. He also was a part owner of the Blackfriars Theater as of 1609. Shakespeare retired to Stratford in 1613 where he wrote many of his excellent plays. There are many reasons as to why William Shakespeare is so famous. He is generally considered to be both the greatest dramatist the world has ever known as well as the finest poet who has written in the English language. Many reasons can be given for Shakespeare's enormous appeal. His fame basically is from his great understanding of human nature. He was able to find universal human qualities and put them in a dramatic situation creating characters that are timeless. Yet he had the ability to create characters that are highly individual human beings. Their struggles in life are universal. Sometimes they are successful and sometimes their lives are full of pain, suffering, and failure. In addition to his understanding and realistic view of human nature, Shakespeare had a vast knowledge of a variety of subjects. These subjects include music, law, Bible, stage, art, politics, history, hunting, and sports. Shakespeare had a tremendous influence on culture and literature throughout the world. He contributed greatly to the development of the English language. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare's plays and poems have become part of our speech. Shakespeare's plays and poems have become a required part of education in the United States. Therefore, his ideas on subjects such as romantic love, heroism, comedy, and tragedy have helped shape the attitudes of millions of people. His portrayal of historical figures and events have influenced our thinking more than what has been written in history books. The world has admired and respected many great writers, but only Shakespeare has generated such enormous continuing interest. My source states explanations rather than opinions on why Shakespeare's contributions to literature are so vast. My source devoted thirty pages to William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's plays are usually divided into three major categories. These are comedy, tragedy, and history. Three plays which are in the category of comedy are "The Comedy of Errors", "The Taming of the Shrew", and "The Two Gentlemen of Verone". Three plays which are in the category of tragedy are "Romeo and Juliet", "Titus Andronicus", and "Julius Caesar". In the category of history, three plays are "Henry V", "Richard II", and "Richard III".
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Willow.TXT
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1871
She was born with the mark on her arm, the mark of the one who would cause the downfall of queen Bavmorda and end her evil rain. The legend told her that the prophecy was the queens grates fear and now it was about to some true. Willow Ufgood had always wanted to be a magician. to be wise and respected in his community. His dreams were about to become true. All of these things you will read in my report. The main charters of this book are Willow ufgood- a nelwyn that wishes to be a magician that will soon come true. Madmartigan- a master swordsman and womanizer who is drawn into this prophecy. Shorsha- daughter of queen Bavmorda that falls in love. General Kail- a evil man at the top of Bavmords army Queen Bavmorda- Destroyer of Tersline that is searching for a child that can destroy her The book starts of at Nockmar castle. A child is born in the dongon with a mark. The same mark Bavmord is looking for. One of Bavmords servants smulgs the child out of the castle and miles away to a creek bed. She is being tracked by dethdogs so she bundles up and sends the child down the stream in a basket. She is killed by the death dogs but wile the child is floating down the stream. The child traveled down the stream until it a nelwyn village. Two children "willows children" found her and brought her to Willow. Willow didn't want anything to do with her and wanted to send her back down the stream but Willows wife "Kya" wouldn't let him. The next day Willow and his children went to the carnival in town. Kya stave with the child. Willow was going to see if he could win a apprentice contest to become a apprentice to the High Aldwin. He messes up and and doesn't make it then the a dethdog races through the village and attacks a cradle. Vonhkar kills it with the help of of his worriers. Then the town held a meeting to finger out why the dethdog attacked the cradle. Willow afraid that his wife was killed by the dethdog before it got to town he ran home to see if she was all right. His wife told him to take the child to the High Aldwin. He goes and talks to the High Aldwin at the town meeting. The High Aldwin tells him if he loves this child that he must take the child to the dikine crossroads and give it to the first Dikine he sees. The High Aldwin sends burglecut along sense he doesn't want to go along and Vonhkar to protect them. Befor they go the High Aldwin asks Willow why didn't he think for him self at the carnival after willows magic show. All the apprentices that wanted to be the High Aldwins apprentice witch finger held all the power. Willow guessed wrong at the carnival but the High Aldwin asked him what was his first answer Willow told him his own which was correct. Then the High Aldwin sad that if he came back alive that he might become his apprentice next year. They traveled on there jurnayand one night Vonhkar told Willow of his quest for Tersline. He never found it but one night in winter when he was passing through the mountains he stopped in a cave. He nearly died there if some dwarves didn't save him. They had a legend that a little warrior would rule them they thought it was him. Vonhkar declined the offer but they gave him a ring that had a design on it. They said that one day he would help some one that will bring peace to a crude land. That child had the same mark. That is why he wanted to go on this journey. When they got to the dikine crossroads they saw a man in a crows cage "Madmartigan". They waited for some one else to ride by but the only thing that did was a army marching to battle. So he let Madmartigan out and gave the child to him. On his way back hawk with a brownie on its back yelling "i got the baby". Willow chases after him then gets attacked by brownies and falls into a pit. He wakes up lying on his back with a brownie on his chest. A glittering lute tells him to let Willow go it is Chilendra. She tells him of her tale and of why this child is so important . She tells him he must go to the lake of Fin Razal and give her Chalandras wand then to go to Tersline. Willow asks why must go, She tells him it is because allora dannan likes him. they start there quest to the lack of fin razal and it starts to rain so they stop at a tavern to get milk for alora dannan. Willow gets kicked around and he falls through a wall and runs into madmartigan dressed as a woman. He slept with another mans wife and had to hide. Than shorsha and some nockmar solders came in wanting to inspect the babes. They ask Willow to show them the babes arm. Willow refuses and then shorsha notices that Madmartigan is not a woman that brings a man into a uproar sense he thought that Madmartigan was his wife's cuisine. He tries to kill Madmartigan and gets Willow and him self out of there. They steal a wagon and run from the nockmar solders. They allude them and take off on foot Willow notices how good he would be to them and asks him to protect them on there trip. Then mad martigan tells him about his life. How he was a rich mans son, how he became a knight at a young age, and how he was banished sense he told a vision to his wife. They make it to the lake of fin razal madmartigan tells him that his job is done and takes off. Willow crosses the lake to a island. He lands on the island and sees a bunch of dead bodies. He sees a squeal and it talks to him. It is Fin Razal. He seems disappointed and takes her across. She tells him that he must turn her back into what she once was. He tells her that he is only a magician not a wizard. She gets all ticked off then the nockmar solders show with madmartigan. they take the baby Fin razal and Willow but they didn't see the brownies. They argue with each other and then decide to save them. They are at a nockmar camp held captive. Willow and Madmartigan are in a cage and Fin Razal is in a basket hanging from the wagon.Shorsha has the baby with her in her tent. Willow is concokting a potation to change Fin Razal back. The brownies show up to release them it took them a while but they got there. The brownies try to pick the lock and madmartigan gets frustrated with them they take a pouch with fairy dust and hit him with it . It put him in love with the first woman he sees. Willow gets the potation ready and tries to change Fin Razal back to her original self. He messes up and turns her into a mocking bird instead. They get out and head to Shorshas tent to get Alora Dannan then escape. Madmartigan goes in and falls in love with Shorsha and she wakes up. He speaks poetry to her and Willow sneaks in and grabs the child. The guards walk in and Madmartigan takes a sword and cuts down the main support beam to knock the tent down. They race out of there and willow grabs a shield Madmartigan is fitting his way to Willow and gets on the sheld and escape. They make it to a town and hide in a secret hiding place in a barn where they find some solders the same ones that marched by at the crossroads but a lot smaller. The nockmar solders make it the town and talk to the elder. He tells them that there not their but they don't believe him. Shorsha walks into the barn and steps on the hidden door she opens it and then says to torch the barn. Than Madmartigan walks out and grabs Shorsha. They sold her captive and get to there horses. They ride off and the solders that was hiding ambush the nockmar solders. They ride off with Shorsha captive with General kale following. They find a hidden save and ride through it, it seams to have been a old dwarven hold that was attacked by trolls. they get out the other side and Fin Razal is showing them the way to Tersline. They run into a giant wall made of thorns. Fin Razal tells Willow to destroy it with the wand at this Shorsha runs off she hears her solders behind and Madmartigan lets her go. Willow is chanting a charm to burn down the wall and succeeds. They ride to Tersline. They get to Tersline only to find out that the place is frozen by one of Bavmords spells. The nockmar solders are riding towards the castle so Madmartigan shuts the gates. He goes to see what he could use to find them off in the armoriey. He finds some weapons and the kings armor he tries it on and it fits. While the nockmar solders are nocking down the gate he sets boobie traps and Willow goes and rids the baby. They knock down the gate and charge in they get hit by crossbow arrows and rocks from catapults. While willow is hiding the baby he gets attacked by a troll. He uses the wand to protect himself and turns the troll into this odd form and kicks it off the bridge into the water below. Madmartigans traps run out and perpairs to attack the army. At this a giant two headed dragon appears behind him. The nockmar solders attack it instead of him, while Madmartigan is fitting Shorsha is watching him and notices that she had fallen in love with him. They kill off the dragon and Kale gets Alora Dannan they follow him to nackmar castle. Bavmorda turns there entire army into pigs except for Willow. Now is the time to change Fin Razal back they cant afraid any mastacks this time. He turns her back and gives her the wand. Fin Razal turns the entire camp back to normal. While this is happing Bavmorda is preparing the alter of sacfrice to destroy Alora Danan. The next morning the only thing left outside is Fin Razal and Willow with a drum. Kale sends out some solders to kill them and Madmartigans army ambushes them at the beet of the drum. They make it into the castle.one of Madmartigans friends gets killed by Kale and Madmartigan challenges him. Willow, Shorsha, and Fin Razal go to save Alora Dannan. Out side Madmartigan and General Kale are fitting kale seams to be winning but then Madmartigan kills him with kales sword. Inside Fin Razal and Bavmorda are fitting.Shorsha gets nocked out by her mother and so dose Fin Razal, Willow tells Bavmorda that he is going to make the child disappear. Bavmorda says that he cant make her disappear. Willow makes the child disappear and that shocks Bavmorda and she knocks over a potion she made to destroy Alora Dannan and kills herself. After Bavmorda died all of her spells that she had dun had resoveld. Tersline had returned to normal and so did the land. Willow said good bye to Alora Dannan, Madmartigan and his wife Shorsha, The two Brownies, And Fin Razal. Fin Razal gave Willow a book of magic then Willow went home. When he made it back he was a hero. When the High Aldwin told Willow that he could be his apprentice next year. Willow was already a better sorcery than the Grate Aldwin. the end I recramend this book to anyone who likes the movie willow or is a big fantasy nut.. It was a grate book to read and I hope others will read it also.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Writings of JD Salinger.TXT
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Writings of J.D. Salinger
Many critics consider J.D. Salinger a very controversial writer, for the subject matters that he writes.. J.D. Salinger's works were generally written during two time periods. The first time period was during World War II, and the second time period was during the 1960's. Critics feel that the works during the 1960 time period were very inappropriate, because of the problems for which he wrote. The main characters were generally misfits of society. In most of his works, he has the protagonist of the story go on a quest for happiness. Salinger does not conform to the material happiness; the characters undergo a spiritual happiness. The characters generally start out as in bad conditions, through the end of his works they undergone changes that change them for the better. The works of J.D. Salinger show the quest for happiness through religion, loneliness, and symbolism. Salinger's works often use religion in order to portray comfort. In Salinger's Nine Stories Franny Glass keeps reciting the "Jesus Prayer" to cope with the suicide of her brother Seymour (Bloom in Bryfonski and Senick 69). Salinger is able to use this prayer as a means of comfort for Franny. The prayer stands for the last hope for Franny in this situation. Franny would be lost if their was no prayer. (Bryfonski and Senick 71). Salinger shows us comfort in Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caufield, the protagonist, is very much in despair for losing his girlfriend, so Caufield reads a passage in the Bible. This helps Holden change his outlook on life (Salzberg 75). Holden was all alone at this point and had no one to turn back on, until he found the Bible (Salzberg 76). In both stories the characters had found themselves in bad situations. The characters in these works have obstacles which they must overcome in order to achieve happiness (Salzman 34). Happiness is the ! very substance which all of these characters are striving for in Salinger's works. Salinger uses religion in his works to comfort them so that they can proceed on their quest to achieve happiness. Salinger uses religion as a means for liberation. Salinger uses much of the Zen philosophy, as in the case of Nine Stories, to achieve this liberation (Madsen 93). In Nine Stories one of the characters, Seymour Glass, is portrayed as Buddha in the sense that he wants to be liberated as Buddha was in his life (Madsen 93). Seymour Glass in Nine Stories has a certain philosophy about life, it is similar to the Eightfold Path used by Buddha when achieving nirvana (French in Matuz 212). Seymour Glass is on a quest to become free from all of the suffering in his life as Buddha was from his life (French in Matuz 213). Seymour follows the Eightfold path to become liberated from suffering (Madsen 96). Seymour achieves "nirvana" by living a good life and end anything that causes suffering. Seymour is able to attain nirvana by committing suicide (Lundquist in Matuz 211). Salinger shows us that when Seymour committed suicide he let go of all of the suffering that he encountered, ! thus attaining the happiness he longed for (French, Salinger Revisited 132). Salinger shows liberation as an end to all suffering, thus creating happiness for the character. (French, Salinger Revisited 133). The final function of religion as a means to attain happiness was to gain peace In "The Young Lion," Salinger uses religion to gain peace through a fictitious war. In the story many of the soldiers were dying and the countries were in turmoil (Lundquist 312). The leaders in the story see a vision on the battlefield that changes them, and stops the war (Lundquist 315). Salinger shows how religion can be a force used to create happiness in a story, by creating peace (Lundquist 313). Salinger is able to use religion as a means of attaining happiness through peace. The story seemed very dismal, until religion intervened and stopped the conflict. Salinger creates happiness for the characters by stopping the conflict. In "The Stranger" Salinger creates peace through a war by using more of the Zen philosophy. Salinger's creates a "Pact of Peace" which stops the conflict between the Germans and Polish during WWII (Hamilton in Bryfonski and Senick 143) . The "Pact of Peace" ! was a teaching used by Buddha in the Zen philosophy (Hamilton in Bryfonski and Senick 143). Salinger uses Zen, in this case, to stop the conflict between the Polish and Germans(Hamilton in Bryfonski and Senick 143). In many of Salinger's works the conflict, becomes a source for much of the unhappiness in the story (Wenke 212). Salinger uses religion as a medium to create tranquility, consequently the characters to achieve happiness (Wenke 215). In many of Salinger's works loneliness is used to isolate characters from evil. Salinger portrays all of society to be bad, and for many character's isolation from society is the only way to achieve happiness (Grunwald 103). In Salinger's Catcher in the Rye Holden Caufield's entire plot deals with him trying to isolate from society. Holden realizes that society has become bad, and wants no part in this terrible life (French, Salinger Revisited 192). Salinger uses society as the source of discord in this case to be isolated from. Holden is shown as a hermit at the end of Catcher in the Rye (Grunwald 68). Grunwald explains "Holden's tranquillity, at the end, can be ascribed to his isolation from society" (68). Holden only wants to be separated from the society which considers him a misfit. In Salinger's works a source of unhappiness is usually the fact that society feels the characters are misfits. The characters can only become happy if they isolate themselves from this ! society. Salinger uses loneliness also as a means to change in life. In "Raise the Roof Beam High," Salinger is able to use isolation to change the life of Seymour Glass (Salzman 130). Seymour feels that society has become corrupt and must change his lifestyle in order for him to become happy (Salzman 134). Seymour sees that society has no more compassion on people, and that he must do something to change it (Salzman 136). In order for him to change society he must first isolate from society (Salzman 140). Salinger uses loneliness again to benefit mankind. Salinger in this case makes a person change his lifestyle to isolate from society (Salzman 132). The benefits of this action are good not only for the person who has changed, but also help parts of society which are affected (Salzman 132). Loneliness in Salinger's works benefits the character's greatly. Salinger is able to isolate the characters in his works in order for them to attain happiness (Grunwald 265). Salinger des! cribes Seymour as "A recluse, who will never be part of society" (Grunwald 260). He shows that Seymour wants nothing of this world and wants to be as far away as possible. The characters see that society has become bad, and in order for them to become happy they must get away from society, and live their own lives. Salinger uses many lucky symbols in his works to show to fulfill the quest for happiness. In "Soft-Broiled Sergeant" one of the soldiers wears a pair of lucky underwear, which saves him in battle and helps in finding the love of his life (French, J.D. Salinger 42). The underwear gives the soldier the happiness he is looking for (French, J.D. Salinger 45). Salinger many times uses funny lucky symbols like this, but can be found to provide happiness for the characters (Salzberg 121). Another example of lucky symbols is in "For Esme" Salinger portrays the sun as a lucky symbol to Joseph Carney (French, J.D. Salinger 63). The sun is lucky to Joseph in that it helps Joseph turn his entire life around, from the rut it had been into a life of great prosperity (French, J.D. Salinger 66). The sun provides inspiration for Joseph to change his life (French, J.D. Salinger 66). The characters in J.D. Salinger's works start out in bad situations. Through the use of lucky symbols th! eir life is changed to what will make them happy. Salinger uses symbolism in his works also to foreshadow a better life. In "Long Debut of Louis Taggett" the symbol of a cigarette being put out foreshadows the end of a marriage (Galloway in Curley and Kramer 58). The end of this marriage for Louis Taggett, means good for his life (Galloway in Curley and Kramer 61). Louis at the end of the story is able to concentrate more on his job, where he meets the woman that will really love him, and find wealth and prosperity (Galloway in Curley and Kramer 59). This symbolism to foreshadow is one of many examples of how Salinger uses symbolism to predict a better life (Galloway in Curley and Kramer 61). Salinger many times use subtle, but important symbols to foreshadow better things (Galloway in Curley and Kramer 62). The character, in this work, has suffered through hardships. The character's life is in a total mess at the time. Salinger also shows foreshadowing to a better life through "The Last Day of the Last Furlough" (Mat! uz 157). In the story John Hendren is able Salinger uses symbolism for the character to fulfill his quest for happiness(Matuz 148)John Hendren who is in World War II, has always wore large wooden necklace given to him by his mother (Matuz 148). This same necklace stops a bullet, which could have killed him(Matuz 149). John is later awarded a medal of respect for his valiant effort, giving him lots of fame(Matuz 149). Salinger shows how such symbols provide happiness to the lives of people (Wenke 237). Salinger uses allusion from other works to show how happiness will be fulfilled. In Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Salinger refers greatly in one chapter to ducks in central park. The ducks are in context to a scripture in the Bible, which tells of how the ducks are free (Galloway in Bloom 53). Salinger later explains that Holden will become free as these ducks (Galloway in Bloom 54). In Catcher in the Rye Holden's main purpose was to be free from the suffering (Galloway in Bloom 58). The ducks represented how he would feel, being happy (Galloway in Bloom 56). Salinger also shows his symbolism from other works through the work of Mark Twain. Salinger portrays how Holden in Catcher in the Rye changes to a different man when he is at the water fountain in Central Park, as the case in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn in which Huck changes when he is on the Mississippi River (Grunwald in Bloom 64). Salinger uses symbolism from other books in his books to convey how the charac! ters in his works will change for a better life (Grunwald in Bloom 67). Salinger uses much of the symbolism to show how the life of the characters has become happy. Salinger uses symbols to show the turning point of the character's lives. He shows that these symbols will change their lives for the better. The works of Salinger show the quest for happiness through religion, loneliness, and symbolism. Salinger's writings deal with characters fulfilling their quest for happiness. He would have the character's accomplish their quest by going through obstacles, in which they learned about their lives. He employed the religion, loneliness, and symbolism as means for the characters to understand how to obtain happiness in life. The writings of the Salinger, become very important for this time period, because he goes against the grain of society to show how it is wrong. The writings of Salinger, while they may have been excellent in style, have become very controversial for what he has portrayed in the society during this time period.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Wuthering Heights.TXT
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1475
The purpose of this paper is to assess the novel, "Wuthering Heights," by Emily Bronte, particularly within the context of the character, Catherine. Catherine plays a prominent role throughout "Wuthering Heights." For the most part, it is her love of Heathcliff which represents the crutch of the human struggle encountered by Catherine, as well as other characters throughout the story -- but especially Catherine. Curiously, relationships of that period were more often than not governed by social convention. The relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is an exception to this...while, ultimately, one Thrushcroff Grange attracts Catherine, and thusly leads her to stray from her true nature. It is difficult to separate the character from the author, noting that the author's childhood was basically isolated and gloomy, and Catherine herself, is a truly private individual. It is this sense of privacy, in my opinion, that supersedes any other factor throughout the story. To understand this sense of inwardness, one must explore the novel itself. The story begins in the early 1800's (c. 1801) and one Mr. Lockwood removed from the narrative. The novel begins to take shape, only after some degree of reading, when we realize what is happening at Wuthering Heights in conjunction with Thrushcroff Grange. Soon afterwards, Nelly Dean makes her appearance, while she herself is somewhat unpreceptible. Overall, content and structure is rather fractured, although a so-called Satanic hero begins to emerge as a creature of darkness as well as rebellion and passion. Conversely, pressures on Heathcliff are internal. Results of his life emanate from his orphan years in Liverpool and his horrific treatment at Wuthering Heights. The author underscores the violence and darkness of man...even to such a primal and universal degree that it is impossible to overcome. In the beginning, Mr. Lockwood visits his landlord. He is a new tenant at Thrushcroff Grange and finds himself to be most unwelcome. His treatment by the landlord, Mr. Heathcliff, the servants, and even the dogs is less than welcoming. Heathcliff is something of a paradox. He exhibits the manners of country squire, urbane and handsome although aloof and private. Wuthering Heights itself is basically an old farmhouse and its namesake comes from the weather which it has had to endure. Overall, I found this book to be extremely personal, and almost eccentric. By eccentric, I mean the views that are put forth are very private and even difficult to understand. I believe that one really has to assume an interest if he or she is to absorb the goings on throughout the novel. As indicated previously, inwardness, or privacy is the seminal theme in this novel. Lockwood is particularly interested in those residents of Wuthering Heights and repeatedly visits. One particular night, he is snowed in and forced to stay much to the chagrin of Heathcliff. It is during this time that he encounters other members of the household including Heathcliff's daughter-in-law who is young and pretty, although her looks are scornful and hateful. When it is bedtime, Lockwood is shown to a bedroom which appeared to not have been used and observes the names Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Heathcliff, and Catherine Linton -- all scratched on a window seat. Looking through some blank pages of an old book, which are something like diary entries by the guests, he observes the handwriting of a young girl named Catherine who speaks of how Hindley mistreated Heathcliff and how Hindley tried to drive Heathcliff away. Similarly, he reads how Catherine and Heathcliff conspire to "rebel" against Hindley's unkindly actions. Rebellion is another theme which appears to pervade this novel. At this point, the story becomes somewhat metaphoric, or dreamlike, as Lockwood falls asleep dreaming of a girl who is crying and tapping on a window begging to be led in after 20 years of wandering about. At this point, he awakens screaming and reports his dream to the landlord. Heathcliff shoves Lockwood aside and looks out into the storm calling to Catherine to come in. Meanwhile, at Thrushcroff Grange, we find Catherine happy to have a new friend, who, although hated by Hindley, takes the place of his father's affection. This is to say that Catherine attempted to make him a part of her father's affections. It is difficult to say exactly what motivates Catherine. However, it is clear that she does opt to make some choices in her life. For example, during one trip on the moors, Catherine and Heathcliff come to the Thrushcroff Grange where the Linton's reside. At this time Catherine is bitten by a watch dog and is taken in for medical treatment and rest with the Linton children named Isabella and Edgar. During this time of her recuperation, she begins to develop a liking for the Grange. She finds it to be serene and gentile, while in the meantime, Heathcliff is driven off by the family as if he were an animal. Once again, there appears to be much metaphor throughout this narrative, and the sense of abandonment and almost hellish, and certainly cold driving away of one from a place thatis supposed to be warm is almost reminiscent of hell, or Hades. Shortly after, Hindley's wife dies as she was giving birth to Harton. As a result of this Hindley turned to alcohol as well as doing what he liked to do best...and that was tormenting Heathcliff. Heathcliff sinks deeper into his ugly nature; while Cathy flowers into a beautiful yet willful young lady. At one point, she tells Nelly that Edgar proposed to her and she was going to accept, although reluctantly. Ultimately, she consents to marry Edgar. She knows that this is wrong. She knows that this is everything that goes against convention, yet she continues to rebel and when Heathcliff overhears her conversation, he leaves Wuthering Heights. Subsequently, we see both Nelly and Cathy searching for him. They search all night for him but are not able to find him. The following day, she falls ill with a fever but her recovery is very slow. Cathy allowed three years to pass before she marries Edgar, and all the while, no one hears from Heathcliff. After she marries Edgar, then Heathcliff appears on the scene. Again, he appears as the urbane well-dressed man of wealth, although no one really knows where he gets his money. Catherine is very happy to see him, while Edgar is not. He is taken on as a paying guest at Wuthering Heights by Hindley, who very quickly begins to gamble with Heathcliff, falling into debt with someone he comes to realize is a vile human being -- at least certainly, in his eyes. Isabella comes to realize that the man she has married is a Satanic person. When Heathcliff sees Catherine he knows that she is dying. He accuses her of having killed him and herself by betraying her true nature and her real love. Late that night, after Catherine has given birth to a daughter, Heathcliff beats his head against a tree calling upon his dead love to haunt him always. The plot gets increasingly entangled, in my opinion. In fact, it is difficult to keep up with whose doing what to who, why, and when. Neverthe-less, Isabella escapes to London where Heathcliff's son Linton is born. Linton is a sickly individual and soon after Isabella dies. For purposes of focus, I should like to attempt to focus on Catherine, throughout the mire of muddled characterization and plot. When Catherine Linton wins the love of the decent Harton, and Heathcliff grows increasingly preoccupied with his desire to rejoin Cathy, the Satanic energy with which he may have employed towards the young lovers suddenly disappears. At the end he even stops eating until he is one day found dead at the very window seat where only lonely cries were once heard. Overall, the story is complex, which is an understatement. One can observe a genealogical table encompassing the Earnshaws and the Lintons including the Catherines, Hindley, Harton, et. al. What does motivate Catherine however? There are really two Catherines which one has to address. There is one who roams wildly over the moors with Heathcliff, as previously indicated. She appears carefree, and while on the other hand there is a sense of conflict associated with Cathy. When she tells Ellen that Heathcliff's return has led her closer to God and humanity, she turns around and describes him (Heathcliff) as a "pitiless, roughish man." Overall, the novel is filled with contractions and metaphors. There is a certain kind of Victorian romance and interest as well as a classical sense of thematic understanding which pervades the novel. Ultimately, Catherine appeares to me as an enigma. She expresses this through her dichotomous actions, words and ideas. However, there does appear to be a kind of relaxation or reconciliation by the end of the novel.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\WWI book All Quiet on the Western Front.TXT
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	Over the years I have read many great books which have sparked my interest and stimulated my mind. When I find a book I enjoy I tend to run with the author until his style of writing grows old, or until ive read them all. While most of the books I have read some extraordinary books there have been some that have made me want to shoot my self in the face (metaphorically no need to worry). I am currently reading Homer's Iliad for enjoyment and in school I am reading Shakespeare's Hamlet both of which I truly enjoy. My personal favorite and I believe under appreciated book of all time was the WWI book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich M. Remarque.
	 As a boy I found that I enjoyed reading. Books such as Wayside School series by Louis Sacher, and Maniac McGee were the first books I read. I then began to read the books by Mark Twain including the beginning of the one about being a cowboy. Through middle school I began to read books by S. E. Hintion starting with Outsiders and That Was Then This Is Now and ending with the book Rumble Fish. I read many others over Elementary and Middle School, most of which I can't remember the name or the plot (including one which was a modern version of king Midas with chocolate instead of gold).My favorite books of middle school were Bridge To Teribetheia as well as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
	High School holds my favorite and most memorable selection of books to date probably cause it's the most recent. In my Freshman years I went through a Tolkien stage in which I read almost every one of his books including Unfinished Tales put together by his son Christopher Tolkien. I have in many ways yet to recover from this phase I was even one of those nerds who dressed in Middle-Earth clothing to the release of Two Towers. Directly after that and contributing greatly to my "Aura of nerd" I read all of the Harry Potter books. After that I read the book One Flew Over The Coocoo's Nest which sparked my intrest in human psyche. Instantly my sister recommended Clockwork Orange which I enjoyed though I found the English a little difficult. My surch for insanity lead me to the short storys written by the great Baltimore citizen Eger Allen Poe (personal favorit The Pendulam). Flowing like a stream I quickly picked up several of the butiful works of Steven King, I started with Pet Semetery and included It, and Cristean. Over the summer and beginging of my senior year I started to read books about the world famous British Secrit Agent James Bond, ranging from bouth Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice, Live And Let Die, and Casino Royal and John Gardner's License Renewed, and Never Send Flowers. I am currently reading Homer's Iliad with the help of a book called Mythology by Edith Hamilton and Clifnotes, I was inspird to read this book after watching the movie O' Brother Where Art Thou which is based off the Odyssey but I want to read them in order. During the school year I have been assigned many other books several that I had alredy read (One Flew over the Coocoo's Nest) and others I had to read for the first time (Hamlet, Turn of the Screw)
	My history with books has covered a wide spectrum from deliciously appetizing books to god awful. Probably the worst series of books I read was by Salvater, I found that each one got worse. His characters seemed to be unrealistic and dull and his plots were poorly planed, worst of all was his depiction of sex witch was so appalling he would unintentionally make your stomach turn. His writing got so annoying that reading him was no longer leisure and became a chore. Another book that caused severe insanity was Huxley's Brave New World which I had to read as my senior thesis, I absolutely dispised this book much for the same reason I hated Salvator's books also I found he truly lacked detail making the picture in my head foggy and unclear.
	One of my favorit books which I have read in recent years is Erich Maria Remarque's All Quite on the Western Front, this book to me that in inhumane times it is the humanity or comradeship between men that pulls them thru it. Paul the main charictor forms a bond with the other men in his troop that cant be broken even in theyre deaths. In the first or second chapter the men lie looking at the sky betting on a dog fight between two enemy plains not cairing if theyre side won or not. To me the best and purest symbol of comradeship came in the form of the man named Kat, kat would always provide for his buddys. The friendship between Paul and Kat shows when they go to steal a goose Kat was looked upto as an older brother by most of the men. When Paul returns home for a breaf time he feels out of place all he desires is to be back with his friends, he realizes that the life he lead before the war was totally difrent to the person he had become.
	These books which I have read have permenitly affected my views and outlook on life and many reflect my own personality. The books mentioned in these pages aren't the only ones I have read but they are ether favorites or highly memorable. 
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Y2k.TXT
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Y2k
Less than two years until the year 2000. Two seemingly small digits may turn January 1, 2000 from a worldwide celebration into a universal nightmare. With computers mistaking the year 2000 for 1900, virtually all businesses that use dates will be affected. Not only will the companies be affected, but they are paying millions upon millions of dollars in order for computers to recognize the difference between the years 2000 and 1900. The year 2000 computer bug is a huge problem that our world must face. In order to explain how to solve the "millennium bug", it is a good idea to be informed about exactly what the year 2000 problem is. The year 2000 industry expert, Peter de Jager, described the problem quite well. "We programmed computers to store the date in the following format: dd/mm/yy. This only allows 2 digits for the year. January 1, 2000 would be stored as 01/01/00. But the computer will interpret this as January 1, 1900- not 2000" (de Jager 1). The '19' is "hard-coded" into computer hardware and software. Since there are only 2 physical spaces for the year in this date format, after '99', the only logical choice is to reset the number to '00'. The year 2000 problem is unlike any other problem in modern history for several reasons. William Adams points out some of the most important ones. "Time is running out- the Year 2000 is inevitable! The problem will occur simultaneously worldwide, time zones withstanding. It affects all languages and platforms, hardware & software. The demand for solutions will exceed the supply. Survivors will survive big, losers will lose big. There is no 'silver bullet' that is going to fix things" (Adams 2). "It is too big and too overwhelming even for [Bill Gates and] Microsoft" (Widder 3). Separate, any one of these points makes Y2K, a common abbreviation for the year 2000 problem, an addition to the obstacle. Combined, they form what seems more like a hideous monster than an insignificant bug. The impact of Y2K on society is enormous, bringing the largest companies in the world to their knees, pleading for a fix at nearly any cost. "The modern world has come to depend on information as much as it has on electricity and running water. Fixing the problem is difficult because there are [less than] two years left to correct 40 years of behavior" (de Jager 1). Alan Greenspan has warned that being 99 percent ready isn't enough (Widder 2). Chief Economist Edward Yardeni has said that the chances for a worldwide recession to occur because of Y2K are at 40% (Widder 3). Senator Bob Benett (Republican, Utah) made a good analogy about the potential of the problem. "In the 1970's, oil was the energy that ran our world economy. Today it runs on the energy of information." He later said, "To cripple the technological flow of information throughout the world is to bring it to a virtual standstill" (Widder 3). The potential of the problem in everyday life is alarming. Imagine making a loan payment in 1999 for a bill that is due in 2000. The company's computers could interpret the '00' as 1900 and you would then be charged with 99 years of late fees (Moffitt & Sandler 48). If the year 2000 problem isn't solved, there could be "no air traffic, traffic lights, no lights in your company, companies could not produce goods, no goods delivered to the stores, stores could not send you bills, you could not send bills to anyone else. Business [could] come to a halt" (de Jager 1). The costs of fixing Y2K are staggering. The Gartner Group estimates that costs per line of code to be between $1.50 and $2.00 (Conner 1). It is not uncommon for a single company to have 100,000,000 lines of code (de Jager 6). Capers Jones, an expert who has studied software costs for over ten years, estimates total worldwide costs to be $1,635,000,000,000 (One-trillion, 635 billion dollars) (Jones 58). To put this number into perspective, if five people were to spend $100 for every second of every day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it would take them about 100 years to finish the task! The year 2000 problem is not only limited to what happens with computers between December 31, 1999 and January 1, 2000. There are several other important dates that are a factor. Last October was considered the last point where a large company could start fixing the problem with any hopes to finish before the deadline (DBA 1). Also, all fixes should be done by January 1, 1999. There are two major reasons for having the fixes done a year early. The first is that there are many "special dates" during 1999 that mean special things. For example, September 9, 1999 (09/09/99) has been commonly used as the "expiration date" for references and data that have no expiration date (Reid 6). The computer required that a date must be entered in, and in many cases, 9/9/99 was it. Also, it has been established that an entire year's cycle of events should be used to test all of the modifications that have been made to a system. Also, one should be sure to test to see which day of the week is 01/01/00. January 1, 1900 was a Monday, but January 1, 2000 will be a Saturday. Other possible failure dates: 1/10/2000 (1st 9 character date), 2/29/2000 (Leap day- the year 2000 is a leap year), 10/10/2000 (1st 10 character date), and 12-31-2000 (Day 366 of the year 2000) (Martin 15) (GTE Appendix A). With the millennium "bug" coming closer and closer to destroying the "crops" of the world's information every day, experts from around the globe have discovered several ways to deal with or "exterminate" this menace. Five major solutions to the problem will now be discussed. The most straightforward approach to solving Y2K is to simply change the 2-digit date fields to 4-digit ones. This is considered to be the only complete solution to the problem, giving businesses a seemingly endless range of dates for the future. This approach also can make it much easier for the company to reformat the display screens with a hard-coded format present (IBM 5.2). Unfortunately, expanding the date field from 2 to 4 digits has several downsides to it. The most obvious one is that in order to convert the dates, every program and database that references to date data will have to be modified. These modifications are mostly manual labor- not an automatic process. Also, this requires display screens to be reformatted manually, as well as increasing record lengths in databases (IBM 5.2). Another common method for swatting the millennium bug involves what is termed "date logic", or "windowing techniques". This procedure involves having a separate program to determine which millennium certain dates are in. For example, the program could determine that if the year ends in numbers between 00 and 20, the date is in the second millennium. If the year ends in 21 to 99, the date is in the first millennium. This technique avoids some of the massive changes and coordination associated with the expansion approach (Martin 5). Date logic routines also have some downsides to them. The most important one is that the "time window" can never be more than 100 years, and the length of the time window cannot change in the future. Also, system performance may slow down with this extra step for each date to be processed. On top of that, all of the assumptions and logic must be the same for all of the programs that will use it (IBM 5.7). If and only if all three of these downsides to windowing techniques are able to be overcome, should a business consider this solution. Another way of getting around 2-digit dates involves a bridge program. This type of solution is used to convert data from one record format to another. This allows a system to convert 2-digit to 4-digit dates as they are needed. This also allows a business to have very little down time for year 2000 renovations. Instead of converting all of the data at one time, it is instead converted gradually. Also, this technique is very cost effective and fairly easy to do (Moffitt & Sandler 5.8). Be aware that a bridge program has the potential to ruin a computer system. By removing the bridge before all data has been converted, 2-digit dates may become mixed with 4-digit dates, creating a larger problem than in the beginning. Replacing the systems is probably the most straightforward method of solving Y2K. By simply discarding old, non-compliant systems and purchasing new systems that are year 2000 ready, a business can eliminate the year 2000 problem altogether (Martin 6). This avoids the hassle of coming up with solutions to the problem, but presents the difficulties of starting from scratch. This solution should be considered if a company's systems are too costly to fix, or if there are not very many systems that need to be fixed. Another idea that incorporates the replacement idea is for one company to merge with or buy another company that has Y2K compliant systems. Then, the old systems can be retired (Martin 6). The last alternative that will be discussed is to do nothing to current computer systems that a business may use. This is not the same as ignoring the millennium bug and hoping that it will go away. Instead, it involves analyzing exactly what will happen to a company's computer systems and determining that the effect it will have is either none or very little (Martin 6). If this would be the case, and employees could work around any damages that may be caused, this selection could work. Carrying out a solution in any business involves careful planning in order to be successful. Each of the four steps- awareness, planning, implementation, and testing- are crucial for a company to successfully get beyond the year 2000. Though the shortest step, the awareness step can be considered to be the most important step. This involves a detailed description of the problem to CEO's and the other decision makers for the company. Also, the management must be informed of the impact that is likely to occur if Y2K is not solved. Without successfully informing the company executives of the millennium bug, there is no hope of getting funding appropriated and fixes underway (Conner 2). The preparation and planning phase involves finding all applications that use dates and choosing the right combination of solutions to result in a successful endeavor. Also, a business must consider any dependencies on outside systems- other companies, for example. In addition to this, a "priority schedule" should be created, to determine which systems are absolutely necessary to the operation of the business, and to fix them in accordance to their importance (Conner 2). A standard date interface should be agreed upon both within the company and with all other companies which are relied on. Also, the first estimate of how costly and how prolonged the fixes should be done (Conner 2). The implementation phase is probably the most tedious phase of year 2000 compliance. This involves taking proposed solutions and incorporating them into a business' computer systems. Depending on which solutions are chosen, and how the solutions affect everyday business, a company's commerce could be crippled due to the need for various systems to be down at all times (Moffitt & Sandler 66). Testing the solutions may be seen as an unimportant phase in the conversion process. The rewards seem few, and the costs of are high. However, testing solutions is the only way to ensure that a business will flow smoothly into the 21st century. This procedure involves making sample databases and records to verify that the fixes were made correctly, and that all systems work correctly. During this phase, a few glitches will most likely be found, and correcting these will be relatively easy. There are two common approaches to testing the solutions. The first involves making sure the systems work correctly in the 20th century, testing the computers for the 21st century, and then putting the systems back into everyday use. An advantage of this method is that all of the tests are done at the same times, allowing quicker feedback. The downside is that the amount of down time will be fairly high. The other approach is the same as the first, except switching the second and third items. The systems are first put back into production, and then they are tested for year 2000 compliance while they are ensuring the flow of business at the same time. The advantage of this method is that down time is much shorter. However, getting results will take a longer time (Pollner 2-3). As the year 2000 comes closer and closer, companies are losing precious time in order to swat the millennium bug
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Yes Another The Pearl.TXT
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857
Thesis Statement: Kino's lack of material items did not keep him from happiness until he thought it was possible to acquire a greater amount of wealth and increase his happiness through the pearl. In turn, this resulted in the downfall of Kino and his family. I. Kino's life before the pearl brought him satisfaction and contentment A. Family 1. "Juana is driven, although instinctively as a woman to heal the family, nevertheless in reality to act for the man to protect the family." (Karsten 6) a. Raised and took care of the family b. Held together the family with love and care 2. Coyotito - Kino's son a. Kino's pride and joy b. Brought together Kino and Juana and made them a family 3. Juan Tomàs - Kino's brother a. Supported Kino throughout his life b. "We do know that we are cheated from birth to the overcharge on our coffins. But we survive. You have defied not the pearl buyers, but the whole structure, the whole way of life, and I am afraid for you." (Steinbeck 70) B. Possessions 1. Home - brush hut a. Provided protection and shelter b. Brought together the family in unity 2. Canoe - family heirloom a. Passed down from grandfather to father to son b. "Kino and Juana came slowly down to the beach and to Kino's canoe, which was the one thing of value he owned in the world." (Steinbeck 19) c. "It was once property and source of food, for a man with a boat can guarantee a woman that she will eat something." (Steinbeck 19) C. Song of the family a. Prevalent in the beginning b. Brought a feeling of unity c. "... the Song of the Family is identified along with other unnamed songs, the heritage of Kino's people, in the calm beginning of the story... (Karsten 2) II. Changes and alterations brought about by the pearl A. Kino immediately began to make a list of things that he wanted to buy with the pearl's wealth 1. Kino has an opportunity for social mobility and acts upon it a. Official marriage b. New clothes c. Rifle d. Harpoon e. Education for his son 2. Instantaneously, Kino's desires became cloudy a. "There was no certainty in seeing, no proof that what you saw was there or was not there." (Astro 29) b. Kino then started doubting his dreams and the pearl became misty and cloudy. B. Kino's community thought of him differently because of his sudden acquired wealth 1. Suddenly the town developed an interest in Kino and his pearl a. "Every man suddenly became related to Kino's pearl..." b. All of the sudden, everyone wanted to know Kino not because of Kino but because of the pearl c. "...and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino, so that he became curiously every man's enemy." (Astro 29) d. The only obstacle that stood in the way of someone else's wealth was Kino. If someone wanted the pearl, Kino was the only thing from stopping that desire. 2. The community became greedy themselves and wanted a piece of wealth that Kino possessed C. Richer people showed an interest in Kino and his wealth 1. The doctor decided to treat Coyotito's scorpion bite after he found out about Kino's rare discovery of the pearl 2. The priest became interested in Kino's wealth when he thought the money could be used to renovate his church D. Kino was overcome with greed which changed his and his family's way of living 1. Kino began to take things from granted because he shut out his "old life", only thinking about what the pearl could give him a. Song of the Family b. Sound of the waves on the beach c. Doves d. Pigs e. Goats f. Dog 2. Juana's rebellion a. Juana thought that the pearl was evil and that something was going to happen to the family b. Juana attempted to throw the pearl back into the sea c. Kino strikes Juana for her wrong doing 3. Juana realized that the pearl had definitely overcome Kino with greed and evil a. "Juana realized the irrevocable change and accepts it to keep the family together..." (Karsten 2) b. "This pearl has become my soul... If I give it up I shall lose my soul." (Astro 30) 4. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito flee the community a. Kino killed a man in a struggle over the pearl b. "The dark ones" burned Kino's brush hut down c. Juan Tomàs and his family provided protection for Kino and his family until they could flee the area III. Destruction of Kino's family A. Kino was losing many things very close to him due to his insistence on keeping the pearl and pursuing its potential wealth 1. Hut a. Burned down by "the dark ones" b. Source of the family was lost 2. Canoe a. Destroyed by "the dark ones" b. "The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does no heal." (Steinbeck 80) 3. Coyotito a. Killed by one of the trackers b. Destroyed the link between the family B. Due to the evil the pearl brought, Kino decided that enough damage was done 1. Kino hurled the pearl back into the sea 2. This gesture symbolized defeat in that the pearl brought so much evil and greed that Kino was defeated by it. It could also mean the Kino finally overcame his greediness and threw his troubles away back where they came from.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Yet Another MacBeth.TXT
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Yet Another MacBeth
Macbeth is presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity and enjoying an enviable reputation. We must not conclude, there, that all his volitions and actions are predictable; Macbeth's character, like any other man's at a given moment, is what is being made out of potentialities plus environment, and no one, not even Macbeth himself, can know all his inordinate self-love whose actions are discovered to be-and no doubt have been for a long time- determined mainly by an inordinate desire for some temporal or mutable good. Macbeth is actuated in his conduct mainly by an inordinate desire for worldly honors; his delight lies primarily in buying golden opinions from all sorts of people. But we must not, therefore, deny him an entirely human complexity of motives. For example, his fighting in Duncan's service is magnificent and courageous, and his evident joy in it is traceable in art to the natural pleasure which accompanies the explosive expenditure of prodigious physical energy and the euphoria which follows. He also rejoices no doubt in the success which crowns his efforts in battle - and so on. He may even conceived of the proper motive which should energize back of his great deed: The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. But while he destroys the king's enemies, such motives work but dimly at best and are obscured in his consciousness by more vigorous urges. In the main, as we have said, his nature violently demands rewards: he fights valiantly in order that he may be reported in such terms a "valour's minion" and "Bellona's bridegroom"' he values success because it brings spectacular fame and new titles and royal favor heaped upon him in public. Now so long as these mutable goods are at all commensurate with his inordinate desires - and such is the case, up until he covets the kingship - Macbeth remains an honorable gentleman. He is not a criminal; he has no criminal tendencies. But once permit his self-love to demand a satisfaction which cannot be honorably attained, and he is likely to grasp any dishonorable means to that end which may be safely employed. In other words, Macbeth has much of natural good in him unimpaired; environment has conspired with his nature to make him upright in all his dealings with those about him. But moral goodness in him is undeveloped and indeed still rudimentary, for his voluntary acts are scarcely brought into harmony with ultimate end. As he returns from victorious battle, puffed up with self-love which demands ever-increasing recognition of his greatness, the demonic forces of evil-symbolized by the Weird Sisters-suggest to his inordinate imagination the splendid prospect of attaining now the greatest mutable good he has ever desired. These demons in the guise of witches cannot read his inmost thoughts, but from observation of facial expression and other bodily manifestations they surmise with comparative accuracy what passions drive him and what dark desires await their fostering. Realizing that he wishes the kingdom, they prophesy that he shall be king. They cannot thus compel his will to evil; but they do arouse his passions and stir up a vehement and inordinate apprehension of the imagination, which so perverts the judgment of reason that it leads his will toward choosing means to the desired temporal good. Indeed his imagination and passions are so vivid under this evil impulse from without that "nothing is but what is not"; and his reason is so impeded that he judges, "These solicitings cannot be evil, cannot be good." Still, he is provided with so much natural good that he is able to control the apprehensions of his inordinate imagination and decides to take no step involving crime. His autonomous decision not to commit murder, however, is not in any sense based upon moral grounds. No doubt he normally shrinks from the unnaturalness of regicide; but he so far ignores ultimate ends that, if he could perform the deed and escape its consequences here upon this bank and shoal of time, he'ld jump the life to come. Without denying him still a complexity of motives - as kinsman and subject he may possibly experience some slight shade of unmixed loyalty to the King under his roof-we may even say that the consequences which he fears are not at all inward and spiritual, It is to be doubted whether he has ever so far considered the possible effects of crime and evil upon the human soul-his later discovery of horrible ravages produced by evil in his own spirit constitutes part of the tragedy. Hi is mainly concerned, as we might expect, with consequences involving the loss of mutable goods which he already possesses and values highly. After the murder of Duncan, the natural good in him compels the acknowledgment that, in committing the unnatural act, he has filed his mind and has given his eternal jewel, the soul, into the possession of those demonic forces which are the enemy of mankind. He recognizes that the acts of conscience which torture him are really expressions of that outraged natural law, which inevitably reduced him as individual to the essentially human. This is the inescapable bond that keeps him pale, and this is the law of his own natural from whose exactions of devastating penalties he seeks release: Come, seeling night... And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond Which keeps me pale. He conceives that quick escape from the accusations of conscience may possibly be effected by utter extirpation of the precepts of natural law deposited in his nature. And he imagines that the execution of more bloody deeds will serve his purpose. Accordingly, then, in the interest of personal safety and in order to destroy the essential humanity in himself, he instigates the murder of Banquo. But he gains no satisfying peace because hes conscience still obliges him to recognize the negative quality of evil and the barren results of wicked action. The individual who once prized mutable goods in the form of respect and admiration from those about him, now discovers that even such evanescent satisfactions are denied him: And that which should accompany old age, As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have; but, in their stead, Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. But the man is conscious of a profound abstraction of something far more precious that temporal goods. His being has shrunk to such little measure that he has lost his former sensitiveness to good and evil; he has supped so full with horrors and the disposition of evil is so fixed in him that nothing can start him. His conscience is numbed so that he escapes the domination of fears, and such a consummation may indeed be called a sort of peace. But it is not entirely what expected or desires. Back of his tragic volitions is the ineradicable urge toward that supreme contentment which accompanies and rewards fully actuated being; the peace which he attains is psychologically a callousness to pain and spiritually a partial insensibility to the evidences of diminished being. His peace is the doubtful calm of utter negativity, where nothing matters. This spectacle of spiritual deterioration carried to the point of imminent dissolution arouses in us, however, a curious feeling of exaltation. For even after the external and internal forces of evil have done their worst, Macbeth remains essentially human and his conscience continues to witness the diminution of his being. That is to say, there is still left necessarily some natural good in him; sin cannot completely deprive him of his rational nature, which is the root of his inescapable inclination to virtue. We do not need Hecate to tell us that he is but a wayward son, spiteful and wrathful, who, as other do, loves for his own ends. This is apparent throughout the drama; he never sins because, like the Weird Sisters, he loves evil for its own sake; and whatever he does is inevitably in pursuance of some apparent good, even though that apparent good is only temporal of nothing more that escape from a present evil. At the end, in spite of shattered nerves and extreme distraction of mind, the individual passes out still adhering admirably to his code of personal courage, and the man's conscience still clearly admonishes that he has done evil. Moreover, he never quite loses completely the liberty of free choice, which is the supreme bonum naturae of mankind. But since a wholly free act is one in accordance with reason, in proportion as his reason is more and more blinded by inordinate apprehension of the imagination and passions of the sensitive appetite, his volitions become less and less free. And this accounts for our feeling, toward the end of the drama, that his actions are almost entirely determined and that some fatality is compelling him to his doom. This compulsion is in no sense from without-though theologians may at will interpret it so-as if some god, like Zeus in Greek tragedy, were dealing out punishment for the breaking of divine law. It is generated rather from within, and it is not merely a psychological phenomenon. Precepts of the natural law-imprints of the eternal law- deposited in his nature have been violated, irrational acts have established habits tending to further irrationality, and one of the penalties exacted is dire impairment of the liberty of free choice. Thus the Fate which broods over Macbeth may be identified with that disposition inherent in created things, in this case the fundamental motive principle of human action, by which providence knits all things in their proper order. Macbeth cannot escape entirely from his proper order; he must inevitably remain essentially human. The substance of Macbeth's personality is that out of which tragic heroes are fashioned; it is endowed by the dramatist with an astonishing abundance and variety of potentialities. And it is upon the development of these potentialities that the artist lavishes the full energies of his creative powers. Under the influence of swiftly altering environment which continually furnishes or elicts new experiences and under the impact of passions constantly shifting and mounting in intensity, the dramatic individual grows, expands, developes to the point where, at the end of the drama, he looms upon the mind as a titanic personality infinitely richer that at the beginning. This dramatic personality in its manifold stages of actuation in as artistic creation. In essence Macbeth, like all other men, is inevitably bound to his humanity; the reason of order, as we have seen, determines his inescapable relationship to the natural and eternal law, compels inclination toward his proper act and end but provides him with a will capable of free choice, and obliges his discernment of good and evil.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Yet Another Romeo and Juliet.TXT
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576
Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's plays about tragedy. It is about two lovers who commit suicide when their feuding famillies prevent them from being together. The play has many characters, each with its own role in keeping the plot line. Some characters have very little to do with the plot but some have the plot revolving around them. Friar Lawrence does not have very much time on stage but the time he does have is crucial to the plot line. Through his words Friar Lawrence demonstrates the he is a good intentioned, yet sometimes short-sighted, man who is not afraid to take risks to help others One of Friar Lawrences most favourable traits is how good intentioned he is. He may do something out of the ordinary if he thinks the outcome will help someone he cares for. For example, when he says "In one respect I'll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households rancour to pure love."(Act 2, Scene 3), he is saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet is because he hopes that the marriage will end the hostilities between the two houses. When he says "Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, and hither shall he come; and he and I shall watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua." (Act 4, Scene 1), he tells Juliet how everything will be all right. Unfortunately, for all his good intentions the play still ends in tragedy. Friar Lawrence is a man who is not afraid to take risks when he feels it is neccesary to help someone. For example in Act 2, Scene 6, when he marries Romeo and Juliet, he is risking his reputation as a Friar so he can help the two lovers. Also, when he says "Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilled liquor drink though off;" (Act 4, Scene 1), he is suggesting that Juliet drink a potion so that she might feighn her own death and avoid marrying Paris. This is an extremely risky thing to do because anything might happen to Juliet while she unconscious. Even after all Friar did to help Romeo and Juliet the play still ended in tragedy because of Friar Lawrences' short sightedness. When the Friar married Romeo Juliet in secrecy, he did not think of all the complications that would arise but instead went on with the marriage because at that time he thought it was the right thing to do. In Act 4, Scene 1, he gave Juliet a sleeping potion without thinking of the possible outcomes of such an outrages plan. He admits that much of the fault of the tragedy lies in his hands when he says "And her I stand both to impeach and purge myself condemned and myself excused", and when he say "Her nurse is privy; and, if aught in this miscarried by myself..." (Act 5, Scene 3). Although Friar Lawrence does not have an especially large role, his role is none the less important. It is because of his good intentions that he was willing to help his friends that Romeo and Juliet were married - a key event in the play. It is because of his willingness to take risks for his friends that Juliet aqquired the sleeping potion - another key event in the play. Finally, it was the shortsightedness of his actions that in part led to the deaths of the two lead characters. This demonstartes that Friar Lawrence was a man who was a man with good intentions who was willing to take risks to help his frieneds. If he had been any other way, the play might not have turned out the way it did.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Yet Another The Pearl.TXT
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Yet Another The Pearl
Kino, a poor Indian fisherman, lives on the Gulf of California with his wife Juana and son Coyotito. Their simple hut is made of brush, and the couple sleeps on mats thrown on the dirt floor, while Coyotito sleeps in a hanging box. Like others in their poor village, they depend on nature for survival. As The Pearl begins, dawn is breaking. Kino watches the sun rise and listens to the sounds of the morning. But within moments, a dangerous situation develops. A poisonous scorpion stings Coyotito, Kino's infant son, and the baby's screams draw people from all over the village. Juana insists that the doctor be called, but Kino knows the physician is Spanish and considers himself above treating poor Indians. This does not satisfy Juana, who announces that if the doctor will not come to the village, then they will go to his house. But the doctor refuses to treat Coyotito because Kino is too poor. Later that day, while Kino and Juana are fishing in the Gulf, Kino finds an enormous pearl and cries out in joy. He believes the pearl will make him rich and enable him to provide security for his family. But Kino discovers otherwise. The pearl stirs envy in the villagers, and that night Kino is attacked in his hut by a thief. The following day, he tries to sell the pearl to buyers in town, but he is offered only a small amount of money for it. The buyers all work for the same man. They know the pearl is worth a fortune but hope to buy it cheaply by pretending that it is worth little. Kino says he will sell his pearl in the capital city, where he believes he will get a fair price. This amazes the villagers because Kino has never traveled so far. After dark that evening, Kino is attacked again. Juana is sure the pearl is evil and will destroy the family. During the night, she quietly removes it from the spot where Kino has hidden it and tries to throw it back into the ocean. He stops her before she succeeds and beats her for trying. As he returns to the hut, Kino is attacked again, this time by two men. He kills one of them, and the other escapes. Because of the killing, Kino knows that he will be hunted as a murderer. As a result, he and Juana must leave the village the next morning. However, before they can escape their canoe is destroyed and their hut is burned. They hide until the next night in the hut of Kino's brother, Juan Tomas. The following evening, Kino and Juana begin their journey to the capital. Soon they realize they are being followed by three people, so they flee up the mountain and hide in a small cave. Their followers set camp in a clearing just below the cave. Kino decides the only way to survive is for him to kill the person on guard, take his rifle, and kill the other two, who are sleeping. Kino goes to the followers' camp and is about to attack them when his son Coyotito cries out. Kino knows that he must act immediately upon his enemies, but he is a second too late and one of them shoots toward the cave. There is a struggle and Kino kills all three of his enemies. The earlier shot has killed Coyotito. The following afternoon the villagers witness the return of Kino and Juana, carrying the rifle and their dead child. Without a word to anyone, they walk through the village to the shore. Kino lays down the rifle, takes out the pearl, and throws it into the sea. It is difficult to get to know the characters in The Pearl in the same way you might get to know the characters in other novels. They say very little, and you see them in few situations. Their actions seem to be based more on ancient habits than on free choice. Like in one of his other books that I have reed, Of Mice and Men, the characters were not developed thoroughly and stood as more of symbols than actual characters in the story. However, the strong symbolization made by the pearl is a great asset to the story. The pearl in the story has a strong allegorical message to the reader about human greed. Kino becomes a symbol of the poor but happy man who is destroyed when he becomes obsessed with his wantings of the material world. The pearl that was supposed to bring him happiness and contentment brings him only death and destruction. At the end of the, both Kino's dream and his son are dead. 
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\You Belong To Me.TXT
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650
Mary Higgins Clark does a great job of keeping the reader in suspense. Mary Higgins Clark introduces many characters that all could me suspects in the crimes she describes in this novel. "You Belong to Me" was definitely one of her best works. Dr. Susan Chandler, a clinical psychologist, is researching cases of missing women. On her daily talk show, she focuses on the case of Regina Clausen who disapeared on a cruise three years earlier. In Regina's belongings, a turquoise ring with the inscription "You Belong to Me" engraved on the inside of the band is found. Carolyn Wells, a viewer, calls the show and says she recieved and identical turquoise ring from a man while on a recent cruise. He tried to persuade Carolyn to leave the cruise and rejoin it in another city. Carolyn agrees to meet with Dr. Chandler to discuss the turquoise ring. On her way to meet with Dr. chandler, Carolyn was pushed in front of a van. She is seriously injured and in a coma. Carolyn's husband, Justin, is suspected of trying to murder her. Dr. Chandler thinks he may also have something to do with Regina's disappearance. Soon other people that are related to the case are mysteriously murdered. Hilda Johnson who witnessed Carolyn's accident claims it was intentional. Hilda si murdered after she tells the police her side of the story. The next day on Dr. Chandler's show a viewer named Tiffany calls and says her boyfriend bought her an identical turquoise ring. She cannot remember the exact location, but it was a shop in Greenwich Village. Tiffany also mentions that the day she was there a sharp dressed man came in and bought several turquoise rings. Soon both Tiffany and the shop owner are brutally stabbed to death. In the meantime, Dr. Chandler is dating two people. One is a psychologist and guest on her show, Dr. Don Richards. The other is a wealthy man named Alex Wright. Certain facts are introduced about both of these men that lead the reader to beleive that one of them may be the murderer. As Dr. Chandler gets closer to solving the case, she does not realize the danger she is in. While working late one night, she is hit over the head by a man, Alex Wright. This is the climax of the novel because the reader finally discovers who the killer is. Alex then admits to the previous murders. He also reveals the abuse he received from his stepmother while growing up. Killing the women is a release of rage for him. Alex now wraps Dr. Chandler up in a plastic bag to kill her. She saved herself by cutting the bag on a piece of broken glass. Dr. Chandler solved the case and saved her life;she also put a murderer in jail. "You Belong to Me" points out the dangers vulnerable lonely women face. Mary Higgins' Clark's characters are definitely believable with the help of a present day setting in New York. "You Belong to Me" is a very suspenseful book in which the purpose is to mainly entertain. Mary Higgins Clark creates two evident conflicts in this novel, person vs. person and person vs. self. The conflict person vs. person is apparent when Alex is murdering he victims and when Dr. Chandler is working against him to solve the case. Person vs. self is a major conflict because his main targets are women who are lonely and have no self-esteem. This conflict is also shown when Alex reveals the emotional abuse his stepmother inflicted on him. "You Belong to Me" is a well-written book intended for young adults and adults, it is a must read novel.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.TXT
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YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
These are the words Jesus spoke to one of the most religious men of his day (John 3:1-8). Nicodemus had come to Jesus one night to inquire about His new doctrine. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He believed in God, he prayed, fasted, tithed, attended worship services, read the Scriptures and tried to keep high moral standards. Yet, with all these credentials, Jesus told him he had to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God.
The Word and the Spirit
Jesus said, "... Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."(John 3:3). "... Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Later in the book of John he said, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). Paul wrote that Christ gave Himself to sanctify and cleanse the church with the washing of water by the WORD (Ephesians 5:26). Peter wrote that we are born again "... not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, (1 Pet 1:23). The WORD is the seed that comes into your heart and causes faith to grow.
Not only must you have God's Word in order to be born again, but you must have God's Spirit. It is "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the HOLY SPIRIT" (Titus 3:5).
There are several ingredients needed in making concrete. You need sand, cement, and water primarily. There is plenty of sand in the desert, but concrete doesn't appear just because it's there. There is an abundance of water in the ocean and plenty of sand, but the ocean is not full of concrete. Likewise in order for you to be saved, the Word and the Spirit must be mixed with repentance and faith in your heart.
Believe and Confess
"... The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you CONFESS with your mouth the Lord Jesus and BELIEVE in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one BELIEVES unto righteousness, and with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation" (Rom 10:8-10).
Your faith in God's Word is expressed with your heart (believe) and with your mouth (confess). If you truly believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, there is no reason you should not be willing to confess him as Lord. The moment you believe in your heart upon Jesus and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, you are born again.
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, {even} to those who believe in His name," (John 1:12).
Saved by Grace through Faith
There is a mixture of God's grace and power with your will and faith. It is not just all of God, and certainly it is not just all up to you. It takes both GOD'S ABILITY and YOUR WILLINGNESS to bring about the new birth.
"For by grace you have been SAVED through FAITH, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph 2:8-9).
We could never be saved except by the pure grace of God. Man is certainly undeserving according to his own merits. It is God's power working through His Word and Spirit that brings about the new birth. Yet without an attitude of repentance and faith, God's power will not work in a man's heart. Man's will must be obedient to God's will before he can receive God's blessings.
A New Creation
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor 5:17).
The new birth makes you a brand new creation. You are created after the image of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:10). This is done by RENEWING THE MIND WITH GOD'S WORD, and submitting your body to the authority of that word (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23-24).
Into god's Kingdom
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: HE HAS DELIVERED US FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS, AND TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON OF HIS LOVE, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:12-14).
When you are born again, you are taken out of Satan's kingdom of darkness, and you are placed into the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom of light. It is not something you just hope or wish for. It is fact. The child of God does not have to be lorded over by Satan ever again. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).
The Law of the Spirit of Life in
Christ Jesus
This new kingdom is a spiritual kingdom; but just because salvation is basically a spiritual rebirth does not mean that is has no effect on your body, mind, or everyday living. It can and should have a great impact on every part of your life.
In every society, there are certain laws that govern the actions of the inhabitants of that area. It is the same in spiritual life. There are laws for those in Satan's kingdom, and there are laws for those in God's kingdom. The new birth gives you a new law. "THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS Has made me free from the law of sin and death" Romans 8:2).
The law of life includes love, joy, peace, happiness, prosperity, abundance, health, contentment, and blessings. These provisions are made for the Christian in the New Covenant. It is law -- spiritual law. You must enforce it in your life. God will back you. His Word is true and unchanging.
Forgiveness---Remission of Sins
The day you make Jesus your Lord and Savior you are forgiven of all your sins; in fact you were legally forgiven when Jesus gave His life as a ransom for you. But you do not experience that forgiveness until you receive it by faith.
Although a person may have committed many sins, the chief sin of the unsaved is NOT BELIEVING ON CHRIST john 16:9). When a person gets that straightened out, the root of the problem is solved. The blood of Christ cleanses the heart the moment a person believes and confesses Him as Savior. Thus all the past sins are remitted or taken away by the powerful cleansing work of His blood (1John 1:7). "...We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Eph 1:7).
Water Baptism
It is clear from the scriptures that water baptism is important to the believer. In the Great Commission Jesus told His disciples, "...He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16). Matthew records these words of Jesus in the 28th chapter and the 19th verse: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" Jesus himself was baptized by John in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17
At the close of his message on the day of Pentecost, Peter told the Jews, "...Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38). Luke Records, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; (Acts 2:41).
Paul was baptized after his conversion (Acts 9:18). He later baptized the believers at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-6). Those at Cornelius" house were baptized after they had received the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:44-48). The Philippian jailer and all his household were baptized after they had believed on Jesus (Acts 16:31-33).
Assurance of Salvation
"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" (I Jn 5:11-13).
If you meet the conditions given in God's Word for salvation, you can know you are saved. God's Word says that you can know. That is what you must stand on - His Word - Not your feelings, emotions, church membership, high morals, or sincerity.
Pray this prayer out loud.
Heavenly Farther, in Jesus' name I repent of my sins and open my heart to let Jesus come inside of me. Jesus, you are my Lord and Savior. I believe you died for my sins and you were raised from the dead. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank You Farther for saving me in Jesus name. Amen
 
 
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Young Goodman Brow1.TXT
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 Young Goodman Brown
"Young Goodman Brown", by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story that is thick with allegory. "Young Goodman Brown" is a moral story which is told through the perversion of a religious leader. In "Young Goodman Brown", Goodman Brown is a Puritan minister who lets his excessive pride in himself interfere with his relations with the community after he meets with the devil, and causes him to live the life of an exile in his own community. "Young Goodman Brown" begins when Faith, Brown's wife, asks him not to go on an "errand". Goodman Brown says to his "love and (my) Faith" that "this one night I must tarry away from thee." When he says his "love" and his "Faith", he is talking to his wife, but he is also talking to his "faith" to God. He is venturing into the woods to meet with the Devil, and by doing so, he leaves his unquestionable faith in God with his wife. He resolves that he will "cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven." This is an example of the excessive pride because he feels that he can sin and meet with the Devil because of this promise that he made to himself. There is a tremendous irony to this promise because when Goodman Brown comes back at dawn; he can no longer look at his wife with the same faith he had before. When Goodman Brown finally meets with the Devil, he declares that the reason he was late was because "Faith kept me back awhile." This statement has a double meaning because his wife physically prevented him from being on time for his meeting with the devil, but his faith to God psychologically delayed his meeting with the devil. The Devil had with him a staff that "bore the likeness of a great black snake". The staff which looked like a snake is a reference to the snake in the story of Adam and Eve. The snake led Adam and Eve to their destruction by leading them to the Tree of Knowledge. The Adam and Eve story is similar to Goodman Brown in that they are both seeking unfathomable amounts of knowledge. Once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge they were expelled from their paradise. The Devil's staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the Devil's ceremony which destroys Goodman Brown's faith in his fellow man, therefore expelling him from his utopia. Goodman Brown almost immediately declares that he kept his meeting with the Devil and no longer wishes to continue on his errand with the Devil. He says that he comes from a "race of honest men and good Christians" and that his father had never gone on this errand and nor will he. The Devil is quick to point out however that he was with his father and grandfather when they were flogging a woman or burning an Indian village, respectively. These acts are ironic in that they were bad deeds done in the name of good, and it shows that he does not come from "good Christians." When Goodman Brown's first excuse not to carry on with the errand proves to be unconvincing, he says he can't go because of his wife, "Faith". And because of her, he can not carry out the errand any further. At this point the Devil agrees with him and tells him to turn back to prevent that "Faith should come to any harm" like the old woman in front of them on the path. Ironically, Goodman Brown's faith is harmed because the woman on the path is the woman who "taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual adviser." The Devil and the woman talk and afterward, Brown continues to walk on with the Devil in the disbelief of what he had just witnessed. Ironically, he blames the woman for consorting with the Devil but his own pride stops him from realizing that his faults are the same as the woman's. Brown again decides that he will no longer to continue on his errand and rationalizes that just because his teacher was not going to heaven, why should he "quit my dear Faith, and go after her". At this, the Devil tosses Goodman Brown his staff (which will lead him out of his Eden) and leaves him. Goodman Brown begins to think to himself about his situation and his pride in himself begins to build. He "applauds himself greatly, and thinking with how clear a conscience he should meet his minister...And what calm sleep would be his...in the arms of Faith!" This is ironic because at the end of the story, he can not even look Faith in the eye, let alone sleep in her arms. As Goodman Brown is feeling good about his strength in resisting the Devil, he hears the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin. He overhears their conversation and hears them discuss a "goodly young woman to be taken in to communion" that evening at that night's meeting and fears that it may be his Faith. When Goodman Brown hears this he becomes weak and falls to the ground. He "begins to doubt whether there really was a Heaven above him" and this is a key point when Goodman Brown's faith begins to wain. Goodman Brown in panic declares that "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!" Again, Brown makes a promise to keep his faith unto God. Then "a black mass of cloud" goes in between Brown and the sky as if to block his prayer from heaven. Brown then hears what he believed to be voices that he has before in the community. Once Goodman Brown begins to doubt whether this is really what he had heard or not, the sound comes to him again and this time it is followed by "one voice, of a young woman". Goodman believes this is Faith and he yells out her name only to be mimicked by the echoes of the forest, as if his calls to Faith were falling on deaf ears. A pink ribbon flies through the air and Goodman grabs it. At this moment, he has lost all faith in the world and declares that there is "no good on earth." Young Goodman Brown in this scene is easily manipulated simply by the power of suggestion. The suggestion that the woman in question is his Faith, and because of this, he easily loses his faith. Goodman Brown then loses all of his inhibitions and begins to laugh insanely. He takes hold of the staff which causes him to seem to "fly along the forest-path". This image alludes to that of Adam and Eve being led out of the Garden of Eden as is Goodman Brown being led out of his utopia by the Devil's snakelike staff. Hawthorne at this point remarks about "the instinct that guides mortal man to evil". This is a direct statement from the author that he believes that man's natural inclination is to lean to evil than good. Goodman Brown had at this point lost his faith in God, therefore there was nothing restraining his instincts from moving towards evil because he had been lead out from his utopian image of society. At this point, Goodman Brown goes mad and challenges evil. He feels that he will be the downfall of evil and that he is strong enough to overcome it all. This is another demonstration of Brown's excessive pride and arrogance. He believes that he is better than everyone else in that he alone can destroy evil. Brown then comes upon the ceremony which is setup like a perverted Puritan temple. The altar was a rock in the middle of the congregation and there were four trees surrounding the congregation with their tops ablaze, like candles. A red light rose and fell over the congregation which cast a veil of evil over the congregation over the devil worshippers. Brown starts to take notice of the faces that he sees in the service and he recognizes them all, but he then realizes that he does not see Faith and "hope came into his heart". This is the first time that the word "hope" ever comes into the story and it is because this is the true turning point for Goodman Brown. If Faith was not there, as he had hoped, he would not have to live alone in his community of heathens, which he does not realize that he is already apart of. Another way that the hope could be looked at is that it is all one of "the Christian triptych". (Capps 25) The third part of the triptych which is never mentioned throughout the story is charity. If Brown had had "charity" it would have been the "antidote that would have allowed him to survive without despair the informed state in which he returned to Salem." (Camps 25) The ceremony then begins with a a cry to "Bring forth the converts!" Surprisingly Goodman Brown steps forward. "He had no power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in thought...". Goodman Brown at this point seems to be in a trance and he loses control of his body as he is unconsciously entering this service of converts to the devil. The leader of the service than addresses the crowd of converts in a disturbing manner. He informs them that all the members of the congregation are the righteous, honest, and incorruptible of the community. The sermon leader then informs the crowd of their leader's evil deeds such as attempted murder of the spouse and wife, adultery, and obvious blasphemy. After his sermon, the leader informs them to look upon each other and Goodman Brown finds himself face to face with Faith. The leader begins up again declaring that "Evil is the nature of mankind" and he welcomes the converts to "communion of your race". (The "communion of your race" statement reflects to the irony of Brown's earlier statement that he comes from "a race of honest men and good Christians.") The leader than dips his hand in the rock to draw a liquid from it and "to lay the mark of baptism upon their foreheads". Brown than snaps out from his trance and yells "Faith! Faith! Look up to Heaven and resist the wicked one!" At this, the ceremony ends and Brown finds himself alone. He does not know whether Faith, his wife, had kept her faith, but he finds himself alone which leads him to believe that he is also alone in his faith. Throughout the story, Brown lacks emotion as a normal person would have had. The closest Brown comes to showing an emotion is when "a hanging twig, that had been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew." The dew on his cheek represents a tear that Brown is unable to produce because of his lack of emotion. Hawthorne shows that Brown has "no compassion for the weaknesses he sees in others, no remorse for his own sin, and no sorrow for his loss of faith." (Easterly 339) His lack of remorse and compassion "condemns him to an anguished life that is spiritually and emotionally dissociated." (Easterly 341) This scene is an example of how Goodman Brown chose to follow his head rather than his heart. Had Brown followed his heart, he may have still lived a good life. If he followed with his heart, he would have been able to sympathize with the community's weaknesses, but instead, he listened to his head and excommunicated himself from the community because he only thought of them as heathens. "Young Goodman Brown" ends with Brown returning to Salem at early dawn and looking around like a "bewildered man." He cannot believe that he is in the same place that he just the night before; because to him, Salem was no longer home. He felt like an outsider in a world of Devil worshippers and because his "basic means of order, his religious system, is absent, the society he was familiar with becomes nightmarish." (Shear 545) He comes back to the town "projecting his guilt onto those around him." (Tritt 114) Brown expresses his discomfort with his new surroundings and his excessive pride when he takes a child away from a blessing given by Goody Cloyse, his former Catechism teacher, as if he were taking the child "from the grasp of the fiend himself." His anger towards the community is exemplified when he sees Faith who is overwhelmed with excitement to see him and he looks "sternly and sadly into her face, and passed on without a greeting." Brown cannot even stand to look at his wife with whom he was at the convert service with. He feels that even though he was at the Devil's service, he is still better than everyone else because of his excessive pride. Brown feels he can push his own faults on to others and look down at them rather than look at himself and resolve his own faults with himself. Goodman Brown was devastated by the discovery that the potential for evil resides in everybody. The rest of his life is destroyed because of his inability to face this truth and live with it. The story, which may have been a dream, and not a real life event, planted the seed of doubt in Brown's mind which consequently cut him off from his fellow man and leaves him alone and depressed. His life ends alone and miserable because he was never able to look at himself and realize that what he believed were everyone else's faults were his as well. His excessive pride in himself led to his isolation from the community. Brown was buried with "no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom.
"Works Cited
Capps, Jack L. "Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown", Explicator, Washington D.C., 1982 Spring, 40:3, 25. Easterly, Joan Elizabeth. "Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown", Studies in Short Fiction, Newberry, S.C., 1991 Summer, 28:3, 339-43. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodmam Brown", The Story and Its Writer, 4th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995, 595-604. Shear, Walter. "Cultural Fate and Social Freedom in Three American Short Stories", Studies in Short Fiction, Newberry, S.C., 1992 Fall, 29:4, 543-549. Tritt, Michael. "Young Goodman Brown and the Psychology of Projection", Studies in Short Fiction, Newberry, S.C., 1986 Winter, 23:1, 113-117.
 

f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Young Goodman Brown.TXT
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Young Goodman Brown
The Downfall of Young Goodman Brown "Young Goodman
Brown", by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story that is thick with
allegory. "Young Goodman Brown" is a moral story which is
told through the perversion of a religious leader. In "Young
Goodman Brown", Goodman Brown is a Puritan minister
who lets his excessive pride in himself interfere with his
relations with the community after he meets with the devil,
and causes him to live the life of an exile in his own
community. "Young Goodman Brown" begins when Faith,
Brown's wife, asks him not to go on an "errand". Goodman
Brown says to his "love and (my) Faith" that "this one night I
must tarry away from thee." When he says his "love" and his
"Faith", he is talking to his wife, but he is also talking to his
"faith" to God. He is venturing into the woods to meet with
the Devil, and by doing so, he leaves his unquestionable faith
in God with his wife. He resolves that he will "cling to her
skirts and follow her to Heaven." This is an example of the
excessive pride because he feels that he can sin and meet
with the Devil because of this promise that he made to
himself. There is a tremendous irony to this promise because
when Goodman Brown comes back at dawn; he can no
longer look at his wife with the same faith he had before.
When Goodman Brown finally meets with the Devil, he
declares that the reason he was late was because "Faith kept
me back awhile." This statement has a double meaning
because his wife physically prevented him from being on
time for his meeting with the devil, but his faith to God i
psychologically delayed his meeting with the devil. The Devil
had with him a staff that "bore the likeness of a great black
snake". The staff which looked like a snake is a reference to
the snake in the story of Adam and Eve. The snake led
Adam and Eve to their destruction by leading them to the
Tree of Knowledge. The Adam and Eve story is similar to
Goodman Brown in that they are both seeking unfathomable
amounts of knowledge. Once Adam and Eve ate from the
Tree of Knowledge they were expelled from their paradise.
The Devil's staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the
Devil's ceremony which destroys Goodman Brown's faith in
his fellow man, therefore expelling him from his utopia.
Goodman Brown almost immediately declares that he kept
his meeting with the Devil and no longer wishes to continue
on his errand with the Devil. He says that he comes from a
"race of honest men and good Christians" and that his father
had never gone on this errand and nor will he. The Devil is
quick to point out however that he was with his father and
grandfather when they were flogging a woman or burning an
Indian village, respectively. These acts are ironic in that they
were bad deeds done in the name of good, and it shows that
he does not come from "good Christians." When Goodman
Brown's first excuse not to carry on with the errand proves
to be unconvincing, he says he can't go because of his wife,
"Faith". And because of her, he can not carry out the errand
any further. At this point the Devil agrees with him and tells
him to turn back to prevent that "Faith should come to any
harm" like the old woman in front of them on the path.
Ironically, Goodman Brown's faith is harmed because the
woman on the path is the woman who "taught him his
catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual
adviser." The Devil and the woman talk and afterward,
Brown continues to walk on with the Devil in the disbelief of
what he had just witnessed. Ironically, he blames the woman
for consorting with the Devil but his own pride stops him
from realizing that his faults are the same as the woman's.
Brown again decides that he will no longer to continue on his
errand and rationalizes that just because his teacher was not
going to heaven, why should he "quit my dear Faith, and go
after her". At this, the Devil tosses Goodman Brown his staff
(which will lead him out of his Eden) and leaves him.
Goodman Brown begins to think to himself about his
situation and his pride in himself begins to build. He
"applauds himself greatly, and thinking with how clear a
conscience he should meet his minister...And what calm
sleep would be his...in the arms of Faith!" This is ironic
because at the end of the story, he can not even look Faith
in the eye, let alone sleep in her arms. As Goodman Brown
is feeling good about his strength in resisting the Devil, he
hears the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin. He
overhears their conversation and hears them discuss a
"goodly young woman to be taken in to communion" that
evening at that night's meeting and fears that it may be his
Faith. When Goodman Brown hears this he becomes weak
and falls to the ground. He "begins to doubt whether there
really was a Heaven above him" and this is a key point when
Goodman Brown's faith begins to wain. Goodman Brown in
panic declares that "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I
will yet stand firm against the devil!" Again, Brown makes a
promise to keep his faith unto God. Then "a black mass of
cloud" goes in between Brown and the sky as if to block his
prayer from heaven. Brown then hears what he believed to
be voices that he has before in the community. Once
Goodman Brown begins to doubt whether this is really what
he had heard or not, the sound comes to him again and this
time it is followed by "one voice, of a young woman".
Goodman believes this is Faith and he yells out her name
only to be mimicked by the echoes of the forest, as if his
calls to Faith were falling on deaf ears. A pink ribbon flies
through the air and Goodman grabs it. At this moment, he
has lost all faith in the world and declares that there is "no
good on earth." Young Goodman Brown in this scene is
easily manipulated simply by the power of suggestion. The
suggestion that the woman in question is his Faith, and
because of this, he easily loses his faith. Goodman Brown
then loses all of his inhibitions and begins to laugh insanely.
He takes hold of the staff which causes him to seem to "fly
along the forest-path". This image alludes to that of Adam
and Eve being led out of the Garden of Eden as is Goodman
Brown being led out of his utopia by the Devil's snakelike
staff. Hawthorne at this point remarks about "the instinct that
guides mortal man to evil". This is a direct statement from the
author that he believes that man's natural inclination is to lean
to evil than good. Goodman Brown had at this point lost his
faith in God, therefore there was nothing restraining his
instincts from moving towards evil because he had been lead
out from his utopian image of society. At this point,
Goodman Brown goes mad and challenges evil. He feels
that he will be the downfall of evil and that he is strong
enough to overcome it all. This is another demonstration of
Brown's excessive pride and arrogance. He believes that he
is better than everyone else in that he alone can destroy evil.
Brown then comes upon the ceremony which is setup like a
perverted Puritan temple. The altar was a rock in the middle
of the congregation and there were four trees surrounding
the congregation with their tops ablaze, like candles. A red
light rose and fell over the congregation which cast a veil of
evil over the congregation over the devil worshippers.
Brown starts to take notice of the faces that he sees in the
service and he recognizes them all, but he then realizes that
he does not see Faith and "hope came into his heart". This is
the first time that the word "hope" ever comes into the story
and it is because this is the true turning point for Goodman
Brown. If Faith was not there, as he had hoped, he would
not have to live alone in his community of heathens, which he
does not realize that he is already apart of. Another way that
the hope could be looked at is that it is all one of "the
Christian triptych". (Capps 25) The third part of the triptych
which is never mentioned throughout the story is charity. If
Brown had had "charity" it would have been the "antidote
that would have allowed him to survive without despair the
informed state in which he returned to Salem." (Camps 25)
The ceremony then begins with a a cry to "Bring forth the
converts!" Surprisingly Goodman Brown steps forward. "He
had no power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in
thought...". Goodman Brown at this point seems to be in a
trance and he loses control of his body as he is
unconsciously entering this service of converts to the devil.
The leader of the service than addresses the crowd of
converts in a disturbing manner. He informs them that all the
members of the congregation are the righteous, honest, and
incorruptible of the community. The sermon leader then
informs the crowd of their leader's evil deeds such as
attempted murder of the spouse and wife, adultery, and
obvious blasphemy. After his sermon, the leader informs
them to look upon each other and Goodman Brown finds
himself face to face with Faith. The leader begins up again
declaring that "Evil is the nature of mankind" and he
welcomes the converts to "communion of your race". (The
"communion of your race" statement reflects to the irony of
Brown's earlier statement that he comes from "a race of
honest men and good Christians.") The leader than dips his
hand in the rock to draw a liquid from it and "to lay the mark
of baptism upon their foreheads". Brown than snaps out
from his trance and yells "Faith! Faith! Look up to Heaven
and resist the wicked one!" At this, the ceremony ends and
Brown finds himself alone. He does not know whether Faith,
his wife, had kept her faith, but he finds himself alone which
leads him to believe that he is also alone in his faith.
Throughout the story, Brown lacks emotion as a normal
person would have had. The closest Brown comes to
showing an emotion is when "a hanging twig, that had been
all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew." The
dew on his cheek represents a tear that Brown is unable to
produce because of his lack of emotion. Hawthorne shows
that Brown has "no compassion for the weaknesses he sees
in others, no remorse for his own sin, and no sorrow for his
loss of faith." (Easterly 339) His lack of remorse and
compassion "condemns him to an anguished life that is
spiritually and emotionally dissociated." (Easterly 341) This
scene is an example of how Goodman Brown chose to
follow his head rather than his heart. Had Brown followed
his heart, he may have still lived a good life. If he followed
with his heart, he would have been able to sympathize with
the community's weaknesses, but instead, he listened to his
head and excommunicated himself from the community
because he only thought of them as heathens.. "Young
Goodman Brown" ends with Brown returning to Salem at
early dawn and looking around like a "bewildered man." He
cannot believe that he is in the same place that he just the
night before; because to him, Salem was no longer home.
He felt like an outsider in a world of Devil worshippers and
because his "basic means of order, his religious system, is
absent, the society he was familiar with becomes
nightmarish." (Shear 545) He comes back to the town
"projecting his guilt onto those around him." (Tritt 114)
Brown expresses his discomfort with his new surroundings
and his excessive pride when he takes a child away from a
blessing given by Goody Cloyse, his former Catechism
teacher, as if he were taking the child "from the grasp of the
fiend himself." His anger towards the community is
exemplified when he sees Faith who is overwhelmed with
excitement to see him and he looks "sternly and sadly into
her face, and passed on without a greeting." Brown cannot
even stand to look at his wife with whom he was at the
convert service with. He feels that even though he was at the
Devil's service, he is still better than everyone else because
of his excessive pride. Brown feels he can push his own
faults on to others and look down at them rather than look at
himself and resolve his own faults with himself. Goodman
Brown was devastated by the discovery that the potential
for evil resides in everybody. The rest of his life is destroyed
because of his inability to face this truth and live with it. The
story, which may have been a dream, and not a real life
event, planted the seed of doubt in Brown's mind which
consequently cut him off from his fellow man and leaves him
alone and depressed. His life ends alone and miserable
because he was never able to look at himself and realize that
what he believed were everyone else's faults were his as
well. His excessive pride in himself led to his isolation from
the community. Brown was buried with "no hopeful verse
upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom." Works
Cited Capps, Jack L. "Hawthorne's Young Goodman
Brown", Explicator, Washington D.C., 1982 Spring, 40:3,
25. Easterly, Joan Elizabeth. "Lachrymal Imagery in
Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown", Studies in Short
Fiction, Newberry, S.C., 1991 Summer, 28:3, 339-43.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodmam Brown", The
Story and Its Writer, 4th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston:
Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995, 595-604.
Shear, Walter. "Cultural Fate and Social Freedom in Three
American Short Stories", Studies in Short Fiction,
Newberry, S.C., 1992 Fall, 29:4, 543-549. Tritt, Michael.
"Young Goodman Brown and the Psychology of
Projection", Studies in Short Fiction, Newberry, S.C., 1986
Winter, 23:1, 113-117.
f:\12000 essays\book reports (564)\Your Chemical World.TXT
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Your Chemical World
In today's world we rely on many different facets to achieve what we normally don't even give a second thought. As I am sitting here typing this paper I am simultaneously using the culmination of numerous chemical breakthroughs. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a group of over 150,000 chemists, both academic and industrial. "Your Chemical World," a book that the ACS has published, is a biography of sorts, where in the uses and need for a chemical world are shown in an easy-to-understand way. Although chemistry would seem to be just a recently invented and used scientific field, chemistry has been an integral part of our lives for a long time. Our early ancestors, unable to even write, figured out that certain substances could be used for painting, hence the archaic cave paintings found in Southern Europe. Today we use chemistry to build our houses, to drive to work everyday, even toasting your toast in the morning. Because chemistry is our link to the hidden world of the earth's terrestrial fruits like Silicon or Iron our hands will be forever bound to chemistry.
The book starts off with our beginning and the unlikely usage of chemistry in pre-historic times. Our ancestors were more then likely concerned primarily with staying alive. Certain things are needed to do that, like food, shelter, energy, and drink. Once those needs were meet our Neanderthal brethren made some archaicaly beautiful cave paintings. In doing so they applied chemistry in a whole new way, to benefit their lives. In time chemistry became an integral part of society, today we have used it to stretch our lives out by more then forty percent of what it would have been in the start of the century by the use of medicine. Later on in recordable history chemistry was implemented through rusty trial and error methods which allowed many things to be created such as Bronze in 3600 BC or glass in 2500 BC. But it wasn't until the age of Greek philosophers that the question of these materials components, or made them exist. After many theories by many different people a man named Leucippus came up with the idea that all things were made up of indivisible, small particles. Although we now know that that was the correct theory the age of alchemy started and didn't slow down until after medieval times. The next remarkable step was taken by Robert Boyle a British chemist who defined and coined the term "elements" as "pure substance, which resists all ordinary attempts at decomposition." His assistant Robert Hooke also made some profound movements; he invented the first compound microscope. Using it he also was able to look at and theorize the idea of "cells." Although Boyle did define elements the credit of being the father of chemistry is given to Dmitri Mendeleev, who not only formulated the periodic law but also created the periodic table of elements. Sir Joesph John Thomson then proposed the idea of protons in atoms, followed by Sir Ernest Rutherfords Nuclear theory with an atom proton. Eventually all the elements that we have today were discovered and put into place on the periodic table giving us today's modern chemistry. In the beginning of this century a very small enterprising community had begun commercial chemical operations. The chemical world slowly picked up speed and eventually blossomed into what it is today.
The book then begins to relate all this documented history to our own world. By showing the uses of the chemistry industry in products we rely on every day it is clearly showed the importance of it. In every aspect of your house we can find evidence of chemistry. In the Vinyl siding to the roof shingles to the power that runs the very computer that I am writing this on. If peel back the skin further we can see that in every room there is also blatant hints toward chemistry's uses in our house. In the kitchen we keep we see it in our refrigerator, in the family room the TV we religiously watch. In the Bathroom we can see it by staring in to the toilet, yes the toilet, just picture the miles and miles of sewers winding deep underneath the ground you walk on. In our garage we can see it by looking under the hood of your car, chemistry is everywhere.
So "Your Chemical World" has now demonstrated the inviolability of it's products, the next logical question one may ask is where did the raw materials that were used to make things like my car or refrigerator? Well the answer to that is you are standing on it. Earth. The terrestrial bosom that we sprouted from also kicked out some things to help us. Through the combination of earth, water, air, and plant and animal matter many new things were created far beneath the reaches of man. We dig petroleum out of the earth and turn it into rubber, gas for or car. We get coal from compressed animal and plant matter and then use it for energy. We dig up numerous others too like silicon or sulfur. The point is though that everything we have we fashioned from the raw earth. Because this book was written on the foundations of scientific research it brings about its points in a very logical and systematicall order. After conducting the history of chemistry, then how we use it, then where we get it from, a next step would probably lead us to who does it. The chemical industry is one of the largest, most complex array of products and people. From paper production to iron ore strip mining the chemical world encompasses it all. But the primary purpose of the chemistry is what it has always been, the pursuit of knowledge. The consumer products that come as a result are just beneficial and lucky offspring of one giant academic birth mother known as chemistry. Approximately two-thirds of this mammoth industry are those that refine produce or manufacture petrochemicals in some way. Petrochemicals are used to produce eight different hydrocarbons, which are then used to create an amazing amount of organic compounds from plastics to pharmasuiticals. There are also a lot of production plants that use inorganic chemicals to produce an equally large amount of materials. After these production plant a much larger network of plants know as chemical process industries. They use the products made by the chemical industry to manufacture the goods we use everyday. These two industries are combined to account for a third of the national domestic gross product. Tow of the largest producers of these chemicals and products are E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. or du Pont and Dow chemical Co. In just on year these two chemical beamoths made thirty-seven billion and eighteen billion dollars respectively. Over the course of about 150 years the chemical industry grew to quite remarkable proportions. When World War One hit the chemical industry had become very important to the opposing sides. With out it we would have seen little or no advance in the way we do battle. Rifles slowly became more accurate and deadly. Bombs did the same. But it was not until after the war that the consumers got to truly enjoy the benefits of wartime research. New synthetic copies of original products hit the market taking over the previous by being more reliable and cost effective. All these new products and the ones that are currently being developed right now are a result of R&D or research and development. With out it companies would have nearly no new products to market making the success in today's global economy seem very dismal. R&D is the driving force behind the chemical industry. It is the reason America exported sixteen billion dollars more then it imported. These are the companies that make the goods you use and are the reason for our success in living.
Now that we know who is making these fascinating gadgets that can intrigue and perplex simultaneously, it is time to know what they are really made of. As previously mentioned in "Your chemical World," the finding of what we now call the periodic table took quite some time. Starting with the one proposed theory of things being made up of indivisible small particles, we are led down a very rocky path. This path was severely distorted by medieval time's alchemy. But eventually we found our way into what is now called Periodic Law, which states that, "The Physical and chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic weights," which in turn led to the Periodic Table. And although the periodic table was drawn up with only sixty of the eighty-three naturally occurring elements, it served as a way of predicting what those element properties would be like. The interesting thing about this is that because we have discovered nearly all elements and defiantly all the naturally occurring ones it gives us an insight to the universe because theoretically these elements that we have discovered are the ones that compose all of the universe. Nearly seven million different compounds have been made and more being synthesized every day. That number might be increased nearly six fold by the twenty first century that would be around forty million different compounds. It is crazy to imagine what will be invented in years to come if all that we have has been done with only seven million compounds. Chemistry is an integral part of our lives; it is an intellectually challenging climb up the mountain of imagination. It the processes of making something do the same job better, for that fact making the whole world better. Chemistry is the root science from which nearly all other sciences have sprouted. Just like the chemical industry spawns out into almost every business out there forming a giant web codependent existence striving a slice of the same pie.
To accurately describe the propensity of chemical world a timeline is now given in "Your Chemical World" and sense this Timeline does span some eight pages a brief list of the major events that really effected the chemical practice will no be given:
-2,400,000 Humanoids manufacture metal tools
-440 Leucippus decerns that matter is composed of indivisible particles
-360 Aristotle rejects atom theories with such power that it I not until the Seventeenth century that it is truly revived
400 In Egypt the word chemistry is used to describe the change of matter.
1620 Sir Roger Bacon introduces Inductive thinking to pave the way for scientific theory
1661 Robert Boyle defines an element
1709 Daniel Fahrenheit devises an alcohol thermometer
1803 John Dalton puts atomic theory to paper
1870 Dmitri Mendeleev creates periodic law and table
1911 Ernest Rutherford purposes the nuclear model
1945 the first atomic bomb is tested
1994 The first glimpse of the top quark
There are many more notable discoveries but in my opinion these are the ones that are remarkable and truly furthered the science of chemistry.
Not want this book to come off as completely one-sided "your Chemical World" then takes you on a tour of the deadly results that can happen. Almost any chemical in unknowing or just wrong hands can be dangerous to body, mind, and earth. As a result massive preventive education has taken place in the workplace to school to the home. Because chemicals do bring down an air of risk, we must decide whether the benefits of the chemicals are worth the risk. Personally I think not, but as the technological advances continue to march on it seems as though that voice has been forgotten or ignored, or there are just to many pro-chemistry activists out there. Anyway, we conduct many risk-benefit decisions everyday it is just those decisions more often then not produce little benefit or risk so are deemed inconsequential. But when chemicals are in the picture a more accurate analysis if the situation is needed because of their potential power. Because of that there needs to be an accurate portrayal of these potential risks before decisions are made. Once the decision is made, one must decide how to handle the risk side of risk-benefit situations. Hence, many conservation and toxic emission laws that protect not only our lives but our nature as well. Brining back the power behind chemistry, R&D, we are able to develop new ways at cutting these risks and improving the benefits. New products not only cut down on pollution control, but pollution prevention to cut it off at the source. Now that the who, what, when, where and even how have been covered "Your Chemical World," tries its hand at divination. A precise picture of what is to come will never happen so we look at the past and present and try to formalize an idea from that. Starting with shelter or our home we might see some startling changes. Houses will be built to custom needs and specifications. There will be no construction sight because the building will take place in a factory and then shipped whole or in pieces to the sight where it can easily be put together much like a puzzle. Biogenetics will sweep the agriculture industry transforming the way we eat. We will be able to engineer larger crops larger cows larger pigs larger and better tasting eliminating not only hunger but also that quest for the perfect taco. Health will became a constant thing eliminating sickness. Death is unstoppable but comfertablity while declining can change, theoretically we can still be crazy little sparks until the day we die. Clothes will become smart, (no that does mean they will always look good on you) changing and adapting with temperature changes in the atmosphere. Communication will be done almost solely on the computer. Access to information will be easy to get and very fast. Biomechanics could take over silicon for even fast transmission of data. Everything in the house form security to cooking utensils will be done on the computer. Transportation would idealistically be done in an unplugging manner, but at least for some time a hybrid between gas electric seems to be the most reasonable goal. Energy will at least for a while maintain with gas, coal, and nuclear, hopefully we will see the entrance of controlled fusion power by the twenty-first century. With electronic tags on all pollutionable chemicals dumping will become too risky and expensive. In the end Chemistry is an immovable part of our lives and will be for as long as we tap the large resources of mother earth.
"Your Chemical World" is a book talking about the magnificent bonuses that chemistry has brought to our lives. With out it we would have gained nothing and still is in the Stone Age. Although critics sight the byproducts of chemical industries as the evil that keeps our world from healing its terrestrial wounds I must disagree. Chemistry has benefited our lives far too much to be considered an evil just because of the enterprising few that cut corners and dodge laws just to make another buck. Even those critics that stand out and preach against mining and deforestation actively use the products they so hate. Wood is used to make paper, desks, tables, and countless other things. If those critics were suddenly removed of their possessions that contained the materials they are preaching against my bet would be that their opinion would change. I was also interested by the history of Chemistry. Chemistry sounds like a very modern thing. I thought that the most recent it was truly imployed was just in the past five or six hundred years but to find out that from the beginning of our time man has been using one form of chemistry or another is quite remarkable. The time it took to discover these things we now use is amazing. Any pursuit that is so strong that it can can thousands of years has to be a very powerful goal. Although that pursuit could be accurately described as not only the pursuit of improving the standards of lives but the pursuit of happiness.
With all that said I am actually glad that I read this book. Where as usually I am just upset at my professor for assigning the thing, I actually enjoyed reading this book. Because what we are made up is all we are, not having an understanding of that would be completely ignorant. Who goes into battle with out extensive knowledge about not only his enemy but also the battlegrounds it is going to happen in. And because of that, as long as we die of natural causes, our enemy is ourselves and the battleground is the world we live in. Chemistry Kind of makes all that make sense and I am glad that I now have a much better understanding of that.
 

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ZANUSSI
Product Development
New Design (Built-In back up) &Washing machine (Jetsystem)
The kitchen is the hub of activity in our home - it's so much more than a place for cooking and cleaning, it's where people gather to chat, to eat, to entertain, to relax, and to work. The kitchen expresses our personality, whether it's straightforward and direct, sophisticated or bold. To feel in tune with your kitchen your appliances should be more than just dull technical aids. They can play a distinctive role in the decor you choose and give you real pleasure as well as reliable performance.
With Zanussi new Built-In back up, the versatile help you need is there at the touch of a button. Producing fine food is no problem when you have our breathtaking range of oven options. Your chores are reduced with; easy clean hob surfaces, hoods that extract dirt and odours, freezers that defrost themselves, dishwashers with automatic dispensers and washing machines that reduce creasing on your clothes and can handle anything from synthetics to silk. From Zanussi you expect unrivalled technology, stylish design, remarkable attention to detail, great selection and variety of models, and outstanding after sales service. Now we they are giving even more choice with less: less noise, less running costs, less environmental impact, and less work. This because of Zanussi R&D center that enrich the company with all the new invention in design and technology.
Zanussi have created a brilliant Built-In range of co-ordinated equipment specially engineered to fit perfectly into any space. With such a stunning choice of materials and colours, you can design exactly the scheme and layout to suit you. Choose models that fit your budget or lifestyle and you can be sure you have chosen from the most advanced, high-performance range on the market.  This understanding of the customer needs and wants result from the experiments of the product development department on different kind of people. The product development department is the source of power that Zanussi depend on.
For Zanussi innovation remains the cornerstone of success: a glance at the advanced design of the Zanussi products proves as much, as will the advanced technology and user-friendly performance of the whole range. "Excellence in Design and Innovation" sums up the Zanussi positioning across international markets and is supported by a number of unique trend-setting products such as OZ, the fridge-freezer in bio-design, FL 1600 Input, the fuzzy logic washing machine with a triple A Energy label rating and Live-in, the interactive, user friendly system for controlling all home appliances.
Zannusi offer a range of product solutions to meet every laundry need. From front loading, top loading, and space-saving compact models to appliances that both wash and dry; all demonstrate the combination of Zanussi design and innovation to deliver clean and dry laundry with style and minimum resources.
The Zanussi input washing machine offers the optimum in ease of use and advanced fuzzy-logic control to deliver "A" rated performance with "A" rated energy consumption. Zanussi's unique Jetsystem wash technology, with its ability to adjust water and energy consumption according to the size and type of load, is ideal for those wanting maximum efficiency even with smaller loads.
Unique to Zanussi, Jetsystem adjusts the water intake according to the size and fabric type of the load. The water is then continually recycled and jet-sprayed directly into the heart of the wash. The advantages are a more effective, more efficient wash that uses only that amount of water and energy needed for perfect results. You save money too because the active system with 100% detergent useage means you can reduce the detergent you need by up to 30%.

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Zeus
Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea, an earlier race of
ruling gods called Titans. Cronus was king of all the Titans. Zeus
was the brother of Hades and Poseidon, Hades was the god of the
underworld and Poseidon was the god of the sea. Together they
overthrew their father and the rest of the Titans. All thanks was
due to Zeus for the dethrowning of Cronus. You see, before cronus
ever had children he heard a prophecy that one of his offsprings
would overthrow him, so whenever his wife would have a child he
would swallow it. Then, after he had swallowed many babies, she
gave birth to Zeus. She grew very fond of him, until Cronus called
her to give him the baby so he could swallow it. She hid Zeus in a
cave, and she gave Cronus a rock wrapped in cloth. he swallowed
it whole just like the other babies. Over the years Zeus grew
stronger and wiser. Then, when the time was right he confronted
his father and kicked him in the stomach. The shock from this
made Cronus vomit up the gods, which were all fully grown now.
Zeus and his fellow gods overthrew Cronus and the Titans. Zeus
and his brothers decided who would rule over what-
Zeus...god of the heavens
Poseidon...god of the sea
Hades...god of the underworld
All the gods shared the earth together.
In all of Zeus's pictures he is depicted with a beard and
muscles. He's also usually holding a lighting bolt. Zeus married
Hera, whom was also his sister. He disguised himself as a
wounded sparrow, and Hera took him in and tended to him. She
grew very fond of him, and one day she said to the sparrow, "I love
you." Then, Zeus turned into his true image exclaiming, "Now
you must marry me!" She didn't want to marry him, but she felt
obligated to. She hated her brother for this.
Zeus, along with all the other gods, had symbols. His animal
symbol was the eagle. His earth symbol was the oak tree. Zeus
was known as the god of justice and mercy, the protector of the
weak, and the punisher of the wicked. He was father of gods and
men, protector of kings, supporter of law and order, and avenger
of broken oaths and other offenses. By one move of his hand he
could send a lighting storm to anywhere on the earth. He guided
stars and he gathered rain clouds. He ordained the changes of
the seasons and regulated the whole course of nature. Zeus, with
the other gods on Mt. Olympus, ruled over the affairs of mankind.
Zeus's and Hera's marriage was regarded as the divine
prototype of all earthly marriages, even though Zeus was not
always faithful to Hera. Some authorities explain his indiscretions
by saying that many adventures of the other gods were ascribed to
Zeus.
One of 7 wonders of the ancient world was said to be a statue
of Zeus by Phidias in the great temple of Zeus at Olympia. The
figure stood about 40 feet high, it was made of ivory and gold in
about 430 B.C. The design is known from its image stamped on
certain greek coins.
Zeus was by far the greatest, grandest, and fairest of all the
gods. Mortals feared him and gods laughed at his boastful and
egotistical behavior. He stands out among all the greek gods.