Pressure and Buoyant Force lab conclusion

            This was a simple lab that helped me understand Archimedes’ principle when I had to calculate the buoyant force on a can of sand when we put it in a container of water. Using the formula P=F/A (or, in other terms, P=mg/A). We also used P=pwgh. We used the information that we put in our graph (Graph #1) to get the pressure. The main element we had to deal with in this lab was how much room there was for error. We could measure the depth incorrectly, whether it was just off, using the wrong units, or measuring the wrong part of the can (it happens). The dirt ratio was not perfect for the small can to the large can. It said to put dirt in it until the can was 3/4^th under water, but instead we had our small can around 7/8^th under water and our large can was about 3/4^th under water. This difference could be the reason for our 91% difference in the cans percentage difference (Graph #1, last column). One other mistake my group and I made was that we didn’t convert the weight down to grams from kilograms, which made everything messy. Nevertheless, this lab was very helpful in understanding buoyant force and the forces that push down the can.

Sound and the Musical Quality in "Anthem for Doomed Youth"

“Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen

            The poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” was written by Wilfred Owen during the time of World War I. The poem illustrates the two extreme views and understandings of the war at that time. It shows the realistic side to war, with its terrors and deaths that the soldiers encounter, and the softer, more easygoing attitude of the people who are back safe at home. The sounds and the musical quality of the poem bring a mental image of war’s destruction along with a deeper understanding that the war is more severe than the citizens at home think it to be.

            Throughout the first stanza, anger and gunshots are heard in the words. The onomatopoeic repetition of the sound r, in the phrases “monstrous anger” (Owen Line 2) and “rifles’ rapid rattle” (3), makes the first stanza thick with the enraged feeling of the soldier narrating the poem. The r sound is similar to the growl of angry animals. Following the rs lead, the onomatopoeic repetition of the t sound creates the sound of gunshots within the poem. Words such as cattle (1), stuttering, rattle (3), and patter (4) fill the stanza with the earsplitting sound of gunshots. These onomatopoeic sounds convey the emotion of the men who are at war are livid about a situation in which they have to listen to constant gunshots and noise. The first stanza   is also loaded with cacophonous words. The ts and rs, as well as other harsh, sudden consonants like the ka sound, lend a highly unpleasant and shrill quality to the tone. This is creates a picture of the soldiers being surrounded in a hostile and tough environment.

            In the second stanza the mood changes dramatically, from a dominantly cacophonous air to a smooth and euphonious sound. The words contain more vowels and soft consonants to reflect that home is where security and refuge is found. The use of the letter l, in the words all (9), Shall (11), pallor, and pall (12),  is in similitude of children’s lullabies. The men at war want to regress into their childhood because that’s where they felt sheltered; there were no gunshots or mass deaths in their childhood. The men wish they could see war as calmly as those who have not experienced the chaos see it; they wish they could be ignorant children again. The lines “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle” (1) and “And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds” (14) explain the different viewpoints of death in the war. The first line states that the men are killed in the same way that cattle die in huge groups. In these huge groups there are hundreds of soldiers whose bodies aren’t taken and whose names are not written down and reported to families as “killed in action.” They are unrecorded, missing soldiers. Following line 1, the onomatopoeic sound of gunshots in the rest of the stanza creates a loud and brutal situation; their death is with no respect or moments of remembrance. However, in the last line, the death at home is slowly dealt with, grieved, and has closure. When the blinds are shut against the darkness of death, there is a conclusion.

            Along with the sounds, the pace affects the story. The way some of the lines are indented past the others indicate that it is supposed to be read in congruence and in sequence with the line above. This makes the lines speedy, and connected with the onomatopoeic rs, makes the first stanza an angry rant. The swiftness of the lines and the t words make the gunshots feel like machineguns. This is how fast moving their world is when they are in combat. Nothing will stop for these men, not even when it’s for their death. The second stanza slows everything down and then keeps it that way by using the indentations in a different way. Indentations are used to break up the single sentence in lines 10 and 11, making it read at a slower pace than the first stanza. The speed of the second stanza draws a parallel to how the citizens feel back home. They are under the freedoms and safety of a peaceful home, and there is no need to rush, fight, or run for their lives. They have time to find closure for the loss of their loved ones.

            Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth” conveys the different views of war through the eyes of a soldier who’s in war through specific words and sounds. The two contrasting stanzas that show that this soldier knows how war is looked at back home, but hears a different story when he listens to the sounds of bugles and shells. The poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” reveals how the war is more horrible and chaotic than what the citizens at home realize.

Works Cited

Owen, Wilfred. “Anthem for Doomed Youth.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web.

            5 Feb. 2014

Torque Lab Conclusion

Torques and its Magical Properties

            This lab was a fairly simple lab with an awesome lesson. We were able to see and measure the forces that produce torque, calculate the torque on a rotating body, and with that we were able to see what relationship torque holds with the lever arm. We had to start off with the system in equilibrium which meant that the net forces had to add up to zero as well as the torque. These can be formalized by saying   and  . This was a simple lab with only a few easy formulas. To find the torque after the weight had been added onto the string, we multiplied the force we had found on the scale by how far away the weight was from the scale. We did this on both sides to calculate the clockwise and counterclockwise torques. Our official formula is T=Fxl . We knew that our meter stick had to stay horizontal because if it had tilted at an angle we would’ve had to use the sin or cos of the angle it tilted at to find the force and that would’ve been too much work for something as easily fixable as leveling out our stick. Our experiment showed all of the elements we were testing to be accurate because the numbers we were getting correlated with the theories that were discussed in the reading. So yay for us! The only thing we would have changed if we could was that we would have a more sensitive and precise scale because we might have some skewed data because of our equipment. But besides that, our experiment was helpful in learning hands-on about torque.

Pendulum Periods Lab Conclusion

            Luckily, thanks to this lab, my partners and I were able to see how the length and mass of the parts of a pendulum would make it swing differently. By using different length of string and putting more weight on the bob, we were able to conclude that the period of the swing depended greatly on the length of the string, but not necessarily on the mass of the bob. This fact can be seen on my Data Table – Part II and Part III. It can also be seen in Graph 2, which depicts the length change, and Graph 3, which depicts the mass change. If we look back at the Data Table – Part II, you can see a noticeable decrease in period as the length is also decreased. In Data Table – Part III, you can see that the average period is somewhat around the same number for the three different masses. In the Analysis questions, it explained to us that using Newton’s laws, the period is related to the length and free-fall acceleration by the formula:. Besides having that equation to reference to, we didn’t have any formulas to work out ourselves. But this formula and Newton’s law is what brings Physics into the lab. All in all this lab went pretty alright. The one thing I would’ve done differently if I could was that I would have made Graph 3 more proportional looking to what it really is. Because there really isn’t a huge amount of change in the values, but the way the Zoom Fit worked, the values looked completely polar from each other. But hey, that just proves human error, right?

Momentum, Energy, and Collisions Lab Conclusion

            Throughout this lab we were able to see the conservation of momentum and kinetic energy during collisions. Performing different kinds of collisions allowed us to classify them as elastic, inelastic, or completely inelastic. We were able to do these things easily and successfully! We discovered that when we used magnetic bumpers momentum and kinetic energy was conserved in the collision. But when we changed the bumpers to Velcro, only momentum was conserved, not kinetic energy. We could identify this because we would find the momentum or the kinetic energy right before the two carts hit each other and then find it again right after. This can be seen in the highlighted squares in my Data Table. This data was taken from Graphs 1, 2, and 3. By dividing the two numbers we got, we could see if the ratio was near one. If it was near one, that would mean that they are really close to the same number and so it did conserve the momentum or kinetic energy. Physics is evident throughout this lab because the conservation of momentum and kinetic energy uses Physics formulas, such as KE=.5mv^2 and p=mv. All in all this was a great, fun, and easy lab that taught us so much! The only big errors I made were in the beginning; I was multiplying the velocity by the mass in grams to give me the momentum when I needed the kilograms. And one technical error of us setting up the lab was that we weren't sure if our track was actually level in the center. It seemed like it was dropping down a little bit. We tried to fix it the best we could by putting a chair underneath for support.

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" analysis essay

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

            A story is made up of many elements. A short story with many elements can be used to employ an interesting piece of literary work. Flannery O’Connor’s cynical tale, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” uses the elements of characterization, symbolism, and theme to make an account that has many confused about whether the story is a horror story, a black comedy, or a depiction of God’s works through humans. “Maybe it's even all of these at once” (Shmoop). The story presents the debate that good versus evil is more than a typical war story. When one examines humans, it is seen that inevitably all good is tainted with bad and every bad is threaded with some good.

            The characterization in a story supports the theme by showing realistic humans in extreme situations. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” demonstrates the point by showing the grandmother as representing a majority of the good that’s in the world and The Misfit as an example of the evil in the world in the situation of facing a murderer. The mother and children embody the innocent in the world who are subjected to the wrong doings of evil. The family have to deal with a situation that was only skewed and dangerous because of the grandmother’s, the “good” person, interference with the plans.

The grandmother’s goodness is implied as she insinuates herself as a “lady” (O’Conner 421). She is seen pleading for the sake of the children in the beginning of the story, pleading for the sake of their safety (420). In addition, the grandmother shows that on this earth, nobody is perfect. Everybody has a humanistic downfall that brings them closer to the side of evil. This is portrayed in the judgmental character of the grandmother. She judges the mother of the children by criticizing her parenting skills and then compares her face to a cabbage (420). Inside the car, she rebukes John Wesley for his lack of pride and respect towards Georgia saying that a little boy should have a higher opinion toward his native state (422). She starts to judgmentally talk about her views on current state of the world and how people have all turned into untrustworthy and appalling people (424).

The grandmother is a static character. “‘Maybe He didn’t raise the dead’” (432) wasn’t an epiphany for her or a change in faith because it goes on to explain that she didn’t know what she was saying and “she sank down in the ditch with her legs twisted under her” (432). She was a judgmental old lady who stayed that way. In the end of the story, she hadn’t really changed, she was crumpling under pressure. The grandmother was doing what she could to convince The Misfit not to shoot her. In her last act of crying out, “‘Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!’” (433) and by touching his shoulder, she was seeking to lessen her blow. She had tried this method of handling situations before when the car crashed; she hoped she was badly injured so “Bailey’s wrath wouldn’t come down on her all at once” (426), and then she cried out, “I believe I have injured an organ” (427) but to no effect. The grandmother, although shown to be more virtuous than some of the other characters, is a static character who tries to manipulate people from the beginning of the story up until her last words.

            The Misfit, on the other hand, shows his wickedness through his actions and then what he thinks about them. He claims “‘…the crime don’t matter’” (431) and he says that the criminal will forget what they did and receive unfair punishment anyway. He also states that there is “no pleasure but meanness” (432). The Misfit is a static character who starts as a murderer and ends by killing a whole family. The Misfit cannot understand what good is. He thinks that Jesus threw the world off balance because of what he did (432). He does terrible things the way most people do normal things: relaxed. The Misfit represents the evil in the world, but as ruthless and calloused as he is, he isn’t always uncivilized or hasty. The grandmother recognized The Misfit as the escaped prisoner she read about and The Misfit didn’t react swiftly to silence her. Instead, he comforts her (after her son makes a shocking remark) by saying, “‘Lady,’ he said, ‘don’t you get upset. Sometimes a man says things he don’t mean. I don’t reckon he meant to talk to you thataway’” (428). He respects ladies; even  if it only is by apologizing for his naked chest or speaking politely to them, The Misfit shows that he isn’t a savage beast (430).

            The grandmother’s daughter-in-law and her three kids are primarily viewed as innocent characters who don’t provide much opposition to good, or resistance to evil, in the story. Though everyone has bits of good and evil in them, these characters’ actions are so few that it’s hard to analyze. There is little insight into how the characters deal with The Misfit when confronted with mortal danger. Even when knowing that they are going off to die where Bailey died, the point of view doesn’t reveal any sort of emotion or thought from the family members (431). It is difficult to tag any of them as either mainly good or mainly wicked because their actions never pushed them too far one way or the other. The mother and her children represent the people in the world who walk by; they are not closely observed and go by unnoticed the majority of the time. Their motives are never analyzed within the story so judgment is difficult to make.

            The symbolism throughout the story shows the mix of good and evil and foreshadows the events to come. The grandmother’s hat (421), for instance, symbolizes a moral code. The moral code that the grandmother has made up for herself is that she is a lady who will always let it be known. She made her dress and hat look perfect in case of an accident where she ended up dead on the highway; people would know that she was a lady (421). She didn’t seem to care that in this scenario she was dead; she just found that presenting herself as a lady was an important thing. Ladies are generally good-natured and respected so the grandmother’s want to be perceived like that is a respectable thing. However, being unconcerned about her family’s, and her own, safety is distinguished as an immoral thought.

While the grandmother’s hat symbolizes something good natured and respected, there are many items that symbolize and foreshadow terrible events. While driving to their destination in Florida, the family passes through a town. As soon as they exit the town of Toombsboro, the grandmother wakes up and remembers a house she once visited. Toombsboro is brought up right before the family is introduced to the character of The Misfit (425). The name indicates the word “tomb”. This name foreshadows the event that leads the family to their grave.

The woods are hugely symbolic. The woods are described as “tall and dark and deep” (427). The woods symbolize the Grim Reaper, the personification of death. “The most common embodiment of the Grim Reaper is a tall, dark figure, clad in the black robes of a monk” (Paranda).

“Alone with The Misfit, the grandmother found that she had lost her voice. There was not a cloud in the sky nor any sun. There was nothing around her but woods” (O’Connor 432). This passage foreshadows the intimate and unescapable demise of the grandmother because it describes her setting as solitarily death surrounding her. These are the woods that five members of the family go off and are murdered, confirmed when The Misfit, after shooting the grandmother in the chest, tells Hiram and Bobby Lee, “‘Take her off and throw her where you thown the others’” (O’Connor 433).

            The theme, “the unifying generalization about life stated or implied by the story” (Arp and Johnson 191) is that there is no purely righteous person in the world, nor is there a wholly wicked person. We come to see through “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” that though many try to be perfectly good, human’s idiosyncrasies bring mistakes. The grandmother is judgmental, although she tries to appear virtuous by her clothing and posture (O’Connor 421). People who are devilish in their actions can have good qualities. The Misfit kills people with seemingly no second thought, but he takes the time to have a conversation and treat the grandmother as a colloquial equal (428).

            Through the characters in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” show that no person can be simply black or white. By analyzing the characterization, symbolism, and the main theme, O’Connor reveals that there are shades to every human that can be seen through their motives.

Works Cited

Arp, Thomas, and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Tenth Ed.

 Ed. Thomas Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and

            Sense. Tenth Ed. Ed. Thomas Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage

            Learning, 2009. 420. Print.

Paranda. “Grim Reaper.” Everything2.com. Everything2 Media, LLC. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Shmoop Editorial Team. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc.,

            11 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Static and Kinetic Friction Lab Conclusion

            In our static and kinetic friction lab, we were able to see how the weight of an object affects its friction, measure its coefficients, and decipher is the weight affects the coefficient. We were able to do all of these things and come up with a solid conclusion in the end. We were able to see through the use of F=umg, that the weight of the object didn’t matter in finding its coefficient. Using the same equation for our different sets of data, both average coefficients of kinetic friction is within a couple hundredths of each other. The coefficient is not based upon weight because when we are finding the coefficient, we use the formulas that a=mg and F=ma. We end up dividing the two formulas so in the end we divide out the mass of the object making it useless. Through this lab, we were able to track the forces needed in static friction and kinetic friction. In graph #1, we see that there is a greater force needed at the start because of the static friction (labeled in green). My partners and I were able to do this lab fairly easily, though at the beginning there was communication error and not too long after that I mistook 500 g for 500 kg, throwing off my data. If I let it throw off my data by that much, I would have had to divide by a much bigger normal force. Through everything, I found this lab to be very fun and very informative and teaching for the concepts of static and kinetic friction through the use of wooden blocks.

Free Fall Lab Conclusion

My partner and I were able to analyze a graph of a bungee jumper during free fall and the acceleration during the time the cord was stretching. We were able to compare our testing jump simulation to that of a real life jump. We were able to do these things and learn a lot. We were able to see that free fall does only have the acceleration a gravity (-9.8 m/s^2). We saw how the highest peak on the graph matched up to when our man was the lowest and had the bungee stretched out. We were able to see the acceleration during the bounces and at different times (in seconds). We were able to use the graphs to determine what was asked in the objectives, such as, we labeled on Graph #2 where the acceleration was the maximum and the minimum.

            We saw Physics’ concepts in our lab when we realized that forces were at play. We saw that the force of gravity and the force of the bungee cord were the reasons for the acceleration differences on the graph. We saw that the lowest acceleration that our man would be going going down was the acceleration of gravity, which is -9.8m/s^2. The Table even shows the fluctuations that appeared during the jump. We were able to use our equation of to find how long the bungee cord was because we were able to use our acceleration during the period of free fall and the time that the man was in free fall.

            Though my partners and I weren’t perfect (we had to drop our bungee man over again multiple times because she would smash into the table, so it’s a good thing we didn’t use those test runs or else the information would have been skewed; we also used the wrong equation at first to find the length of the cord which made the cord come out to look like 5 meters so it’s a good thing we didn’t use that one) we were able to learn about the effects of the force of the bungee cord on the acceleration after a free fall.

Theme in "The Darling"

“The Darling”

            “The Darling” is a short story written by Anton Chekhov in the late 1890s that expresses a “negative commentary on the sort of woman who has no intellectual life of her own” (Coulehan). By writing this story, Chekhov is making the statement that women need to be more than merely “darlings” (Coulehan). He points out the fault in the main character, Olenka; this woman fell for everything. She accepted what came at her like it was the only thing to do, such as, adopting the opinions of another, accepting emotional abuse, and being a pushover when it came to business. By not being independent, Olenka showed that when one stands for nothing, they could fall for everything.

            Olenka is often seen taking the opinions of the one closest to her at that time. The first time there is any dialogue from her she is echoing the words of her current husband, Kukin. She is repeating what he had said the first time his character gets introduced. “They want a clown; what they ask for is vulgarity” (Chekhov 212). Olenka later recites, “What they want is a clown” (213). Olenka couldn’t bear to think for herself. In every situation she was in, she grabbed onto the opinions of those closest to her. “She repeated the veterinary surgeon’s words and was of the same opinion as he about everything” (218). “Her husband’s ideas were hers” (216). And those times when she had barely anyone around her, she clung: “Whatever Mavra, the cook, said she accepted” (219). It didn’t matter how irreverent the opinions were to her life personally, Olenka would take them into her life and make them pertinent. At the end of the story, the only person in the old and grey Olenka’s life was a pre-teen boy, Sasha. Since she had no true opinions of her own, she went on and on about the high school. She could speak about whatever Sasha had spoken about because “Now she had opinions of her own” (220). “Opinion transference” can be seen in mainly women, in their 20s, who aren’t sure of what they like and are willing to do and think anything for their boyfriend (Oxyious). Olenka showed that despite the nature of opinion, some women would follow anything when they don’t have anything of their own.

            Also typically seen in young women is their justification of abuse by their partner. It will be rationalized by saying, “But I love him, and I know he loves me” or “It was my fault; I’m so lucky he will still stay with someone like me.” Olenka is no different. Voloditchka “would seize her by the hand” and hiss about how she was not allowed to talk about his veterinary surgeon things and how it was annoying (Chekov 218). She wouldn’t stand up for herself because she knew that doing that might make him leave, which would signal the end of her opinions. Olenka admitted that when she had the veterinary surgeon or either of her husbands, she “could explain everything, and give her opinion about anything you like …” (219). She tolerated this emotional and verbal abuse full heartedly. She would apologize for these incidents, he would just smile and they would be happy. Olenka was happy because she still had opinions to cling onto and he was smiling and happy because abusers always are when their victim crumples beneath them. It’s easy to believe that Olenka would gleefully put up with that kind of behavior from someone close to her because she was so dependent on them. After the veterinarian surgeon had emotionally abused her, left her, and never returned, Olenka still tried to take him back into her life by offering him everything she possessed (218-220).

            That is exactly what he and his reconciled wife did to Olenka. When she offered to let the veterinarian surgeon, his wife, and their young son stay in her house and that she “wouldn’t take any rent” that’s what they did (220). When she started taking care of and living with their son Sasha, the parents did not stop them (221-222). Olenka had becoming a landlady and a child care all rolled into one. She had no thoughts of whether this was unjust to her. She was satisfied because finally, after all these years, she had someone’s opinion to adhere to: their pre-teen son, Sasha. While his mother had moved to Harkov and his father rarely saw them, Sasha was raised by Olenka. She did not see that she was being used, or that her house was being used. That was the kind of person Olenka was. She was a pushover because she did not know what to do. She let this family come in and use her.

            Olenka couldn’t make up her own mind. She had never been weaned from her parents’ opinions and henceforth she had to have someone else to rely on. This complete reliance led her to fall for and accept everything that came into her life. She accepted everything, even abuse a situation that is not uncommon. This behavior can be found in addicts who have lost the ability to control their own actions. This behavior is also present in every person in some degree. How many times has someone’s opinion been influenced by the world around them? Chekov asks the readers to ponder: To what degree are we like Olenka?

Work Cited

Chekhov, Anton. “The Darling.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Tenth

            Ed. Ed.            Thomas Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009.

            213. Print.

Coulehan, Jack. Litmed. New York University School of Medicine, 13 Aug. 1996. Web. 18 Sept.

            2013.

Oxyious. (2011, July 14). Inability to form my own opinions while using- does this post resonate

with anyone? [Permalink]. Message posted to http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/

substance-abuse/231747-inability-form-my-own-opinions-while-using-does-post-resonate-anyone.html

"Hunters in the Snow" literary analysis

“Hunters in the Snow”

            “Any piece of work is given the label as ‘literary’ if it illuminates some aspect of human life or behavior with genuine originality and power” (Hunters). “Hunters in the Snow” uses some of the same features as “The Most Dangerous Game,” such as the hunt and the incident with dogs, but that is as far as they parallel. Tobias Wolff’s short story “Hunters in the Snow” exemplifies literary fiction. The setting shows that through the weather and the symbolism that it carries. The deep, complicated, and real characters show a parallel to this earth we live on right now and its people. The short story has disturbing twists and turns in its plot that are not intended to give pleasure to the reader, but instead show the chaos that is prevalent in the r human lives.

            One characteristic of a literary piece is symbolism. “Hunters in the Snow” is full of symbolic references, such as the weather. In this case, the weather is snowy, cold, and miserable to be in. Tub had to trudge through almost knee deep snow and “the edge of the crust bruised his shins” (Wolff 89). This is near the beginning of the story when Tub was the main character getting picked on. This hostile weather represents how the people in his life are hostile. A change of events occurs after Tub shoots Kenny and Kenny becomes the weak, picked on friend. Kenny is dropped, rolled down snow, brutally throw in the back of a freezing pick-up truck, and even his blankets are taken away by his friends to keep them warm and leave Kenny to the elements (91-99). This cold weather that Kenny’s experiencing is also a symbol to the coldness of peoples’ hearts. The way his friends leave him in the cold conditions shows their lack of concern for Kenny and their lack of empathy and responsibility as friends. Another example of symbolism comes at the end of the story. “Right overhead was the Big Dipper, and behind, hanging between Kenny's toes in the direction of the hospital, was the North Star, Pole Star, Help to Sailors. … They had taken a different turn a long way back” (99). The North Star is a classic symbol, often used as a compass during the night. In opposition, Wolff uses the North Star to show that they are going in a direction opposite their desired destination.

            The characters make this piece literary because of the depth Wolff gives them and their realistic qualities of being egocentric and insensitive toward others. Man has an inborn desire to lean toward his own self-interest and his own needs. There was the self-interest and insensitivity when Frank and Tub took Kenny’s blankets near the end of the story, but Kenny also has acted in self-interest. Earlier, Kenny asked permission to hunt on a farmer’s land and he was asked to shoot the dog (91). One might figure that Kenny figured if he didn’t agree to put the dog down, the farmers wouldn’t let him hunt. So when Tub and the reader found out that Kenny was actually requested to shoot the dog, one might think nothing of his motivations but it could be that Kenny was completely self-driven and just wanted to go hunt his deer. Also, Frank shows a rather selfish quality when buying Tub the pancakes. He didn’t want to feed his food-loving friend, but to justify his own vices. If Tub gave in to his weaknesses so lustfully and eats four plates of pancakes, then he has justification to his own affair with a fifteen-year-old girl. Wolff shows readers a view of humanity that most people don’t want to see.

            Evidence that “Hunters in the Snow” is literary work can also been seen in the plot. Unexpected and disturbing plot twists induce the reader to analyze the intricate reasons for the story’s events (Hunters). The plot twists are not designed, nor intended, to give readers the pleasure or the suspense that commercial fiction gives. These plot twists make the reader jump back and question why the characters chose that course of action; they make the reader question people as they really are and their motivations. The sudden shooting of Kenny (91)  is unexpected and shocks the readers. Before this, there was no evidence that Tub even had it in him to shoot a man. This scene leaves the reader confused and wanting to figure out Tub as a character. The unsettling ending also takes this work away from the commercial fiction realm because it is not a happy or resolved ending. It is an unsettling and indeterminate ending that consigns a reader to think about the story long after they’ve finished reading it, pondering, and how they would have functioned in that sort of situation.

            Wolff helps readers see into humanity at an up close point. It may use some of the same elements as the commercial fiction story “The Most Dangerous Game,” such as the hunt and the presence of dogs, through the symbolism, character motivations, and plot twists, the reader is left to ponder about the world they live in.

Work Cited

“Hunters in the Snow.” Wikispaces. N.p., 13 Sept. 2009. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.

Wolff, Tobias. “Hunters in the Snow.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Tenth

            Ed. Ed. Thomas Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009.

            86. Print.

A Child’s Eyes - World War II

A Child’s Eyes

Daddy’s across the seas

And will be back at an unknown date

My mommy’s in the factories

She always stays until very, very late

My sister’s off with momma

My brother’s off to war

I’m all alone at my house

I’ve only got myself to account for

My uncle had come back

He could hardly even walk

With just one foot and a cane

And something called “Shell Shock”

“Food will win the war” they had said -

“Meatless Mondays” -

The restrictions were growing -

And even “Wheatless Wednesdays”

“Food was becoming scarce”, momma told me

As we put back half of my dinner plate

Then the next thing that started to drop

Was my very own body weight

My arms missed my poppa

My stomach growled for food

When will this all cease?

When will this conclude?

This war is doing nothing for me

I can’t see its help

My life has turned upside down

It’s the hurt that I’ve felt.

My letter to the Skeptics and the Snot-Nosed, Abhorrent Humans of this World.

My letter to the Skeptics and the Snot-Nosed, Abhorrent Humans of this World.

“How do you tell if something's alive? You check for breathing.”

― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

            It’s the simple element of life. Things breathe to live. I don’t care if you can hold your breath for three minutes; if you want to stay alive you got to get that air into your lungs. I don’t think the universe cares that you think you’re the coolest fish ever and don’t need any oxygen; it’ll kill you if you decide not to breath. Donkeys, cats, dolphins, zebras, rodents, humans, and dromedaries all need that life-giving gas in their bodies. But some cynics and obnoxious people might question “Why?” or maybe even a “How?” Well if you promise not to ask me too many questions, I might just go over all this with you.

            To get a basic understanding of all of this, we need to know the body parts associated with this amazing system.

·         The nasal cavity is the lumpy part of your face that gets broken if you fall on your face. It’s also the only external part of the whole respiratory system. This is where air gets inhaled, filtered, and humidified.

·         The oral cavity is the secondary point that the air will enter through in the respiratory system.

·         The pharynx is the “muscular membranous channel connecting the nasal cavity to the larynx and the oral cavity to the esophagus; it enables breathing, ingestion of food and speech.” (Merriam-Webster dictionary).

·         The larynx, in simplest terms, is the voice box. It’s pretty much just a tube made with cartilage rings. Without it, you might swallow your air and breathe in your delicious tuna sandwich.

·         The trachea is between the larynx and the bronchia. It’s the continuation of the larynx that splits into two main bronchi, each leading to a different lung, and permits air to pass.

·         The bronchi are either of the two main branches that had split from the trachea. Coming from the Greek word brónchos, meaning windpipe.

·         The lungs are the main respiratory organ. It’s divided into two lobes: the right and the left. The blood gets cleaned of carbon dioxide and enriched with oxygen that came from the pulmonary artery.

·         The heart sends blood through the pulmonary artery and through the lungs to be cleansed.

·         The ribs are the bone structure that protects the lungs from any damage that might be inflicted.

To visualize the order all of these go through, here is a handy dandy picture for your studying pleasure.

Cool. So do we got all of this? There are also smaller parts of the system that we can go over when we get to them.

            So starting at the very beginning let’s say you are walking through a path that is just surrounded by dandelions. You, loving dandelions, of course, take in a huge breath of the flower’s fragrance. As it enters into your nostrils, the air gets purified of dust and dirt, and is warmed. In your nose there are lateral walls that have projections called the conchae which increase the surface area of where the air will hit. Now, on the inside of the cavity, it is lined with respiratory mucosa which will moisten the incoming air and trap the foreign particles that try to get in. On the superior surface of the cavity, there are olfactory receptors in the mucosa that will take the smell of the dandelion and tell it to the part of your brain it needs to go so it can communicate that you indeed smell a delicious dandelion.

            After the trip through the snotty part, the air travels through the pharynx. The pharynx is, for all good intentions, the throat. There are three regions of the pharynx. There’s (from superior to inferior) the nasopharynx, the oropharynx, and the laryngopharynx. The last two, the oropharynx and the laryngopharynx, are the most common passageways for food and air.

            After the pharynx, the dandelion air will enter the larynx. The larynx (being the voice box) does allow for vibrations and plays a role in speech, but also uses the epiglottis to direct the food for the ingestion by closing off the respiratory tract. The larynx routes the food and the air that come in to its proper channel. It also has the glottis which is the opening between vocal chords and the Adam’s apple which is a bunch of thyroid cartilage and the largest of the hyaline cartilage.

            The trachea is the windpipe that connects the larynx with the bronchi. The windpipe has its own form of removing dust and grossness. Its ciliated mucosa is always pushing in the opposite direction on the incoming air.

            The primary bronchi are when the trachea splits into two parts at the end and it enters the lung at the hilus. The bronchi that goes to the right lung is like the “Yao: King of the Rock” of the respiratory world. It’s wider, shorter, and straighter than the left bronchi is (who probably represents Mulan in the respiratory world, she kicks butt). The bronchi start splitting into smaller and smaller branches, the smallest of which being the bronchioles. The bronchioles have reinforcing cartilage, except for the very tiniest branches. The ending branches end in alveoli. It goes from primary bronchi, to secondary bronchi, to tertiary bronchi, to bronchiole, and ends up at terminal bronchiole.

            The lungs are covered in pulmonary (visceral) pleura. On the inside walls of the thoracic cavity parietal pleura lines the walls. And pleural fluid fills the area between layers of pleura to allow the lungs to be free and gliding. The lungs will expand when air is being put into them. Without that, then our lungs would stay at a negative pressure.

            The heart is important to the respiratory system because one of the reasons for the respiratory system is to get the oxygen back into the blood. The deoxygenated blood is being pumped through the pulmonary veins through the lungs to get the oxygen and be returned back to the heart so it could be sent out through the blood once again.

            The ribs just keep the heart and lungs and organs that are down there safe from any foul play by a wandering ninja or an unemployed Power Ranger.

            Now that we’ve been through the respiratory system, I hope you will stop being one of those specifically obnoxious people who won’t just believe when we say that it happens; and stop also needing to know “Why?” and “How”? This system will keep you alive in the darkest days. Until one day it doesn’t. And then you’re dead. But keep breathing and stay alive. Markus Zusak was a very smart man.

Fitzgerald: Revisited

Fitzgerald: Revisited

“He wanted not association with glittering things and glittering people — he wanted the glittering things themselves.” (Fitzgerald).

            Fame and fortune has been known to drastically change some people’s lives. From child stars who went from sweethearts to drug abusers and middle class people who became depressed after winning the lottery, people can flip one-eighty. This world-wide phenomenon can be seen in some of the world’s great writers such as Ernest Hemingway who ended up committing suicide. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was also affected by his sudden shove into the proverbial limelight. From his innocent and  introverted childhood, to his pursuit for love, to the beginning of his fame and troubles, all leading to the ending years of his life, we can see that fame had certainly gotten the best of F. Scott Fitzgerald in the end.

Fitzgerald’s early childhood was a normal one for the 1900’s. Two sisters, ages one and three, died of influenza right before F. Scott was born driving his mother to be overprotective of him. (Caudle). He grew up moving between Buffalo, New York and Syracuse, New York because of his father’s job. The Fitzgeralds lived a modest life though keeping work was hard for F. Scott’s father. At the age of twelve, the family moved to St. Paul to live off the inheritance that F. Scott’s deceased grandmother left for her daughter. With this money, his father and mother sent him to St. Paul Academy where he stayed for two years. This is when he was first published; it was in the school newspaper. At age fifteen, F. Scott was sent to the Newman School in New Jersey, a prestigious Catholic preparatory school. (Biography). He moved on to pursue his artistic abilities in writing at Princeton University. Soon enough, Fitzgerald’s regular coursework began to suffer, he was placed on academic probation, and dropped out of school to enlist in the army in 1917.

Making his way up to the command of a second lieutenant in the infantry and being stationed at Montgomery, Alabama changed the course of his life forever. (Willett). Afraid of dying in war, F. Scott wrote The Romantic Egotist. The publishers turned his book down, but encouraged him to revise it and try again. In July of 1918 at a country club dance in Montgomery, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre. It was love at first sight for Fitzgerald. Then on November 11^th World War I ends before Fitzgerald ever gets the chance to leave the U. S. This would become one of his greatest regrets from his life. Looking to eventually marry Zelda, Fitzgerald moves to New York and takes up the job in advertising.  Not being rich or famous enough for her, Zelda breaks off the courtship that they had and also breaks his heart. A biographer of Fitzgerald wrote, “Unwilling to wait while Fitzgerald succeeded in the advertisement business and unwilling to live on his small salary, Zelda Sayre broke their engagement.” (Bruccoli). Determined to be the man of her dreams, Fitzgerald quits his job and moves back to St. Paul to continue with his writing career. He returned to The Romantic Egotist revising it over and over again. This time when turned into the same publishers it was accepted; it was revised to be entitled This Side of Paradise. He wrote to the publisher pleading for an accelerated release. “‘I have so many things dependent on its success—including of course a girl.’” (Milford 54). Finding fame and fortune overnight from his new book, Fitzgerald went back to Zelda and they married a week later in New York in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. (Shmoop). Fitzgerald had everything in life he could want at this point: the woman of his dreams, money, and a home in the Commodore, the newest and best hotel.

Then the money started getting to their heads. They were kids with more money than they knew what to do with. “They filled their first weeks with antics, and the newspapers filled their pages with the Fitzgeralds. Scott undressed at George White’s Scandals, Zelda dived fully dressed in the Washington Square fountain. The media watched as the Fitzgeralds lived life on the wind.” (Cline 87). They got kicked out of two hotels, one being the Commodore, for their drunkenness. Their whole social life was driven with alcoholic drinks. In public this meant falling asleep in a drunken state at parties, but in their personal lives arguments broke out and bitter fights were waged. (Bruccoli). Even though their lives seemed to be a huge party, they were still just young kids in love. They had a daughter, Frances Scott (Scottie), born in 1921. When Scottie was three, the family moved to France so F. Scott could work on his book The Great Gatsby. (Greatest). “Among their closest expatriate friends were Gerald and Sara Murphy, whose daughter Honoria … remembers the Fitzgeralds as ‘a very romantic unit. What stays with me is the way Scott looked at her with this totally admiring look on his face. And she did look ravishing. She always wore a peony on her left shoulder.’” (Greatest). This is how they lived there life until 1930.

In 1930 Zelda had her first mental breakdown. F. Scott always attributed it to Zelda’s zealous ballet practices. She would habitually practice ten hours a day starting in 1927. After her breakdown, Zelda was admitted into then Malmaison Clinic outside Paris. She eventually was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and told by her doctors to stop dancing. (Americans). Having Zelda so far from F. Scott strained their relationship and they became estranged from one another. He was forced to stop the work on his book and start working for Hollywood as a screenwriter to pay all of the hospital bills. In Hollywood, F. Scott took up an affair with Sheilah Graham, a gossip columnist. In the meanwhile, Zelda was moving to different mental hospitals up and down the East coast of the United States. F. Scott’s and Graham’s affair lasted less than three years, ending only at the end of his life at age forty. Sheilah Graham was with F. Scott when he had a heart attack and died. Though his last moments were with Graham, people still remember his heart always belonging to and being with his wife, Zelda. (Greatest). A letter written to Zelda by the hand of F. Scott states that he knows the happy ever after isn't there anymore but he gives the sense that he wishes things would have turned out differently and that he still thinks of her often. It was written the same year F. Scott died. “‘It’s odd that my old talent for the short story vanished. It was partly that times changed, editors changed, but part of it was tied up somehow with you and me—the happy ending…’” (Steinkellner). Zelda and F. Scott’s daughter recalls that even in the last days of Zelda’s life that Zelda still wrote beautiful letters about him. “‘The tenderness is the point. That survived everything.’” (Greatest).

F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s life was changed by the fame and fortune that his writing career and book publications brought him. Much like other celebrities from today’s time, F. Scott Fitzgerald took a turn for the worst in the middle of his walk in the limelight. In Fitzgerald’s quiet childhood he was the only kid of his parents; his courtship to Zelda was serious and passionate. Then his life became one big party after fame struck, changing drastically from the life he lived before. All this lead to the estrangement from his wife and an early death. His fame had taken over his life. But does anyone really get out of this world without being tainted by the bright lights and the want for their name immortalized anyway? Will you?

Works Cited

Biography. A+E Television Networks. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Bruccoli, Matthew Joseph. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

            2^nd ed. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. Print.

Caudle, Barb. Comcast.net. 8 June 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Cline, Sally. Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise. New York: Arcade, 2004. Print.

Croasdaile, Caroline. Americans in Paris. University of Richmond, 12 Nov. 2010. Web.

            26 Apr. 2013.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “Winter Dreams.” Metropolitan Magazine. Dec. 1922. Print.

“The Greatest Love Stories of the Century.” People 12 Feb.1996: 163. Print.

Milford, Nancy. Zelda: A Biography. New York: Harper & Row, 1970. Print.

Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., n.d.. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.

Steinkellner, Kit. Bookriot.com. Book Riot, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2013.

Willett, Erika. Pbs.org. KQED Inc.. n.d.. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

'Glory' to His Name

'Glory' to His Name

            I heard the deep rumbling of voices in the distance as I was putting the animals away one night. As the sound neared, I could understand their synchronized words to be a gospel song, much like ones I’ve heard being sung in my papa’s southern fields.

            As I stood by the fence thinking, I noticed that the singing grew no closer. Smoke started to rise down the road. Curious, I walked until the edge of a clearing. Peeking through some bushes I saw dozens of black men gathered around a campfire singing praises unto their Lord. The man talking spoke so quietly I had to strain to make out his words.

“I ain’t never had no family, and…killed off my momma…”

After a pause, encouragement words to keep sharing were uttered.

“Well I just…”

It took the man another couple seconds to speak, emotion in his voice.

“Y’all’s the only-est family I got…. And, oh I love the 54^th. Ain’t even much a matter what happens tomorrow, ‘cause we men, ain’t we? ..… We’re men.”

Feelings stirred within me. This was the 54^th Black Regiment?! But, didn’t I just hear the most humanistic words come out of these men’s mouths.

As the group of men started in for another praising chorus, I turned and slowly headed back to the house, contemplating.

The next morning I woke, looked out of my window, and saw the same men from last night dressed in blue uniforms. They were strong, but also a bit solemn.

A few weeks later I learned most of those men had died in a battle against Fort Wagner not long after the night I had seen them singing in the woods. While my pa cheered, somewhere in my heart, a part ached. For what reason, I’m not sure. Was it their bravery for fighting? Was it the trust and love they held for each other, much like what a family has? Regardless, of what it was, my respect for the 54^th Regiment never lessened.

English Journal Writings

I had just left school when, from out of nowhere, Nick Jonas shows up. Nobody around me freaked out like I did. They just went on with their normal lives. Nick walked up and just started chatting away life we had been friends forever. Was I in heaven? No, last year, I had met Nick last year. I remember now! He led me to his car and opened the front passenger side door for me. We drove off into the sunset. I could not have been happier. Then we drove off a cliff.

English Journal Writings

Ch. 1
     It was Saturday afternoon and I had just gotten done with yoga, when from out of the sky, a pencil dropped.

Ch. 2
     Steve had been happy in life. Had enough competition from others to grow strong, but not too many so he couldn't thrive. Then one day, a man came by with an ax and started swinging at Steve. Steve fell down, defeated by the man in plaid.

Ch. 3
     I picked up the fallen object questions swimming in my mind. Where did it come from? Why did it come? What's for lunch? Needing to have some clarity in my life, I decided to find out. I pulled out my phone and texted my mum. She answered my question with pizza rolls.

Ch. 4
     Steve's life had been long; a good number of years for a typical tree.

God's Love For Us

Free things = the best!!! You know like, how Free candy is awesome. And Free e-books, yup, I love ‘em. So when I found out that Forget Me Not by Elder Uchtdorf was free on the kindle I was ecstatic.

And that is what I’ve decided to talk to you brethren and sister....en about today

Uchtdorf starts with an introduction so I suppose I’ll start there"
“A while ago I was walking through a beautiful garden with my wife and daughter. I marveled at the glory and beauty of God’s creation. And then I noticed, among all the glorious blooms, the tiniest flower. I knew the name of this flower because since I was a child I have had a tender connection to it. The flower is called forget-me-not.
"I’m not exactly sure why this tiny flower has meant so much to me over the years. It does not attract immediate attention; it is easy to overlook among larger and more vibrant flowers; yet it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies—perhaps this is one reason why I like it so much.
"And there is the haunting plea of its name. There is a German legend that just as God had finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out, “Forget me not, O Lord!” And God replied that this would be its name.
I would like to use this little flower as a metaphor. The five petals of the little forget-me-not flower prompt me to consider five things we would be wise never to forget."

“I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.
Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.
And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
It’s wonderful that you have strengths.
And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.”

And with that being said, I want to talk about the fifth petal in Uchtdorf’s book.

Fifth, forget not that the Lord loves you.

Uchtdorf starts off this section by saying
“As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.
Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.
And I know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!
You are not forgotten.
No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.
Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!
He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name—you are the [sons and] daughters of His kingdom. The Psalmist wrote:
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? …
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”5
God loves you because you are His child. He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes.
The love of God and the power of the restored gospel are redemptive and saving. If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.”

This principle is prevalent in my own life. I took AP Stats last year.. oh myyyy…. So there was this one day that we were taking another test. I think it was the final or something, but it was insanely hard. Like I had NO idea. What is this?? So I’m sitting there flippin’ out. No guys, I was seriously flippin’ out in my head. But then… I’m not even sure what happened. I stopped, calmed down and a thought just came to my mind “Even if you fail this, God still loves you.” Even if I fail. God still loves me. I sat there, and I, I almost started crying . (I hate it when people see me cry) And worse, I was afraid people would think I was crying because the test was so hard. No, I don’t do that.
6 months later I told my baby cousin this story and told her that even if they didn’t make the sports team, God would always love her. 

And even if I do bad on this talk, God will still love me.
Turns out I passed the class and my cousin made the team, and looks like there's not many sleeping, but I will never forget that calming and reassurance that I was loved.

There is a series of books by an author named Max Lucado about little wooden people called the Wemmicks carved by a woodworker named Eli; some of you may know these stories. In his book “You Are Special”, the Wemmicks are going through this phase of judging one another. They go around town with a box full of golden star stickers and gray dot stickers. They put golden stickers on all the pretty Wemmicks or those who had many great talents, and they put gray dots on the ones who had rough wood or whose paint had chipped, or those whose talents were not as amazing. One little Wemmick who was given dots all day started to feel like he was not a good Wemmick; His name was Punchinello. He then met a girl who had no stars or dots on herself. She replied that she goes every day to visit Eli the woodcarver. The next morning Punchinello went to Eli’s shop.

Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name."Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you." Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You know my name?" the little Wemmick asked.
"Of course I do. I made you." Eli stooped down and picked him up and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles. "Looks like you've been given some bad marks." "I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard." "Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think." "You don't?"
No, and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots?
They're Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."
Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"
Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."
Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this--much less his maker. He didn't know what to say.
"Every day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli explained.
"I came because I met someone who had no marks."
"I know. She told me about you."
"Why don't the stickers stay on her?"
"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you let them."
"What?"
"The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"You will, but it will take time. You've got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."
Punchinello didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means it."
And when he did, a dot fell to the ground. 

We must remember that God’s judgment is more important than judgment we get from people on this earth. Sometimes that might be hard but we have to know within ourselves that God is the only one who gives out righteous judgment all the time. He loves us. He gave His only Begotten Son that we may return to Him again, so don’t you ever feel as though he doesn’t love you at times because of something that’s happened. God loves each of you. You are special to Him, God doesn't love you because you are special person or do everything right.
He loves you because He is love.
This is my testimony of God’s love for us and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Persuasive Paper

    Not A Forceable Paper

   "If he really hurt you, you wouldn't love him." "You must have wanted it." Short quotes such as these can be found on a tumblr page named Project Unbreakable. It depicts pictures of sexual abuse victims wish signs sharing traumatic parts of their stories that haunt them. More often than one might think, their signs have quotes from their trusted friends, family, and religious leaders, just pushing the matter aside. Well I believe every person has the right to receive correct and proper help for sexual abuse, because of how damaging it can be and the efforts so far just aren't enough.
     The effects of this abuse are numerous. Obviously there's physical consequences  The victim could contract deadly STD's from their assulter. There's also injuries that could come from the actual attack. Although most people know the physical, a lot of deep emotional baggage and pain that comes with acts of sexual abuse. Blocking it out of their minds is a common response, especially in children. Also depression, sleep disorders, and low self-esteem are common outward expressing signs is self-injury and revictimization. Without treatment, these can lead to suicide.
     According to the Monterey Country Rape Crisis Center (MCRCC), around only 16% of sexual assaults are reported. Since more than a third of rape victims get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it makes the chances of reaching out to those in need of help smaller, in accordance with the 16%. MCRCC gave the statistic that worldwide, at least one in three women and one in six men have been beaten, coarced into sex, or otherwise abused in their lifetime. That affects more people than any type of cancer. Seeing as there's so much attention put into cancer awareness, don't you think there should be equal, if not more, attention put onto supporting these victims?
     "He's a boy and boys are experimental. Now kiss and make up." People need to become more aware of what rape is, how it effects people, and stop pushing the matter aside. Help centers should be made available to anyone who has been victimized.

The Chaplain and The Crazy

The Chaplain and The Crazy

            The first two sentences of Catch-22 make the strangest first impression on the readers. “It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him” (Heller, Catch-22 7). Coincidentally, these two characters are one of the most different pairs in the whole book. Both Yossarian and the chaplain present distinct purposes to the story line, and although Man vs. Society is their common conflict, the details are polar opposites.

Yossarian is the protagonist in this book by Joseph Heller. In this third-person-omniscient point of view, he is the main focus. As described by nearly everyone in the book, Yossarian is absolutely insane; he has few friends and can’t even get a girl to marry him because she states him as crazy. Yossarian is made out to be narcissistic and somewhat lazy. He provides an interesting standpoint on the war and the characters in his group since his mental state is abnormal. Heller uses Yossarian’s viewpoint to differentiate the common analysis of his leaders and squadron members and what he sees in them.

Albert T. Tappman, whose real name we find out in Heller’s sequel called Closing Time, is one of the most decent characters in the book (Heller, Closing Time 24). He is the group chaplain for the squadron and is there to help the men who are in the war with spiritual and physical needs. The chaplain loves his family dearly and is very thoughtful; although, he comes off as a very timid and ineffectual fool. He provides the book with a basis of sanity when everyone else has completely lost their metaphorical marbles.

Yossarian’s and the chaplain’s part of the story is extremely contrasting because Yossarian is in the story to be loud, insane, and self-preserving while Tappman shows a different side of gentleness, voice of reason, and generosity. The chaplain is a family man while Yossarian has no problem sleeping with any attractive woman that comes his way. Their difference in purpose continues all the way through the whole book. At the end when attitudes begin to change, Yossarian and the chaplain take a jump to their reverse standings. Tappman decides to become a bold and assertive force for justice and is capable of getting the attention of others when he puts himself out there. Yossarian, on the other hand, goes against what he’s been all along and chooses not to only think about himself, but to also say no to officials so that he could preserve the safety of the whole squadron. The end also proves to be a diversity, because Yossarian ended up running away from the problem he had been trying to face and the chaplain learns to stand up for himself.

The conflict of Man vs. Society is what Yossarian and Tappman face in this story, just in different ways.  Yossarian is having problems with being in the war, but the country makes men fight. Basically the only thing he wants is to stay alive, and he can’t do that very well if he’s forced to go on dangerous combat missions all the time. “[Yossarian] had decided to live forever or die in the attempt” (Heller, Catch-22 29). Even if he admits himself into the hospital, he knows he still won’t be able to go home until the forever rising number of missions is completed. His main conflict is with Colonel Cathcart: the one who keeps raising the number of missions.

The chaplain, on the other hand, is facing society as in the squadron. He is so shy that nobody respects him. Most of the guys that he has to be around take him for granted. Tappman sleeps in the woods, four miles from the base, because he won’t stand up to Colonel Korn. He has been embarrassed by Colonel Cathcart, Colonel Korn, and Corporal Whitcomb; although, the chaplain later is befriended by Yossarian and his friends (which is why Tappman takes the deaths of Yossarian’s friends so hard) (Heller, Catch-22 377).

Heller showed that Man vs. Society could be more subtle than loud rebellions or strict dictatorship. Using the same conflict gave them a sense of unity, but also made it easier to spot the differences. The things the characters put in to the story plot contributed to the whole meaning and the interesting variety of ideas. Maybe this is why the chaplain and Yossarian became such good friends; it’s because they balanced each other out. “‘If you will look about you (which most people won’t do),’ says Sergeant Cuff, ‘you will see that the nature of a man’s tastes is, most times, as opposite as possible to the nature of a man’s buisness’” (Collins 74).

Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. Tinsely Brothers, 1868. Print.

Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 1955. Print.

Heller, Joseph. Closing Time. Simon & Schuster, 1994. Print.