Inherit the Wind Essay Example for Free

Inherit the Wind Essay Inherit the Wind, a play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, was first produced as regional theater in 1955. It is based on an actual trial held in Tennessee over 30 years earlier. The central theme of the play is not religion versus Darwinism. The character Henry Drummond tells the audience the theme when he says that the right to think is on trial. Religion is a metaphor and the motifs come to reveal how and why the right to think is being tried. Drummond makes his case convincingly in several ways. This paper will recount some of the arguments bolstering his thesis. The idea that religion has the right to quash any science which seems to contradict its teachings goes back well over a thousand years. Some of the greatest scientific minds ever known were arrested, prosecuted and murdered in the name of religion. The citizens of this country have not only freedom of religion, but also a tacit freedom from religion. This play examines whether it is constitutional to ban the teaching of science in opposition to biblical canon. In a broader perspective, however, the play, deviating from reality, is a metaphor for all forms of thought crime, such as was prevalent during the period when the play was first performed. The character of the prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady, a fundamentalist, relies primarily on the bible, calling it the revealed word. The entire prosecution is based on proving the defendant, Bertram Cates, is a non-believer. This argument is specious on so many levels that constraints of this paper do not permit full rebuttal. The defense argument runs that religion is little more than unproven superstition, calling it an old wives’ tale. The defense made its case more convincingly. Religion is about turning untested belief into absolute fact through the passage of time. American citizens should always have the right to think. To ban science for religion’s sake is ultimately ignorance. References Lawrence, J. and Lee, R. Inherit the Wind NAME OF THE BOOK IT’S IN Ed. (Name of editor) City where published: publisher, date published

Comparing and contrasting Not My Best Side and Warning Not my Best and

Comparing and contrasting Not My Best Side and Warning Not my Best and Warning are about stereotypes and how these poems go against that. In not my best side the stereotype is that the three characters are meant to go with their roles, good the knight... Comparing and contrasting Not My Best Side and Warning Not my Best and Warning are about stereotypes and how these poems go against that. In not my best side the stereotype is that the three characters are meant to go with their roles, good the knight, bad the dragon and helpless the princess but don’t. In Warning the old woman is going to go against society by wearing clothes, which do not go, and buying items, which are useless. Not my best side is about Uccellos painting of St George and the Dragon the poet tried to put words to the people in it. The narrative of this poem is it goes through all the people in the poem starting with the dragon then the princess then the knight. First the Dragon says how the artist did not let him pose properly and how he could not draw anything apart from triangles as if he were mocking the artist. Then he starts to mock his conqueror and his horse by saying it has a deformed neck and square hoofs. Then starts to insult his victim by Saying she is â€Å"Unattractive as to be inedible† which means he would never eat something that ugly. After that he is a bit sarcastic by saying â€Å"I would have liked more blood to show they where taking me seriously† this means that he would have took more damage than that do kill him. The princess is saying she is not sure if she wants to be rescued. She had grown to like the dragon and even found him sexy. She says â€Å"He was so nicely physical, with his claws and lovely green skin, a... ...to be old and the poet is warning people that this is going to happen, so you better get used to it. It’s also about what society expects her. The form of the two poems is they have no rhyme scene and no metre. This is because the two poems are going against society so they are emphasising this. The question you should ask is do I want what society expects? Most of the time the answer will be yes but these poems have gone against that. Not my best side and warning are in 1st person talking about him or her. Also warning has varying line length, irregular, unstructured and varying line length. It has all these thing because again it is going against society. Not my best side and Warning both are about stereotypes and facing reality of life that everyone will grow old, or the reality of facing life alone. They all try and help prevent this from happening.

Metafiction and Happy Endings (Margaret Atwood) Essay

A. Definition: The narrator of a metafictional work will call attention to the writing process itself. The reader is never to forget that what she is reading is constructed–not natural, not â€Å"real.† She is never to get â€Å"lost† in the story. B. Possible Contents: intruding to comment on writing involving his or herself with fictional characters directly addressing the reader openly questioning how narrative assumptions and conventions transform and filter reality, trying to ultimately prove that no singular truths or meanings exist C. General Characteristics Metafiction often employs intertextual references and allusions by: examining fictional systems; incorporating aspects of both theory and criticism; creating biographies of imaginary writers; presenting and discussing fictional works of an imaginary character. Authors of metafiction often violate narrative levels by: intruding to comment on writing; involving his or herself with fictional characters; directly addressing the reader; openly questioning how narrative assumptions and conventions transform and filter reality, trying to ultimately prove that no singular truths or meanings exist Metafiction also uses unconventional and experimental techniques by: rejecting conventional plot; refusing to attempt to become â€Å"real life†; subverting conventions to transform reality into a highly suspect concept; flaunting and exaggerating foundations of their instability; displaying reflexivity (the dimension present in all literary texts and also central to all literary analysis, a function which enables the reader to understand the processes by which he or she reads the world as a text). It also poses questions about the relationship between fiction and reality by drawing attention to its characteristic as an artifact by itself. No sense of reality in its entire spectrum as a genre even though the extremes of each end are minute acceptance and merely exploration of fictionality to the other end being utter denial of reality itself. D. Examples: Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 1979. Mitchell, David. Cloud Atlas. 2004. HAPPY ENDINGS A. Characters: The author uses common names for the characters which allows him the versatility of putting them into different situations. Doing so supports the way the author puts much importance on what happens during the story instead of how it ends. John one of the most common boy names, has ranged from musicians (John Lennon), to leaders (John F Kennedy), to philosophers (John Locke) etc. This can emphasize the author’s use of putting the character into different contexts, changing the plot and how he plays different roles, yet emphasizes that it all ends the same (death). -Idea that the ending of a story is always the same, but only the middle matters In the story he is a loving husband, adulterous partner, womanizer Mary meaning of the name Mary is: Wished-for child; rebellion; bitter. Famous Bearers: the Virgin Mary; Mary Magdalene; Mary, Queen of Scots. Also shows how the author putes his characters in different situations. James -minor character Fred – minor character Madge – minor character B. Setting: The author employs the use of place as setting in the story. Various examples of setting seen in the story are an apartment, as seen in story B, and a â€Å"charming house,† as seen in story A, C and As seen in the line, â€Å"Remember, this is Canada. You’ll still end up with A, though in between you may get a lustful brawling saga of passionate involvement, a chronicle of our times, sort of,† the setting of the story and each of its segments is a medium for what each character does before he reaches the end. The setting of the story could have an influence on what one could do before he dies, the end which everyone eventually reaches. This is seen in the story wherein each segment (letters) had different bodies of story, yet everything â€Å"continues as in A† in which the characters live on with their lives then die. D. Concepts: Ex: How do elements in the story help to create meaning? Like: setting, tone, imagery, symbol, irony, etc Metafiction in Happy Endings The author tackles the â€Å"What?† question in the writing process through his story Happy Endings. He goes through many scenarios but shows us that the conclusion to each scenario is the same. The question â€Å"What?† only leads to the ending of the story which we already know will be the same. The important things to ask rather are â€Å"How?† and â€Å"Why?†. These questions make up the middle of the story, the events that happen, the part that counts. Textual Irony Title is Happy Endings but the real endings are al the same and result in death Conflict Is always changing depending on the situation given. Always has something to with the subject of love. SYMBOLS E. Title â€Å"Happy Endings† Most people usually focus on the ending of a story Everyone wants a happy ending, but in reality we all meet an equal end which is that we eventually die There is no such thing as a happy ending. All are the same in which we all eventually pass away. What matters is what is done as we reach the end. F. Theme What matters the most in the story is not the ending, but what what we do on the way there, because we can change our situations by choosing to act in the present, but not matter what you do you can’t change your inevitable end. RANDOM NOTES Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings is an illustration of the idea that the ending of a story is always the same, but only the middle matters. And Love plays an important factor in all scenarios. SYNOPSIS: It includes six stories in one, each ending with death. The author believes that this is the only sure ending to anything. The stories are all inter-related, containing the same characters and similar actions. Behind the obvious meaning of these seemingly pointless stories lies a deeper and more profound meaning†¦. What is the common denominator between all these scenarios? In case you missed it, Atwood sums it up in her concluding remarks. ‘John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.’ ‘ Happy Endings’ forces us to question the point of life. Every story, carried to its ultimate logical conclusion, has the same ending, because all lives have the same ending. We may die in the heat of battle; we may die in our sleep. We may die in infancy, in a gang war, in a nursing home. But we’re going to die. The story isn’t in the ending — it’s in what we do on the way there. RESOURCES USED http://ronosaurusrex.com/metablog/list-of-metafictional-works/ http://www.geneseo.edu/~johannes/Metafiction.html http://postcolonialstudies.emory.edu/metafiction/#ixzz2e1Z087Wr http://www.storybites.com/book-reviews/happy-endings-by-margaret-atwood.php characters http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/char.html themes http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/themes.html (online copy: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rebeccal/lit/238f11/pdfs/HappyEndings_Atwood.pdf ) View as multi-pages

“What Thanksgiving means to me.

In my country, Korea, having same holiday Thanksgiving called by Chu-Seok. Thanksgiving is upon us. I have to say, fall is one of my most favorite times of the year – first Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, all right in a row. The decorations, the music, the food, the holiday spirit – I like it. Coming from a large family – and having a large extended family – only heightened the holiday cheer growing up, and I used to help create that cheer for my own family. So I think I’d take a moment to talk about what Thanksgiving means to me.There is always the traditional Korean food, of course. But it’s not just the act of eating Thanksgiving dinner. The hours of preparation and the delicious smells that fill the house that entire week are just as important, as are the leftovers that last for days. In my family, the cooking of Christmas cookies has always begun the day after Thanksgiving – if not before. The preparation, eating , and preserving of food becomes both a family tradition and a ritual of community and togetherness.There is also family. For me, Thanksgiving has almost always involved time spent with extended family, whether they come to me or I go to them. And for me, extended family has always meant time spent playing board games such as Yut-Game, Gostop-Game. or just sitting around reminiscing. There are also the family projects that we’ll all tackle together, whether it’s simply fixing that drawer that never ran straight or building an entire new porch. Thanksgiving has always meant all of that.In addition to centering around the ritual of food, the embrace of family, and the richness of history, Thanksgiving has always served for me as a time of contemplation and gratitude. It’s good to take stock from time to time, not to ignore problems or challenges but rather to remember and think about the good. Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind of life that we focus more on what we don’t have than on what we do have. Thanksgiving helps me slow down and refresh my focus.

Voice over IP - Future of Communications essays

Voice over IP - Future of Communications essays Global communications has become a must for all sectors of business and life for our world today. With the spreading use of the Internet, people across the globe are able to communicate. This paper will address the growing use of a technology to upgrade our old PSTN system of voice communications. This technology builds off the same technology we use today with our computers and the Internet. To begin I will give an overview of the Global PSTN infrastructure from regions across the globe. Next moving into a more technical look at the technology. And finally, seeing how this new technology will affect our current Global PSTN. This technology that will change voice communications is Voice Over IP or VoIP. Todays global economy is starving for information transmissions. Timeliness of that speed is a must. With the old PSTN networks limited to just voice, and not able to send Data/Voice/Video, a need for a new way has grown. Flexibility is also available with VoIP systems compared to PSTN, so that future technology can be adopted and implemented with less troubles. Now lets look at a few countries and regions. Egypt, the second most sophisticated economy in Africa, has been taking major steps to improve their communication networks. First steps were to begin the process of privatizing their telecommunications and industries. This has been a slow process, but positive results are beginning to emerge. Egypts PSTN capacity is at about 4,800,000 with only about 3,650,000 actually connected. Egypts Internet has seen a recent growth not only in the industrial sectors, but also among the private sector. With Egypt privatizing their telecommunications, room for advancement is sure to grow with future investments. (African Connection) Western Europe like most western cultures is growing fast in the communication sectors. Growth in the use of cellular has give Europe a head start on the United States wh...

Forest Ecosystem and Biodiversity Definitions

Forest Ecosystem and Biodiversity Definitions A forest ecosystem is the basic ecologic unit in a particular forest that exists as home for a community of both native and introduced classified organisms.  A  forest ecosystem is  named for the primary tree species that form the canopy. It is defined  by all the collective living inhabitants of that forest ecosystem that co-exist together in symbiosis to create a unique ecology.   In other words, a forest ecosystem is typically associated with land masses covered in trees and those trees are often  classified by foresters into  forest cover types. Examples of just a few  broad names in North America are The northern hardwood ecosystem, the ponderosa pine ecosystem, the bottomland hardwood  forest ecosystem, the jack pine forest ecosystem and so on. The forest ecosystem is just one of a number of unique ecosystems including prairies, deserts, polar regions, and great oceans, smaller lakes, and rivers. Forest Ecology and Biodiversity The word ecology comes from the Greek oikos, meaning household or place to live. These ecosystems or communities are usually self-sustaining. The word usually is used because some of these communities can become unbalanced very quickly when detrimental factors occur. Some ecosystems, like tundra, coral reefs, wetlands, and grasslands are very fragile and very small changes can affect their health. Larger ecosystems with wide diversity are much more stable and somewhat resistant to harmful changes. A forest ecosystem community is directly related to species diversity. Generally, you can assume that the more complex the structure, the greater is its species diversity. You should remember that a forest community is much more than just the sum of its trees. A forest is a system that supports interacting units including trees, soil, insects, animals, and man. How a Forest Ecosystem Matures Forest ecosystems tend to always be moving toward maturity or into what foresters call a climax forest. This maturing, also called forest succession, of the ecosystem increases diversity up to the point of old age where the system slowly collapses. One forestry example of this is the growth of trees and the entire system moving  toward an old growth forest. When an ecosystem is exploited and exploitation is maintained or when components of the forest begin to naturally die, then that maturing forest ecosystem goes into declining tree health. Management of forests for sustainability is desirable when forest diversity is threatened by overuse, resource exploitation, old age, and poor management. Forest ecosystems can be disrupted and harmed when not properly sustained. A sustained forest that is certified by a qualified certification program gives some assurance that the forest is managed to allow maximum diversity while satisfying the managers environmental and economic demands. Scientists and foresters have dedicated their entire careers trying to understand even a small part of forest ecosystems. Complex forest ecosystems are extremely diverse, ranging from dry desert shrub land to large temperate rain forests. These natural resource professionals have categorized forest ecosystems in North America by placing them into forest biomes. Forest biomes are broad categories of natural tree/plant communities.

Mathematics and the U.S. Presidential Elections Essay

Mathematics and the U.S. Presidential Elections - Essay Example Moreover, this paper will discuss how the processes and concepts involved in the US Presidential Elections may be related to mathematics. The US Presidential elections happen every four years, starting from 1792. The existing process came about as a middle ground to appease the two arguing groups in which one wanted the Congress to appoint the President while the other wanted the elections to go by popular vote (Schantz). This compromise led to how the elections process goes on now. In the current electoral process, the Electoral College is responsible for electing the next president of the United States of America. The Electoral College is composed of electors from different states of the country. The number of electors that a state may have depends on the number of representatives that it has in the combined houses of Congress (Harris and Tichenor). The candidate who wins a majority of the electoral votes (270 out of 538) wins the US presidency as well. This elections process is qu ite different from other election processes in such that elections outside of the United States are usually won by popular vote. Each registered citizen of the country has the same contribution as every other citizen of the country. ... Again, with plurality voting, every person gets the same exact chance and â€Å"power† as another to decide on the next US president. Since all that is needed to win the elections is to have the most number of votes among the candidates, then it is not a requirement to acquire majority of the votes. As such, with four people competing for the same post, it is possible for somebody to acquire 26% of the votes (obviously not the majority) and still win. Relating such a concept to mathematics, all that is needed is for A > B > C > D. Moreover, that A’s votes ? 50% + 1 (indicating the majority) is not really a requirement. The Electoral College system in voting for the US President presents a more complex form of mathematics than that. Each state is given its respective weight in terms of votes, depending on its population. The candidate, then, that receives majority of the electoral votes and not necessarily majority of the states or majority of the people’s votes, wins the election (Schantz). For a very rough example, suppose we have Alice, Ben, Cathy, Dennis, and Earl deciding which of two ice cream parlors to go to. Because of their different sizes, they also get to have different â€Å"voting powers† in deciding their place of destination. Alice and Ben each weighs twice as much as Cathy, Dennis weighs three times as much as Cathy, while Earl weighs four times as much as Cathy. Thus, Alice and Ben each gets two voting points, Cathy gets one voting point, Dennis gets three voting points, and Earl gets four voting points. If it were merely up to the popular vote, the ice cream parlor which gets three votes would automatically win. However, with this scenario, we can see that if Dennis (3 points) and Earl (4 points) votes for