The Member Of The Wedding Essays - Literature, Films,

The Member of the Wedding 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.

Beyond The Chocolate War essays

Beyond The Chocolate War essays Beyond The Chocolate War, a novel written by Robert Cormier is the compelling sequel to The Chocolate War. Robert Cormier is a successful writer who pictures the typical lives of everyday people with extraordinary talent. He is also the author of After The First Death the set novel for year 10 this year. As the names suggest, these books revolve around the same classification: conflict however these are not your common books about pure physical war and battle but it adresses the other side of conflict - the thoughts racing though the characters minds. He very carefully nurtures the plot and story through not only the actions but the thinking of people to build up to a complex climax. The genre of Beyond The Chocolate War is a psychological thriller that deals with the darker side side of human nature. The novel considers real life situations exaggerated for more effect is a very psychological manner. The dilemmas and predicaments experienced by the many characters in the story are expressed via the battle with their own mind, their decisions and the outcomes of their decisions afterwards. There are many themes in Beyond The Chocolate War that all contribute to the composition on the story. Relationships, sexual desires, fighting, revenge, murder, rape, assault, anxiety/distress/trouble (very much so), rebellion, suicide, school values, secret societies and authority. The were numerous examples of relationships and sexual desires with the main character (Obie) having a girlfriend and other people lusting after her. Fighting was not used much - like brain over brawn although there were some fights involving physical violence and injury between students. The strong jocks and students who had built stature's were made to be in a lesser class, easily manipulated and "dopey" despite their physique. The plot of the story was also largely based on revenge with many of the characters devising devious plans as vengeance against one of the ...

Hinduism And Its Features Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Hinduism And Its Features - Essay Example Shaivism is known for systematic philosophy in its texts. For Shaivites, human predicament is full of differentiation and bondage. Many experience discrimination and restrictions. This is caused by superficial knowledge. They suppose that the truth is not attained because individuals are blinded by what they can only understand through their basic senses. Hence, the goal is to reach ultimate consciousness. This is characterized by enlightenment and freedom. Armed with this higher truth, people can be liberated from false perceptions. Vaishnavism asserts that literature should be interpreted more metaphorically than literally. Vaishnavites consider human predicament as depicted by unhappiness or false happiness. In addition, people do not experience the true essence of love. This is so because of greed and temporary pursuits. Therefore, the goal is to be united with the Supreme Being. When this happens, genuine love and happiness may be fulfilled. This can then be realized through renunciation of material fondness by prioritizing on spiritual development. After disciplined practice, divine maturation ensues and is followed by perfection. Like other beliefs, Hinduism generally aims to improve existence. Both Shaivism and Vaishnavism have religious goals for improvement. Though they may have variations, they believe in man’s abilities. Indeed, man has its numerous limits. Nonetheless, he also has the capacity to achieve greatness.

Sensor Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sensor - Research Paper Example The feedback system is designed so well that it updates the status of input torque in fraction of a second and as a result exoskeleton keeps working accordingly; and works well with frequent torque changes. A heel pressure sensor is required that produces an electrical signal whenever heel touches the ground or force is sensed on the heels because of its interaction with the ground. Signal from this sensor helps in regulating the sequential movement of the exoskeleton. These force sensors are usually generated by making use of a couple of force sensors but in our design use of a simple piezoelectric or capacitive device works well as a heel sensor and is placed on the heel of the exoskeleton design on the side that is directly in touch with the ground. In order to accurately track the force applied by the user to the legs on the exoskeleton distributed force sensors will be used. These sensors help in measuring distributed forces being applied by the human body over a specified area rather than collective force applied to the entire leg. This approach of distributed force helps to track the applied force at any given point on the leg during the gait to check for proper rehabilitation of the leg. Sensors placed under each heel will sense whether the foot is in contact with the ground, signaling to the leg that the motion should come back to a standing phase. Myographic Sensors Electro-Myographic sensors are used to directly measure the electrical activity of human muscles. In case of exoskeleton, myographic sensors can be placed on the belly of muscle. In this case, electrical activity of human muscles is directly translated to force that is being exerted by the leg onto the exoskeleton, by measuring the amplitude of the force. There is a limitation in using EMG technique in the design of lower limb exoskeleton. If EMG is incorporated in the design of exoskeleton then wearing this device would not remain convenient for the patients as electro-myographic sensors need direct interface to the skin. This can be avoided by making use of acoustic myographic techniques. In short these sensors are used to keep record of the current muscular activity of the lower limb and helps in detecting whether or not the lower limb is capable of recovering to its original state. Other than that these sensors can also be incorporated to replace strain gauges that are being used in our design to measure the force being applied by the leg on the exoskeleton. This can be done by simply applying acoustic sensors between the knee and ankle of the human leg and the resulting signals can be transformed into energy magnitude. From this force being exerted on the lower limb can be determined easily. Acoustic sensors are not able to provide direct signal to the control system as the signal is too low when observed in terms of voltage. Therefore, we need pre-processing circuitry to reduce hardware induced noise as well as improve signal quality. BU-7135 is an acceleromete r based acoustic myographic sensor. It is covered with a silicon case and accelerometer is placed within this cover. It is then protected by a layer of PCB and air chamber is also provided before having contact either the skin through silicone membrane. Here is the detailed diagram showing the internal structure of the device. The AMG sensor is not used individually within the circuit, rather pre-amplification circuit is provided along the sensor to get better signal. Here is the design of

Obama’s Education Promise, a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Obama’s Education Promise, a Rhetorical Analysis Essay â€Å"Education is the best provision for the journey to old age.† – Aristotle Today, 314.5 million people call themselves Americans. Each of them, with God permitting, will make the journey to old age. However, in this huge set of individuals, roughly fifteen percent of adults over the age of twenty-five have not received a high school diploma (â€Å"Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009†). By itself, this percentage feels rather small, and so we as Americans pride ourselves in our educational system. After crunching the numbers, however, this measly percentage actually represents twenty-nine million Americans, twenty-nine million individuals who lack an accomplished high school education. Aristotle would be displeased to say the least. In 2008, then senator Barack Obama delivered a speech to the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts titled â€Å"What’s Possible for our Children.† Though intended for his election campaign, the speech also reflected this introduction’s attitude, calling attention to the gaping holes in American education. More specifically, however, Obama promoted educational reform based on a three-point platform: â€Å"fixing† No Child Left Behind (an act which encourages state standardized tests to measure and regulate primary and secondary education in the United States), encouraging teacher reforms and furthering teaching employment, and increasing opportunities for minor ethnicities and other disadvantaged students. In retrospect, his speech met with great optimism and is often quoted by leaders in education. To explain this speech’s success more fully requires an analysis of Obama’s seasoned rhetorica l strategies, of ethos, logos, and pathos—respectively, as well as an explanation of how each of these three strategies establishes an effective speech. Obama sprinkles ethos, or ethical proof, throughout his three-point platform. In doing so, he gears his audience’s attention towards his assessment of the ethical standards in American education to inspire  motivation and change. For example, in the introduction, Obama states, â€Å"This kind of America is morally unacceptable for our children† (qtd. in â€Å"Full text of Obama’s education speech†). Through this statement, Obama assumes the role of an ethical mediator; he creates situated ethos whereby, as a presidential candidate, he has the power to tell us as a society where we are correct and where we can improve. By equating American education with moral irresponsibility, he calls society to consider the issues he addresses later in his speech. One such issue is No Child Left Behind, his first premise. In discussing the problems within the act passed by former President Bush in 2001, Obama repeats the phrase â€Å"we must† almost religiously. Must is a strong word choice; it implies an obligation to something. As an audience member, we make the connection that the obligation is precisely what Obama stated in the introduction. We must make our educational standards higher for our children; thus, we become motivated to fix No Child Left Behind. Likewise, in his second point, which promises teacher reforms and employment, Obama begins with a simple commonplace: Individuals who do good jobs should be rewarded. Using the ethos from his introduction, he concludes that teachers who do good jobs should be rewarded, which gives motivation for teachers to do well. Obama even goes so far as to inspire change in education among ethnic minorities, his final point. In this point, he calls upon hope—hope that disadvantaged students will one day rise from the bottom with his new learning opportunity programs. His optimism and confidence calls us, his audience, to change. Obama further generalizes this notion of change during his conclusion when he states, â€Å"We have to hold ourselves accountable† (qtd. in â€Å"Full text of Obama’s education speech†). By holding the audience accountable, educational reform becomes both a private and public matter. Therefore, the audience, 314.5 million Americans, feel more personally compelled, motivated even, to follow his advice—to change No Child Left Behind, to reward teachers for good work, and to give more opportunities to disadvantaged students—to reform much of the current educational model, in effect. Logos and pathos, however, are still needed to solidify such an undertaking. Realizing he is delivering a speech about education, an intellectual topic, Obama adds several textbook examples of logos, or logical proof, to his  speech. Simply put, after he explains the unacceptable educational current model to his audience using ethos, he uses logos to depict the reality of how unacceptable the system is. In his introduction, for instance, Obama equates knowledge to the â€Å"currency† of the Information Age, stating that an individual should use his or her knowledge to â€Å"sell† himself or herself to a career position. A cause-and-effect relationship soon follows to support this extended metaphor: â€Å"If the more than 16,000 Colorado students who dropped out of high school last year had only finished, the economy in th[e] state would have seen an additional $4.1 billion in wages over these students’ lifetime† (qtd. in â€Å"Full text of Obama’s education speech). Logically, we as the audience then deduce that education , in reality, is profitable. It is in our interest to be well-educated, but as of now, we are losing money from being uneducated. From there, Obama makes a more explicit logical deduction to support his first premise. If we as Americans want to help the economy, we should fix No Child Left Behind. His logical reasoning for fixing the program stems from its seemingly insufficient economic policy, which stifles the paychecks of teachers who we as a society want to inspire. Because of such, he suggests that, while No Child Left Behind’s goals are noble on paper, its functional mechanics are illogical and unacceptable in the real world. By doing so, he gains more support from educators and economists. Obama also uses logos in his third premise, albeit implicitly. Back in the introduction, Obama quotes the following from Thomas Jefferson, a well-respected president from American history: â€Å"[T]alent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated regardless of wealth or birth† (qtd. in â€Å"Full text of Obama’s education speech). Obama knows that the general public will agree with anything Thomas Jefferson says because he is so well respected in American history. Therefore, when he discusses the current issues of ethnic minorities, he conjures support from a broader spectrum of Americans because he is in accordance with Thomas Jefferson. In that respect, he is able to use logos as a means to show the unacceptable truth behind the educational system—to showcase the relationship between revenue and education as well as highlight student-teacher discrimination—to the widely diverse American people. Among all the strategies Obama uses in his speech, pathos, or emotional  proof, is the most commonly used, especially in the introduction and conclusion. The reason for this distinct placement of pathos is elementary: In order to grab the audience’s attention and illustrate the realities of America’s educational system, of which both processes require ethos and logos, Obama must connect to the audience’s emotions—to bring about changes in thought and heart. His most effective strategy that does so is his appeal to children. Countless numbers of times, Obama urges us as older Americans to provide better education for our posterity. By doing so, he uses our unconditional love for children, perhaps seeing our own children in other children, in a way that grabs our attention so that we may listen and critically think about what he has to say regarding education. On top of using the obligation to children as the basis for attention, Obama also invokes imagery during his oration. An example of this imagery is found in his third premise: â€Å"When they [students at disadvantages] look around and see that no one has lifted a finger to fix their school since the 19th century, when they are pushed out the door at the sound of the last bell—some into a virtual war zone—is it any wonder they don’t think their education is important? Is it any wonder that they are dropping out in rates we’ve never seen before?† (qtd. in â€Å"Full text of Obama’s education speech†) The very thought of a neglected child, or a child in a â€Å"war zone† for that matter, tugs at the hearts in the audience. By using such imagery in the third premise, the audience is helpless, for not many people can resist such raw emotion. The audience’s helplessness makes them vulnerable to changes in thought. In this case, the audience’s thoughts will largely favor Obama’s intent to dampen the disadvantages of ethnical minorities and mentally handicapped students. To conclude his emotional journey and to leave his audience emotionally â€Å"fulfilled,† Obama taps into the biggest patriotic commonplace in America—the â€Å"American dream.† He takes the one idealistic value that all 314.5 million Americans hold in common and equates the chance to educate oneself with that core value. It leaves a powerful, lasting impression on his audience and, alongside all the other pathetic strategies mentioned previously, heightens the audience’s interest in investing in educational reform. Hence, after looking extensively at all these different strategies at work,  is it any wonder why the speech did not meet with such critical acclaim? Ethos persuaded us as the audience that our educational system was ethically unacceptable. Logos described the current state of the educational system in a way that made us want to change it to Obama’s standards. Pathos sweetened our perception of that change, making us believe that educational reform will correct the current unacceptable model. Together, the three major strategies mixed in just the right proportions to yield instantaneous changes in audience perception and evaluation of America’s educational standards. It created waves which propagated Obama’s educational reform ideals to all parts of the United States. In fact, these waves continue to ripple throughout the American political arena; one needs to look no further than the 2012 presidential debates to confirm such a statement. Ultimately, education is on the minds of everyone, as well it should be. True as it is to say that agriculture started civilization, it is equally as true to say that education started modern civilization. Therefore, we as citizens of the entire world should be concerned with the development of our education, for when we lose our education, we lose our modern civilization. Aristotle is correct. As humanity matures, it ages. How does humanity mature? It educates itself. Without education the future remains uncertain, for there are no provisions to account for the uncertainty. As Americans, all 314.5 million of us would like to believe that the future of our nation is determined to stay. To claim such a belief with any amount of certainty, however, requires all 314.5 million individuals to be educated. Until then, we continue to build provisions for the hazy future that awaits us. Works Cited â€Å"Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009.† U.S. Census Bureau. Feb. 2012. Digital file. â€Å"Full text of Obama’s education speech.† denverpost.com. 2 Dec. 2008. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

Dreaming of Home Essay -- Personal Narrative Descriptive Dreams Essays

Dreaming of Home Everyday, after waking up, I realized that I had been dreaming about home again. I lay staring at the ceiling for a moment or two. Then, dragging myself from the bed, I walked to the window and threw open the curtains. The wide open space of the New Mexico high desert stared back blankly at me. The cobalt blue skies, peach colored Sandia Mountains and endless waves of sagebrush and juniper stood in stark contrast to my dreamscape. For the past eight years, my first view of the day was this one. But today was different. Today, I was going home. I grew up in Dublin in the 1970s. To understand how that shaped the person I am today, you have to understand something about Ireland at that time. It has been said by someone a lot more insightful, and perhaps more cynical than me, that the 1960s didn't reach Ireland until about 1975. So I grew up in a time of great change, where the old social norms were being challenged and cast aside. Of course, in my growing years, I didn't always understand this. I viewed Dublin through the eyes of a child. I led a fairly sheltered existence, the eldest of seven children. My parents were country people and had moved here after the birth of my first sibling, Paul. My father worked in the construction industry and construction jobs were much more plentiful here than in the backwaters of Wicklow where he was born and bred. My mother was from the West, born in County Clare and was the daughter of a farm laborer. Her father, Patrick Murray, had moved where the work was too, and had ended up settling and eventually retiring in Wicklow. This was where my parents met and where I had come into being. Our days in Dublin were regularly punctuated by trips to the country to visit my gr... ... We were old friends and lovers, learning that what it was to know one another again and tentatively finding our way back into each others lives. I still love Dublin, but I realize now that I love it despite itself and not because of itself. I think, perhaps, that is how it's always been. And a strange thing happened. I awoke one morning to find myself back in my bedroom, back in New Mexico. My wife lay sleeping beside me, lost in her own dreams. The house was quiet. I walked once more to the window and opened those curtains. The room was immediately filled with warm, brilliant sunlight. The sky was that same fantastic shade of blue and the Sandia Mountains glistened as ever in the early morning light. I gazed out across the waves of sagebrush and juniper and realized I had not dreamed of home. Looking back to where my wife lay sleeping, I realized I was home.

Henistbury Head

Henistbury Head is a headland on the coast of Bournemouth in England. It was made a SSSI (a site of special scientific interest) and contains an ancient Iron Age fortification and settlement called the Double Dykes. In this essay I will be explaining to you the problems that Henistbury Head encounters and the possible solutions. It attracts over 1 million visitors a year, who come to see the wide variety of exotic animals that come to Henistbury Head to breed, these exotic animals include: the Dartford Warbler, the Cetti's Warbler, the Song Thrush, the Skylark, the Kestrel, the Barn Owl, the Little Owl, the Otter, the Water Vole, Galloway Cattle, the Common Blue Butterfly, the Rabbit, Black- headed Gull and many more. Without this habitat to live in a lot of the local animals would die out because they rely on the woodland and grassland to live in and to find their food sources in. Also if this habitat were allowed to erode away the variety of plants that it harbours would all cease to exist in this area. Another point is the beach has a lot of beach houses along the coast, which each cost over i100,000 so it brings a lot of money to this particular area of Bournemouth. The Reasons why it was made an SSSI was because of its variety of wildlife that does not live in any other areas of this country and to allow it to erode away it would lose this status as the wildlife gradually ceases to exist. There are many methods of dealing with this case of erosion and the visitors and the residents all have different opinions on what should be done to save Henistbury Head. The residents in Bournemouth would like a sea wall built to protect their houses and to preserve the beach. This is a very costly method and the consequences of this would be that the noise and the damage from the construction workers could affect the wildlife and destroy the environment they were trying to protect. The visitors would like to leave the beach as it and to do this they would provide beach nourishment to the coast to prevent it from being eroded and spoiling it. The effects of this would be that the residents homes would be unprotected. The plants and wildlife live in a delicate environment and the effects of adding anything to the beach could be that it upsets the environmental balance and the plants and wildlife will be either reduced or will relocate themselves. The natural processes that Bournemouth council are trying to protect the Headland against is erosion and longshore drift. Erosion is where acid rain, bird droppings and the sea are eating away at the cliff and headland. The longshore drift on the west was protected against this by building a long groyne but this has trapped a lot of shingle and sand there leaving the east side of Henistbury Head vulnerable to erosion and longshore drift. The options that Bournemouth council have produced to prevent Henistbury Head from being eroded away are the following: Letting the headland erode away naturally and not waste any money (this will mean that the residents homes and the cost will be unprotected). The second option is to continue to nourish the beach with sand and shingle, by bringing them in from offshore (this is where you pump tonnes of shingle into the beaches,this will protect the coast but will not protect the headland and the residents homes). The third option is to build more gabions and groynes (gabions are cages filled with large rocks, these break the force of the waves and slow the movement of loose beach material, this is a very cost effective method and will protect the coast and the headland , groynes are long piles of rocks that stretch into the sea building this will protect the coast). The final option is to build a sea wall all the way along the beach at the east end of Henistbury Head (this is a long and thick concrete wall and it will protect the coast, the headland and the residents homes but it could cause the wildlife to leave Henistbury Head). The option that I would choose would be a compromise I would build gabions and groynes and I would continue to provide the beach with nourishment also I would shorten the length of the long groyne therefore allowing more shingle to flow freely. This would be a cost effective method as you do not have to pay a lot for these resources. The reasons I would use this instead of the other methods is because it will please both the residents and the visitors and would be very cheap to accomplice.