Reader Response Essay - On The Strong Breed -- Reader Response Essays

Reader Response Essay - On The Strong Breed Reading Wole Soyinka’s Strong Breed, I get to wondering about disclosure and ritual, disclosure between characters and to audiences, rituals of drama and religion. As I read the play, I see ample signs that both Sunma and Eman know about the curse-binding ritual that is to take place before midnight. I see signs of Sunma’s more specific knowledge in her shunning of Ifada from the start of the play. She declares, â€Å"Get away, idiot† (853). From the start Sunma is agitated and hopes that she and Eman might get away for â€Å"only two days† (857), as long as the two of them might â€Å"watch the new year together--in some other place† (856). Once Eman decides he doesn’t want to go away, Sunma wants to avoid the festival completely, saying that she â€Å"must not go out until all this is over† (859). Certainly, my rereading contributes to the sense of the foreshadowing I find in Sunma’s declarations. I have read the play half a dozen times by now, and though I forget many details, I do remember the outcome well enough to seek signs of its co...

Are we all fundamentally the same?

We are all equal in the fact that we are all different. We are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same. We are united by the reality that all colors and all cultures are distinct & individual. We are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. We don't share blood, but we share the air that keeps us alive. How can we get people to understand that we really are fundamentally the same? I agree, that perceived specialness, drive for fulfillments, experience a life of meaning and Conception/love fundamentally makes us the same, yes we have the same needs but express them differently. We humans are similar but we have a particular need or erg to be unique however, some of us may argue with the fact that we are not fundamentally the same, as we all are not blessed with unique qualities. This may be the struggle but we all have at least one or more difference that makes us unique and as time passes we realize it ourselves. Although we all have this erg for fulfillment but culturally we express that need in different ways for example ‘Frozen’ by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Elsa (character) – From the outside, Elsa looks poised, regal, and reserved, but in reality, she lives in fear as she wrestles with a mighty secret. Queen looks confident and mature, but she’s actually lonely and frightened, because of her special ability as she is not like everyone else. Her feelings are loneliness, Guilt and fear. She’s fearful of others because she thinks they will be afraid and hunt her down if they know about her powers. Once she opens up to herself and accepts her self for whom she is, she goes through this completely different phase full of laughter and self-confidence. Frozen is in format of a film and this is an effective way to put across their message as an animated film because they are watched by a wide range of audience including, families, adults, teenagers and children. In this case Elsa’s community did not accept her when she revealed her powers as they tried to hunt her down and take away her powers but using her powers and accepting her self is happiness to elsa but her community wasn’t ready to accept that. However, it is our own decision to trust our own ability to follow our own decision to trust our own ability to follow our heart and admit our differences as it can inspire others. Happy Feet’ by George Miller expresses also expresses this erge of uniqueness. Mumble (character) expresses his uniqueness by toe tapping, as he can’t sing like other penguins, which makes him different. This text is targeted at disabled people or people who can’t fit in to have faith and believe in themselves with what they can do. Hiss community wasn’t ready to appreciate his uniqueness, fortunately he didn’t feel inferior, as he was aware of his ability. Negative affectivity can make one feel guilt, fear and nervousness. The fact that we display those themes but we express it differently in different ways, makes us different. We have lots of ways for expressing it, it’s the ability for us to differentiate us from others. I have come across two texts that reveal that humans are fundamentally the samead the erg for uniqueness. We just need to be ourselves, I chose frozen because it has affected me personally and has taught me a lesson in life as well as happy feet, It puts me into deep understanding and makes me reflect on to my life and makes me reflect on to my life and makes me want to achieve anything in the world I wish to accomplish.

Animal Farm Summative Essay

Animal Farm is an allegorical novel by George Orwell. It is considered to be an allegory because the farm and the various controversies within it are representing Russia’s condition before and after its overthrow of the tyrannical tsar. The novel explores more than just political conflicts – it shows the lengths human nature and gluttony can go, how surplus of power can destroy the truest of morality, how greed is present in every governing system, and no book, rule, or law can obliterate avarice. It also cleverly observes how humans alter their relationships and mask their true feelings towards others for their own security, and this course of action is evident in the relationship between Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington. Napoleon plays a greater role in the aftermath of the rebellion, rather than evoking the rebellion itself, and Mr. Pilkington does not play a great role in the novel until after the rebellion. Napoleon, from the very beginning, is made out to be an antagonist as he indulges in all sorts of suspicious activity, and constantly engages in arguments with Snowball, his partner in looking after the new â€Å"liberal† Animal Farm. The Seven Commandments are against everything man stands for, including Pilkington of Foxwood, and even if they do not have a direct relationship with each other in the beginning, Mr. Pilkington and Napoleon are enemies, because, as Old Major had once said, â€Å"Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever† (4). Napoleon and Snowball have a very idealistic view of Animal Farm, but Napoleon’s attitude towards everything is noticed to be changed after the overthrow of Snowball. His hatred towards the other farmers had already started to falter when their rations fell short, but it is perceived that Napoleon started favoring Mr. Pilkington as he was against Frederick of Pinchfield, where Snowball was rumored to have resided. But their relationship is much like a seesaw as Napoleon goes through a phase of indecisiveness as to whether or not trust Mr. Pilkington as he had declined him any help during the Battle of the Windmill. For instance, when he had sent the pigeons to ask for help, Mr. Pilkington only replied with, â€Å"Serves you right†. As the novel progresses, the commandments are slowly altered, and this shows that Napoleon’s mind is slowly changing, his attitude towards the commandments are changing, and his attitude towards the humans are changing as well. For instance, the commandment â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed,† is altered to â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,† for Napoleon’s own luxury, and this not only shows that Napoleon has a new outlook on life, but also a new outlook on humans – not only that, but he alters all commandments, showing he is becoming more and more like a human every day, until finally, the day comes when he stands on his hind legs, indulges himself in alcohol, and is seen to be playing poker with Mr. Pilkington. The most important chapter concerning Napoleon’s relationship with Mr. Pilkington would be the last chapter of the novel when the pair are chatting and laughing, when they both draw aces in a game of poker. This sig nifies the looming power struggle between the two. Both Napoleon and Pilkington are striving to be the stronger party and will stoop to any level to emerge the winner. At the beginning of the novel Napoleon treats Pilkington with heavy disdain, and tries to form an isolated community of self-sufficient animals. As the novel progresses Napoleon engages in trade with Pilkington’s farm, and conspires with him to frame Snowball and make him appear a traitor. His relationship with Pilkington is purely selfish and both of them after the same end, to be the stronger of the two farms. To conclude, in Napoleon’s pursuit of creating his idealistic socialist utopia, he ended up turning into the evil he set out to banish, and turning into what all the animals dreaded – turning into a human, just like Pilkington, which is why â€Å"it was impossible to tell which was which†(89).

Evaluate the Role of Individuals in Bringing About the Changing Influence of the Russian Communist Party, 1905-1945

In the period 1905 to 1945 there was three key individuals that caused significant change in the influence of the Russian Communist Party: Lenin, Stalin and the Tsar. The influence of the party came in two main forms, political and public, which all three leaders changed in different ways. The most important individual in bringing about the change in influence is Vladimir Lenin, who brought about a sudden sharp rise in the party’s popularity. Following the 1917 October Revolution, Lenin became the leader of the Communist Party and greatly increased the party’s political influence with his ‘one party state’. Lenin’s creation of the Politburo in 1919, which was a group of eight high profile party members who influenced any decision being made, demonstrates the party’s increased political influence by showing their domination of governmental bodies. Public support of the party is obvious in the increase of RCP membership, March 1919 to March 1920, from 250,000 to 612,000. This may have been due mainly to Lenin retaining his power through the 1918 civil war. In 1921, Lenin introduced his New Economic Policy, aimed at gaining peace with the peasant class, which resulted in the ending of armed resistance to the communists. This support increased the Russian Communist Party’s (RCP) public influence greatly, backed in rural areas as well as urban working class districts. Due to all these factors, Lenin is the most important individual in changing the influence of the Russian communist party between 1905 and 1945. However, Lenin’s contributions to the party would not of been possible if no for the actions Tsar Nicholas II. In 1905, the public support for the Tsarist regime was extremely low, in all classes and geographic locations, leading to a rapid expansion of the RSDLP (Russian Social Democratic Labor Party) and general strikes throughout; the Russian public began to search for other groups to replace the Tsarists. The Bolsheviks, aka the RSDLP, would later become the RCP and therefore this increase in membership, up to 150,000 in 1905, increased the general influence of the communist party. The decision of the Tsar to order his troops to fire upon peaceful protestors, at Bloody Sunday on 22nd January 1905, dramatically increased the popularity of the RCP and thus the public influence. Although not being the most important, Tsar Nicholas II was a key individual in bringing about the changing influence of the RCP, due to his actions acting as a springboard for Lenin. Following Lenin, Stalin played the biggest party in changing the party influence, both political and socially. During Stalin’s time in power, up to 1945, the influence of the party plummeted significantly, resulting in the RCP having no say in the country’s activities. Due to Stalin’s original ‘facade’ of communism, until reaching power, and his actions once dictator, the party lost the ideological influence of the public. The RCP was in fact fully in charge of the country, however the party was fully controlled by Stalin, thus undermining their influence; this is shown by the ‘Great Purge’ of 1937, where Stalin â€Å"cleaned out’ the party. Thus, during Stalin’s rule, contrary to the facade of power, both the political and social influence of the RCP plummeted to rock bottom. In conclusion, between 1905 and 1945, Lenin caused the greatest change in social influence, shown by bring the part to power with the support of the majority of the classes. Whereas Stalin brought about the biggest fluctuation of political influence for the RCP, from complete control down to no longer being charge of the country but being ‘servants’ for the dictator. However, none of this would have been possible without the role of Tsar Nicholas II, who ‘allowed’ the party to gain public support through his rash decisions. To conclude I believe the role of the individuals in bring about the changing influence of the Russian Communist Party, between 1905 and 1945, was extremely important, with Vladimir Lenin taking pole position.

Philosophy of mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy of mind - Essay Example It critically analyzes some of the arguments in favor of and against this perspective as well as its relationship with epiphenomenalism and implications on the immortality of the soul. Most proponents of dualism concur that the soul and the mind are the same but are different from the physical brain and its processes. There is a section of dualists who perceive the mind as an emergent material of the physical brain. Known as property dualists, they assert that though the mind is dependent upon the brain, it is not the same as the brain or its functions (Baker & Morris, 2013). The concept of dualism is often credited to Rene Descartes although he is not the origin of the concept precedes him. Classical dualism theories have existed since the creation. The Bible and most religious books teach about the nature of the soul (or mind) as separate and distinct from the physical body and brain. If we believe in the dualistic philosophy that the universe is not restricted to matter, then there is relatively strong evidence (scientific and rational) that supports body-mind dualism. The most challenging problem that dualism seems to solve is the relationship that exists between the apparently immaterial mind and the material body. In the subsequent section, this paper looks at some arguments for and against dualism. In the modern conception of the mind-body problem, Descartes’ approach is used to explain the distinct nature of the mind and body. A dualist can argue that while the body can be seen by anyone interested, the mind is private and cannot be explored by another person. The nature of the mind is difficult to comprehend even for the person who holds the mind. ‘Intentionality’ is another relatively modern explanation for the apparent difference between the body and soul. Dualism argues that while the mind possesses intentionality, the body lacks this property. Mental processes are about certain things and concern concepts, places

Space Exploration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Space Exploration - Research Paper Example The pen worked and also enjoyed some modest success at a novelty item back here on earth. The Soviet Union, faced with the same problem, used a pencil. ABSTRACT NASA and its voluminous funding by the US government have been burning questions from day one. While the proponents of NASA funding have a firm belief that even a penny invested in its prolific research programs will reap insurmountable benefits for the world and humanity in general, the people who condemn NASA and its so-called good for nothing activities have a strong contention that that the profusion of funds that NASA uses are neither worth it nor serviceable for mankind. In this research paper we try to analyse both sides of the argument and try to reach a conclusion as to why the US government should work to dilate the funding of NASA programs, and what should be the role of NASA administration in this regard. NASA AND ITS PROJECT HISTORY In the period starting from 1958 till 2008, the total spending on NASA has been $471.23 billion dollars, which makes an average of $9.06 billion per year. NASA's budget for FY 2008 sums up to $17.318 billion, which is almost 0.6% of the $2.9 trillion United States federal budget for the year, and almost about 35% total academic scientific research spending in the United States. These figures might look huge but the point of consideration is that they have enabled NASA to provide humanity with some emphatic developments and research successes. The most prominent discoveries and developments of NASA are the Pioneer 10, Voyager 1 and 2, Hubble Telescope, Space Shuttle Program, Apollo 13, Mars Pathfinder, and Moon Landing. These benchmarks have proved that the funding provided to the agency was fully utilized for productive purposes. These days there is a contention about whether NASA would be able to carry out on its latest Constellation Program that aims at retiring the space shuttle this year, replacing it Orion (capsule- based vehicles), and luner landers and Space Launch System, etc. But all these prospects rest on the simple debate that whether the amount being spent in this area is really worth it, especially when American debt is making life tougher for the Finance Ministry day in and day out. THE DARK SIDE OF NASA OPERATIONS: It is a known fact that most of NASA’s projects face huge research flaws and take a lot of effort and financial input to rectify those flaws. For example, the Space Launch system that is currently being worked on has billion dollars and still, there are massive security and sustainability issues popping up that place doubts in the minds of the government as to whether the mission would remain viable or not. Another major loss incurred by NASA was the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999 in which $327.6 million was invested for the orbiter and Lander and $193.1 million was invested for spacecraft development. Also, $91.7 mi llion and $42.8 million were incurred in launching the mission and operating the activities respectively. This shows that the NASA operations and research efforts, no matter how object oriented they are, always carry huge risks that could not be averted at any cost. This, however, can only be considered an overgeneralization because the success rate of some of NASA’s operations is very high. For example, NASA’s launch service program enjoys 98% success rate that is unparalleled. Similarly, the ULA, United Launch Alliance, has made 50 Delta II launches with 100% success rate completing a wide array of exceptionally imperative science missions. Also with the long list of accomplishments like those mentioned above,

Panopticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Panopticism - Essay Example Panopticon made discipline more economical and efficient compared to other forms of discipline and further represented power and control due to minimal human operations associated with it. No prisoner would realize that they were being watched from the tower (Foucault 195-200). The panopticon could be operated by anybody and would be used in very many places apart from prison cells. Key words; power, discipline, panopticon, disciplinary It is undeniable that the world would be a better claim when power and discipline is applied in effective gaining of control; this is because panopticon is used to represent discipline and power and further transformation of disciplinary techniques. Concept of panopticism is very evident in the current society where there is devolvement of power and administration services. For instance, a strict spatial partitioning and dividing the town into distinct quarters and every quarter governed by an intendant was the order of the day. Every street was put u nder control of a syndic who would keep it under strict surveillance in such a way that if he left the city he would be convicted to death. Everyone was ordered to stay within and the syndic would lock all the doors from outside before handing over keys to the intendant because no one was allowed to leave on death pain. Just like the panopticim, there are several divisions of administration put in place to reach the citizens at the grassroots level. A federal government for example, has some of its powers transferred to the states and even further in smaller divisions. There is one central power with several branches that everyone looks up to. Idea of plague has been used as a base of creating discipline just like other criminal acts such as terrorism in the current society. Disciplinary mechanism was introduced by the fear of the plague and this act as the origin of all the modern punishment. Visibility from the Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon tower is used as a trap. It was pos sible to see every individual including a schoolboy or prisoner being incarcerated but the victims could not communicate with each other. Terrorism is considered as one of the major crimes in the current society and the government has therefore created some divisions such as Afghanistan as some of the hot spots. Sentences related to terrorism are very severe thus causing fear amongst the public. Communication sector is being manipulated just to ensure minimal terror by scrutinizing any form of communication or money transfers. Just like in panopticism, the crowd was put away from this and the tower brought a sense of visibility that represented a functioning authority. Power is believed to be visible though unverifiable as a prisoner would always see the tower but remains ignorant about where is watched or observed. Panopticism concept can be compared with the current Intelligence and correctional facilities used in testing behaviors and capturing criminals. Panopticon is grounded o n the royal zoo at Versailles as it allows to do the work of naturalist and also acts as a laboratory of power. It is laboratory of power because it provides a base in which prisoners and staffs are tested. It is also apparent that the plague afflicted town and the tower depicts change of disciplinary program. FBI has the responsibility of putting suspects on the radar and testing their behaviors or monitoring their behaviors before capturing them. this is a common activity carried out particularly while pursuing terrorists. Panopticism symbolizes the wider police force employed at various stations across the country to maintain law and order in the modern world.The tower