Love and Death in Catcher In the Rye Essays - Literary Realism

Love and Death in Catcher In the Rye JJ Toms English 2 Mrs. Mack April 8, 2014 Love and Death in Catcher in the Rye In this article written by Peter Shaw, Holden Caulfield a fictional character in the world famous novel The Catcher in the Rye gets deeply analyzed. Holden is seen by many as a mentally disturbed adolescent but the source of this disturbance puzzles numerous people who attempt to analyze his mental state. Some believe that society has caused him to become mad and others believe that the source of his insanity stems from a commonly known illness, schizophrenia. Shaw on the other hand has a completely different view on why Holden is the way he is. In Peter Shaws eyes, he sees the guilt that Holden carries from the death of his older brother Allie who died at the age of 10. He also observes that Holden suppresses his ability to fully mature and he also is a slave to the curse of adolescence that we all have experienced at one time or another. Holden Caulfield does not allow himself to move on from his brothers death and continuously carries an unneeded burden of the fault of his siblings passing. Shaw explains that Holdens constant self talking lets him convince himself that he is in fact crazy and the cause of the destruction in his family. Along with blaming himself, he also blames his little sister and says that she also killed Allie even though the child was merely a baby at the time. This form of killed though was not literal but in a figurative meaning of her amusing Allie. Peter Shaw concludes that his inability to not bury Allie and other things from his past has paralyzed him from the maturing process that any normal child would be experiencing. His mourning is continuous and does not allow him to recognize reality from fantasy thus permitting himself to coax the auto diagnosis of craziness. Peter Shaw elucidates the fact that Holden has a habit of prohibiting the idea of both love and death. When he first goes to the Museum of Natural History he is engrossed in the dioramas of American Indian life. The diorama portrays a couple as he assumes doing their daily works of fishing and weaving and seems to be in complete harmony. None of the exhibits especially this one will ever age of change and the serenity of the image are eternal which gives him a sense of relief. The comparison of this Utopian couple and the exact opposite, Holdens own parents, offsets him and causes him to envision the nonstop fighting that occurs in his home. The Indian couple will never change and never have to move from the spot that they stand in at that moment. Peter Shaw relates this to Holdens idea of maturity and how the burden of becoming an adult can disrupt the serenity of the love that is in front of him which causes him to put a permanent moratorium on love. Holden has a fantasy of being the catcher in the rye. This fantasy is the protector of children who are running throughout the rye fields and are destined to fall off the cliff. Shaw examines this as him catching the children from falling off the cliff which can be perceived as them falling into adulthood and out of their childhood. He wants to catch them from falling into mourning and from what shortly follows that, falling into love. Holden truly believes that adulthood is the key to eternal damnation and unhappiness and the only way to sustain the happiness at hand is to maintain the childhood. When he visits the second museum he finds himself in an exhibit that holds many mummies. Holden experiences a short of ease and a comfort in this room because just like the other, everything will always stay the same. Peter Shaw then concludes that this comfort can also be accompanied by the desire for Allie to be preserved in the room with him, never changing and entitled to an everlasting adolescence. Peter Shaw examines Holdens character as both very observant of the society around him but at the same time has a fallacious judgment from the

Free Essays on Wiermar Republic

Free Thought in the Weimar Republic From Artists to Industrialists, many Germanys were being mistreated because they were â€Å"degenerates.† First, to define a degenerate in the time period, one would find that a person was a degenerate if they did not fit into the social norm. The growing Nationalist parties had set this norm to increase pride in the German Country, the Fatherland. One can find many types of German people who suffered from this attack on humanism and art. Some of these degenerates were people who had serious doubts about the Weimar Republic. They saw the flaws in how the country was running and brought their visions to the public eye so the problem could be averted or fixed. So was the life of an artist named Otto Dix. Dix, a painter who fought in World War One, hated the war. After being exposed to the atrocities of war he wanted the population to remember Germany’s treatment and the hell of war. Germany was subjected to a naval blockade even after signing an armistice. The blockade starved much of Germany. Dix believed there was nothing good in war. This belief is what labeled him a degenerate, and made rightist leaders such as Hitler hate him. Leaving the military, he began experimenting in Expressionism. Expressionist painting in its ideal is abstract, ignoring the surface and reveal the hidden truth of something. An expressionist exclaimed: â€Å"We believe that our first duty is to dedicate all our energies to the moral regeneration of a young free Germany. We plead for excellence in all things†¦ We insist upon unlimited freedom of expression†¦.† The â€Å"New† Germany had no room for such individuality or hate of war. Dix painted several works portraying skulls, prostitutes, starving children, and the carnage of the war. He used his art as a political lever to change people’s minds about war but instead of being the best thing a country can do, he showed it as the worst. Dix’s works were viewed a... Free Essays on Wiermar Republic Free Essays on Wiermar Republic Free Thought in the Weimar Republic From Artists to Industrialists, many Germanys were being mistreated because they were â€Å"degenerates.† First, to define a degenerate in the time period, one would find that a person was a degenerate if they did not fit into the social norm. The growing Nationalist parties had set this norm to increase pride in the German Country, the Fatherland. One can find many types of German people who suffered from this attack on humanism and art. Some of these degenerates were people who had serious doubts about the Weimar Republic. They saw the flaws in how the country was running and brought their visions to the public eye so the problem could be averted or fixed. So was the life of an artist named Otto Dix. Dix, a painter who fought in World War One, hated the war. After being exposed to the atrocities of war he wanted the population to remember Germany’s treatment and the hell of war. Germany was subjected to a naval blockade even after signing an armistice. The blockade starved much of Germany. Dix believed there was nothing good in war. This belief is what labeled him a degenerate, and made rightist leaders such as Hitler hate him. Leaving the military, he began experimenting in Expressionism. Expressionist painting in its ideal is abstract, ignoring the surface and reveal the hidden truth of something. An expressionist exclaimed: â€Å"We believe that our first duty is to dedicate all our energies to the moral regeneration of a young free Germany. We plead for excellence in all things†¦ We insist upon unlimited freedom of expression†¦.† The â€Å"New† Germany had no room for such individuality or hate of war. Dix painted several works portraying skulls, prostitutes, starving children, and the carnage of the war. He used his art as a political lever to change people’s minds about war but instead of being the best thing a country can do, he showed it as the worst. Dix’s works were viewed a...

Atomic

Atomic Essay BombThen a tremendous flash of light cut across the sky . Mr. Tanimotohas a distinct recollection that it traveled from east to west, from the citytoward the hills. It seemed like a sheet of sun. à John Hersey, fromHiroshima, pp.8 On August 6, 1945, the world changed forever. On that day theUnited States of America detonated an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Never before had mankind seen anything like. Here was something that wasslightly bigger than an ordinary bomb, yet could cause infinitely moredestruction. It could rip through walls and tear down houses like the devilswrecking ball. In Hiroshima it killed 100,000 people, most non-militarycivilians. Three days later in Nagasaki it killed roughly 40,000 . The immediateeffects of these bombings were simple. The Japanese government surrendered,unconditionally, to the United States. The rest of the world rejoiced as themost destructive war in the history of mankind came to an end . All while thesurvivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki tried to piece together what was left oftheir lives, families and homes. Over the course of the next forty years, thesetwo bombings, and the nuclear arms race that followed them, would come to have adirect or indirect effect on almost every man, woman and child on this Earth,including people in the United States. The atomic bomb would penetrate everyfabric of Ame rican existence. From our politics to our educational system. Ourindustry and our art. Historians have gone so far as to call this period in ourhistory the Ã’atomic ageÓ for the way it has shaped and guided worldpolitics, relations and culture. The entire history behind the bomb itself isrooted in Twentieth Century physics. At the time of the bombing the science ofphysics had been undergoing a revolution for the past thirty-odd years. Scientists now had a clear picture of what the atomic world was like. They newthe structure and particle makeup of atoms, as well as how they behaved. Duringthe 1930Õs it became apparent that there was a immense amount of energythat would be released atoms of Gioielli 2certain elements were split, or takenapart. Scientists began to realize that if harnessed, this energy could besomething of a magnitude not before seen to human eyes. They also saw that thisenergy could possibly be harnessed into a weapon of amazing power. And with theadvent of World War Two, this became an ever increasing concern. In the earlyfall of 1939, the same time that the Germans invaded Poland, President Rooseveltreceived a letter from Albert Einstein, informing him about the certainpossibilities of creating a controlled nuclear chain reaction, and thatharnessing such a reaction could produce a bomb of formidable strength. Hewrote: This new phenomena would lead also lead to the construction of bombs, andit is conceivable, though much less certain-that extremely powerful bombs of anew type may thus be constructed (Clark 556-557).The letter goes on to encouragethe president to increase government and military involvement in suchexperiments, and to encourage the experimental work of the scientists with theallocation of funds, facilities and equipment that might be necessary. Thisletter ultimately led to the Manhattan Project, the effort that involvedbillions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to produce the atomic bomb. During the time after the war, until just recently the American psyche has beenbranded with the threat of a nuclear holocaust. Here was something so powerful,yet so diminutive. A bomb that could obliterate our nations capital, and thatwas as big as somebodies backyard grill. For the first time in the history ofhuman existence here was something capable of wiping us off the face of theEarth. And most people had no control over that destiny. It seemed like peopleslives, the life of everything on this planet, was resting in the hands of acouple men in Northern Virginia and some guys over in Russia. The atomic bomband the amazing power it held over us had a tremendous influence on AmericanCulture, including a profound effect on American Literature. After the war, thefirst real piece of literature about the bombings came in 1946. The workHiroshima, by Jon Hersey, from which the opening quote is taken, first appearedas a long article in the New Yorker, then shortly after in book form. The bookis a non-fiction account of the bombing of Hiroshima and the immediateaftermath. It is told from the point-of-view of six hibakusha, or Ã’survivorsÓof the atomic blast. In four chapters Hersey traces how the these peoplesurvived the blast, and what they did in following weeks and months to pulltheir lives together Gioielli 3and save their families. The book takes on a toneof sympathy and of miraculous survival à that these people were luckyenough to survive the blast. He focuses not on the suffering of the victims buton their courage (Stone, 7). The following passage from the first chapter showsthis:A hundred thousand people were killed by the bomb, and these six were amongthe survivors. They still wonder why they lived when so many others died. Eachof the counts many small items of chance or volitionà a step taken in time,a decision to go indoors, catching one streetcar instead of the nextà thatspared him. And each that in the act of survival he lived a dozen lives and sawmore death than he ever thought he would see. At the time, none of them knewanything (4). Hersey was attempting to chronicle what had happened at Hiroshima,and to do so fairly. And in emphasizing the survival instead of the suffering hedoes not make his book anti-American or something that condemns the dropping ofthe bomb. He simply gives these peoples accounts of how they survived in a tonethat is more journalistic than sensationalistic. The book empathizes with theirplight while it also gives an American explanation for the bombing (Stone, 7). That it was an act of war to end the war as quickly and as easily as possible,and to save more lives in the long run. Hersey did all this to provide what heconsidered an evenhanded portrayal of the event, but he also did not want tocause much controversy. Although it could be criticized for not giving a moredetailed account of the suffering that occurred, and that it reads more like ahistory book than a piece of literature, HerseyÕs book was the first ofits kind when it was published. Up until then all accounts of the Hiroshimabombing writings about it took the slant that Japanese had Ã’deserved whatwe had given themÓ, and that we were good people for doing so. Theseaccounts were extremely prejudicial and racist. (Stone, 4) Hersey was the firstto take the point of view of those who had actually experienced the event. Andhis work was the transition between works that glorified thedropping of theatomic bomb, to those that focused on its amazing destructive powers, and whatth ey could do to our world. During the period immediately after the war, notmuch information was available to general public concerning what kind ofdestruction the atomic bombs had actually caused in Japan. But starting withHerseyÕs book and continuing with other non-fiction works, such as DavidBradleys No Place To Hide, which concerned the Bikini Island nuclear tests,Americans really began to get a picture of the awesome power and destructivenessof nuclear weapons. They saw that these really Gioielli 4were doomsday devices. Weapons that could change everything in an instant, and turn things into nothingin a moment. It was this realization that had a startling effect on Americanculture and literature. Some Americans began to say Ã’At any time we couldall be shadows in the blast wave, so whatÕs the point?Ó. Thisviewpoint manifested itself in literature in something called the Ã’apocalyptictemperÓ; an attitude or a tone dealing with a forthcoming end to theworld. Also, many people, because of this realization of our impending death,were beginning to say that maybe their was something inherently wrong with allof this. That nuclear weapons are dangerous to everyone, no matter what yourpolitical views or where you live, and that we should do away with all of them. They have no value to society and should be destroyed. This apocalyptic temperand social activism was effected greatly in the early Sixties by the CubanMissile Crisis. When Americans saw, on television, that they could be undernuclear attack in under twenty minutes, a new anxiety about the cold warsurfaced that had not been present since the days of McCarthy. And this newanxiety was evidenced in works that took on a much more satirical tone. And oneof the works that shows this satiric apocalyptic temper and cynicism is KurtVonneguts Cats Cradle. Vonnegut, considered by many to be one of Americasforemost living authors, was himself a veteran of World War Two. He, as aprisoner of war, was one of the few survivors of the fire-bombing of Dresden. InDresden he saw what many believe was a more horrible tragedy than Hiroshima. Theallied bombs destroyed the entire city and killed as many people, if not more,than were killed in Hiroshima. He would eventually write about this experiencein the semi-autobiographical Slaughterhouse-Five. This novel, like Cats Cradle,takes a very strong anti-war stance. But along with being an Anti-war book, CatsCradle is an excellent satire of the Atomic Age. It is essentially the story ofone man, an author by the name of John (or Jonah) and the research he is doingfor a book on the day the bomb exploded in Hiroshima. This involves him withmembers of the Dr. Felix Hoenikker familyà the genius who helped build thebombà and their adventures. In the book Vonnegut paints an imaginary worldwhere things might not seem to make any Gioielli 5sense. But there is in fact anamazing amount of symbolism, as well as satire. Dr. Hoenikker is an extremelyeccentric scientist who spends most of his time in the lab at his company. He isinterested in very few things, his children not among them. His children arealmost afraid of him. One of the few times he does try to play with his childrenis when he tries to teach the game of cats cradle to his youngest s on, Newt. READ: The Harrapan Civilization EssayWhen he is trying to show newt the game Newt gets very confused. In the book,this is what Newt remembered of the incident:Ã’And then he sang, ÔRockabyecatsy, in the tree topÕ;he sang, Ô when the wind blows, the cray-dullwill fall. Down will come cray-dull, catsy and all.Õ Ã’I burst intotears. I jumped up and ran out of the house as fast as I could.Ó(18)WhatNewt doesnÕt remember is what he said to his Father. Later in the book wefind this out from Newts sister, Angela that newt jumped of his fatherÕslap screaming Ã’ No cat! No cradle! No cat! No cradle!Ó(53) With thisscene, Vonnegut is trying to show a couple of things. Dr. Hoenikker symbolizesall the scientists who created the atomic bomb. And the cats cradle is the worldand all of humankind combined. Dr. Hoenikker is simply playing, like he has allhis life, that game just happens to involve the fate of the rest of the world. And little Newt, having a childs un-blinded perception, doesnÕt understandthe game. He doesnÕt see a cat or a cradle. Like all the gamesDr.Hoenikker plays, including the ones with nuclear weapons, this one ismislabeled. This is just one of the many episodes in the book that characterizesDr. Hoenikker as a player of games. He recognizes this in himself when he giveshis Nobel Prize speech:I stand before you now because I never stopped dawdlinglike an eight year on a spring morning on his way to school. Anything can makeme stop and wonder, and sometimes learn (17). And the Doctors farewell to theworld is a game he has played, with himself. One day a Marine General asked himif he could make something that would eliminate mud, so that marines wouldnÕthave to deal with mud anymore. So Dr. Hoenikker thinks up ice-nine, an imaginarysubstance that when it comes in contact with any other kind of water, itcrystallizes it. And this crystallization spreads to all the water moleculesth is piece of water is in contact with. So to crystallize the mud in an entirearmed division of marines, it would only take a minuscule amount of ice-nine. Dr. Gioielli 6Hoenikkers colleagues see this as just another example of hisimagination at work. But he actually does create a small chink of ice-nine, andwhen he dies, each of his children get a small piece of it. They carry it aroundwith themselves in thermos containers the rest of their lives. At the end ofbook one small piece of ice-nine gets out , by mere accident, and ends upcrystallizing the whole world. The game Dr. Hoenikker was playing with himselfdestroyed the whole world. The accident that caused the ice-nine to get outcould be much like the accident that could cause World War III. One small thingthat sets off an amazing series of events, like piece of ice-nine just fallingout of the thermos. And Dr. Hoenikker, like the scientists of the world, wasplaying game and caused it all. Here is a description of the world after theice-nine has wreaked its havoc:There were no smells. There was no movement. Every step I took made a gravelly squeak in blue-white frost. And every squeakwas echoed loudly. The season of locking was over. The Earth was locked up tight(179).This description eerily resembles what many have said the Earth will looklike during a nuclear winter (Stone, 62). In addition to Dr. Hoenikker and hisdoomsday games, Vonnegut provides an interesting analysis of atomic age societywith the Bokonon religion. This religion, completely made up by Vonnegut andused in this novel, is the religion of every single inhabitant of San Lorenzo,the books imaginary banana republic. This is the island where Jonah eventuallyends up, and where the ice-nine holocaust originates. (It also, being aCaribbean nation, strangely resembles Cuba.) Bokonon is a strange religion. Itwas created by one of the leaders of San Lorenzo, a long time ago. Essentially,Bokonon is the only hope for all inhabitants of San Lorenzo. Their existence onthe island is so horrible that they have to find harmony with som ething. Bokononism gives them that. It is based on untruths, to give San Lorenzans asense of security, since the truth provides none. This concept can be summed upin this Bokononist quotation: Ã’Live by thefoma* that makes you brave andkind and healthy and happy. *Harmless untruths (4)Ó The inhabitants of SanLorenzo do not care what is going on in their real lives because they have thefoma of Bokonon to keep them secure and happy. And Vonnegut is trying to saythat is what is happening to the rest of us. Americans, and the rest of theworld for that matter, have this false sense of security that we are safe andsecure. That in our homes in Indiana with our dogs and Gioielli 7our lawnmowers,we think we are invincible. Everything will be okay because we are protected byare government. This is the foma of real life, because we are trying to denywhat is really going on. WeÕre in imminent danger of being annihilated atany second, but to deny this very real danger we are creating a false w orld sothat we may live in peace, however false that sense of peace may be. Throughoutthe entire novel Vonnegut gives little snippets of Ã’calypsosÓ :Bokonon proverbs written by Bokonon. Verse like:I wanted all things To seem tomake some sense,So we could all be happy, yes,Instead of tense.And I made upliesSo that they all fit niceAnd made this sad worldA par-a-dise (90).Thiscalypso expresses the purpose of Bokonon and why it, with its harmless untruths,exists. The following one is about the outlawing of Bokonon. To make thereligion more appealing to the people, the leaders had it banned, with itspractice punishable by death. They hoped that a renegade religion with a rebelleader would appeal to the people more.So I said good-bye to government,and Igave my reason:That a really good religionIs a form of treason (118)Thesecalypsos, and the rest of the book, express the points Vonnegut in a moreabstract , symbolic manner. They only add to the impact of the books messageexpressin g it in a very short, satirical way. The black humor used when talkingabout the end of the worldà the nuclear endà was pioneered by Vonnegut. But what many consider to be the the climax of this pop culture phenomena isStanley Kubricks movie, Dr. Strangelove(Stone 69). Subtitled Or How I learnedto Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb , this movie was Kubricks viewpoint on howmad the entire Cold War and arms race had become. Based a little known book byEnglish science fiction writer Peter George, Red Alert, the movie is about howone maverick Air Force general, who is obviously suffering a severe mentalillness, concocts a plan to save the world from the Gioielli 8Communists. Hemanages to order the strategic bombers under his command to proceed to theirtargets in the Soviet Union. They all believe it is World War Three, and theGeneral, Jack Ripper, is the only one that can call the planes back. Kubrickscharacters: Dr. Strangelove, President Mertin Muffley, Premier Kissof andothers, go through a series a misadventures to try and turn the planes around. READ: Human Sexuality EssayBut the one, plane piloted by Major Ã’KingÓ Kong, does get through,and it drops its bombload. This is where Kubrick tries to show the futility ofeverything. The governments of both the worlds superpowers have thousands ofsafeguards and security precautions for their nuclear weapons. But one manmanages to get a nuclear warhead to be hit its target. And this warhead hits theÃ’Doomsday DeviceÓ. The Doomsday device is the ultimate deterrent,because if you try to disarm it it will go off. It has the capability to destroyevery living human and animal on Earth, and it does So it is all pointless. Wehave these weapons, and no matter how hard we try to control them everyone stilldies. And so to make ourselves feel better about all this impending doom,Kubrick, like Vonnegut, satirizes the entire system. By making such moroniccharacters, like the wimpish President Mertin Muffley, Kubrick is saying,similar to Vonnegut with Dr. Hoenikker, that we are ev en worse off because theseweapons are controlled by people that are almost buffoonish and childish. General Ripper, the man who causes the end of the world, is a portrait of aMcCarthy era paranoid gone mad. He thinks the communists are infiltrating andtrying to destroy are country. And he says the most heinous communist plotagainst democracy is fluoridation of water:Like I was saying, Group Captain,fluoridation of water is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communistplot we have ever had to face . . . They pollute our precious bodily fluids!(George 97)And General Rippers personal prevention of the contamination of hisbodily fluids is equally perplexing. He drinks only Ã’ . . . distilledwater, or rain water, and only grain alcohol . . .Ó Kubrick uses this kindof absurd reasoning in his movie to show the absurd reasoning behind nuclearweapons. Both him and Vonnegut were part of the satirical side of theapocalyptic temper in the early Sixties. They laughed at our governments, ourleaders, the Cold War and the arms race, and tried to show how stupid it allreally was. Bu t as time moved on, the writers, and the entire country, startedto take a less narrow minded view of things. The counterculture of the Gioielli9sixties prompted people to take a closer look at themselves. As thinkers,teachers, lovers, parents, friends and human beings. And people concerned withnuclear weapons started to see things in a broader context as well. Nuclearweapons were something that affected our whole consciousness. The way we grewup, our relationships with others and what we did with our lives. One of theauthors who put this new perspective on things was the activist, social thinkerand poet Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg first made a name for himself in the 1950Õsas one of the foremost of the Beat writers. The Beats in the Fifties were aforerunner of the more widespread counterculture of the late Sixties and earlySeventies. And Ginsberg evolved into this. He became a devoted leader in thecounterculture, who set many precedents for the Hippie generation. He lived invarious communes, delved deeply into eastern religions and experimented withnumerous hallucinogenic drugs. In the earlier part of his life Ginsberg had beena rebel against society. He was still a rebel but now he was taking the form ofactivist. By the Seventies he was involved in many causes that promoted peaceand world harmony. What separated Ginsberg from other activists is that he wasone of the first and original members of many of these movements. Now he was thefather figure to many in the non-mainstream world. While teaching at his schoolof poetry in Naropa, Colorado, Ginsberg became involved in protests against thenearby Rock Flats Nuclear Weapons Factory. During the Summer of 1978 he wasarrested for preventing a shipment nuclear waste from reaching its destinationand for numerous other protests against the facility (Miles 474). From theseexperiences came two poems Ã’Nagasaki DaysÓ and Ã’ Plutonium OdeÓ. Both these poems exhibit Ginsbergs more mature style of writing (Miles 475). The poems are more scholarly, containing many mythological and religiousallusions. But both these characteristics show how post war apocalypticliterature had evolved. By the Seventies many writers, instead of taking thedefeatist, satirical view like Vonnegut, were beginning to take a make activiststandpoint, like Ginsberg. Apocalyptic literature also took on a more mature,scholarly tone, and was more worldly and had a broader viewpoint. This stanzafrom Ã’Nagasaki DaysÓ shows how Ginsberg is putting nuclear weaponsinto the context of the universal:2,000,000 killed in Vietnam13,000,000 refugeesin Indochina 200,000,000 years for the Galaxy to revolve on its core 24,000 theBabylonian great year24,000 half life of plutoniumGioielli 102,000 the most Iever got for a poetry reading80,000 dolphins killed in the dragnet4,000,000,000years earth been born (701)The half life of plutonium is brought together withdolphins and Indochinese refugees. Also, Ginsberg makes a reference to theBabyl onian great year, which coincides with the half life of plutonium. Thiscosmic link intrigued Ginsberg immensely. That fact alone inspired him to rightÃ’Plutonium OdeÓ. The whole poem expands on this connection toplutonium as a living part of our universe, albeit a very dangerous one. Here hementions the Great Year:Before the Year began turning its twelve signs, ereconstellations wheeled for twenty-four thousand sunny yearsslowly round theiraxis in Sagittarius, one hundred sixty-seven thousand times returning to thisnight. (702) Ginsberg is also relating the great year, and the half life ofplutonium, to the life of the Earth. The life of the Earth is approximately fourbillion years, which is 24,000 times 167,000 (Ginsberg 796) In Ã’PlutoniumOdeÓ, Ginsberg talks to plutonium. By establishing a dialogue he gives theplutonium almost human characteristics. It is something, and is near us everyday, and is deadly. In this passage he is asking how long before it kills usall:I enter your secret places with my mind, I speak with your presence, I roamyour lion roar with mortal mouth.One microgram inspired to one lung, ten poundsof heavy metal dust, adrift slowly motion over gray Alpsthe breadth of theplanet, how long before your radiance speeds blight and death to sentientbeings. (703) In putting his nuclear fears and worries on the table, and sayingthat these things have pertinence to us because they affect how we live ourlives and the entire the universe, Ginsberg is showing how intrigued he is withplutonium in this poem. By the time Ginsberg was publishing these poems in late1978, post war literature had evolved immensely. At first people had no ideaabout the bomb and its capabilities. Then, as more information came out aboutwhat the bomb could do, they began to began to start to live in real fear ofnuclear weapons. The power of it, a creation by man that could destroy theworld, that was terrifying. Then some artists and writers began to see theabsurdity of it all. They saw that we were under control by people we did not,or should not, trust, and were a constant state of nuclear Gioielli 11fear. Sothey satirized the system unmercifully, and were very apocalyptic in their tone. But then things evolved from these narrow minded viewpoints, and people began toenvision nuclear weapons in the context of our world and our lives. The atomicbomb and nuclear proliferation affected all facets of our lifestyle, includingwhat we read. Literature is a reflection of a countryÕs culture andfeelings. And literature affected Americans curiosity, horror, anxiety, cynicismand hope concerning nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons raised questions that noone had dare ever asked before, and had given them answers that they were afraidto hear. They have made us think about our place in the universe, and what itall means. BibliographyBartter, Martha A. The Way to Ground Zero. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. Dewey, Joseph. In a Dark Time. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1990.Dr. Strangelove. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. With Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and SlimPickens. Highland Films Ltd., 1966.(This is a novelization of the movie. Allqoutations from the movie were transribed form this book) Einstein, Albert. Ã’SirÓ (a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt) Einstein: TheLife and Times. Ronald W. Clark. New York: World Publishing, 1971. 556-557.George, Peter. Dr. Strangelove. Boston: Gregg Press, 1979.Ginsberg,Allen. Ã’Nagasaki DaysÓ and Ã’Plutonium Ode.Ó CollectedPoems: 1947à 1980. Ed. Allen Ginsberg. New York: Harper and Row, 1984. 699-705. Gleick, James. Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman. NewYork :Vintage Books, 1992.Hersey, John. Hiroshima. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,1985.Miles, Barry. Ginsberg: A Biography. New York: Harper Perennial,1989.Stone, Albert E. Literary Aftershocks: American Writers, Readers and theBomb. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994.Vonnegut, Kurt. CatÕs Cradle. NewYork:Dell, 1963.

U4IP Building an Organization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U4IP Building an Organization - Research Paper Example How to build a diverse culture accommodating highly creative technical staff In order to create a culture of diversity, the management has to ensure that, the working environment is resourceful. This means that all employees have equal value in the organization and they have a feeling of appreciation. The management should ensure that employees are well conversant with the mission, vision, objectives and core values of the company. This will enable the team to focus on the company’s strategies hence putting extra effort and creativity in their work for goal achievement. Recognition of employee through appreciation, promotion and benefits are the motivating factors that can challenge weak employees to improve (Madden, 2003). In addition, the firm should source employees from diverse geographical areas regardless of race, religion or background. This will ensure a combination of skills, ideas and creativity from all backgrounds leading to overall success of the organization. The management being the role models of culture diversity should share their skills, competence and knowledge with the employees. This will ensure that the employees uphold and maintain the culture in all levels of operation. How the success of the organizational design in structure and culture will be measured The success of the organization can be measured in various ways. Both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in determining whether the organizational culture and design structure is successful. The number of customers using the services in a day, week, month or yearly can be used to measure the success of organizational design. The higher the number of customers using the services means the organizational design operating well and fit. On the other hand, if there are few customers attending the firm and using the services and products, it means the design is unsuccessful. Therefore, the management should come up with a new design that will attract and meet customersâ €™ needs. Additionally, an organizational design that is easy to operate and that employee enjoy working with means it is good since workers have accepted it. The management can decide to carry out an interview both internally and externally. This would involve the quality of services and products offered by the company, the design and structure the company is using and the characters of employees. Response to these questions will answer whether the organization is operating well or not. Comparison with other firms in the same line is another way that can be used to measure success of design and culture. A company that has a culture of diversity and is well structurally designed is famous than a company that is poorly structured. How to build teams across a geographically diverse organization Since the company took a global strategy, there is a need to come up with a clear way of managing the entire organization regardless of the geographical location. A Geographical Dispersed T eam (GDT) that has a common objective and goal to the organization should be formed (Madden, 2003). The team members should have trust and proper communication channel to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the company. The team should be composed of competent and qualified personnel. These groups

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Research Methods - Essay Example This would enable profiling the stress factor among the various groups. Since the impact of stress levels on family life and health is being studied, the employees with more than 3 years of work experience would ideally be considered for the interview. Those from both government and private organizations will be included in the interviews. This makes the sample representative (Ejaz et al., 2008). Since the respondents are busy, they would be approached after the office hours and their appointment would be obtained keeping their convenience in mind (The Wallace Foundation Knowledge Center, 2013). An orientation regarding the subject, time requirements and general outline of the questions will also be given to the respondent, prior to getting their consent for the interview. This drives away the fear of unknown from the respondent and also helps in establishing a rapport with the interviewee (Megafon, 2013). The purpose and idea will be explained and confidentiality of data would be assured to them. This step would ensure honesty of responses. Their permission would be sought to record the interview (Crawford, 1997). The topic of study is sensitive. So, the respondents will be interviewed individually, outside their office premises. 5. Have you ever experienced any of these problems recently: memory problems, anxiety, inability to concentrate, loneliness, depression, dizziness, mood swings, short-temper, insomnia, lack of interest in food, overeating, unexplained aches and pains? The Wallace Foundation- Knowledge Center (2013). In-depth Interviews. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/after-school/collecting-and-using-data/Documents/Workbook-E-Indepth-Interviews.pdf. [Last Accessed 26 February

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom -- Wedding Toasts R

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - I am the groom's father, Ken, and I have the great privilege of being best man. I have recently found out there are two reasons why J W asked me to do this job. 1) To make him look younger and slimmer in the photos. 2) Because he didn't want to burden any of his friends with the terrible prospect of having to give this speech. It's the speech that no one wants to do. The best man doesn't really know what he's expected to say and yet his speech is supposed to be humorous - but it might not be. It's supposed to be short - but it probably won't be. It should be original - but it seldom is. It should not offend - and most do. And finally, it's supposed to be sincere and I certainly intend mine to be. In fact, I cannot be more sincere than to say to my son what an honor you have done to me by asking me to be your best man today. That said, while you are all here to enjoy yourselves, the poor best man has to work for his supper - not that he is able to enjoy his food for the thought of making that speech. He is so nervous he can hardly eat his meal. J W, seeing how nervous I was, arranged for me to have the best seat in the house - namely cubicle 3 in the Gent's toilet. There's even a sign behind the door which reads 'the best man inspects these toilets at 15-minute intervals. If you have any complaints please report it ... ...come so fond of Kathy and we looked upon her as a daughter that we had gained. I can but wish the new Mr and Mrs Wilson every success in the future. As I said at the start I'm not very sure what a best man is supposed to say in his speech. I do know he really has only one thing he must cover and that is to say to the groom 'J W, on behalf of the matron of honour and the bridesmaids thank you very much for all that you said. I can only but agree with your comments. I would like to finish my speech by making a toast to the two most important persons here today - Ladies and gentlemen - a toast to the Chef and the Barman. Thank you. Only kidding, the toast is to J W and Kathy - the Bride and Groom.

Evaluation of a multiprofessional community stroke team Essay

The study aims to conclusively evaluate how effective it is to employ a specialist community stroke team for the rehabilitation of stroke victims in a community based setting. This is clearly established at within the opening lines of the article. In the summary at the beginning of the article the author claims that the available evidence is inconclusive and his aim is to provide conclusive proof with regards to evidence based practise for the patient. A research article should state its’ aims clearly and should assume the audience has no previous background knowledge (Greenhalg, 2006). The literature reviewed in this article was from a variety of sources such as the Cochrane database and a selection of journal articles. On this basis the authors were able to deduce that previous research carried out provided contradicting reports. For example Roderick et al (2001) as cited by Lincoln et al (2004) found no significant difference in the effectiveness of rehabilitation which had taken place in the home to that which had occurred in a hospital setting. On the contrary Gladman et al (1993) as cited by Lincoln et al (2004) found a significant difference in a small group of younger patients. It was also suggested that there was a shift of focus from mainly hospital based rehabilitation to community based rehabilitation of stroke patients. According to Polger and Thomas (2008) a literature review should provide appropriate background information. That is, it should show the current knowledge level in that area of study. The author appears to have utilised much of his own previous work in the study and some are more than ten years old. This could possibly be an indication that indeed, there is a large gap in knowledge of this subject area. On the other hand it may indicate that the author has done a selective search of the literature. A quantitative approach was utilised in this study and the method used was a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). The articles’ methodology was well documented. According to Sim and Wright (2000) an analytic study attempts to quantify the relationship between two factors, that is, the effect of an intervention or exposure on an outcome. A term used to describe the design randomized controlled trial according to Greenhalgh (2006) is Parallel group comparison. This is when each group receives a different treatment and both are entered into the experiment at the same time. By comparing the groups an analysis is provided. In the Lincoln et al (2004) study Participants were divided into two groups, A and B with the former receiving routine care while the latter received the intervention – rehabilitation with the multi-professional community stroke team. The question posed by the authors could have been answered using a qualitative approach. The question could possible state; Evaluation of a multiprofessional community stroke team: a phenomenological study. SAMPLE Altman (1991) states that a study should have enough participants recruited in order to detect a significant effect if one exists. The sample group consisted of patients referred to the Nottingham Community Stroke Team who had suffered a stroke within the last two years, who were over sixteen years old and needed intervention from more than one multidisciplinary team member. Patients who lived outside the geographical area and/or had been treated by the community stroke team in the preceding two years were excluded. Four hundred and twenty eight patients were randomly selected at the start of the trial and randomly allocated to either Group A or Group B. An error resulted in seven people being recruited twice. This error was corrected by including only the outcome of their initial recruitment when the results were being analyzed. The target population of this study is relatively clearly defined (patients who have had a stroke within last two years, over the age of sixteen, etc†¦ ) and lends credence to the external validity of the study (Payton, 1994). According to Sim and Wright (2000) the accessible population is the portion of the target population that is available to the researcher and the sample is then taken from this accessible population. The groups are similar to each other with regards to gender and age distribution; this also increases the validity of the study as this similarity reduces the variables of the study. The overall population was a convenience sample which was then randomized to two groups. Six months after randomization all the patients were sent a letter asking them to consent to being in a study to evaluate the input of a community stroke team. According to Lincoln et al (2004) the consent forms and outcome questionnaires were sent this late so as to reduce bias. It was thought that group A which was receiving routine care would have lower expectations if confronted with the realization that the alternate group may receive superior care. Some would possibly insist on being referred to the specialist community stroke team The Local Research Ethics Committee granted ethical approval for this study to go ahead. This indicates that the value of the research undertaken outweighed any harm that this consenting method may have caused as patients in Group A were still receiving routine care. However, the department of health has issued guidelines which state that participants must be consented and all pertinent information given prior to the start of any study. Data was collected via a questionnaire comprising of the Barthel Index, Extended ADL, General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) and Euroquol. The participants were also asked to rate their knowledge of the expected extent of recovery from their stroke, and their overall satisfaction with the services they received from the community stroke team. The use of a questionnaire for data collection has both negative and positive aspects. Greenhalgh (2006) states that a questionnaire is an instrument used to measure human psychology, so whilst sending the questionnaire via post proves to be cost effective as the alternative would be to hold face to face interviews with the participants as focus groups or individually, it raises concerns about the reliability of the study. This is because the researcher is not present to interpret facial expressions and body language when the participants answer the questions. The alternative of conducting face to face interviews with such a large number of participants would prove to be costly and time consuming. However, according to Oppenheim (2003) long questionnaires are sometimes off putting and may generate low response rates, conducting these questionnaires via the postal service could possibly increase the likelihood of a low response rate. The results were shown as a table and diagram, the Mann-Whitney U-test which was used to compare the groups showed no significant differences on independence in personal or instrumental activities of daily living or on the patients’ mood. There was also no significant difference between the groups in their knowledge with regards to the resources available to assist them in adjusting to life after a stroke. There was also no difference between the two groups with overall satisfaction or in satisfaction with the practical helped received. However, patients in the Community Stroke Team were significantly more satisfied with the emotional care they received. (Lincoln et al, 2004) According to Wright et al (2009) the Mann-Whitney U-test is used when one group from the sample is larger than the other and when both samples are from the same population, as is the case with this study. There was no significant difference in carers’ mood between the two groups. However, the strain on carers of patients seen by the community stroke team was significantly less than that of carers of patients randomized to the routine care group. The carers of patients in the community stroke team group were significantly more satisfied with their knowledge of stroke and had higher overall satisfaction than the carers of those in the routine group. By utilizing the randomized controlled trial design the author lends credence to its validity as this design allows for the eradication of systematic bias. (Sim et al, 2000) This was done through the sampling process of selecting the participants from the target population and randomly allocating them to Group A which received routine care or Group B those in the care of the community stroke team. The collection of data by using a postal questionnaire helps to â€Å"blind† the researcher as he cannot influence the participants’ response. Although some participants did not respond to the questionnaire, others responded with incomplete forms, some died and a few were recruited twice, the author is cognizant of this and incorporates it into his findings. Crombie (2000) states that if the withdrawals and failures to respond can be seen as being consistent between both comparison groups then the results of the research will not be negatively impacted upon. This is because the results show that these failures are random among both groups and not specific to one. However one major fault is the fact that the services received by Group A were not collected due to impracticalities and unreliable recollections of the patients. Critical appraisal is not just an exercise in fault finding, it is the analysis of these faults and the assessment of their potential impact on the research which allows the reader to come to a decision regarding the strength or usefulness of the article being critiqued. In order for the research results to be utilized in clinical practice its’ reliability and validity are essential aspects which need to be covered. (Polger and Thomas, 2008) This article shows a research that was methodically sound and well designed. The sample was representative of the population being examined and attempts were made to minimize bias. The author was aware of the shortfalls of this research and attempted to incorporate this in his findings however, most of the issues identified did not affect the results of the study. The study if repeated would provide comparable results. However, the author states that the study provides evidence supporting the use of a community based stroke team to assist in the rehabilitation of stroke patients because of the increased emotional support for patients and greater satisfaction and reduced strain on carers. This statement would have been better justified on results from a qualitative study as this type of study aims to interpret people’s emotional and psychological response to the intervention or interventions being employed. The results from such a study would be closer to the patients’ and carers true feelings as the methodology behind that study would be different.