Week 4 discussion questions Essay Example for Free

Week 4 discussion questions Essay Describe a time when your assumption about a situation was incorrect. What do you think led to your incorrect assumption? How did your assumption interfere with your ability to think critically about the situation? A: When I first became a student at the University of Phoenix I assumed that I would take class in the morning once a week. What lead me to believe this assumption was that I thought it would be like any other normal college. This assumption affected my ability to think because I originally set my mind to morning mode, when class was night. Use your favorite Internet search engine to locate three automobile commercials. Identify a fallacy used in each commercial. How are these fallacies used in the commercials? Why do you think they were included? A in the first commercial Toyota Camery, they focus more on the acting scene then promoting the Camary. They make it seem like those situations happen. The second commercial was a mustang commercial. the fallacy is that they make people believe that by having that care it makes you look cool that way people can go out and buy it. The third was a fiat commercial, they say that the interest and payments are low and no credit check, but once your in the dealer none of what the commercial promoted is applied. They do this type of advertisement to try an get the consumer to buy and to make the commercial interesting and so the audience is engaged. How might you use critical thinking to help someone who is struggling with low self-esteem and a low sense of self-worth to see beyond the media messages they receive on a daily basis? A: The best thing that I can do to help someone is by giving them my self knowledge and what I know about it. that no one is perfect and there is no need to follow what celebertys do because its all show. We can then discuss this particular topic, then research about it and show what the consequences and lead to. In his inaugural speech, President Kennedy used means of persuasion to win over his supporters and those who were possibly dissatisfied with his election. Suppose you opposed President Kennedy’s ideas and wanted to find  fault with his speech. What steps would you take to evaluate his arguments? A: I would carefully listen to what the speech is about and carefully go over it and find simple cons and consequences to a particular topic that he addresses or want s to make happen. Reading, re-reading, looking for main points, researching, questioning, and finding information that is opposed to what he thinks he can make happen. How do you think being open to criticism might help you solve problems in your daily life? Being open to criticsm can help in my daily life because I can simply take that criticsm and use it in a positive way to improve myself in any situation. What types of questions would you use as you talk with her to help her make a decision based on critical thinking rather than emotion? Why are questions such a valuable aspect of critical thinking? A: I would help her focus more on the facts and details rather than the emotional part on how she feels. After focusing on the facts she can develop feelings towards it that are positive. Asking questions are important because once they are answered they can change a persons perspective on a certain topic.

Comparison of Privacy and Communication on Social Networking

Comparison of Privacy and Communication on Social Networking I propose to conduct a research on the topic- A cross-cultural comparison of privacy and communication on Social Networking Sites between India and United Kingdom. Abstract My research will try to examine the cross cultural differences in the context of sharing personal information on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) and the various aspects of online privacy between the college students in India and the United Kingdom. To begin with, the research will require the students to complete a paper based survey with a variety of questions regarding their attitudes towards sharing personal information on social networks and privacy. It will also seek to better understand the behavioural issues by studying their communication pattern. The emphasis of this research will remain on identifying the commonalities and differences in the communication patterns and attitudes towards privacy between the Indian and UK students by conducting an empirical research. Literature Framework We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site. While we use the term social network site to describe this phenomenon, the term social networking sites also appears in public discourse, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. We chose not to employ the term networking for two reasons: emphasis and scope. Networking emphasizes relationship initiation, often between strangers. While networking is possible on these sites, it is not the primary practice on many of them, nor is it what differentiates them from other forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC). What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between latent ties (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On many of the large SNSs, participants are not necessarily networking or looking to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them social network sites. Social Networking Sites (SNS) have achieved phenomenal success since the launch of sixdegrees.com in 1997. Original sites such as Friendster, Lunarstorm and MiGente, are now all dwarfed by the phenomenally successful Myspace1, and Facebook2. A useful historical record of the development of Social Networking sites was made by Boyd and Ellison in 20073, although more work is needed to understand the gratifications delivered how users derive a sense of identity and the cross cultural implications to users. The goal of this short paper is to weave digitization, identity and community into an analysis that is both historically rigorous and conscious of contemporary innovations. Launch Dates of Major Social Networking Sites (SNSs) Source: Social Media Graphics Among undergraduate college students, the three most visited social networking websites are Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster, with one study reporting Facebook use as the most popular at 90% (Stutzman, 2006) while another study reports Facebook use as most popular with 78.8% who à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"sometimes or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"often use Facebook (Hargittai, 2007). Undergraduate students using Facebook averaged 10à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"30 min daily use for the time categories and averaged 150à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"200 friends for the friend categories (Ellison, Steinfield, Lampe, 2006). Students and alumni use Facebook to communicate, connect and remain in contact with others (Acquisti Gross, 2006; Charnigo Barnett-Ellis, 2007; Ellison et al., 2006). There are conflicting reports whether Facebook is used for dating with one study that reports such use (Charnigo Barnett-Ellis, 2007), while another study reports that students do not use Facebook for that purpose (Acqu isti Gross, 2006). Also, undergraduate students typically use Facebook for fun and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"killing time rather than gathering information (Ellison et al., 2006). Although Facebook is very popular among students, others have profiles on it too. Over the past decade, the communication uses of the Internet have become a very important part of young peoples lives (e.g., Gemmill Peterson, 2006; Jones, 2002; Lenhart Madden, 2007; Subrahmanyam Greenfield, 2008). Social networking sites are the latest online communication tool that allows users to create a public or semi-public profile, create and view their own as well as other users online social networks (Boyd Ellison, 2007a), and interact with people in their networks. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook have over 100 million users between them, many of them adolescents and emerging adults. Although research on young peoples use of social networking sites is emerging (e.g., Boyd Ellison, 2007b; Ellison, Steinfield, Lampe, 2007; Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten, 2006), questions remain regarding exactly what young people do on these sites, whom they interact with on them, and how their social networking site use relates to their other online (such as instant messaging) and off line activities. Furthermore, because of the potential to interact with known others as well as meet and befriend strangers on these sites, it is important to study the nature of their online social networks in order to get an understanding of how such online communication relates to young peoples development. The goals of the present study were to explore emerging adults use of social networking sites for communication and examine the relation between their online and offline social networks. Given the vast array of information that can be shared and the number of users, concerns regarding security and privacy issues are a recurring issue (Acoca, 2008). Some concerns involve potential threats to personal safety from the abundance of information that is assumed to be available and accessible about an individual on their online profile. Specifically, there are concerns regarding identity theft if users provide too much information (e.g., birth date, address, phone, full name etc.). In addition, there are concerns for personal safety for vulnerable users who could be stalked, or otherwise threatened. A less commonly considered threat is the possibility of social risk as a function of self-identification with minority or stigmatized groups. Although some of these concerns have surfaced in the popular media (e.g., news.cnet.com), there is little empirical investigation documenting how much and what kind of information is present in personal FACEBOOKà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ profiles to determine the potential for threats of any type, nor is there any information regarding how users differ in the information disclosed in their profiles to provide clues as to who is most likely to be at risk. India is ranked fourth in the world in terms of the Internet users. It had a total population of 1,147,995,898 people by the year 2008, out of which 81,000,000 people were using the Internet which makes 7.1% of the total population of Internet users (Internet World Stats, 2009). Social networking is catching on fast. About 56 percent users do both social and professional networking on the Web, while 29 percent do only social networking (Madhavan, 2007). There are about 10 million people who are on social networking sites. What started with the popularity of Orkut in India has now become a cultural revolution. Even most of the schools going teens have an account on some social networking site (Java, 2007). Out of the total social networking users in India, only 1 mn to 2 mn (only 10% to 20%) are on Indian social networking sites. According to a recent report by comScore, Inc. (Mishra, 2009), visits to the social networking sites have increased by 51 percent from the last year. The stu dy also found that global social networking brands continued to gain prominence in India during the last year, with Orkut, Facebook, hi5, LinkedIn and MySpace each witnessing significant increases in visitation. Orkut reigned as the most visited social networking site in December 2008 with more than 12.8 million visitors, an increase of 81 percent from the previous year. Facebook, the second most popular social networking site, had 4 million visitors, up by 150 percent since last year. To make its position strong in the Indian social networking market, Facebook has launched an Indian interface which helps local users to connect with their friends in 6 different languages e Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Bengali. This move allows users to choose any of the six languages and use it as per their convenience by selecting the language tab. MySpace also promotes a lot of India specific content like promoting musical talent and even taking their talent abroad thereby upliftin g the Indian culture. It is followed by local social networking site Bharatstudent.com with 3.3 million visitors (up 88 percent) and hi5.com with 2 million visitors (up 182 percent). Other popular networking sites in India featured in the list in descending order are ibibo, MySpace, LinkedIn, BigAdda and Fropper. Top Social Networking Sites in India by Unique Visitors December 2008 vs. December 2007 Total India e Age 15+, Home/Work Locations (excluding visits from cyber cafes, mobile phones and PDAs) Source: comScore World Metrix Users Demography for the United Kingdom Source: Socialbakers (2010) User age distribution on Facebook in United Kingdom Source: Socialbakers (2010) Male/Female User Ratio on Facebook in United Kingdom Source: Socialbakers (2010) Age Growth on Facebook in United Kingdom Source: Socialbakers (2010) Top 10 Countries on Facebook Source: Socialbakers (2010) Research Strategy The process will be initiated by the collection of social network data through a survey of Indian and UK college students. The population sample chosen for this research purpose will be a specific number of college going students in India and UK (to be decided at a later time). The sample will be restricted to a few hundred students from each country so as to make it easier to do a survey research. The student will be encouraged to participate and share their views on the subject of content sharing and privacy. The information provided by them will solely be used for the educational research purpose. The survey employed in this study will be based on a popular survey used previously by Pew Internet and American Life Project among American teenagers. The survey used in this research may differ in some ways to adjust the variations from previous similar researches. A copy of the original survey questions is available to consult on the Pew Internet and American Life Project website. The responses in the original survey were categorical, thus quantitative analysis will require performing chi-square (à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡2) test. Collection of data The primary data for this research will be collected by conducting a survey based on numerous questions that will seek to answer the questions based on information sharing and the degree of privacy maintained by students in their social profiles. The type of information sought is presented in the next section in the form of tables. However the level of information has been limited and the original research is expected to be more comprehensive in nature and may include more variables and situations. Other secondary data presented in the research will be collected from various social networking sites, social networking research services, network usage statistics, sharing and privacy reports published by various organizations. Research Methodology The purpose of this research determines its methodology. It will be a comparative study of Indian and UK college students attitudes and behaviour towards communication patterns and controlling privacy on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Research Questions How do the students in India and UK differ in reference to privacy on Social Networking Sites? How do the students in India and UK differ in reference to communication patterns on Social Networking Sites? The college students in India and UK will be contacted through friend lists of my own friends on prominent SNSs. I will encourage my friends to persuade their friends on SNSs. Later on I will segregate the lists of Indian and UK college students for the purpose of comparison. I am expecting a response rate of nearly 60-70 percent. The results will be formatted according to the following tables. Table 1. Public Nature of Social Network Site Profile Degree to which your online social profile is public India N= X United Kingdom N= Y Visible to everyone Visible to friends of friends Visible only to friends Table 2: Attitude towards sharing personal information on SNSs Is it alright to share the following information on social sites? India United Kingdom à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡2 N df p State in which you live City in which you live College name IM Screen Names Birth date Family members names Relationship (s) Email address (es) Links to other personal blogs or websites Mobile Number Table 3: Types of information shared on SNSs Would you share the following detail on your social profile? India United Kingdom à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡2 N df p Surname Photos of yourself Photos of your friends Photos of family members City name High School name Email addresses MP3 files Video content Events list Birthdays Table 4: Response to contacting by strangers How would you normally respond to a strangers friend request? India United Kingdom Completely ignore Respond positively Decline the request Block the user Block and report the user to avoid further contact Table 5: Communication patterns on SNSs Do you usually do the following? India United Kingdom à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡2 N df p Post messages on friends wall or comment on their posts Send private messages to someone on your friend list Send private messages to someone not on your friend list Poke your friends Poke your friends friends

Psychedelic Yoga :: essays research papers

The following article originally appeared as an uncopyrighted set of mimeographed sheets sometime during the late 1960’s, which was freely distributed on a limited basis, probably in San Francisco.   Psychedelic Yoga    The Application of Yoga Meditation Techniques to the Use of Psychedelic Sacraments    By Sri Brahmarishi Narad       The fact that psychedelic drugs induce a greater sensitivity to subtle spiritual and psychic energies, and speed up the influx of impressions from deeper levels of consciousness, raises the immediate question of how these energies can be properly understood and handled. Obviously, if these energies are not guided, they can do more harm than good. The application of traditional Yoga meditation techniques while under psychedelic experiences, can provide a constructive solution to this problem. According to Yoga philosophy, the most spiritual and powerful aspect of man's nature is the faculty of attention or consciousness. The most fundamental aspect of man's free will is the choice as to what he allows his attention to dwell upon. The attention always has to be on something, but we can choose what we allow it to dwell upon. The goal of all Yoga practices is to discover and directly experience what the attention or faculty of consciousness in man is. The yogi seeks to know that principle by which all else is known. Observing the observer or placing the attention on the attention itself achieves this goal. This may at first seem very abstract and hard to grasp in terms of practical application; but there are workable, time-proven methods for achieving this state of pure consciousness, which when consistently applied and practiced are bound to yield results. It should be constantly remembered during a psychedelic session that whatever perceptions, thoughts and even hallucinations occur -- they are all the creations of one's own mind and consciousness, and are filtered through one's own instrument of perception. These perceptions are patterns of our own psychic energy. We give energy to whatever thoughts and feelings we allow the attention to dwell upon. Wherever the power of attention is focused, it generates mental and emotional energy in the form of its own lower overtones, thus feeding and energizing the thoughts and emotions that the attention dwells upon. It becomes clear that the key to remaining in control of a psychedelic experience is in controlling the flow of attention. Distracting experiences can be avoided in the first place, and the flow of attention can be properly directed by the use of Raja Yoga techniques of meditation.

Essay --

Marivic D. Toledo Eng2 X-1R LRP (Final draft) Landfilling: The Philippines’ Next Method of Waste Reduction The world, reaching the edge of vulnerability, suffers from small to large capacity of calamities caused by either natural or human activities. From North to South, the melting of glaciers causing sea level rise, and from East to West, the extreme and strenuous heat of the sun withering soils and root crops leading to intense scarcity - all eventually become the first and foremost factor to human suffering and misery. Philippines, a developing country, suffers most in this predicament together with the belonging nations, informally called as â€Å"Third World countries†. However, these calamities are not done generally by those of the developed countries alone. All nations: American, Asian, African or whatever nationality contributes to the worsening Global warming that is currently experienced worldwide; making the citizenry all liable and responsible for any undue instances and effects accompanying it. Generally, there are different factors that affect and cause this environmental phenomenon. One of these is solid waste. Solid wastes are waste materials and residue which are either made of plastics, woods, metals and the like which eventually, as of to date, continuously increases. Due to increasing solid waste, improper implementation of solid waste segregation, and ineffective usage of numbers of sanitary landfills in the Philippines, improvisation and implementation of sanitary landfi lls and developmental programs should be imposed by the Local Government Units nationwide for maintenance and execution of proper waste segregation. With these, the problem on solid waste management can be minimized. Basically, landfill is a me... ...e problems but did not become effective enough to maximize its full use because of the different problems encountered upon implementation. But by following proper techniques and strategies, these problems can be addressed. All people have their own respective responsibilities which they are required to live by. Depending on one organization or a certain group of people is not even the key in minimizing the country’s waste problems. Together with responsible leaders, it requires full participation and cooperation of every citizen in doing necessary measures on waste reduction. Actions are already made, only that it should be improved and properly implemented to maximize its full use. All of these – when done with unity and perseverance – will be the most powerful and effective tool in minimizing solid waste management problems and achieving a better - healthier life.

In The Camps Essay examples -- essays research papers fc

In the Camps Concentration camp is a term that stirs up many emotions. How did they come about? What were they exactly? And just what went on inside those walls? Many have tried to give a full description of what life in the camps was like. With toady’s fast moving and knowledgeable media the public has become very informed on the subject at hand. The fact still remains that few were there, so few can know what really happened. These three poignant questions posed above could each take eternity to fully understand. This is a short explanation of the atrocities that the Nazi’s handed out to the innocent victims of the Holocaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How exactly did concentration and extermination camps come about, legally speaking? On first glance it seems that in toady’s modern and civil world that nothing of this nature could ever happen. In fact it happened due to article 48, paragraph 2 in the German Constitution. Here the president is given far reaching emergency powers. This article was used by Paul von Hindenburg in 1933 giving protective custody to protect the state’s security. From there in momentum gained. On April 12, 1934 an edict from the Ministry of the Interior was introduced governing protective custody grounds for establishment of camps. This edict also decreed that those sent to concentration camps were under the rule of the Gestapo and their release was indicative to the discretion of this secret service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power is a strange phenomena. Once the Gestapo had legal rights to cruelty the act of playing God became easier to abuse. Terrence Des Pres explains this best by stating: â€Å"As power grows, it grows more and more hostile to everything outside itself. Its logic is inherently negative, which is why it ends by destroying itself. . . The exercise of totalitarian power, in any case, does not stop with the demand of outward compliance. It seeks, further, to crush the spirit, to obliterate that active inward principle whose strength depends on its freedom from entire determination by external forces. And thus the compulsion, felt by men with great power, to seek out and destroy all resistance, all spiritual autonomy, all sign of dignity in those held captive. . .The death of the soul was aimed at.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This verifies the purpose of these camps as given by Bruno Bettleheim. He ... ... Press, 1994. Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved. excerpt on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.spectacle.org/695/clothes.html. Orenstein, Henry. I Shall Live: Surviving Against all Odds. New York: Beaufort Books,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1987. â€Å"Auschwitz and Birkenau.† on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. â€Å"Pincus at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Rudy at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust. on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Zyklon-B.† on-line. available from http://www.spectacle.org/695/zyklonb.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/concentration.html. In The Camps Essay examples -- essays research papers fc In the Camps Concentration camp is a term that stirs up many emotions. How did they come about? What were they exactly? And just what went on inside those walls? Many have tried to give a full description of what life in the camps was like. With toady’s fast moving and knowledgeable media the public has become very informed on the subject at hand. The fact still remains that few were there, so few can know what really happened. These three poignant questions posed above could each take eternity to fully understand. This is a short explanation of the atrocities that the Nazi’s handed out to the innocent victims of the Holocaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How exactly did concentration and extermination camps come about, legally speaking? On first glance it seems that in toady’s modern and civil world that nothing of this nature could ever happen. In fact it happened due to article 48, paragraph 2 in the German Constitution. Here the president is given far reaching emergency powers. This article was used by Paul von Hindenburg in 1933 giving protective custody to protect the state’s security. From there in momentum gained. On April 12, 1934 an edict from the Ministry of the Interior was introduced governing protective custody grounds for establishment of camps. This edict also decreed that those sent to concentration camps were under the rule of the Gestapo and their release was indicative to the discretion of this secret service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power is a strange phenomena. Once the Gestapo had legal rights to cruelty the act of playing God became easier to abuse. Terrence Des Pres explains this best by stating: â€Å"As power grows, it grows more and more hostile to everything outside itself. Its logic is inherently negative, which is why it ends by destroying itself. . . The exercise of totalitarian power, in any case, does not stop with the demand of outward compliance. It seeks, further, to crush the spirit, to obliterate that active inward principle whose strength depends on its freedom from entire determination by external forces. And thus the compulsion, felt by men with great power, to seek out and destroy all resistance, all spiritual autonomy, all sign of dignity in those held captive. . .The death of the soul was aimed at.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This verifies the purpose of these camps as given by Bruno Bettleheim. He ... ... Press, 1994. Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved. excerpt on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.spectacle.org/695/clothes.html. Orenstein, Henry. I Shall Live: Surviving Against all Odds. New York: Beaufort Books,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1987. â€Å"Auschwitz and Birkenau.† on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. â€Å"Pincus at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Rudy at Auschwitz.† Accounts obtained through: South Carolina Voices: Lessons from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the Holocaust. on-line. available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.advanced.org/12663/survivors/witness.html. â€Å"Zyklon-B.† on-line. available from http://www.spectacle.org/695/zyklonb.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/auschwitz.html. on-line. available from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7071/concentration.html.

How Hardy and Steinbeck treat the theme of ‘outsiders’ in ‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Hardy and Steinbeck both use the theme of outsiders strongly in their stories. The term ‘outsider’ means one who is not a member of a profession, party or circle or one not acquainted with or interested in something that is going on. A person can be an outsider for many different reasons for example loneliness, disability, gender, race, age, size and action. Steinbeck’s short story ‘Of Mice and Men’ was set on a ranch in California during the American Depression in the late 1930’s. The story is about two men Lennie and George. Lennie is mentally disabled so George looks after him. When Lennie and George first meet the boss’s son Curley he immediately feels threatened by Lennie’s size. Lennie and George go and work on the ranch because they want to save up their money so they can buy a ranch of their own. As the story progresses 2 other characters, Candy and Crooks, become interested in their idea and ask if they can help out. Lennie is given a puppy by Slim (another worker on the ranch). One time Lennie is petting it and does not know his own strength and kills it. Curley’s wife comes in and asks what is wrong he tells her what happened and that it only happened because he likes stroking things. She lets him stroke her hair because she thinks it is soft. Lennie gets carried away and won’t let go. Curley’s wife struggles so much that he breaks her neck. Lennie becomes so frightened that he runs away and just leaves the body. Curley sees his wife and says he is going to give Lennie a horrible death. George hears Curley and decides to kill Lennie himself quickly and painlessly. George finds Lennie and starts to talk about their dream ranch, he raises the gun and shoots Lennie in the back when he is not looking. Hardy’s novella ‘The Withered Arm’ was set in England in the 1800’s. It is about a woman named Rhoda who has a son with the owner of the dairy farm at which she works. But now the farmer does not want to know her and is married to a younger prettier woman. Rhoda wanted to know what the new wife looked like so she sent her son to go and see. The son came back and told Rhoda what she was like. Rhoda had a dream, she dreamt that Farmer Lodge’s new wife was sitting on her and she thrust her left arm with her wedding ring on into Rhoda’s face. Rhoda grabbed her arm and threw her to the floor. The next day the farmers new wife visited Rhoda and revealed to Rhoda some marks on her left arm. A few weeks later Gertrude (Farmer Lodge’s wife) came back to see Rhoda and showed her that the marks on her arm were getting worse. Months later Gertrude goes to see a conjuror who makes an egg mixture which shows Rhoda’s face and says that to cure her arm Gertrude must touch the neck of a man who has been hung before he goes cold. Rhoda and her son leave and were never seen leaving. Gertrude found out when the next hanging was taking place and she then travelled to the jail. After the hanging she was shown where the body was. As she touched the body somebody behind her screamed. Gertrude turned around and saw Rhoda and Farmer Lodge standing there. The dead boy was Rhoda’s son. A few days later Gertrude passed away with shock. There are four main outsiders in ‘Of Mice and Men’ and also in ‘The Withered Arm’. The outsiders in ‘Of Mice and Men are Crooks, Candy, Lennie and Curley’s wife and in ‘The Withered Arm’ they are Rhoda, Gertrude, Farmer Lodge and Rhoda’s son. Crooks is an outsider in ‘Of Mice and Men’ because he is black and everybody else on the ranch is white so he is branded as different. A moment in the story where Crooks’ loneliness is shown is when Lennie comes into his room: â€Å"You go on get outa my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse and you ain’t wanted in my room† This shows that Crooks is not allowed to go in their rooms invading their private space so he does not want them coming in his room doing that, if he is not allowed to do it. An outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’ Rhoda. She is and outsider because she has a son with Farmer Lodge and does not talk to any of the other workers at the dairy farm, so they think she is stuck-up: ‘†¦as the milkmaid spoke she turned her face so that she could glance past her cow’s tail to the other side of the barton, where a thin fading woman of thirty milked somewhat apart from the rest.’ This is a part in the story where Rhoda is at work at the dairy farm and all the other workers are talking about Farmer Lodge’s new wife. Rhoda does not join in the conversation for obvious reasons, but as they talk the workers look over at her. Candy is another outsider in ‘Of Mice and Men’. He is an outsider because he is older than any of the other workers. A part in the story where Candy’s loneliness is visible is when his dog is taken from him and shot by some of the other workers because they are sick of the smell of it: â€Å"Candy did not answer. The silence fell on the room again†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Candy lay still staring at the ceiling† Candy did not want his dog to be killed because it was his friend, but when it is killed he feels lonely as if he has got no one left. Farmer Lodge is also an outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’. He is an outsider because he is older than any of the other workers and he is rich, which everybody else is not. When he marries his new wife Gertrude they see him as being lonely because he has married a younger woman. Curley’s wife is an outsider because in ‘Of Mice and Men’ she has just married Curley and moved to the ranch, which his dad owns. All the other workers think she must be lonely because she is always seen wandering around the ranch, she is never seen with Curley. Similarly Gertrude is an outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’ because she has just married Farmer Lodge and moved to his home. When she comes home with Farmer Lodge everybody is talking about her ‘Who is she?’ and ‘What does she look like?’ so this must make her fell as though people are talking at her behind her back. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Lennie is an outsider because he has a mental disability and is looked after by George. He is also does not know his own strength and hurts Curley, this incident makes him feel more vulnerable to the other workers: â€Å"Lennie smiled with his bruised mouth. ‘I didn’t want no trouble,’ he said. He walked toward the door†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ In the same way Rhoda’s son is an outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’ because he is dominated by his mother and at the end when he is hung, he is wrongly accused of something because of injustice: â€Å"a young fellow deserved to be let off, this on does; only just turned eighteen, and only present by chance when the rick was fired’ This is the part in the story when Gertrude goes to see if there is any hangings happening the next day and is told about one, which is Rhoda’s son. The man who is telling her says he is innocent. Dreams are featured a lot in both stories. Lennie, George and Candy have a dream in ‘Of Mice and Men’ to own their own ranch: â€Å"We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit-hutch and chickens.† Lennie and George at first are going to buy the ranch by themselves but then Lennie accidentally tells Candy, so George lets him help them. Curley’s wife also has a dream to become an actress and be respected. In ‘The Withered Arm’ Rhoda has a dream about Gertrude sitting on her with the wedding ring on: â€Å"the young wife, in the pale silk dress and white bonnet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the figure thrust forward its left hand mockingly, so as to make the wedding ring it wore glitter in Rhoda’s eyes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦swung out her right hand seized the confronting spectre by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backward to the floor† However in this story the dream comes true because Gertrude visits Rhoda and shows her the marks on her arm. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ the style is mainly conversational, we learn about events through dialogue. Through language we can tell that the boss is aloof to the workers. The language is like a child’s when Lennie is moving; he is described like an animal. This story is known as a novella. It deals with poor and working class people. In ‘The Withered Arm’ the style is also conversational, we learn about Rhoda at the beginning through conversation. It is third person narrative and in the past tense. This story is known as a short story. Through language we can also tell that the boss is aloof to the workers. This story also deals with poor and working class people. The settings are very similar, as they are both set on a farm in remote areas of the countries in which they are set. ‘The Withered Arm is set on a dairy farm in England but ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set on a ranch in California.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Final Essay Essay

Many people view character as the most important thing in a man. Others often look past this and see their social or economic status as deciding who they are. They think these things are what define a person. In reality it is things like ingenuity, free will, and morality that make a great man. In contrast such characteristics like hypocrisy, greed, and cruelty are what bring someone down. Through his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain displays the characteristics of a man he admires, and those he is contemptuous of through the actions of his characters. One admirable characteristic Twain shows is Ingenuity. Like most positive qualities in the novel this is shown through the main character Huck. He displays great ingenuity when he is being held by his father in the cabin. Being able to escape showed much of this trait, but Huck took it one step further. He knew his father would be able to track him very easily if he just left and ran off into the woods. By taking an axe to the front door and spreading the pig’s blood around made it seem as if Huck had been murdered. He also took many items from the cabin to fake a robbery as well. Up to this point in the book Huck is shown as being very child-like, and immature. After this incident though, the readers become aware of his resourcefulness and ingenuity. Another example of this characteristic is shown through Jim. This is another character that Twain wants his readers to identify with as being admirable. He shows ingenuity by suggesting to Huck he should dress as a female to gain information in the town. Although Huck fails to convince the women he meets for then entire time, it is because of his own slip up, and he still gets the information he needs. Free Will is something Twain does not take for granted in every person. In the novel he shows right from the beginning how much free will a character like Huck can have. On the first page of the book he says: â€Å"The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out† Although it seems like a normal thing for a thirteen year old boy to say we soon realize that Huck has made this decision based on some rather mature observations. Although he eventually goes back to the Widow, it isn’t long before he is on the raft and the island, escaping the â€Å"sivilized† world. Twain’s views here are obviously that this sort of free will is what makes people individuals. Another characteristic in the novel is morality. The main display of this is shown through Huck at the end of the novel when he has a big decision on his hands. â€Å"I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: â€Å"All right then, I’ll go to hell†? and tore it up† He forced to choose between tearing up his letter to Miss Watson and freeing the slave Jim, and sending the letter, telling her of his whereabouts. This choice wasn’t about getting caught or not, it was about morals. At the time it was considered morally wrong to help free a slave. Huck realized this, but also thought about the time he spent with Jim, and the friendship they had acquired. Twain clearly shows us through the actions of Jim in the whole novel that he feels slavery is wrong. So in choosing to help free his black friend, and go to hell if that be the consequence, Huck shows us his high morality. As well as admirable traits, Twain also uses The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to display traits he is contemptuous of. It is clear which of these traits were thought of as good and bad by looking at which character displays them. In the case of Huck and Jim only characteristics in which Twain was fond of are shown. In contrast the characters who show the opposite traits are those of the antagonist type. The first of these is antagonist traits is hypocrisy. It is shown in the form of the robbers on the river boat. Obviously these characters do not display any virtuous traits, and are quite hypocritical when they say â€Å"†Ã¢â‚¬ËœSee? He’ll be drownded, and won’t have nobody to blame for it but his own self. I reckon that’s a considerable sight better’n killin’ of him. I’m unfavorable to killin’ a man as long as you can git aroun’ it; it ain’t good sense, it ain’t good morals. Ain’t I right? ‘† We do not have to look to deep into this to find that they simply trying to justify their actions, when really all they have accomplished is condemning them. Another trait Twain finds equally disreputable is greed. This is shown mainly through the King and Duke who will stop at nothing to sap money from the unknowing people. The Last quality is Cruelty. This is shown through the worst of the characters, Pap. He ruthlessly beats his son Huck and goes on drunken rages throughout the whole book. In a time of much hate and racism Mark Twain used his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to show what characteristics make a virtuous person, and which ones make the opposite. He showed traits such as ingenuity, free will, and morality through his protagonists, and hypocrisy, greed, and cruelty through his antagonists. This way the reader not only identifies with the character they are fond or not fond of, but the traits that that they display as well. Twain proves that it is not what a man has that defines him, but who he is.