Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Crawford Essay Example For Students

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Janie Crawford Essay Janie Crawford, the main character of Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes WereWatching God, strives to find her own voice throughout the novel and, in myopinion, she succeeds even though it takes her over thirty years to do it. Eachone of her husbands has a different effect on her ability to find that voice. Janie discovers her will to find her voice when she is living with Logan. Since she did not marry him for love, tensions arise as time moves on and Loganbegins to order her around. But Janie is young and her will has not yet beenbroken. She has enough strength to say No and to leave him by running awaywith Joe. At this point, Janie has found a part of her voice, which is her notwilling to be like a slave in her husbands hands. We will write a custom essay on Their Eyes Were Watching God: Janie Crawford specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now After Janie marries Joe, I think that she discovers that he is not theperson she thought he was. He tells her what to do the same way Logan did, justa little bit more delicately by saying that it is not a womans job to dowhatever he does not want her to do. Throughout her twenty years of life withJoe, Janie loses her self-consciousness because she becomes like a little kidbeing told what to do by an adult, Joe. She does it without even questioningherself, which is why I think that she loses the part of her voice that she hasdiscovered by running away from Logan. At times, she has enough courage to sayno to Joe, but he always has something to say back that discourages Janie fromcontinuing her argument. But, in my opinion, Janie does not lose her will tofind herself and it might have even become stronger because the reader can seethat Janie is not happy with the way things are now and that she will probablywant to change them in the future. When Joe dies and Janie marries Tea Cake, she feels free because eventhough Tea Cake asks for her opinion when he does something and cares about her. Since this is Janies first marriage where she actually loves her husband, shefeels free and discovers many new things in life that she has not noticed before. She becomes more sociable, wants to go places with Tea Cake, enjoys workingwith other people, and likes shooting game. Although she never shot a riflebefore, she becomes a better shooter that Tea Cake, and he respects her for that,which allows Janie to get back her self-respect which she had lost while beingwith her previous husbands. In a way, Janies spiritual awakening begins whenshe lives with Tea Cake. As the reader can see, Janie has a hard life where she has to strugglein order not to become inferior to her husbands. She succeeds when she is withTea Cake, which also marks the time when her inner voice starts to awaken. Butnot until after Tea Cakes death does she realize that she has understood herplace in life, or in other words, she has found her voice. Category: English

Autonomy in an Neural Network †Pyschology Essay

Autonomy in an Neural Network – Pyschology Essay Free Online Research Papers Autonomy in an Neural Network Pyschology Essay The idea of creating artificial intelligent life is not a new concept but rather one that dates back to the end of the sixteenth century. Inventors fashioned mechanical constructs deemed â€Å"automata† for the purposes of entertaining the wealthy (Jones, n.d.). Many of these hydraulic devices were constructed to simulate human and animal behaviours with the ultimate goal of creating artificial people as in the story of Pinocchio. Although they succeeded in making the machines perform simple tasks such as writing a limited number of phrases, their science and technology were woefully underdeveloped for the task of creating something with the cognitive faculties of an animal, let alone a human being (Jones, n.d.). Skipping ahead to the 21st century finds scientists in a situation not far removed from their predecessors. Although there have been enormous strides in the field of human psychology, scientists are still quite a ways off from creating an autonomous agent that can think and learn for itself. The main goal of those working in the field of artificial intelligence is the simulation of an artificial brain. The â€Å"easiest† way to do this is to model one based on the human brain. After all, we know that it works, that it’s capabl e of learning, and that as part of a whole it results in a being that is self aware and intelligent. The first step in this task is to understand how the brain works. The human brain consists of 1012 neurons and which serve almost all the functions of the human brain (Reingold, n.d.). They are the information carriers and are responsible for all of our cognitive functions. They consist of a cell body called the soma and usually have two stem like extensions, the dendrites and the axon. Information is transmitted from the axon to the dendrite across the synaptic cleft whenever the neuron is excited to the point of firing, called an action potential (Klerfors, 1998) . These action potentials then propagate from neuron to neuron causing the neuron that they are connected to, to either excite or inhibit itself (Reingold, n.d.). In the case of excitation, a firing perceived from a connected neuron will cause it to make itself ready for an action potential of its own, while an inhibitory neuron will be less likely to fire (Reingold, n.d.). Action potentials are all or none and only convey the information that a specific neuron has fired. The grou pings and connections between neurons are what is referred to as a neural network. A neural network typically consists of three layers. The first layer is the â€Å"input layer† which is connected to the sensory organs, and which provides data for the next layer. Connected to these initial neurons are a multitude of neurons in what is called the â€Å"hidden layer†. The purpose of these neurons is to identify the input data and render it into meaningful information that the brain can understand, which is then passed to the â€Å"output layer† (Klerfors, 1998). There are three fundamental concepts necessary for understanding the relationships between neurons in a neural network. The first of these, connection strength, refers to how strongly one neuron influences those neurons connected to it. Because this connection strength can vary enormously it is thought that it is here that all information in the brain is stored. The second concept refers to the excitation/inhibition distinction between neurons. This refers to the whether a neuron will cause an excitatory or inhibitory response in a neighbouring neuron, and as a result the magnitude of the response will vary with the connection strength. The final component is the transfer function of the neuron. The transfer function describes how a neuron’s firing rate varies with the input it receives (Reingold, n.d.). It is from these three components that it will be determined how much of the activation value is passed on to the next node. Artificial neural nets were created based on the aforementioned principles and were constructed to simulate the brain as similarly as possible through software run on computers. Although neural nets are parallel processors the only way to get them to run is to create them on programs that run through serial computers. While this process sacrifices the speed of parallel processors, it still mimics the fundamental properties of the neural network. As with biological neurons, the data holders in artificial neural nets come from the connection strengths between individual neurons and are referred to as weights. These weights are located in the hidden layer of a network and are given a value between –1 and +1. These values refer to how much activity from a connecting neuron is required to trigger an artificial action potential. Each node sums the activation values it receives, arrives at its own activation value, and then passes that along to the next nodes in the network (a fter modifying its activation level according to its transfer function (Reingold, n.d.). The neurons in an artificial neural network work in the same way as biological ones with input coming in one end, passing through a middle computational layer, and then exiting through the output layer. The actual physical set up of the network was the simple part for scientists while difficulty came from harnessing its power. For a system to be fully autonomous it must be able to learn without outside support and be able to adapt to its environment. This type of learning is referred to as unsupervised learning (Klerfors, 1998). In unsupervised learning the weights in an artificial neural net start off randomized. What this means is that any data sent through the system will be outputted as randomized values. In order to produce meaningful information from this the system must teach itself to recognize the information, remember it and produce an appropriate response. Because the system is to be self sufficient it must do this on its own through the internal adjustment of its weights (Reingold, n.d.). As stated before, an artificial neural network begins in a randomized state where the values of the weights do not represent anything. As data is sent through the system the output layer sends the data back to input layer to rework the information into something a little more representational of the original info. This process that the artificial neural network goes through is not something that can be done in one, ten, or even a hundred runs, but rather can take up to as many as forty thousand runs to gen erate proper data. Looking at it from this perspective it is difficult to understand how anything can get done, but when one understands that information is passed from neuron to neuron at an average speed of 268mph it seems a little more feasible (Klerfors, 1998). Because an artificial neural network that learns through unsupervised learning begins as a randomized â€Å"clean slate† it requires two things to function properly. One of these is a large data set to learn from. In order to function properly it must teach itself and it does this by using old confirmed data sets. By using old data sets both the inputs and desired outputs are known so when the info given to the network it can learn for itself by putting in the old inputs and comparing and adjusting its own weights to bring its own outputs in line with those of the data set (Want to try Neural Nets?, n.d.). Again, this procedure does not occur through a few trials, but rather in trials numbering in the tens of thousands. The second, and most important, component necessary for an artificial neural network to function properly is its learning algorithm. This refers the mathematical software that runs in the hidden layer and dictates exactly how the weights should respond to a specific target input (Klerfors, 1998). Although there currently exist many differing kinds of algorithms most share in common one of a few different learning laws. The learning laws are the backbone of the algorithm and can be seen as its dna, as it gives instructions on how the mathematics should be performed. Although the learning laws themselves seem to be constructed in greater abundance by scientists, there are three main laws for unsupervised learning. One of the first ones constructed by Donald Hebb and consequently became know as Hebb’s rule. Heb’s rule states that if a neuron receives an input from another neuron, and if both are highly active (mathematically have the same sign), the weight between the neurons should be strengthened. This corresponds to the physiological findings in the brain that greater activation between connected neurons results in easier activations (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). Similar to Hebb’s rules i s Hopfields Law which distinguishes itself by specifying that magnitude of the strengthening and weakening in said neurons. It states that if the desired output and the input are both active or both inactive, increment the connection weight by the learning rate, otherwise decrement the weight by the learning rate (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). The third and final rule Kohonen’s learning law, developed by Teuvo Kohonen, was also inspired by learning in biological systems. In this procedure, the processing elements compete for the opportunity to learn, or update their weights. The processing element with the largest output is declared the winner and has the capability of inhibiting its competitors as well as exciting its neighbors. Only the winner is permitted an output, and only the winner plus its neighbors are allowed to adjust their connection weights (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). Although there are many more learning laws out there, th ese three are considered to be the ones upon which the others are based. As with the learning laws there are a multitude of algorithms being developed. These algorithms, also known as seen as the genetic makeup, are constructed and based on the application they are to work with. Although many have been developed, the most successful ones include; Kohonen Self Organizing Features Maps, Grossberg’s Adaptive Resonance Theory, and Fukushima’s Neogcognitron. The basic premise of the Self Organizing Feature Map is that of a feature detector. It is based on competitive learning in a topology-preserving map that can be adjusted to represent the nature of the inputs (Self-Organizing Feature Maps, n.d.). In the SOFM, neurons located physically next to each other will respond to inputs that are also next to one another, which in turn allows for lateral inhibition and excitation. What this means is that if a target neuron is activated, all of its immediate neighbours will also become activated but to a lesser degree (Kaski, 1997). This provides a way to avoid totally unlearned neurons and it helps enhance certain topological property which should be preserved in the feature mapping. In every following cycle in which that same target neuron is still activated the size of the neighbourhood decreases, thereby precisely mapping the feature in question (Self-Organizing Feature Maps, n.d.). The Neocognitron is an algorithm developed by Fukushima in an attempt to construct a neural network architecture based explicitly on knowledge about real brains (Neocognitron, n.d.). It is considered to be the most complex neural network architecture ever developed, and is also the most limited in its capabilities. The Neocognitron was developed to recognize handwriting and convert it to digital signals (Neocognitron, n.d.). The reason for its complexity comes from the immense variation in various persons handwriting style, and as a result it was necessary to make to algorithm as robust as possible. The design of the Neocognitron came from extensive study of the human visual system. Neuropsychological studies have shown that there are relatively few cells that receive input directly from the retina and that they are limited in function. Studies have shown that the local relationships between input neurons in the retina are topologically preserved in the organization of the neural pathways (Neocognitron, n.d.). Although mathematically-free information on how the neocognitron actually works is sparse, it is assumed that when a handwriting sample is presented to the neural network it attempts to locate the boundaries of the individual letters and match the patterns to similar ones stored in memory. When the samples are not very similar to the target letters in the database the neural net must approximate the unconfirmed features to confirmed ones and then probabilistically determine a correct output. Unlike the previous two algorithms, Adaptive Resonance Theory was not developed for a specific task so much as it was developed to deal with a fundamental concern with artificial neural networks in general. Developed by Stephen Grossberg and Gail Carpenter, ART was designed to deal with the stability-plasticity dilemma (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The stability-plasticity dilemma was a learning instability problem suffered by neural networks whereby scientists and programmers were unsure as to how a neural network would know when to apply its existing knowledge in regards to new inputs, or when it would be required to actually learn and adopt the new inputs as â€Å"learning material† (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The weights which have captured some knowledge in the past continue to change as new knowledge comes in. There is therefore a danger of losing the old knowledge with time. The weights have to be flexible enough to accommodate the new knowledge but not so much so as to lose the old (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The adaptive Resonance Theory deals with this problem by accepting input and classifying it into a category depending on the stored pattern it resembles most. Once the pattern is located, it is trained to resemble the input. If however the input does not match any stored pattern within a given range, then a new category is created by storing a new pattern similar to the input. Because of this, no stored pattern is ever modified unless it matches the input vector within a given fault range(Grossberg’s, n.d.). Because of this new method the ART has both stability, in that it can remember and recognize patterns, but it also has plasticity in that it can learn new material without forgetting the old. The original ART, known as ART1, only performed unsupervised learning in regards to binary input but the newly developed ART2 has been modified to handle both digital and analog (fuzzy) inputs (Grossbergâ€⠄¢s, n.d.). The emergence and continued development of unsupervised learning in Artificial Neural Networks is an important backbone to the development of true autonomous artificial intelligence. The human mind is itself the self contained seat of our consciousness and it is from its own evolutionary development that humans have reached the heights that they have. Because of this it makes complete sense that the easiest way to create and alien intelligence would be to understand our own physiology and then model it after ourselves. However, it is my belief that the current artificial neural networks that we have are but a child’s step towards our ultimate goal. It is difficult for me to believe that who we are is made up solely the firing of electronic impulses that travel from synapse to synapse. Although I don’t dispute that it is an integral part of our cognitive processes, it just seems too basic. What role then do our hormones and neurotransmitters play in regards to our cognitive faculties? I believe that in order for us to begin to learn about what makes us tick we need to have a larger crisper picture. The different topographic regions of the brain cater to various processing and cognitive functions, and it is the interaction between the different electrical and chemical action potentials and the various regions of the brain that gives us the ability to grow, learn, create, and think. Once we understand more of ourselves we will be in a better position to apply that knowledge and give birth to something in our likeness. References 1. Adaptive Resonance Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22nd, 2001, from maths.uwa.edu.au/~rkealley/ann_all/node170.html 2. Artificial Neural Networks. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from gc.ssr.upm.es/inves/neural/ann1/unsupmodels/unsupmodels.html 3. Artificial Neural Networks Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21st, 2001, from dacs.dtic.mil/techs/neural/neural5.html#RTFToC17 4. Grossbergs Adaptive Resonance Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from icsi.berkeley.edu/~jagota/NCS/VOL1/P3_html/node27.html 5. Jones, Stephen. Neural Networks and the Computational Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from culture.com.au/brain_proj/neur_net.htm 6. Kaski, S. Data exploration using self-organizing maps. (1997). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from cis.hut.fi/~sami/thesis/node18.html#SECTION00074000000000000000 7. Klerfors, Daniel. Artificial Neural Networks. (November 1998). Retrieved November 22nd, 2001, from http://hem.hj.se/~de96klda/NeuralNetworks.htm#2.2.3%20Learning 8. Neocognitron. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21st, 2001, from maths.uwa.edu.au/~rkealley/ann_all/node225.html 9. Reingold, Eyal, and Nightingale, Johnathan. Artificial Intelligence Tutorial Review. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from http://psych.utoronto.ca/~reingold/courses/ai/ 10. Self-Organizing Feature Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from nd.com/models/sofm.htm 11. Want to Try Neural Nets?. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23rd, from zsolutions.com/soyou.htm Research Papers on Autonomy in an Neural Network - Pyschology EssayBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfGenetic EngineeringIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperStandardized TestingThe Project Managment Office SystemThree Concepts of PsychodynamicHip-Hop is ArtThe Spring and AutumnCapital Punishment

Serotiny and the Serotinous Cone

Serotiny and the Serotinous Cone Some tree species delay seed fall because their cones are dependent on a brief blast of heat to release seed. This dependency on heat during the seed production cycle is called serotiny and becomes a heat trigger for seed drop that may take decades to occur. Natural fire has to happen to complete the seed cycle. Although serotiny is primarily caused by fire, there are other seed release triggers that may work in tandem including periodic excess moisture, conditions of increased solar heat, atmospheric drying and parent plant death. Trees that have a serotinous tenancy in North America include some species of conifers including pine, spruce, cypress and sequoia. Serotinous trees in the southern hemisphere include some angiosperms like eucalyptus in fire-prone parts of Australia and South Africa. The Process of Serotiny Most trees drop their seeds during and just after the ripening period. Serotinous trees store their seeds in the canopy via cones or pods and wait for an environmental trigger. This is the process of serotiny. Desert shrubs and succulent plants depend on periodic rainfall for seed drop but the most common trigger for serotinous trees is periodic fire. Natural periodic fires occur globally, and on average, between 50 to 150 years. With naturally occurring periodic lightning fires over millions of years, trees evolved and developed the ability to resist high heat and eventually began using that heat in their reproduction cycle. The adaptation of thick and flame-resistant bark insulated the trees internal cells to direct flame and used the rising indirect heat from fire on cones to drop seed. In serotinous conifers, mature cone scales are naturally sealed shut with resin. Most (but not all) seeds stay in the canopy until the cones are heated to 122-140 degrees Fahrenheit (50 to 60 degrees Celsius). This heat melts the resin adhesive, the cone scales open to expose the seed that then drop or drift after several days to a burned but cool planting bed. These seeds actually do best on the burnt soil available to them. The site provides reduced competition, increased light, warmth and a short term increase of nutrients in the ash. The Canopy Advantage Seed storage in the canopy uses the advantage of height and breeze to distribute seed at the appropriate time onto a good, clear seedbed in satiating quantities enough for seed-eating critters. This masting effect increases the predator seed food supply to overabundance. With this abundance of newly added seed along with adequate germination rates, more seedlings than necessary will grow when moisture and temperature conditions are seasonally average or better. It is interesting to note that there are seeds that drop annually and are not a part of the heat-induced crop. This seed leakage seems to be a natural insurance policy against rare seed failures when conditions are adverse just after a burn and result in a full crop failure. What is Pyriscence? Pyriscence is often a word misused for serotiny. Pyriscence is not as much a heat-induced method for plant seed release, as it is an organisms adaptation to a fire-prone environment. It is the ecology of an environment where natural fires are common and where post-fire conditions offer the best seed germination and seedling survival rates for the adaptive species. A great example of pyriscence can be found in a southeastern United States longleaf pine forest ecosystem. This once large habitat is shrinking in size as fire is more and more excluded as land use patterns have changed. Although Pinus palustris is not a serotinous conifer, it has evolved to survive by producing seedlings that go through a protective grass stage. The initial shoot bursts in a brief bushy growth spurt and just as suddenly stops most top growth. Over the next few years, longleaf develops a significant tap root along with dense needle tufts. A compensating resumption of fast growth returns to the pine sapling around age seven.

Commercial Lease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Commercial Lease - Essay Example There are two important aspects of a commercial lease agreement, the standard lease provisions and the business points. The former consists of insurance, condemnation, and events of default while the latter consists of the specified rent and term. The 'Business Points' identifies the various aspects such as the parties of the owner and the tenant, the said building or the said property which is to be leased. Exact details of the property needs to be provided and the building should be exactly identified in which the tenant will rent the space. It is also imperative to accurately describe the floor, location and the square footage of the property. The provisions further mentions the dates of the date of effect and the expiration (term) of the lease and in accordance to this term, the rents can be specified with the optional mention of renewal terms. Additional expenditures which can include operating expenditures and other real estate taxes exercised by different authorities need to be discussed and it needs to be clarified if the total rent includes all such expenditures. Another important service issue is parking. It is normally expected to accompany the specified rented place but might not be the same in every case. Therefore it becomes an important clause in the contract for commercial lease.

Ethics and Business Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics and Business Success - Essay Example They seek ways to improve their productivity, efficiency, and the way their company functions as a whole. Two of the articles printed in the Journal of Value Based Leadership offer ways to improve businesses in two very different ways. The first, "Secrets of Your Leadership Success-The 11 Indispensable E's of a Leader," by M.S. Rao, essentially offers a positive, team friendly approach that will give a path to strong leadership. The second, "The Conscious Organization: Prospects for a Self-Actualized Workforce,† by John Renesch, supports developing your business using the ideas of psychological theorists, Andrew Maslow and Carl Jung, treating the business as you would a person. It places the value on the needs of the whole company, but less on its individual parts. Renesch’s approach to gaining success within a business is mixing the principles of Maslow’s self-actualization and Jung’s â€Å"shadows,† which are things that block a person from achievi ng their highest potentials. The author believes that by viewing businesses in the same way that you look at a person you can make the best of it; pretending that a business has the same need to self-actualize as a person does. He, also, focuses on a tightly structured organization within the business. He explains that anything that gets in the way of the success of the business it should be eliminated for the sake of the business. This is the basis of a â€Å"Conscious Organization,† which the author created in the 1990s. The author promotes that a successful business and successful people are those who are willing to evaluate themselves, their values, and relationships all of the time. â€Å"Living this sort of self examined life is what brings meaning and worth (Renesch 74-77). In the second article, Rao takes a different approach. He discusses how any successful business needs strong leadership if they hope to be successful. He suggests that the â€Å"11 E’s† are those traits or behaviors that can guarantee that someone is on the right path towards leadership, and they are easy to remember as they all start with the letter â€Å"E.† It is the combination of these elements, he says, can and will develop into the best kind leader in the best kind of business. Both articles are very interesting in their approaches. However, Rao’s article offers such a positive way of creating a happy work environment and good teamwork, while Renesch’s view is very cold. It does not seem to care about the needs or issues of the workers. Renesch want to treat the business like it is a living person and the people are like replaceable parts. The two writers are very different. For example, if there was an employee who was not working to their best possible ability; Rao would work to encourage that employee to do better, but Renesch would call this employee a â€Å"bad† employee and want to get rid of them. In this context, there is no room for anything except what is good for the business. Rao’s article appears to value the employees and Renesch’s does not really feel like that. His article feels like he sees individual people are just parts, when one is no good just throw it out and replace with a better one. This kind of heartless business practice does not always make for a good business to be a part of, even if the profits are high. People, I think, will work harder for people and for goals when they feel that they matter and the contribution that they make is important. When I enter into the business world I want to make the best choices that I can. I agree with Renesch when he explained how important being able to change and grow in the business industry, but it is Rao whose article I think will benefit me the most when I enter into my career field. Having a good way of becoming a strong leader

Personal Ethics Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Ethics Statement Essay After taking the Ethical Lens Inventory, I have discovered that my personal lens is the Results Lens. Upon further reading I discovered how that translated into my values, strengths, weaknesses, and my blind spot as well as how to see more clearly. The key phrase for those with the Results Lens is â€Å"I make choices that are good for everyone. † The values and strengths associated with the Results lens are the core values, the classical values, and the definition of ethical behavior, the tools for analyzing problems, and the gift. Core values are autonomy over equality, and protecting individual rights, and prioritizing value of sensibility over rationality. It is better to examine each situation in its own context rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. The classical value is prudence by demonstrating wisdom, foresight, optimism, imagination, and the gift of entrepreneurship. Creating the greatest good is my lens type’s definition of ethical behavior, by seeking win-win results. Experience provides the tool for analyzing problems, by considering multiple perspectives and focusing on what is really happening to consider solutions that make many people happy. Free will is the gift associated with the Results Lens. Because of the value of autonomy, we are self-reliant and accountable. We want this freedom for each person to seek their ideal goals in life. The Results Lens also has its weaknesses such as a blind spot, expedience, risk, greed, and also failure. The blind spot for this lens type is becoming satisfied with too little good. We fail to be accountable to those that are depending on us when we exercise our free will. As long as our needs are met we can become complacent. Our temptation is expedience by not paying attention we can be tempted to base our actions on what is politic or advantageous rather than what is right. Reducing decisions to a cost-benefit analysis is this lenses biggest risk. We need to ensure that all have free will or we run the risk of reducing decisions to narrow and purely financial cost-benefit analysis. The vice for the Results Lens is becoming greedy. If we fail to exercise free will responsibly our pursuit of good for all can devolve into an excuse for taking as much for ourselves as we can get away with. Failure is this lenses major crisis. If we fail to develop the practice of mindfulness and reflection we will face failure. No one can accomplish or acquire everything, and the more you do the less satisfying it can become. Our acquisitiveness could be driving people away from us. In conclusion, in order for people who fall under the Results Lens to see clearly, we must use our head, check to see if our gut and head agree. To find a proper balance we need to explore the gifts of the other lenses such as consistency and concern for the whole community. As we learn to consider other perspectives in our decision-making process, we will live out the best of our ideals with compassion and care for others.

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay: An Analysis -- Love Song J. Alf

An Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The general fragmentation of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is obvious. The poem seems a perfect example of what Terry Eagleton calls the modern "transition from metaphor to metonymy: unable any longer to totalize his experience in some heroic figure, the bourgeois is forced to let it trickle away into objects related to him by sheer contiguity." Everything in "Prufrock" trickles away into parts related to one another only by contiguity. Spatial progress in the poem is diffident or deferred, a "scuttling" accomplished by a pair of claws disembodied so violently they remain "ragged." In the famous opening, "the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherised upon a table," and the simile makes an equation between being spread out and being etherised that continues elsewhere in the poem when the evening, now a bad patient, "malingers, / Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me." There it "sleeps so peacefully! / Smoothed by long fingers . . . ." This suspe nsion is a rhetorical as well as a spatial and emotional condition. The "streets that follow like a tedious argument / Of insidious intent" lead not to a conclusion but to a question, a question too "overwhelming" even to ask. Phrases like the "muttering retreats / Of restless nights" combine physical blockage, emotional unrest, and rhetorical maundering in an equation that seems to make the human being a combination not of angel and beast but of road-map and Roberts' Rules of Order. In certain lines, metaphor dissolves into metonymy before the reader's eyes. "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes" appears clearly to every reader as a cat, but the cat itself is absent, repr... ...becomes a collection of individual parts, just as the poem's human denizens had been little more than parts: "And I have known the eyes already, known them all"; "And I have known the arms already known them all." The instantaneous movement from part to whole, from eyes, arms, evenings, mornings, to "all," expresses the emptiness between, the gap between dispersed parts and an oppressive whole made of purely serial repetition. The very reduction of human beings to parts of themselves and of time to episodes makes it impossible to conceive of any whole different from this empty, repetitious "an." As Burke says, metonymy substitutes quantity for quality, so that instead of living life Prufrock feels "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. Â   Works Cited Michael North, The Political Aesthetic of Yeats, Eliot, and Pound. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991.

Discuss the importance of dreams in the play Essay

Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and author. He was a prominent figure in American literature and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays. Miller was born into a moderately-wealthy Jewish family in New York City. His father, Isidore Miller, was a ladies-wear manufacturer and shopkeeper who was ruined in the Great Depression. His mother, Augusta, was a housewife who valued literature and education. His sister, Joan became an actress. Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play by Arthur Miller and is one of his most famous and commonly revived works. Viewed by many as the American Dream of achieving wealth and success, Death of a Salesman made both Arthur Miller and the character Willy Loman household names. Some of the other titles Miller considered for the play were The Inside of His Head and A Period of Grace. The American Dream is the faith held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American Dream has become is a question under constant discussion, and some believe that it has led to an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and/or happiness. The American dream is a dream of having 2 children and living in a perfect house with financial security. This ideal is closely related to Horatio Algerism. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_dream In the play Death of a Salesman, dreams are discussed and shown in many different ways throughout the play. There are dreams that happen during one’s sleep, hopes and ambition type dreams, day dreams, fantasies and national/cultural dreams. In this play all are explored, and the national dream focused on is The American Dream. Dreams in this play stimulate the characters reactions and actions; they also affect the way the play is structured and explain behaviour of both the past and present. The play is unusually structured; there are no scenes just three main sections, Act 1, Act 2 and the Requiem. Within Act 1 and Act 2, there are several dreams and possibly flashbacks but the audience is unaware of what is real or not. The American Dream features in the play but not informing the audience that The American Dream is what it is partly focusing on. On page 82, Biff says â€Å"We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. † First of all the reader thinks he’s saying he’s been taking in the dream for 15 years but reading the sentence over we see talking. The reader thinks that it means the American dream, and at this point in the play Biff realises himself and his family has been trying to live this dream but are unsuccessful. The American Dreams is partly to do with status and having the best of everything. It also focuses on popularity, success, ownership, wealth and your house and objects within it. The American Dream is linked to capitalism and consumer culture, which is when we are sold items we don’t really need. This is a symbol of success and if you can afford these luxury items they are a fall back for your family. When someone dies their family receives insurance, not only life insurance but also insurance for the object used in the death, for instance a car. This is all part of Willy’s plan to make his family more wealthy. Willy is scared of becoming an ordinary man, which in those days was a man that can no longer afford the luxury items that Willy possesses, when Linda is talking to Biff on page 44 she says â€Å"Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that has ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. † This shows the reader that Linda knows about Willy’s depression and that she knows he is becoming and has a fear of becoming a typical, ordinary man. This is not what Willy wants or wanted at all, Willy wanted to be well known around the country and great, successful. The depression that Willy held may have been caused by the lack of positive attention, his lack of progress in his job or his fear of becoming this ordinary man that he never wanted to be. Linda also knows that in his last months or weeks, herself and her son’s need to make up to Willy and give him the most positive attention that they can. On page 44 Linda says â€Å"Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. † This is also evidence to suggest Willy’s want for death. Willy is not progressing at all in his job, his ex boss’ son is now at the top of his career ‘ladder’ but Willy, still near the bottom should have retired. But his dreams and passion to become rich and successful meant that he forced himself to carry on working and hope that one day these dreams will be fulfilled.

I had only come to America to make a small fortune – Creative Writing

Today was not a good day for me. Not many days are. It started out a warm day. The sun was shining and people where getting on with their lives, drive-bys, robbing banks and the normal nine to five jobs that where available. I don't live in a particularly nice place, Harlem, but at the moment I could only afford to live there. I walked out of my small one bedroom, cramped flat onto the busy street and was on the way to the bus stop to get to work when two people came out of nowhere and attacked me. They stole my wallet and ran away. After about five minutes I limped up off the floor and continued my journey to work. After that it was a slow and painful walk but I eventually reached the bus stop. The bus arrived and I got on. I had to push my way to the back and had to stand up at the back of the bus because there wasn't a free seat available. I glanced down at my watch and realised that I was already five minutes late for work. I had to try so hard to find a job and I didn't want to loose this one and go back to living on the streets. Most people didn't want to hire a black person to even clean the dishes at a restaurant. There was always the option of cleaning the streets but I had only come to America to make a small fortune then I would have gone back home. But now I realise that life doesn't always turn out as you expected to. I worked in a small cafi. I didn't make much there but I could live off it. I got off the bus in a rush and ran down the street as fast as my legs could carry me, ignoring the pain I was still in. The cafi I worked in was two blocks away from the bus stop so I was still quite far away from it. I finally reached it. It was a small white building, which, was really in need of a clean and a paint job. I ran in the back door and started to get changed. My boss was standing at the door and he looked quite angry. I slowly walked up to him and apologised for being late. All I could think about was what he was going to say to me. He had been the only person to give me a chance to work. I tried to apologise to him but he just told me to get my stuff and go home. I decided to walk back home. All I could think about was how back home in the morning you would wake up to the sound of the waves hitting the rocks and the smell of the salt from the sea. I thought about how friendly the people where there and missed the simplicity of life. I thought about the sun setting on the beach and listening to the sea slop around calmly over the gold and silver sand. How at night you can smell the fresh sea air intertwined with the smells of the foods that people had prepared earlier for themselves , carried with the smell of the pure reefer that you got there, not the chemical stuff that you get in Harlem , that's sold on the street corners by the dealers. Then I thought about my home there. I wasn't much but to me it was more than I have in Harlem. It was a little wooden hut. I continued to comfort myself as I solemnly walked back to my apartment. As I walked across a road a man stuck out his leg and tripped me over. I saw the man walk off and cars swerved around me trying not to run me over. I quickly got up and started to run home. I tried to avoid anyone I could see so that my journey back would be quicker. I knew that I was quite close to my apartment so I hurried even more. I finally arrived and as I walked up the stairs people where staring at me. I got inside and felt so depressed. It was the type of feeling when your goalkeeper gets sent off in the 18th minute of the champion's league final. Now all I want to do is go back to Jamaica and see my family but I cant afford it so all I have left is my memories of the past.

The Curse of the Mummy Professor Ramos Blog

The Curse of the Mummy   When someone mentions a mummy, what do you see?   I imagine a little girl or boy wrapped in toilet paper and bumping into everyone while trying to get candy.   While mummies are now seen as this evil monster, mummification has been an ancient tradition used by the Egyptians long ago.   Mummies are very fascinating in many ways; some connect them to curses and spirits or as a zombie like creature that can come to life.   There are many different variations of how the mummy has been portrayed, a recent one has been a movie cleverly named â€Å"The Mummy† with Tom Cruise.   This movie creates a different kind of mummy from ancient times because it is cursed, she comes back to life, and she is mummified alive.  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is evidence that this unique burial process was used to preserve the dead bodies for the afterlife.   Egyptians had strong beliefs that after death there is a whole other life and what was in your tomb is what went with you.   Mummifiers would cover the dead body in natron, which would help dry out the body, then wrap it in linen and place it in a clay or wooden coffin.   As this process grew more common, people wanted the mummified body to look more presentable and would stuff the sunken areas with more linen and even put fake eyes on them.   Placed in the tomb where some afterlife essentials, they arranged furniture, statues, paintings and even food.   The Egyptians believed that the body of the mummy was the home of the soul and spirit, if the body were to be destroyed that the spirit might be lost. The Pharaoh and his family were buried in very elaborate tombs with all their luxuries. The mummification process was a joyful celebration sending people to their after life in peace.   So how did they become this terrifying cursed monster?   The movie â€Å"The Mummy† is about an Egyptian princess who is betrayed by her father and seeks revenge.   She reaches out to the gods and takes on the fullest form of evil and kills her whole family.   Before she is able to live out her mission, she is caught by her fathers priest and is mummified and entombed alive. Her tomb is covered in mercury so her monstrous spirt cannot escape. Many generations later a character named Nick accidently find her tomb and she is resurrected from the dead.   The princess mummy has a curse and had cursed Nick into being her chosen one and they both became more and more powerful to eventually take over.   The mummy in this movie is portrayed as an evil monster who is more powerful than any human. Her main goal is to be the ruler of Egypt which she feels is her right and was unfairly taken away. It is showing the mummification process in an unhuman and negative way by mummifying her alive. Unlike the real traditions of the Egyptians, this is mummification is a punishment and is very scary to even think about.   She is also a princess and does not receive any of her luxurious afterlife items. It was a good action filled and suspenseful movie but the plot of the movie can be difficult to follow and it was not as scary as I imagined it to be after seeing the evil looking mummy princess.   This movie definitely elaborates on the dark side of the mummy but it does give a back story telling why she chose to be evil.  I would give this movie two  and a half  out of four stars.   â€Å"This refusal to participate in the classificatory â€Å"order of things† is true of monsters generally; they are disturbing hybrids whose externally incoherent bodies resist attempts to include them in any systematic structuration.   And  so  the monster is dangerous. A form suspended between forms that threatens to smash distinctions,† (Cohen 6).   This is from the third thesis named â€Å"The Monster is the Harboring of Category Crisis†, the quote above mentions how monsters are â€Å"disturbed hybrids† and that is exactly what the mummy in the movie is because she is unhuman like. This mummy is definitely not following the order of things because she chose the path of evil which makes her a dangerous outcast.   â€Å"The horizon where the monsters dwell might well be imagined as the visible edge of the hermeneutic circle itself: the monstrous offers an escape from its hermetic path, an invitation to explore new spirals, new and intercon nected methods of perceiving the world,† (Cohen 7).   This quote from the third thesis is stating that the monsters offer another reality to life.   The mummy just wanted to be the ruler of Egypt because to her that was her right that had been taken away.   She was just taking back what was rightfully hers.   The mummy in the movie was not always bad but different events that happened made her become evil. This thesis relates to this movie the most because it is a supernatural creature that is rebelling to get her way.  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"they demand a radical rethinking of boundary and normality. The too precise laws of nature as set forth by science are gleefully violated,† (Cohen 7).   This means the monster does not want to be categorized and chooses their own way over the systematic flow.   The monster is defiant and that is what makes them a monster.  Ã‚  the mummy is a classic evil monster that is not born evil but instead a normal person.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, the mummy is now seen as a scary and terrifying zombie monster when it when it just started as a burial tradition.   The mummy in ancient times  went through a long burial process preparing them for their afterlife.   It may seem from all this that the Egyptians are obsessed with death, when in reality they loved life and wanted their second life to be just as amazing.   Buried with their belongings and prized possessions, they were being sent off in their best form with their soul and spirit  still intact. In the new recent movie about a mummy, she is portrayed as an evil, cursed spirit. A princess that is mummified alive is a  scary thought and gives mummification a negative connotation. This princess is also on a mission and takes out whoever is in her way to become the ruler of Egypt. This makes us fear mummies and see them as monsters. The movie connects to the third thesis of the â€Å"Seven Thesis† because  is talks about the monsters being hybrid s. The mummy is definitely a hybrid because she has supernatural powers unlike any human.   It also breaks scientific rules by having a corps be resurrected from the dead.   She also breaks them by having powers and being able to control people.   This also connects with being created because of the fear of the unknown. People were afraid of a mummy possibly coming back to life, so it eventually became a monster.   They were also afraid of curses and spirits and having a dead corps  filled with those coming back to life is terrifying.   Mummification was not always feared, but a common practice and is now seen as a scary monster that will never go away.  

Spotting Parts of Speech With a Reading Lesson

Spotting Parts of Speech With a Reading Lesson Reading can be used to help students practice their recognition skills of the eight parts of speech in English, as well as different types of important structure such as titles, headings, bolding, and italics. Another important skill that students should develop while reading is the ability to spot synonyms and antonyms. This beginning to lower-intermediate lesson provides a short reading selection from which students should extract examples of parts of speech and writing structures as well as finding synonyms and antonyms. Aim: Learning to recognize specific parts of speech, increasing vocabulary through the use of synonyms and antonymsActivity: Short reading selection from which students extract examplesLevel: Beginner to lower-intermediate Outline Check understanding of parts of speech, as well as structural elements as a class. Use an exercise book, or other reading materials as available.Ask students use the short reading selection to spot the various parts of speech, as well as synonyms and antonyms suggested.Correct in class.Expand the exercise by asking students to provide more synonyms and antonyms. Spot the Words and Phrases Fill in the worksheet below spotting the requested word, phrase or larger structure. Heres a quick review to help you complete the task: Noun - objects, things, and peopleVerbs - what objects, things and people DOAdjective - words that describe objects, things, and peopleAdverb - words that describe how, where or when something is donePrepositions - words that show relationships between thingsSynonyms - words that mean the sameAntonyms - words that mean the oppositeTitle - name of a book, article or story My Friend Mark by Kenneth Beare Mark’s Childhood My friend Mark was born in a small town in the north of Canada called Dooly. Mark grew up a happy and interested boy. He was a good student in school who studied carefully for all his exams and got very good grades. When it came time to go to university, Mark decided to move to the United States in order to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Mark at University Mark enjoyed his time at university. In fact, he enjoyed his time immensely, but he didn’t really spend the time studying for his courses. He preferred to travel around Oregon, to visit all the sites. He even climbed Mt. Hood twice! Mark became very strong, but his grades suffered because he was lazy. During his third year at university, Mark changed his major to agricultural studies. This turned out to be a very good choice, and Mark slowly began to get good grades again. In the end, Mark graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in agricultural sciences. Mark Gets Married Two years after Mark graduated, he met a wonderful, hardworking woman named Angela. Angela and Mark fell in love immediately. After three years of dating, Mark and Angela married in a beautiful church on the coast of Oregon. They’ve been married for two years and now have three lovely children. All in all, life has been very good to Mark. He’s a happy man and I’m happy for him. Please find examples of: the author’s namea titlea sentencea paragraphthree nounsfour verbstwo adjectivestwo adverbsthree prepositionsan exclamationa synonym for â€Å"too relaxed†an antonym for â€Å"to leave school†an adjective which is a synonym for â€Å"powerful†an adverb which is an antonym of â€Å"slowly†a verb which is a synonym for â€Å"go to school†a noun which is a synonym for â€Å"test†a verb which is an antonym for â€Å"go down†a noun which is a synonym for â€Å"diploma†an antonym for the adjective â€Å"awful†an antonym for the adjective â€Å"sad†a synonym for the verb â€Å"to go out with a girlfriend or boyfriend†

Obamas First Inagural Address and Mitt Romneys Speech at Tampa Florida Essay

Obamas First Inagural Address and Mitt Romneys Speech at Tampa Florida on August 30, 2012 - Essay Example For Mitt Romney, the speech that will be used is his speech last August 30, 2012 in Tampa Florida where he cited that Obama has failed his promises. The newspaper article that critiqued Obama’s previous Inauguaral Address will also be analyze about its rhetorics. The speeches of Obama and Romney were enthralling considering that it was delivered by Presidential candidates. Personally, I was impressed by both speeches because they were towering and very insightful. Both speeches remind us of our struggle and our best qualities, on how we were able to surmount them through hardwork and perseverance. In Obama’s speech, I particularly like the line that goes â€Å"time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today†. This is very appropriate considering that America was under a crisis and still is struggling to overcome it. Obama also spoke of national unity, â€Å"to end petty grievances and false promises† recognizing that America is shaped by â€Å"every language and cultu re, drawn from every planet of this earth†. Finally, Obama relate that he is one of the â€Å"People (who) have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers†. ... He added â€Å"But what could you do? Except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic. Hug your kids a little longer; maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day† it was indeed a dark moment that Mitt Romney painted emblematic of the American’s struggle today. There was also an article by Shear where Romney critiqued Obama’s leadership as a disappointment over the last four years† (Shear). But despite of the length of his attribution towards Obama’s leadership, he failed to convince voters as the poll would show that Romney remains â€Å"Less well liked among voters than  Mr. Obama† (Shear). The article only cited one instance of Obama’s political snipe at Romney’s character which â€Å"portrayed him as a wealthy, out-of-touch business executive who cares more for profit than people† (Shear) and it eroded all the character build up or ethos of Romney. The tirade was craftily compos ed, despite lacking in logos because it turned Romney’s asset of being a successful entrepreneur who could get things done into a liability. The statement packaged Romney as somebody who is spoiled brat and out of touch that Americans voters cannot relate. The statement was based more on pathos or an appeal to emotion by painting Romney as an elitist brat in the imagination of American voters. This political branding of course is untrue and lacked basis or lacking in logos because Romney will not be successful as he is now if he is a spoiled brat who lacks a grasp on reality. But the tirade stuck in the voters’ consciousness and hurt Romney’s image as a leader and alienated him from the consciousness of many Americans that made him lose the election. The speeches that