Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play

The genre of post apocalyptic holds a high capability of offering fascination to its audiences for decades.  The general thought  in regard to the  approach of the world’s end  and the  triggering  thought of the  humans  reaction  in the situation intrigues  and  also scares simultaneously.  The  phenomena develops  a deep  Individuals questioning  in  regard to  the surrounding  and the  humanity’s  core. ‘’Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play’’ is an  interesting  take  that  is  based  on post  apocalypse  narration  which was  inspired  by  The Simpsons a world’s most preferred and  popular  TV family (Brantley 1).  With the  depletion  of electricity  in the world  based  on some  illnesses  or rather  some  nuclear failures  that  spread  rapidly  and killed  civilization  a survivor’s small group  sticks together.  As  a reminder  to the survivor  of what  was prior,  some classic  lines  are  enacted  from the  inspiration  ‘’The Simpsons’’  which is effective  in  creating  hilarity  and deeper meaning.  The  play dwells on the  primary  theme  of the  creation of  stories that are  passed  from a single generation  to the other, thus  creating a further  meaning  for each  generation (Brantley 1). This creates the  comforting  notion that  even if  times comes  and  humanity  dies  creativity  will remain, and the  myths  resulting  from  the existence  on earth  will  be present  given that a single individual  will  be left  to  make the narration.

Washburn primary objective  in the play  seems to  be  delivering  the  message  that  everyday  issues  as well as the  involved  events  should be   taken as  part  of  narration  which will  produce  a distinct  meaning  with time (Hurwitt 1).  Given  the  particular  background, Washburn  decides  to utilize some knowledge  from  the  familiarity of  different  sources and  particularly ‘’The Simpsons’’. In that the  play considers  all things  as the  major parts of the  popular culture  that  makes survival  inside  the memories  of individuals  throughout the  apocalypse  nuclear  is  perceived  as ironic  and  also strange.  With  the destruction of the electric  grind  individuals  are  forced  to  adopt  a world that  has no television,  telephones, radiators or even electric stoves.  They  have to  regress  to the  older  forms  of engagement  similar  to storytelling however instated of  adopting higher literature they are forced to recall about the  popular culture  that  everyone  recalls (Brantley 1).

The play makes a lot of revelation that regards the modern person’s engagement with popular culture.  The  play  cannot  be  described  as  a general  celebration  of a highly preferred  sitcom  or  even a popular  culture’s  satire  of obsessive that increases  its  mythic  level.  However,  it is  a major exploration of the  layered  significance of  mass  cultural  icons  that exists  in  the fragmenting  in the world (Brantley 1). This  is  the  manner  in  which individuals  currently  cling  to  the known  in  the center  of crisis  as well as the  changing  authority  that  is  held  by  telling  stories. The scary play  is characterized  by  uniqueness, sweetness,  and fascination   by offering detailed  and descriptive  reports regarding  the perception  of  popular  culture  by the  modern  people  and its  significance.  The  play  displays  its  curiosity  of the kinds  of  cultural  memories  that  individuals  would cling to with the disappearance of  what is highly  valued  in the  world.  The play  sends the  primary message   that if individuals  are  good  at  holding  onto  culture  as well as arts  this means that  the  ability of  holding on  to  humanness  will  still  be retained even in the  occurrence of  apocalypse (Hurwitt 1). This  implies  that   changing  civilization  into  barbarism is hindered  by  many things  since there are some governing laws  and religion  but all this  cannot  be compared to  arts.

Washburn’s play  title  as  Mr. Burns demonstrates  the significance  of  the  TV series  ‘’The Simpsons’’  for the  narration. The issue with the terminology popular culture is based on its vagueness (Brantley 1).  Currently it is very challenging to describe popular culture based on its broad spread.   In the  play  the  familiarity  with distinct  sources  seems to be  an  effective  selection as  the  depiction  of  our engagement  with popular culture.   The main objective of the  play  is to  restrict the audiences  from  vibration  to  a single direction on  demonstration about  the  issues  that  the modern individuals only care about  which are driven  by  electricity.  The modern  engagement  with  popular culture  is well demonstrated in the play  which  shows  the  easy way through  which  the  phenomenon  of popular culture  can be  restored  by  another  one (Hurwitt 1).

The play demonstrates its  primary  focus  by the  main characters as the  small survivors group  by incorporating  current  trends  and issues  and  the  existing world event (Hurwitt 1).  The involved  characters are  pressured  to deal  with  the issues  thus  introducing subjects  such  as  politics  as well as religion  in a manner  that generates  descriptive  satirical reflection  of the present  world  in which we exist.   With the utilization of  satire  as the  primary  mode  of delivering the story  Washburn provokes  positive responses while simultaneously  evoking  increased significance  as compared to other  series.  The significance  is something that  sets a long-term  popular culture  occurrence  which differs  with the short run trends  which helps  in  creating  the connection with the modern engagement with the popular culture (Brantley 1).

Washburn utilizes the notion as her primary point of her dystopia play.  The narrative by Washburn, Mr. Burn is one that is set in the short run future as the play states at the beginning.  The play begins in a normal scenario where some individuals are seated by the campfire re-narrating Simpsons stories (Brantley 1).  Eventually, it becomes apparent that the gathering is far from a leisure meeting.  The situation is something that can best be recalled by everyone.  In the  second  act after the passing of  seven years  the  survivors  have well  adopted  to their  situation and they  start enacting Simpsons  episodes  for payment (Brantley 1).  The  theatre field  becomes very competitive  since  the  competitors  gains their  earning by  doing similar  things.  The survivors  are  pressured to  get  by  and  with  desperation they  have the  will  of getting involved  in everything  which generates  corruption.

The entertainments that are demonstrated in the second and that Act is presented in one of the major touches by Washburn.  In that the  mocked up  comedies  or entertainment  are  a mere shows  within  another  show which are  designed   by the  regenerated  domestic  life’s  scenes which have been   damaged by apocalypse (Washburn 2).  The play offers a subtly dramatized procedure of cultural transformation in the era of mass media.  In the  post  apocalyptic Washburn’s world Conard Joseph, Williams Tennessee and  William  Shakespeare  works  clear  services  only  ‘’The Simpsons’’ episodes. The play Mr. Burn depicts popular culture as the primary diversion from the existing reality.  During the first section of the first scene the Dystopia setting of the setting does not come into the direct focus (Brantley 1).

The  passage of time in the play  since when it  had started  in  Act holds on impact  on the manner  in  which individuals  views and understand the story.  From the  first  act   it seems as  if  the audiences  considers the  play  to be  a depiction  of a scenario rather  than  a play.  In that the survivors are trying to recall the events before the fall of civilization (Washburn 2).  In that  the  popular  cultures  that survives from the  play are  only those that  are  characterized  by  creativity  rather  than  modernity.  In case  that the modern development  fails  individuals are  forced  to  recall  and to adopt  to the  old  creative  cultures  and  search for other  ways  of surviving.  As  time  passes   comfort  and the ability  to  adopt  to the  fresh  environment  begins  to  increase  since the lost  culture  is  replaced  by a different  one that generates  a different significance to the existing generation (Washburn 2).

It is not  a wonder  that the  apocalypse thoughts remains in  the individuals shared consciousness  worth  the provision  of  the current  and the present pressure of  the  nuclear  plants aging,  coral  reefs  bleaching and  high  storms  without the consideration of  terrorists threats  that are ever present.  The  issues  that are  ever  present in the  individuals  mind  is  their reactions  to the situations, the  strategies  of coping  and those  that are best  suited to survive which as the modern popular culture is well depicted in the play Mr. Burn by Washburn.  The  play  moves  the  modern persons concerns  further  but  provoking the  worry   of  humanity  and civilizations  ability  to endure and  whether  they  will  remain  as the  primary  heritage (Brantley 1).  Washburn  derives  the   opinion  that  paintings,  literature , architecture  and symphonies  will  obviously  disappear.  However, as for the popular  culture  that is  based  on  creativity  such as the  shows  that  individuals  watch  together  at  homes  or while chilling  around  their TV sets  are  all that  will remain  which is  similar  to their  Odyssey  and the  bible  as  a representation  of their  beliefs and cultural  grounds (Washburn 4).

The  play  is  divided  into  three  sections  which are  effective  in  showing  the implication  of time  to the value  of popular  culture as well as individuals  perceptions.  The first  Act  occurs  within  a short  period  after  the  passing of the  un-described  disaster  that  is  shown  to  have resulted  in the meltdown  of the  world’s  nuclear  and all  its power (Washburn 2).  This  demonstrates  a change  of living  and an  adoption   of an  older  culture  in  suiting the  existing  needs and preferences  of the  survivors.  As five individuals gathers around the campfire one is watching from a leafless tree’s patch. Instead  of  showing their  concern  about  shelter, clothing  or even  food  their  conversation  is  mainly  centered  on ‘’The Simpsons’’ which is  a popular  show  in  the television  at that period.  It therefore looks like the most significant thing is recalling Cape Feare’s episodes details while they exist.  With the  loss of  electricity  they  have flashlights  powered  by  lithium  as well as guns  for protection  and surviving through the  darkness (Washburn 2).

The second  Act  appears  like seven years  later  with  the presence of  improvised  lines  and the survivors  are  in  a new  situation  where they   have been  hardened by life  and in order to  survive  they are  forced  to produce  shows  so that their commercials  can be  completed (Washburn 3).  The  third  act  is  particularly  eight three  years  since the  occurrence  of  devastation  and the  destruction that is  combined  with  Simpsons episodes has already  been  changed into  an opera sung through, that  is  portrayed  by  masked  characters who are  involved  in the  singing  of versed  couplets and in  the heaven’s  glimpse  is where  they  end. The play’s characters creates an ensemble that integrates in different ways that is becomes   challenging to identify each (Brantley 1).  This  therefore, shows  how the  modernity  popular  culture  can  make individuals  to appear  as one  based  on their  ambitions  and the  desperation  of surviving  through  the  harsh times.

Conclusion

It is apparent  that Mr. Burn  play  that  is authored  by  Washburn  is a depiction  of  popular culture’s ability  to  survive  changes  since it is  based  on creativity . the  central  theme  of the  play is  mainly  the generation  of  short  stories  which are passed to  a single generation  to another and this  creates significant  and different  life’s meaning.  The  play creates  the  notion  that  time helps in  adopting to  the  created  changes as well as the  general  ability  to implement  strategies  for  survival.  With   changes  desperation  and  the loss  of  morality  creates  high  competition  which in  turn  creates  high  state of corruption.  Washburn  designs  a comforting  idea that  even  at that  time  when  humanity  dies, creativity  will  remain fully and  earth’s life  mythical  development  will  also go on provided that  there   is  an individual  or more  left surviving  to  offer  the  narration.

            Work Cited

Brantley, Ben. Stand up, survivors: Homer is with you. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/16/theater/reviews/mr-burns-a-post-electric-play-at-playwrights-horizons.html

Hurwitt, Sam. In post-Apocalyptic Mr. Burns, The Simpsons are literally legendary. 2015. Retrieved from https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/02/27/in-post-apocalyptic-mr-burns-the-simpsons-are-literally-legendary/

Washburn, Anne. Words  On Play, Mr. Burns A Post Electric  Play. Insight into the Play, the Play Wright and the Production. ACT, 2015.Pdf

Review

‘’I know why the  caged  bird sings’’  is a spiritual,  beautiful  and a poetic  autobiographical  novel  authored  by Angelou Maya.  Maya, writes  in regard  to her  own childhood  and extensively recalls  most of the situations  that  occurred  within her  community  for the blacks  which  transformed  her life’s perspective.  The  book  addresses  the  issues surrounding  losses, triumphs, courage  and  the black community’s dignity as the  author  fully explores  the struggles  involved in becoming  liberated  from all the  misogyny and racism  shackles.  The chronological  story  begins  after  bailey  and marguerite who are both  four and three  years  and  ends  after  the high school graduation  of Marguerite and the V-day. The description of what  happens  to the  main  character demonstrates  the  occurrences  in the  black communities of Arkansas, Stamps, St. Louis as well as  a section  of  the war period  in California.

Almost  all the  scenes  holds  one or more  objectives  which is  to  offer  a vivid  picture  of being a black American  in the  period of WWII and the great depression.  This was   additionally  to demonstrate  one  of  the African  American girls  who was  very determined  was  subjected to challenges,  addressed them  and successes.  The  dangers involved  in  being African  American  prior to the  struggle of  civil  rights is additionally  depicted   in that  Willie  as a cripple is  forced  to hide  for  the whole  night  to  avoid the  rampage (Angelou 16).  In addition when Marguerite  works  as a maid for  a white woman  she decides to  call her Mary since  she  says that  her  name is  too much work to mention.

Maya’s poetry affinity is clear in her style of writing which is characterized by unique phrases and poetic visuals. This can be supported by the title which in itself sounds poetic.  Some of the speech figures can be termed as unsuccessful because one is required to read over to get the intention.  However, the utilized narrative language is full of modern expression, vividness and accuracy.

Work Cited

Angelou, Maya. I know  why the caged birds sings. Bellatine Books, New York, 2015.

Gimpel the Fool

Introduction

A fool is a person who behaves unwisely due to lack of wisdom. Gimpel is considered as a fool by the townspeople, not because he lacks wisdom but simply because he is gullible. There is a conflict between townspeople and Gimpel since the society is taking advantage of his weakness for personal enjoyment. Because of his naivety, Gimpel is  mocked and  ridiculed  but  what shows that Gimpel is not a  fool is that he acknowledges  he is not a fool and believes that  people  show practical jokes to him  because he is naïve  but  not because of his unintelligence.  In the story, it is clear that Gimpel struggles to move out from the evil society to gain the deeper truth.  Despite the fact that Gimpel lives in a deceitful world, he is an honest man. Society and Gimpel have different views on his personality as society believes he is fool but he recognizes that he is not a fool. It is important to note a fool cannot understand whether people around him are tricking him or not, but in Gimpel’s case, he understands the people’s reactions and tries to keep them happy. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the various events which justifies that Gimpel is not a fool. In every situation that Gimpel comes across in his life, he develops a successful personality and at last, he triumphs over evil.

 Gimpel admits that the townspeople take advantage of him and this clearly shows that he   is a not foolish because he understands how people view and treat him. It is ironic that the townspeople refer to Gimpel as a fool yet he has wisdom which guides him toward bearing the burden, showing goodness and creating a positive relationship with people. In the story, Gimpel is persuaded by the townspeople to marry a prostitute (Elka) and agrees to take care of children yet he very well knows that he is not the biological father (Bausch, 1357). After 17weeks of the marriage, Elka bears a child and   in this scenario, it is apparent that Gimpel is not a fool.  He says that “…I didn’t believe her…” (Bausch, 1358). He shows parental love to the children and his foolishness expresses the true wisdom not only for loving the kids but also for showing virtuous actions toward the immorality behaviors of the villagers. Indeed, townspeople focus on outward appearance of Gimpel but fail to consider the person inside. In other words, Gimpel is caring and kind and he is looking for acceptance from the society.  Gimpel is not a fool but rather he is character who shows knowledge and ignorance. He has a special wisdom and he shows ignorance to the outrageous things by doing according the will of the townspeople.  For example Rietze tells him that his parents who dies have risen, Gimpel says that “…I knew very well that nothing of the sort had happened” (Bausch, 1358).

  Gimpel uses his wisdom to build a relationship with God rather than being closely associated with human beings. His personality behavior is therefore rooted from religious perceptions and believes that he is not a weakling.  Hadda (284) argues that Gimpel is not a fool but rather he is a person who avoid causing anger and to others and who accepts the will of people with an aim of creating a strong rapport. The important point to understand is that Gimpel is a successful person seeing that he goes through an intense pain which a less daring person could not tolerate. He is a complete human being who is controlled by love and respect.  Hadda (289) introduces the term pathology and decides to argue that Gimpel is a not a fool but rather his behaviors are pathological and he presents such behaviors to search for a well-balanced existence (Hadda, 289).  Note that Gimpel is an orphan and unlike other children, he is raised by his grandfather who later dies. His pathological behaviors are apparent when he marries Elka. In their marriage, he tells Elka not to be deceitful for he is an orphan. Since Elka abuses and treats Gimpel in a negative way, he tells her that he needs a special treatment   and to speak openly, an orphan should not treat the way he is treating him. Note that his naivety or else what townspeople refer as foolishness is expressed by Gempel for the purpose of regaining warm connections from the society (Hadda, 289). Given that his parents died, Gimpel have to go through the jokes and pranks and he have to bear the unbearable. Gimpel is deprived and so he has an intense and pervasive need for special tenderness, strength and stability which he did not get from his parents (Hadda, 289).  However, townspeople know that he is in a vulnerable position and rather than treating him like a normal human being they treat him like a fool.  Actually, Gimpel is a not fool but rather he has a high level of intelligence. This is because, he understands that the townspeople are important to his life and he uses strategies to create rapport with them. Note that his parents and his guardian are dead and so the society around him will help live a meaningful life (Hadda, 290). However, it is worth saying that the townspeople are fool because they fail to notice and fulfill the special need of Gimpel.

 Gimpel is a not a fool because he has a self-realization. He has a consciousness which helps him understand the life experience and his self-image. In other words, through all the events he comes across in life, he is able to respond and to act (Gale, 1). Self realization in his life means that he has a sense of certainty and a sense of completeness. Despite the fact that Elka shows infidelities, Gimpel   has a self realization and a strong presence in the society. The process of bearing the unbearable gives him the power and vitality to become a successful person later. The point to note is that in order to be successful, live a meaningful life and become an important person in life; you have to stumble upon pain and humiliation. This tells that Gimpel is not a fool but he is preparing his well-being. The reason why Gimpel persevere the harsh condition presented by Elka is because he feels that he has a sense of worth and courage when Elka is around him (Gale, 2). In addition, Gimpel understands that Elka play a role in his life as a business man and society will respect him. He author of this article asserts that   there is a connection between self object functions and provider. This implies that Elka makes Gimpel feel contented with life and   gains self-esteem.

            Gimpel is morally superior and his honor and integrity is apparently seen. Despite the fact he is rejected by the villager, he acts kindly and compassionately. Remarkably, he is transformed from his naivety by two dreams. First, he is persuaded to revenge the townspeople for deceiving him.  He is advised by the devil to mix the dough with the urine and provide it to the townspeople (Gale, 3). In addition, he is told that there is no life after death but Gimpel is surprised by this dream and decide to not to do so to avoid damnation. He also does not believe that there is no God and that after death there is no life. In the second dream, Gimpel decides to free from the deceit and corrupt society to find a rebirth and enlightenment. At this point, he is not controlled by naiveté and innocence but rather he follows truth. He is no more in hostility and he is lives faithfully. He successfully frees from society’s frivolity and clings to deeper truth and truthful afterlife. Rather than describing Gimpel as a fool, it is worth saying that the society is evil and Gampel does everything with kindness (Gale, 3). Gimpel makes all the townspeople to become his friends regardless of their negative reactions toward him. In times of confrontation, Gimpel acts positive simply because he wants an acceptance from the society. The problem with the townspeople is that they do not see the virtue and true wisdom in the foolishness. Regardless of threats and abuse from Elka and people, he remains loyal and lives humbly and morally. Gimpel shows superiority toward the immoral behaviors of the townspeople (Gale, 3).

 Conclusion

  ‘Gimpel the Fool’ is a short story which illustrates the nature of reality.  Gimpel is considered as a fool but he does not understand the reason why people name him a fool.   Due to his naiveté, he is told terrible lies but he avoids hurting people by showing them love and respect.  In reality, the townspeople can be considered fools because they have a limited understanding on Gimpel‘s situation. They fail to understand that Gimpel is an orphan who need acceptance by the society. He is intelligent in that he tries to keep people happy by accepting the deceit.  He also faces hardships and conflict with his wife Elka but he holds fast to integrity, honest and kindness. The entire story shows that his naiveté helps him in achieving life contentment.  In ordinary sense, townspeople should not consider him as a fool simpliy because he is partially naïve and he fully understands their reaction. All the same, Gimpel has a self realization and he understands the world he lives in. He develops and realizes oneself and frees from the deceitful society.

Work cited

Bausch Richard.  The NORTON ANTHOLOGY of SHORT FICTION. SEVENTH EDITION. University of

Memphis. 2013

Gale, Cengage L. Study Guide to Isaac Bashevis Singer's Gimpel the Fool. Detroit: Gale, Cengage

Learning, n.d.. Print.

Hadda, Janet. "Gimpel the Full." Prooftexts, vol. 10, no. 2, May 1990, p. 283. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7162523&site=ehost-live.

"Cocaine Floods the Playground" and "Ok, Back To the Easy One"

Introduction

Newspapers and most of the press releases prefer to utilize big numbers in generating eye catching headlines.  They  work  on the business model  with the  need  of hidden scares, miracle  cure  and low shifts in percentage  that  will  never be adequate  for their readers sale to  their advertisers (Goldacre, 2008).  In that  at the point they  select the  sole  most  misleading  and melodramatic  way of  offering  deep  descriptions  of  any  increase  in statistical risk which is regarded  to  an increase in relative risk. For instance  the  general risk of having a heart attack due to high cholesterol  intake may  be 50 percent which may rise  by two percent  after more intake  but the media will report a double  increase (Goldacre, 2008).  This will best be demonstrated by both "Cocaine floods the playground" and "ok, back to the easy one".

According to the article titled cocaine floods the playground the utilization of addictive drugs mainly by children doubles annually. However,  the government  press release  survey’s  report  in which the  story  was  based upon  demonstrates almost zero changes  in the drug use  patterns,  smoking as well as  drinking since the  year 2000 (Goldacre, 2008). The reporting of the newspaper stated that the doubling was achieved from 1 up to 2 percent. However, the actual figures were 1.4 and 1.9 in 204 and 2005 respectively. This implies that the utilization of cocaine had not experienced any form of doubling since the increase was less than 1 percent which makes it insignificant (Goldacre, 2008).

The low increase  which is represented  by 0.5 percent  can be considered  to be important  only since it was generated  from an increased sample  of nine thousand which is similar to the tossing of  nine thousand coins.  It is apparent to almost every individual that that such studies that utilizes bigger samples implies that the generated results are more significant. The release of the report was a major reinterpretation of the report to establish a more impressive headline particularly for those with lower knowledge regarding statistical numbers (Goldacre, 2008).

Additionally  there are  several  simplified  strategies  of generating statistics that are  ridiculous  and the  primary  favorite  are  the selection  of  unusual  sample individuals group  and  focusing on asking  questions that are  rather  stupid (Goldacre, 2008). Most of the reports are particularly settled on bias since the unwilling or the non-respondents are the ones that are normally chased by the surveys.  For instance the  report  released  in 2007  that  doctors were planning  to make  revolts of the  governmental  plans  on permitting them  to  perform  surgical abortion surgeries  was  concluded based on the utilization  of  stupid  queries. For instance the question being whether doctors should carry out abortions in their surgeries is wrong since the query is not phrased correctly (Goldacre, 2008).

Based on the responses  provided  it is apparent that  the  doctors only  gave a thought mainly  on surgical  abortions rather  than the  relativity  of oral  and safer pills  for terminating the pregnancy. This lowers the  effectiveness  of the  research  since the questions  and the  report  achieved  cannot  be regarded  as  one that is significant in any way (Goldacre, 2008).

Discussion Question

Is it ethically right  for the media to sell  the readers  to their  advertisers  using  exaggerated  statistics  which creates impressive  headlines?

Is there a need for newspapers and major press release to be grounded on accurate statistical changes?

            Reference

Goldacre, B. (2008). Bad science. London: HarperCollins e-books.

 Introduction

 Chris McCandless is the name that is still on everyone's lips as are his motivation and the outcome of his journey, which made him famous. While there remains polemical status around his story, Jon Krakauer in the book Into the Wild reconstructs Chris’s journey, presents memories about the traveler. He provides several similar stories and attempts to represent several possible reasons which led Alexander Supertramp to his last adventure. The book is an effort to help the reader in understanding the fate and motivation which drew Chris in his life and serves as a warning for all the admirers of wild adventures. The desire of absolute and filtrated reality filled with freedom from all material impregnates Alex’s story.
   

 Chris, like one of his favorite character from Leo Tolstoy's novel, Pierre Bezukhov, sets his mind on a super-task. He abandons his formal lifestyle and takes a shot to make his dream of an Alaskan Odyssey come true. While Pierre was taken captive and received a second chance to re-think his choices, Chris had no such opportunity. Krakauer suggests several possible reasons that explain Alex’s choice. There were the primary causes of the decision as a desire for real freedom and renunciation of material values; and the minor reasons as want to gain unique experience, disgust of career making in modern society, thirst for trials, and life in the world away from temptations. 
        

 The need to obtain new experiences remained as a part of Chris’s need for freedom. For Alex, it was a way to feel alive again and again. In early April, Ronald A. Franz read the letter from Chris: “I fear you will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail to discover all the beautiful things that God has placed around us to discover. Don’t settle down and sit in a location. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon” (Krakauer, 1996, p. 40). Jon Krakauer often quotes this concept of Chris's thinking. Simple communication with people and relations with them could not fulfill his heart desires. Time and time again Alex abandoned all the places he settled down on driven by the desire to experience new feelings and unique events. Moreover, antipathy to the concept of career didn’t promote the sedentary life too. Given that he was given all worldly possessions by his parents, he believed that he should explore the nature but finally his stubborn idealism led him to starve to death.   Walt and Billie advised him to further his education and attain a degree but he said that “careers were demeaning”. Twentieth-century inventions,” more of a liability than an asset and that he would do fine without one, thank you” (Krakauer, 1996, p. 79). 

Summing up the memories in this book, the majority of those who knew Alex in the work environment admit that he was a hardworking person and had all the abilities to build a successful career and to gain a lot of money as a result. However, earning was more like a game or a way to purchase the necessary. He was employed and assigned the job of distributing pizza and he could get a high salary. However, despite the fact he was intellectual and hardworking, he did not see the value for money, for him, the task was just a game (Krakauer, 1996, p. 84). As the career making the issues concerning money made Chris sick; This behavior made her son lose value for value for money and he did not see the importance of money in life but rather he described it as shameful and inherently evil (Krakauer, 1996, p. 80). He burned, left, easily gave away his money. Alex often refused to take useful things from his friends and friendly strangers. Such behavior was reckless, but also was a part of his desire to reject the material part of life and fulfill the awk.  At this point, he had suffered a lot his life was about to end. “Near the end of his trip, it turned out; Chris had gotten lost in the Mojave Desert and had nearly succumbed to dehydration” (Krakauer, 1996, p. 83). He was willing to sacrifice everything on his way to absolute freedom. Even in the darkest hours, when he knew, that the end was near, he wrote: “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!” (Krakauer, 1996, p. 136). He accomplished the primary goal.

Chris McCandless’s need to explore the world makes the theme of materialism apparent. First, his manhood destroys his life through making unwise decisions. He believed that wordily possessions will create a value in his life. However, he faces many hardships while trying to find his identity (Krakauer, 1996, p. 94). For him to live a free life, he had to bear the unbearable though he does not succeed.  It is worth saying that Chris’s life destruction is caused by his own fault of denouncing the American norms and decides to live a free life. He says that he does not feel comfortable in the society and his ideas on materialism drive him in the world. Since he is interested with material things, he does not see the allure of danger. Due to his arrogance and ignorance, he suffers from the consequences and starves to death.  In reality, when native Alaskans get the news of death, they say that the death is due to his incompetence and stupidity (Krakauer, 1996, p. 98).   The important point is that his decision to be isolated with the society ruins his life.

 Chris McCandless needs an ultimate freedom and he does not listen to the advices since he wants to life a free life without rules and regulations. In conversion between him and Gallien,  it is apparent that Chris  want freedom as he states that he hates the rules and hunting license provided by the government (Krakauer, 1996, p. 40). An important point to note is that for him to achieve an ultimate freedom, he believes that total isolation is an important element which will guide him toward achieving the freedom.

Conclusion

Chris McCandless remains as an example of how pride can throw over the perch talented and gifted people. Characters of his favorite authors often suffered from the same ideas and weaknesses. Creators of these book heroes mostly did not absolutize their thoughts in lifestyle though Alex did not see that. He was a stubborn black-and-white thinker, whose dream of absolute freedom and rash moved away from the essential idea of rationalism. Like Tolstoy’s Father Sergius, Chris’s desire led him to the forest far from the temptations. Unfortunately, his luck could not last forever. The absolute freedom was achieved, but the cost was unreasonably high.

Reference

 Krakauer, J. (1996). Into the wild. New York: Villard Books.

Forum - "Indian Mascot"

The utilization of  imagery  and terms  in referring  to  native or first  nations  as the  title  for  sports  teams is  a controversial   public debate in the country.  The  utilization  of  Indian  mascots  terms  can be categorized  as  damaging  and disrespectful  to individuals from  first  nations.  Most of the names and slogans that are witnesses in sporting games can be categorized as racist. American  holds  unending  volumes  of  native  Indians Americans  racists  depictions . for instance  the  term  redskins that is used  to represent a team  is a form of racial  disgrace.  In that the term redskin was utilized by the white persons who were chasing the Native Americans away from America (Richards and Taube 1).

Those  that  defends  the  act holds the argument that  the  imagery  are objected  at  honoring  the  native  Indians  bravery spirit since they are expected  to  feel  pride  of beings American  mascots as  native  persons (Two-Hawks 1).  However,  those  in  opposition  raises the argument  that  it is a form of racial  disgrace which  is  targeted  at reminding the native persons  of  their  oppressive past (Utt 1).  The  debates  stirs  racial  arguments  with  individuals  stating that  the whites  still  holds the  authority  of acting  superior  by  disgracing  people  from first nations.

After the exploration of the topic regarding Indians mascots it is clear that the occurrence of such imagery is not right.  Such  names  as well as visuals  creates  racial  disgrace  and  a negative  perception  by the affected  group.  It  may  seem  as a way  of honoring the efforts  and the never ending  spirits  for the groups  but  this  holds  negative  effects  to the wellness of the native  persons.  Pride  can never  be obtained  through  disgrace  and the rights  and  freedom of  individuals should be  respected  by  enhancing  their  social wellness (Martin-Hill 13:22).  I  believe  that  the  naming and the creation  of  such  racists  sports  imagery  should  be stopped.

            Work Cited

Martin-Hill, Dawn. Dismantling the white man's Indian: Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill at TEDxMcMasterU. 2013.  Retrieved  from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0DsMrTshcA

Richards Kate and Taube, Aaron. 15 Brand Mascots and Lagos That Make the Redskins Look Progressive. 2014. Retrieved  from http://www.businessinsider.com/15-racist-brand-mascots-and-logos-2014-6?IR=T

Two-Hawks, John. How Indian Mascots Oppress. 2016. Retrieved from http://www.nativecircle.com/mascots.html

Utt, Jamie. Redskins, Sambos, and Whities- Racism In Sports Mascots. 2010. Retrieved  from https://changefromwithin.org/2010/12/10/redskins-sambos-and-whities-racism-in-sports-mascots/

Literary Analysis of the theme of isolation on Frankenstein

In every attempt of composing a novel, the author always presents a quest in different ways to shed more light on unclear information on the issue and their true self. On the other hand, the readership always indulges into a process of uncovering these shreds of the actual motivation, feelings, and convictions of the writer (Booker 12). In the novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the author has used different characters to portray the theme of isolation with productive ideas on how knowledge could be utilized for both evil and good purposes. Moreover, the author also purposefully reveals how technology influenced human beings and the ill treatment of the uneducated. Therefore, this essay seeks to underscore a critical analysis of the theme of isolation in Shelley’s Frankenstein as well as presenting evidence that upholds the purpose of the essay.

The theme of isolation is depicted in a plethora of instance by different characterization in the entire novel. Furthermore, the theme of isolation is a strong theme since the main characters in the novel portray it, and hence it forms the basis of the writer’s feelings and convictions (Booker 26). Victor Frankenstein, the main actor, is very familiar with alienation since he has experienced this all his lifetime from childhood. Explicitly, Victor has faced estrangement from time to time rin ters of childhood life, society, and scientific work.

Frankenstein as the main character in the novel is an ambitious scientist who spends his entire life in recreating life in the form of a monster. Unfortunately, he is determined to accomplish his mission and quest yet very ignorant about the repercussions after that. Later, when his creation begins to deprive him peace and sleep, Victor is then compelled to spend the rest of his life destroy and kill the same creation he worked so hard to bring to existence. During all these time, the scientist is in isolation from the society busy doing his research work and has no time to mingle and even hung out with family and friends (Stripling 24). Apart from his research work, his study was also rigorous, and so he had no time for the society instead devoted himself to his research work as the quest to desire more knowledge.     

Significantly, this happening in Frankenstein’s life gives a real picture of the influence of a postmodern society of science and technology on the lives of people. The influence brought to humans by the creation of the monster is diverse, ranging from murder, human race erosion, and even fulfilling the author’s purpose of good and evil, evil in the sense that man competes God in the creation and goes against natural law. Moreover, the episode is also ironical in the sense that Victor spends entire youthful life to build what he eventually, he struggle to destroy even at the expense of his life (Francis et al 21).

Similarly, the theme of isolation is also is portrayed in victor’s creation. As the desire of every creature to be accepted by human beings, the creation’s desire is thwarted since the people choose to isolate themselves from it due to his scary or hideous appearance. The creator himself perpetuated the first sense of isolation when he could not withstand the ugly look of its creator and looked into a room. In the same manner, the villagers could endure the look either, as some even collapsed and fainted. The creature was even rejected by the families such as the DcLacey family (Bloom 23).

In the entire novel, the creature is only accepted by victor’s blind father and was the only one who could listen to its story, since he could judge it from what he hears but not appearance. The monster is impersonated and given human feelings by the author, thereafter the writer expresses how the monster feels about the rejection from the human beings to the extent that the monster retaliates by killing the family of Frankenstein, the creator, it kills brother, best friend, and wife. The monster arrived at a conclusion after its effort and trial to fit in the society hit the wall (Stripling 30).

The author using this episode symbolizes the pain and agony the destitute, the rejected, the less favored in the society go through. In the process, some innocent people end up being cruel and ruthless. The innocent monster is made to be cruel and alienates itself from human kind due to the reaction and experience it received from human beings. The peak of the matter was when the creature demanded a creation counterpart, upon refusal, it killed victor’s wife, Frankenstein himself launched a conflict with it, and the creature segregated itself and vanished.

In the novel, the theme of isolation is also realized in the characterization of Robert Walton. Walton and Victor shared one thing; the two choses to isolate due to their “lust for knowledge” however, Walton had a unique habit of even despite the tight schedule and commitment in his undertakings he was willing to cancel his expedition when the ship crew was returning home. His entire childhood he spent in loneliness as the victor as he educated himself in a similar manner as Frankenstein. Isolation in Walton’s life is articulated to his expedition when he set out to explore region away from civilizations. Nonetheless, unlike Victor and the creature, Walton has kept the in touch with the society since he used to communicate to her sister through letters (Francis et al 28).

A minor character the father of victor’s mother also displayed estrangement. In his day to day activities, the father to Caroline, victor’s mother sought for solitude and separated himself because of the mistakes he regrets to make as a merchant (Booker 54). Later Caroline is left with a burden of nursing her father, unfortunately; he died something that compelled Caroline to assist the poor and marginalized groups for the very reason that she had been there herself. In the midst of these, the author then introduces Elizabeth as a symbol of an angel sent to the family. Symbolically, Victor can also be seen to be like God because of his scientific work of creation.

In conclusion, the theme of isolation is no doubt one of the most significant themes in the novel Frankenstein. Therefore, in the same line isolation as a theme is a denominator in the characterization of the three most important characters. Victor and Robert due to their studies choose to alienate themselves from the society and so is the monster based on the rejection and ill-treatment from human beings. The separation about the purpose of the essay asserts that postmodernism, advancement in technology has perpetuated isolation, and segregation of other human being culminating to the slogan that every man has been for himself and God for all.  

Works cited

Booker, Christopher. The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. London [u.a.: Continuum, 2005. Print.

Bloom, Harold. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. New York: Chelsea, 2013. Internet resource.

Stripling, Mahala Y, and Mahala Y. Stripling. Bioethics and Medical Issues in Literature. , 2013. Print.

Francis, Pauline, and Mary W. Shelley. Frankenstein. London: Evans, 2010. Print.

Frankenstein Research Paper

            Everyone is faced with hard situations that require one to consider his or her actions as there are consequences to bear with. Choices of actions are out of free will and hence people have to live with some of these consequences throughout their lives as some are permanent consequences and others are just temporary but they leave an impact. People who make rash decision on the action to take in a given situation fails to see and consider some of these actions. To take responsibility of one’s actions is to recognize what one has done and accept the outcome of one’s actions. This paper, therefore, will major on Frankenstein’s novel to demonstrate some of the consequences that we face if we fail to take responsibility for our actions.

            Frankenstein is not an exception as he is also a victim who failed to take responsibility for his actions. He had so many opportunities to take care of his problem, that is his creation of the creature but he failed to take responsibility. He should have been accountable at the onset of the creation of this creature but he allowed the creature to continue growing (Marsh 96).  As a result of his failure in taking responsibility, he ended up creating a sad and unloved creature as he also failed to teach it of what the world entailed.  It thus led to his own destruction and that of those who are dear to him and those that surround him. He indirectly caused the killing of William and Justine. After this incidence, he was then given another opportunity to take responsibility for this creature at that time when the creature approached him but he did not. This angered the creature and killed two more other people, that is; Henry as well as Elizabeth. He finally tried to chase down the monster as he realized his mistake but it was too late for him and this led to his own destruction as he ended up being killed by this creature.  He thus states that, “I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats; but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me” (20.1). This final killing by the creature was a consequence to him for having failed to take responsibility for his own action of creating the creature (Marsh 96).

            Human population has increased rapidly over the years across the world and this has ultimately resulted into an increased demand in our natural resources. The high need for settlement places has resulted to deforestation cases and thus reducing the tropical forests. Also the people’s need for maximization of profits through industrialization and urbanization has resulted to construction of many industries that emit greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. These industries have also cleared most of the vegetation and forests with an aim of acquiring land for settlement (Miller n.p).  This action by the humans who have not yet taken full responsibility for their action has resulted to the destruction of our global climate as well as biodiversity.  Greenhouse gases pollution has resulted to the change in climate with increased temperatures thus affecting the biodiversity distribution and causing the extinction of some of these species. As people overexploit these natural resources such as the tropical forests there are species that are extinct and hence resulting to habitat change that attracts other alien species which increase competition and hence results to the extinction of the indigenous species which cannot cope up with these species. The lack of responsibility for the humans’ action upon their natural resources will constantly increase the intensity of destruction up-to that point of no return (Miller n.p).

            Overdependence of humans on varieties of plants and animals as sources of food has resulted to the humans engaging in activities that are harmful to the environment and the outcome is the biodiversity loss. The human induced environments that are believed to increase agricultural productivity, has eliminated habitats for these biodiversity, killed some of the living organisms, minimized the number of the genetic diversity thus causing a dramatic extinction of species (Miller n.p). The failure of the human to take responsibility for their unsustainable action has acted as a threat to the world’s biodiversity.

            Currently most of the people have made agriculture to be an economic activity and hence they have given more priority on this economic aspect of agriculture rather than carrying out sustainable agriculture. This lack of responsibility by the humans has resulted to the loss of the biodiversity as intensive agriculture is carried out with increased use of the natural resources such as water and also with the use of agrochemicals which pollute the water resources and the environment thus destroying some of the species (Miller n.p).

            It is therefore important to note that if we fail to take full responsibility for our actions, destruction is to be expected. If we fail to take responsibility for our actions we are bound to make these mistakes over and over again. Human nature makes the humans to have a tendency of failing to think and evaluate the outcomes of something before taking an action and they usually realize their mistake when it is already too late or when they have repeated the same mistake. 

References

Miller  D.A. Global Biodiversity Losses Are Approaching Tipping Points of No Return. Greenhaven Press, 2013.

Miller  D.A. Industrial Agriculture Is a Major Threat to Biodiversity. Greenhaven Press, 2013.

Miller  D.A. Agricultural Productivity Does Not Have to Result in Biodiversity Loss. Greenhaven Press, 2013.

Marsh, Nicholas. Mary Shelley: Frankenstein. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire [England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Internet resource.

Book review: The goal

            The goal: a process of ongoing improvement is a book written by Eliyahu M. Goldratt published in New York by the North River Press. It is one of the most compelling books that have 274 pages and was published in 1986. Eliyahu approached the production world with a general sense of outlook .He uses the topic goal for his book and it is a captive topic that creates interest in any reader. He uses goal to explain how one can use just one goal so as to make money and he continues to give out strategy that one can follow so as to meet this goal. His general sense of outlook is evident in the way he beautifully demonstrates his ideas all through the book as he looks into the cost accounting from outside and he has also ensured that he has developed a whole new system for this accounting. This is a recommended book for all accountants as well as managers since it have a good foundation and it should therefore be implemented in the curriculum of each and every accounting program. This book thus constantly helps the accounting industry towards making continuous development in this sector. Eliyahu uses the mechanism of Socratic inductive way of thinking so as to teach the readers of his theory of constraints. He thus presents these ideas in a fascinating manner about the people’s dealing with the constraints that managers face at home as well as at work each and every day.

            The book describes a new mechanism for optimizing the production surroundings that is the theory of constraints. This is where the traditional effective theories are determined to maximize the machine production with an aim of attaining advantage of large amount of production. The theory of constraints therefore centers on the use the bottleneck machines only so as to help the company to achieve their goal which include making money so as to enhance the company to exist in the nearby days to come.

            This book uses characters such as Alex Rogo, a production manager and Jonah, a manager who helps the author to explain his ideas. Alex is mentored by Jonah so as to assist him to optimize his plan and control his company from being closed down. Alex Rogo being the firm manager is constantly fighting so as to achieve the outcome requirements of his plant. Some of the conflicts that she undergoes through include, ongoing conflicts that occurs between the various departments such as marketing, accounting as well as production in the company. Jonah is a friendly manager who helps Rogo to identify and manage these challenges within the company. In particular, Rogo is able to realize production bottlenecks that are vital points that determine the rate of production for the firm. It is through this that he is able to develop mechanisms for rising above and living with these bottlenecks (Goldratt & Cox 1986).  Eliyahu thus uses the bottleneck to demonstrate his ideas throughout the book as it is a fair and easy product to identify with. For instance, in a manufacturing firm, one identifies these bottlenecks through seeing a big stack of goods that are waiting in the process f delivery while in the service surroundings; one can identify them through looking for stacks of files in an office. Therefore, Eliyahu’s ideas are surprisingly applicable in the production as well as in the service surroundings. Through the study and application of these ideas the reader is able to improve the organizational efficiency as well as productivity. The reader of this book is also able to free up the investments that are withheld in the excess inventory, minimize the consumers’ frustration and organization’s anxiety. This book is a must read requirement for all kinds of managers.

            It is important as it is a book of all times as it even applies in the current economic system as it demonstrates that one only needs one type of asset so as to be able to continue thriving. The goal of each and every organization or firm should thus be to keep making money so as to ensure that there is a guarantee of the organization operating even for the days to come and that it secures jobs and welfare for their employees. The book thus starts off with a lot of information on the manner in which money making process is measured. Eliyahu thus proposes three determinants for making money and they include turnover, inventories and operating expenses. According to him, turnover is the speed through which money is made through the means of sales. Inventories n the other hand involves the investments that the organization makes so as to be able to make products while the operation costs includes all the costs that are necessary for the company to turn the inventories into being sellable goods (Goldratt & Cox 1986). All these three measures are optimized as the maximization of the productivity of bottleneck machines are made while batches as well as the inventories are kept minimal for the other kind of machines.

                                 In the novel the author has used fine devices that have aided Alex in reaching cathartic moments. Alex’s breakthrough is seen in the overwhelming roadblocks in the novel. In the novel Alex is invited to chaperone where his son further delegated the duty of leadership to Alex. In this scenario Alex finds himself surrounded by different and pre-adolescent boys who were enthusiastic to conquer their day’s milestone of a 10 mile hike that was approximately 5 hours. As the boys were different so was their capabilities and speeds is in the boy scout camping trip only to find out that the troop master is sick. The troop master, Herbie was different from other boys who was more of a constraint for the group and would have hindered the troop from achieving it task. With a common agenda the troop and Alex as the leader they decided to redistribute Herbie backpack content and they all assumed that Herbie was leading the troops. This led to a major change in the system that enabled them transverse the distance and reach on time to their designation (Goldratt & Cox 1986).

            The key concept in the novel has been focused in the overall system goal as it uses a systematic approach of making out and making the most of the constraints. The author thus explains on some of the key strategies, steps and systematic approaches that are used so as to improve the firms as they center on the concept of development throughout the book as illustrated. He uses one example that involves the addition of automation to the line which is a good idea, given the manner in which the firm measures productivity. However, the lining up of the system to center o the goal which is the money making goal, quickly points out that mechanization actually destroys the system through creation of large scale of inventory downstream at the work departments that are unable to process at the speed that is necessary to contain the throughput that is offered unto the newly attained mechanized equipments (Goldratt & Cox 1986). This proved that though productivity was high they were unable to deliver their products and this automatically affected their profitability. Through the identification of the downstream limit, the realignment of the resources was essential as it assured that the constraining machines were consistently busy and hence allowed the upstream equipments to be subsidiary in everything else as they increased the firm’s output thus meeting the delivery roles and thus increasing the profitability.

            The book’s twists as well as turns through the use of threats of the firm closure, scaling back and even the marriage challenge helps to keep the reader engaged throughout the reading as it offers simple demonstrations on how to use the theory of the constraints mechanisms. Hence with the present focus in accounting and management, the TOC is re-emerging as a vital and also worthy tool for consideration. The key end product of this focus on value chains as well as system flows is and will continue being the strategy that remains to be important in the maximization of the outputs. Eliyahu’s book, the goal therefore offers the readers with an easy way of understanding views into the use of the TOC and any new reader who has a key interest in the TOC method or one who wants to refresh the TOC concepts is recommended to read this book as it is an educative book.

References

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (1986). The goal: A process of ongoing improvement. New York: North River Press.

Short stories

            Initiation marks the journey all through from childhood stage into adolescence. The initiation stories are quite popular genres in the adolescent literature where the main character of the story is either a child or an adolescent who undergoes through a rite of passage that is very challenging so as to usher them into adulthood. For instance in Barn Burning story the author believes that adulthood is all about morality while Wright believes that adulthood is all about authority and respect.  Thus Sarty’s journey involves him fighting the inner demons while Dave’s journey involves that of buying a gun and killing of an animal accidentally. According to Twain in the Hucklebbery Finn, Huck willingly escapes using a raft down a river so as to prove that he is man he is ready for all the circumstances that he could face while on his journey towards manhood. Dave’s initiation is a failure since he fails to learn the true qualities of adulthood throughout his course of initiation. He lies so as to protect his interests and he ends up killing a mule. He does not stand up to his mistakes and in his failure to acknowledge the consequences that would follow; he fails to prove his manhood. Instead he decides to lie about the issues so as to get out of trouble and this makes him to be embarrassed in front of all the people. Though he shot the animal, it was clear that they did not respect him or even treat him in a better way as he could have expected them to do. Sarty’s initiation will be a success since he is matured and understands his own personal values and knows how to stand up for what he believes in. He thus fully takes responsibility for all his decisions and the related consequences which therefore make the initiation process a success (Jackson 30).

            Emily’s life was a mystery as the residents in the Jefferson were unable to follow the developments that occurred at the Grieson home and they could not figure out what was the importance of activities that occurred. She lived a secret and none of their neighbors knew what Emily was hiding from them as she was a reserved person. After her death, the whole town including all her neighbors went to the funeral as they wanted to see the inside of the house mostly the women (Faulkner 253). Literally, Emily was hiding the fact that she was having sexual relations with a corpse, Homer Barron who was killed and the corpse withheld in an upstairs room in her house for forty years (Faulkner 264). Her state of mind even during the time that she died remained a mystery to all of her neighbors and the motives behind her killing Homer remained a mystery. The purchasing of the arsenic at the drug store is a mystery to the people as they cannot understand whether she is planning in killing herself or what is really going on (Faulkner 259). Symbolically, Emily represents the diehard supporters of the Old South and also the subscribers to the out-of-date culture. She represents the old south and through her death, the lingering remnants also die along with her.

            Abner Snopes anger is perceived to be as a result of the alienation that is in existence in the society. With this kind of alienation within the society, he felt like he did not belong anywhere and the only way in which the high class recognized that he needed the time of the day was when he acted out and tried to prove that he does not need the law and the conformist society to defend him. It is also clear that he had an undeveloped mind that led to his irrational thinking and insensitivities.  His anger may have also been caused by his mistreatment experience from other people and this lead to his greater frustration that ultimately led to the barn burnings. For instance, in the case between him and Harris in the case of retaining the hog in the two scuffles and also in the case of Major De Spain who insisted that Abner Snopes should pay for the rugs that were damaged (Faulkner 327). These are some of the cases where Abner acted out by committing arson as a justification for his frustration. He thus acted as the victim of circumstances and not the criminal and he was much angered by the fact that he had to be forced to function in society where corruption is at its peak. His source of anger was from within as he could not face all that was occurring in the society and hence he allowed situations to provoke him thus resulting to him imagining a wrong act that would force him to barn burn as a symbol of righting all of the wrong doings that has been committed unto him. Therefore it is clear that his anger is one that is instilled by the mistreatment of others upon him from the past.

References

Faulkner, William. "Barn Burning." First-Prize Stories 1919-1957: from the O. Henry Memorial  Awards. Ed. Diana Klemin.  Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1957. 318-333.

Faulkner, William. A rose for Emily. publisher not identified, 1958.

Jackson, Ronald L. Encyclopedia of Identity. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications, 2010. Print.

Texts for the 'one page Dungeon' genre

1

            The prison is located within the forest and it has imprisoned a lost dwarf’s clan. The forest has become diseased with blight disease especially at the spiral stairs that leads towards the prison and beneath it for a number of dozen yards all round the prison. This blight disease of the forest has attracted some organisms such as the trees and foliage weathering, fouls smelling slime from the sap that is oozing out of this diseased forest and some jellies into the prison (Foster 2016). However, the situation is quite critical and it has to be dealt with immediately through the control of this disease as failure to this will result to the entire consumption of the forest. This demonstrates the competition that is there between the dungeon and the blight disease that has affected the forest.

            Previous studies indicate that this prison once did not have all this competition from all this blighted organisms as they only accommodated the dwarfs. However, with the increase in the blighted organisms, the caves or rather the dungeon has become a home to a variety of organisms including predators and salvagers’ hence increasing the demand for the place and hence the competition (Foster 2016).

            The study indicates that the insane gibbering mouther is breaking loose of its cell but it fails to tell us where this uncontrolled mouther came from. Also the study also indicates that the shrines as well as the priests’ room were unattached. However, this study leaves a gap of religious influences as it fails to explain in details the religious beliefs held in this place (Foster 2016).

            The purpose of this research was to illustrate the importance that the forest has on the dwarfs’ who seems to be a lost clan and thus they inhabit this area of the forest. This report therefore examines the extent to which this blight disease has on the prison (Foster 2016). It also asses the various religious influences that are associated with the prison as some of these religious places within the prison are unaffected by this blight influence.

2

            The composition f this page of the article creates a pattern that is evident as the reader interacts with the reading. This pattern shows that the elements which are placed on the left as the information that the reader is well aware of that is, given, while that which is at the end of these sentences that is at the right side, presents something that is new which is not known by the reader (Van Leeuwen 2005). In the texts for the 'one page Dungeon' genre, it is evident that Foster first tells of the structures that form the prison and later tells of the influence that the blight disease has on the  dungeon thus bringing about the issue of competition within the prison. The composition of these Texts for the 'one page Dungeon' genre presents an empty space at the centre and as the topic is discussed, this gap is filled and it holds all these new and old elements together (Van Leeuwen 2005). This is to mean that the author tells us of competition which seems to be invisible at the start but with the story unfolding, competition is well brought out as the author uses what is given to connect what is new and unknown towards the understanding of the competition issue in the prison.

References

Foster S. (2016). The Blight: one-page Dungeon competition.

Van Leeuwen, T. (2005). Introducing social semiotics. Psychology Press.

About Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

In the article “The Metamorphosis” by Nina Pelikan Straus, the author has taken a more feminists approach when dealing with the issues of gender role.  When she describes the biography of Franz Kafka, she used feminism in the description of his connection with the character and the life that he has lived. Nina points out that Franz Kafka may have had what she calls a fantasy of gender role.  Straus says that this is based on the fact that Kafka had written many letters which had been addressed to a woman named Felice Baue. Therefore, through the writing of the letters to this woman, Nina Pelikan Straus concludes that Kafka might have had a fantasy of gender change. This is one of the reasons why it is easy to conclude that Straus takes a feministic approach when dealing with the short story, Metamorphosis. This paper therefore, will present and also have an in-depth discussion on the various ways of feministic approach that Straus in proving that metamorphosis in gender exists as demonstrated by Franz Kafka.

            The use of the feminist approach is evident in the scene when Straus identifies that both Kafka and Grete may have been feeling inadequate in their masculinity roles and hence they were seeking to live like women. This is drawn from the fact that they were feeling weak and would seek strength from women like the way Kafka did through the writing of the letters while Gregor had to be served by Grete, his sister. It is evident that Straus may have gone into the French Feminism since she takes some time to describe Kafka’s story using words such as, self-confidence, childish, and romantic and according to her, these words also would suggest the very lack of masculinity from Kafka. She also says that when one uses such words, it shows some desire to become a woman.  Therefore, when viewed through the eyes of feminism, I would agree with her that metamorphosis of gender exists (Straus 652).

Metamorphosis has had an exploration of both the male as well as the female compulsion power. The language that is used in this text has been seen as trying to address these two genders. Therefore, when critics analyze this work, they came up with the conclusion that one of the other themes that have been addressed in the book is that of feminism where the author has brought up the case of uplifting women in the society sometimes to the expense of men. An example is when Gregor started losing his sense of masculinity when he had lost his job. As a result of this event, his sister Grete had to pick up on a job in order to support her family (Franz Kafka, 289). Metamorphosis has had a reflection of the masculinity attitudes as well as the orientations. This book discussed critically the alienation of the man whereby the man became passive regardless of whether they wanted to or not. This proves Straus argument that gender change is in existence.

The attitude of Franz Kafka towards women was not very clear and most people did not come to a clear understanding of it. This called for the need for more elaboration from the author himself. The other critics who were against the book all acknowledged that the author had a negative attitude towards the male species and thus they disregarded the issue on gender change. This was because the Kafka himself was a man and therefore the discomfort was realistic and quite natural. The message that Kafka had did not show the alienation of the men only. The author had a lot of fantasies towards women as well and thus in this case gender metamorphosis applies to all people.

The responses that Kafka gave on the criticism that occurred due to the literature were contrary. The Author felt that he was very much satisfied with the content of The Metamorphosis. According to him the ending of this book has been greatly flawed with different forms of critics that people had. The author was quick to defend the root cause of the problematic outcomes of the ending. He said that the trip which she got as he wrote the end of the story did him more harm than any good. The people who brought a lot of criticism however were in the trial of seeking publication.

There are many people who have though analyzed the book of the Metamorphosis, and have seen the reality that is in the book. This realism that some people have seen has been completely contrary to the initial critics that had occurred on the transformation of Gregor to become an insect form a human being.

However, apart from the gender critics there are many other critics that have come up from the text. One of this is how the author uses symbolism in the book.  The way that Gregor Samsa changes from human to insect is an example of symbolism. Despite the fact that this symbolism was too complex for many of the readers to understand, many agree that it served its purpose and as a result they praise the writer for this high level of language usage in literature.  One of the themes that the book addresses is that of alienation from human beings. The way Samsa changed from human being to an insect is what made this theme to be evident. It is what is known as metamorphosis. There are different people who have come up with different reasons why this could have happened.

The critics have also come up with many interpretations that are psychoanalytical especially in the dramatization perspective. The story has indeed had a lot of detailed reasoning which has given this book a credit to be in the center of excellence. On a judge that I gave on the reception the Franz Kafka had on the critics that he faced, it is clear that the author that Kafka had no particular distinction which he undertook.

It is therefore important to note that change does exist even in the world that we are living in today. Gender roles have changed overtime and this is just an element of the general metamorphosis of the humans. Despite the fact that Nina Straus was a female author with a more interest on the female and high imploration of the female approach, it does not allow us to ignore her arguments. Rather it is important to allow ourselves to be not influenced by the feministic approach and analytically evaluate the case of gender change so as to come up with an appropriate conclusion. In this case, therefore in accordance to the behavioral change of Frank and all the other male counterparts and the reduction in their masculinity as evidenced from the change in gender roles of these men it is right to conquer with Straus. Thus Straus argument on the existence of metamorphosis on gender is valid as it is supported by the well evaluated evidence that the article has presented.

Work cited

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. 7th ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Straus, Nina Pelikan. "Transforming Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"." Signs 14.3 (1989):

651-67. JSTOR. Web. 24 Feb. 2017