Romeo & Juliet – Star Crossed Lovers

“A pair of star-crossed lovers”, Romeo and Juliet. From the opening scenes of the play these two children of feuding families were destined to fall in love together and eventually die together. How does the reader see this? How do we know it was fate which triggered these events? Coincidence caused the death of these … Read more

Death, Life And The Question Of Identity

A classical point of departure in defining Death, seems to be Life itself. Death is perceived either as a cessation of Life – or as a “transit zone”, on the way to a continuation of Life by other means. While the former presents a disjunction, the latter is a continuum, Death being nothing but a … Read more

Buddhism, One Of The Major Religions Of The World

Buddhism, one of the major religions of the world, was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived in northern India from 560 to 480 B. C. The time of the Buddha was one of social and religious change, marked by the further advance of Aryan civilization into the Ganges Plain, the development of trade … Read more

Homosexuality in the Bible

Throughout my life, I have been taught by my family and my religion to be an open-minded, accepting person with the capacity for empathy and understanding. With that background, With that background, I have never had any difficulty accepting homosexuals as who they are human beings born with a different sexual orientation than me. The … Read more

The Issue of Tornadoes

HAINES CITY, Fla. (Dec. 27) – Tess Bentley knew the high-pitched whine that woke her early Saturday was a tornado. She took two steps and dived into her bedroom closet full of clothes. Within seconds, Mrs. Bentley, 48, and her two-bedroom house were spinning in the air. She was still in her closet when her … Read more

William Cather’s “My Antonia” Analysis

William Cather showed a great amount of information about the “old wild west” and the expansion of the United States. In My Antonia, Jim Burden told a story of his childhood, the people in his life, and the struggles he and his surroundings faced during this time. At age ten, Jim Burden was sent by … Read more

Marijuana – The Perfect Plant

Prior to the twentieth century, the marijuana plant (then more commonly referred to as hemp) was the single most important industrial plant, or non-food producing crop in America and the world (Getpman 1990). Archeologists report that marijuana was possibly the first plant cultivated by humans. They estimate that date at approximately 8000 BC (Columbia University). … Read more

The Rise of Communism in Russia

“Unless we accept the claim that Lenins coup dtat gave birth to an entirely new state, and indeed to a new era in the history of mankind, we must recognize in todays Soviet Union the old empire of the Russians — the only empire that survived into the mid 1980’s” (Luttwak, 1). In their Communist … Read more

To Kill a Mockingbird: Racism

In Harper Lees book, To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many examples of racism. During this time in history racism was acceptable. Racism is a key theme in her book. Not only those who were black, but also those who affiliated with blacks, were considered inferior. Atticus, a lawyer, who defended blacks in court, was … Read more

Herman Melville: An Anti-transcendentalist or Not?

Melville, Herman (1819-91), American novelist, a major literary figure whose exploration of psychological and metaphysical themes foreshadowed 20th-century literary concerns but whose works remained in obscurity until the 1920s, when his genius was finally recognized. Melville was born August 1, 1819, in New York City, into a family that had declined in the world. The … Read more

The Revolutionary War

The haphazard and disorganized British rule of the American colonies in the decade prior to the outbreak led to the Revolutionary War. The mismanagement of the colonies, the taxation policies that violated the colonist rights, the distractions of foreign wars and politics in England and mercantilist policies that benefited the English to a much greater … Read more

Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie uses an extensive pattern of symbolism that describes the characters of Tom,Amanda,Laura and Jim. Glass,light,color and music constitute the substance of the dominant symbols and motifs,serving to reveal deeper aspects of characters and underlying themes of the play. Tennessee Williams wrote the play so that each character had a special symbol which … Read more

Catcher in the Rye: Does voice matter?

How important is the voice that tells a story? It seems almost trivial to claim that the same story can change because of the voice telling it to you. Does the voice and point of view of the narrator play a large enough role in a novel to change the attitude of the reader about … Read more

Divorce: The Effect on the Children

Divorce, once uncommon in our society, is now becoming more and more frequent, disrupting our childrens state of well-being. Some children of divorced families have long-term behavior problems such as depression, low self-esteem, poor school performance, acting out, and difficulties with intimate relationships. Children with divorced or divorcing parents often have a sense of abandonment, … Read more

Montesquieu’s Definition Of Law

The following was completed for a Political Thought and Theory Class in my Senior Year of Highschool.. my grade was an 85 Montesquieu: Definition of Law Into the first three chapters of Book 1, The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu condensed a lifetime of thinking, not so much on law as what law is, (after all, … Read more

Bill Gates And Microsoft

Bill Gates went from an upper middle-class family to the one of the richest men in the world; who owns the largest software company, Microsoft. Neither Bill, nor Microsoft have reached their peak, but many events helped to lead them to where they are today. In the beginning, Bill Gates, a skinny, shy awkward boy … Read more

Othello And Iago

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play ” Othello”, by William Shakespeare, is “honest” Iago. At first Iago seems to be motiveless. However, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iago’s quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evil’s sake. Iago’s greediness can be validated … Read more

The Baroque Era

Social and Cultural Background Baroque is a term borrowed from the visual arts and one that is used in many different senses. The Baroque Era applies to the years between 1600 and 1750. The most famous composers of this time were Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Teleman. Politically it was an age of magnificent absolute Monarchs. … Read more

Antigone: Civil Disobedience

The short play, Antigone, was written in 441 B. C. by the Greek playwright Sophocles. It deals with some of the most basic problems that affect a society. One of them is Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience both a right and responsibility of a person to fight an unjust law. Government is given the right to … Read more

A Critical Analysis of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick

Moby Dick is biographic of Melville in the sense that it discloses every nook and cranny of his imagination. (Humford 41) This paper is a psychological study of Moby Dick. Moby Dick was written out of Melville’s person experiences. Moby Dick is a story of the adventures a person named Ishmael. Ishmael is a lonely, … Read more

The Odyssey Analysis

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native Ithaka. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithfulthough weakeningwife, Penelope, and going through his stock of food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus’ greatest … Read more

The Electric Chair

The Debate over the merits of capital punishment has endured for years, and continues to be an extremely indecisive and complicated issue. Adversaries of capital punishment point to the Marshalls and the Millgards, while proponents point to the Dahmers and Gacys. Society must be kept safe from the monstrous barbaric acts of these individuals and … Read more

A And P By John Updike

“Sammy is a sexist pig who suddenly sees the light” In John Updikes short story, “A & P,” the main character, Sammy, is a cashier at a small grocery store. He is seen by many to be a sexist pig, describing in detail how he sees the three girls that walk in to the store. … Read more

Beowulf: Themes

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is the most important work of Old English literature, and is well deserved of the distinction. The epic tells the story of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, a descendent of Cain, and of his exploits fighting Grendel’s mother and a Dragon. … Read more

Analysis of Similes in the Illiad

In the Iliad, Homer finds a great tool in the simile. Just by opening the book in a random place the reader is undoubtedly faced with one, or within a few pages. Homer seems to use everyday activities, at least for the audience, his fellow Greeks, in these similes nearly exclusively. When one is confronted … Read more

Gatsby And American Dream

“Then wear the gold hat… bounce for her too, Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you”(1). This epitaph by Thomas DInvilliers, found at the beginning of The Great Gatsby, depicts the dream that Jay Gatsby tries to make a reality. While it embodies characteristics of the American Dream of rags to … Read more

First Fieldwork by Barbara Anderson Precis

Prcis: First Fieldwork 1. Where did Barbara Andersons fieldwork take place and what was the goal of her research? Barbara Andersons fieldwork took place in the fishing village of Taarnby, Denmark on the island of Amager in the Oresund in the 50s. The goal of her research was to publish the unseen side of fieldwork. … Read more

World War II: A Violation

The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilsons ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the … Read more

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

As you know many novels are structured around routine themes, symbols, and occasional motifs. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is no exception to the mean. The culturally crafted novel showcases an African man named Okonkwo and the Igbo people, a tribe in Nigeria, and they’re being susceptible to change. Mostly focusing on … Read more

Oprah Winfrey

On January 29. 1954 Oprah Gail Winfrey was born to unwed teenage parents in Kosciusko, Mississippi. For the first six years of her life her grandmother raised her on a Mississippi farm. While in her grandmothers care she was taught to read at a very early age. This grew into a love of reading that … Read more

The Pardoner’s Tale-Chacer’s Use of Irony

Nearly every aspect of the Pardoner’s tale is ironic. Irony exists within the story itself and in the relationship between the Pardoner and the story. The ending of the story presents a good message despite the Pardoner’s devious intentions to swindle money from the other pilgrims. By using irony in the Pardoner’s tale, Chaucer effectively … Read more

Looking For A Reason

Is where you are in your working career where you want to be for the rest of your life? The answer to that question is simple for Sammy in the story “A&P” by John Updike. Sammy, like many others in this world, is a young man trying to make some money in a small town. … Read more

The “Digital Define”

The “Digital Define” is the distance between the people who have adequate access to technology and those who do not. As teachers, we have numerous avenues through which we can assist in narrowing the gap of the Digital Divide. Some suggestions are the following: 1. Gather teaching materials through sources such as: www. pbs. org/digitaldivide/about. … Read more

Abortion -The Wrong Choice

The abortion debate is raging in America. The opposing sides in the debate each strongly believe they are right. The pro-choice supporters see a woman’s right to choose as central to the debate. The life of the baby is the most important concern of the pro-life advocates. Very little middle ground exists on the issue … Read more

Greek And Roman Art

“The arts of the western world have been largely dominated by the artistic standards established by the Greeks of the classical period” (Spreloosel 86). It is from the Greek word theatron, meaning a place for sitting, that we get our word theater. According to James Butler, “The Greeks were the first people to erect special … Read more

John Fitzgerald Kennedy – 35th president of the United States

John Fitzgerald Kennedy 35th president of the United States, the youngest person ever to be elected president. He was also the first Roman Catholic president and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as president. Therefore his achievements were limited. Nevertheless, his influence … Read more

Ehrlich’s Population Bomb

“People are realizing that we cannot forever continue to multiply and subdue the earth without losing our standard of life and the natural beauty that must be part of it. these are the years of decision- the decision of men to stay the flood of man. ” Ehrlich here explains the one of the most … Read more

Henrik Ibsen Biography

Henrik Ibsen was born at Skien in Norway on March 20, 1828. When he was eight, his father went bankrupt. This event made a deep impression upon him. After they went bankrupt, his family moved to a small farm north of the town where they lived in poverty. Henrik was forced to attend a small … Read more

Cyber Porn

Imagine a place where you have access to anything and everything one could want. Some would say that is only existent in a utopia, and some would say that describes the Internet. Many adults go on to the net and access pornographic material that would be unsuitable for children. This is called cyberporn. The controversy … Read more

Direct-Mail Advertising

Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it. Stephen Leacock Philosopher extraordinaire Really good direct mail works like picking your prospect up by the ankles and shaking him until all the money falls out of his pockets. Matthew Samp Direct Mail Copy & Graphic … Read more

Masaccio: The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity by Masaccio was done approximately 1428. It is a superb example of Masaccio’s use of space and perspective. It consists of two levels of unequal height. Christ is represented on the top half, in a coffered, barrel-vaulted chapel. On one side of him is the Virgin Mary, and on the other, St. … Read more

What is Taoism?

Taoism is one of the two great philosophical and religious traditions that originated in China. The other philosophy native to China is Confucianism. Both Taoism and Confucianism began at about the same time, around the sixth century B. C. China’s third great religion, Buddhism, came to China from India around the second century of the … Read more

Walt Disney History

When people think of animated cartoons, one name immediately comes to mind “Walt Disney. ” He is the most popular and known animator in the world. He wasn’t successful at the beginning of his career but he was a taskmaker and entrepreneur. Walt’s hard work and entrepreneurship made the world’s best popular cartoon character “Mickey … Read more

Market Power in the Deregulation of Electicity

Market power, which is at the heart of the debate over ownership and control of the electricity transmission network, has been identified by the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) as a potential impediment to the development of an unencumbered competitive market for electricity. Market power exists when a producer or consumer is able to influence … Read more

Canada – the world’s second largest country

Canada, is the world’s second largest country and it is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere. It comprises all of the North American continent north of the United States, with the exclusion of Alaska, Greenland, and the tiny French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Its most easterly point is Cape Spear, Newfoundland and … Read more

Different View point on Human Nature

Throughout history there have been arguments about anything and everything that is disagreeable. People innately have there own and often different opinions. A prominent discussion topic throughout history has been the nature of mankind. Many have written works about human nature but few are discussed in greater detail than Candide, The Prince, and Essay on … Read more