Role of the City in Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue and Hoffmann’s Made

Role of the City in Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue and Hoffmann’s Mademoiselle de Scudery Professor’s comment: This student perceptively examines the role of the city as a setting and frame for detective fiction. Focusing on two early examples, Poe’s â€Å"Murders in the Rue Morgue† and Hoffmann’s â€Å"Mademoiselle de Scudery,† both set in Paris, his sophisticated essay illuminates the â€Å"cityness† or framed constraint that renders the city a backdrop conducive to murder—such as the city’s crowded, constricted nature, promoting vertical rather than outward movement and increasing hostility and the fact that so much urban life occurs at night, a reversal of the natural order and facilitating illicit activity. He compels us to look in new ways both at the city and at detective fiction. The Rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevià ¨ve in particular is like a bronze picture frame. It is the only frame suited to our story.... —Honorà © de Balzac, Pà ¨re Goriot.1 Here like has been ensepulchered with like; some monuments are heated more, some less And then he turned around and to his right; we passed between the torments and high walls. —Dante, Inferno IX.2 The city, writes St. Augustine, â€Å"builds up a pilgrim community of every language .... [with] particular concern about differences of customs, laws, [and] institutions† in which â€Å"there is among the citizens a sort of coherence of human wills.†3 Put simply: the city is a sort of platform upon which â€Å"a group of people joined together by their love of the same object† work towards a common goal.4 What differentiates Augustine’s examination from other literary or theological treatments of the city is his attempt to carve out a vision of how the city operates—both the internal qualities and external ... ... 2 Dante, Inferno (New York: Bantam, 1982) 83. 3 St. Augustine, The City of God (London: Oxford UP, 1963) 348. 4 Robert Pinsky, â€Å"Foreword,† Inferno (New York: Noonday, 1994) ix. 5 Edgar Allen Poe, â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold-Bug and Other Tales† (New York: Dover, 1991) 33. All future references will appear in the text. 6 The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989) 140. All future references will appear in the text. 7 Charles Baudelaire, â€Å"The Moon’s Favors,† Paris Spleen (New York: New Directions, 1970) 79. 8 Hoffman, â€Å"Mademoiselle de Scudery,† Tales of Hoffman (New York: Penguin, 1984) 17. All future references will appear in the text. 9 The term is borrowed from linguistics, referring to the process by which the specific nature of a given sound in a particular word changes or assimilates the sound preceding it. Role of the City in Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue and Hoffmann’s Made Role of the City in Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue and Hoffmann’s Mademoiselle de Scudery Professor’s comment: This student perceptively examines the role of the city as a setting and frame for detective fiction. Focusing on two early examples, Poe’s â€Å"Murders in the Rue Morgue† and Hoffmann’s â€Å"Mademoiselle de Scudery,† both set in Paris, his sophisticated essay illuminates the â€Å"cityness† or framed constraint that renders the city a backdrop conducive to murder—such as the city’s crowded, constricted nature, promoting vertical rather than outward movement and increasing hostility and the fact that so much urban life occurs at night, a reversal of the natural order and facilitating illicit activity. He compels us to look in new ways both at the city and at detective fiction. The Rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevià ¨ve in particular is like a bronze picture frame. It is the only frame suited to our story.... —Honorà © de Balzac, Pà ¨re Goriot.1 Here like has been ensepulchered with like; some monuments are heated more, some less And then he turned around and to his right; we passed between the torments and high walls. —Dante, Inferno IX.2 The city, writes St. Augustine, â€Å"builds up a pilgrim community of every language .... [with] particular concern about differences of customs, laws, [and] institutions† in which â€Å"there is among the citizens a sort of coherence of human wills.†3 Put simply: the city is a sort of platform upon which â€Å"a group of people joined together by their love of the same object† work towards a common goal.4 What differentiates Augustine’s examination from other literary or theological treatments of the city is his attempt to carve out a vision of how the city operates—both the internal qualities and external ... ... 2 Dante, Inferno (New York: Bantam, 1982) 83. 3 St. Augustine, The City of God (London: Oxford UP, 1963) 348. 4 Robert Pinsky, â€Å"Foreword,† Inferno (New York: Noonday, 1994) ix. 5 Edgar Allen Poe, â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold-Bug and Other Tales† (New York: Dover, 1991) 33. All future references will appear in the text. 6 The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989) 140. All future references will appear in the text. 7 Charles Baudelaire, â€Å"The Moon’s Favors,† Paris Spleen (New York: New Directions, 1970) 79. 8 Hoffman, â€Å"Mademoiselle de Scudery,† Tales of Hoffman (New York: Penguin, 1984) 17. All future references will appear in the text. 9 The term is borrowed from linguistics, referring to the process by which the specific nature of a given sound in a particular word changes or assimilates the sound preceding it.

Leaders in the States’ Rights Debate Essay

John Caldwell Calhoun was born the 4th child, and 3rd son, of Patrick and Martha Calhoun on March 18, 1782 in the backwoods of Abbeville, South Carolina. His father got really sick when he was just 17 years old. He was forced to quit school and work on the family farm. Eventually though with help from his brothers, he returned to school. He graduated with a degree from Yale College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1804. After studying law at the Tapping Reeve Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut, he was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1807. Calhoun married Floride Bonneau Calhoun, a first cousin once removed in January 1811. They had 16 children in 18 years. Three of the children died at birth. He settled his family in Pendleton, South Carolina, on a plantation that they named Fort Hill. He split his attention between his 3 loves politics, farming, and family. Although he did not have much, if any at all, charisma or charm, Calhoun was brilliant at public speaking and kept everything very organized, and after his election to Congress in 1808 he immediately became a leader of the â€Å"war hawks. † He became a State Representative in 1808 and in 1811 was elected United States Representative until 1817. From there he served as Secretary of War for President Monroe until 1825. Things heated up in the early 1830s over federal tariffs: Calhoun said that states could veto federal laws, earning him the nickname of â€Å"Arch Nullifier,† and Jackson threatened to use the army if South Carolina forced the issue. Calhoun than resigned as Jackson’s vice president, this was in 1832. He than became a U. S. senator, then briefly served as Secretary of State under President Tyler from 1844-1849. Finally he served in the Senate again until his death in 1850. Henry Clay was born to the Reverend John and Elizabeth Hudson Clay on April 12, 1777. He was the 7th of 9 children for his proud parents. He was born and raised in a half frame, 2 story house at the Clay homestead in Hanover County, Virginia. This was well above average home for a Virginia farmer of that time. His father, whom they called â€Å"Sir John† was a Baptist minister. He died four years after Henry was born. He left all the boys two slaves each and gave his wife eighteen slaves and 464 acres of land. It was not long before she married Capt. Henry Watkins, who loved his stepchildren like they were his own. Watkins packed up his family and moved them all to Richmond, Virginia. He and Elizabeth had seven children to add to the nine she had already her 1st husband John Clay. Henry soon was hired as a shop assistant in Richmond. His stepfather got Clay a guaranteed in the office of the Court of Chancery where he showed he had a good hand for the law. He made a friend by the name of George Wythe who had a bad hand. He hired Clay to be his secretary because of his neat handwriting. The chancellor decided Clay had a future and arranged a position for him with the Virginia attorney general Robert Brooke. Clay ended up in studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, studying under George Wythe. He received a formal legal education. Clay prepared for the bar, and was admitted in 1797. In 1803 Clay was elected to be the representative of Fayette County in the Kentucky General Assembly. Clay’s influence in Kentucky state politics was awesome enough that he elected by the Kentucky legislature into the Senate seat. He was elected the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1807. Than in 1810, United States Senator Buckner Thruston resigned and Clay was again appointed to fill his seat. He was in favor of strong state rights and very much against slavery but did want to save the union. Hence The Missouri Compromise. Robert Young Hayne was born on a rice plantation in St. Paul’s Parish, Colleton District, South Carolina on November 10, 1791. He studied at the Law Office of Langdon Cheves in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a respected American attorney, political leader, and spokesman for the South. In November 1812 he was admitted to the bar. He soon had his own large practice. During the War of 1812 against Great Britain, he was captain in the Third South Carolina Regiment. But that did not last very long. He was also a member of the South Carolina state legislature from 1814 to 1818. He served as Speaker of the House in the later year. He was the South Carolina attorney-general from 1818 to 1822. Than in 1823 was elected to the United States Senate. He was a Democrat. His first wife, Frances Henrietta Pinckney, passed away in 1820. After that he married Rebecca Brewton Alston, daughter of William Alston. Her father gave her a lot on lower King Street. Haynes built them a house on that lot. It remained in the family until 1863. Haynes is best remembered for his debate with Daniel Webster, where he set forth a doctrine of nullification. This said that by the power of the State itself, that the federal Tariff of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and herefore null and void within the boundaries of South Carolina. He was completely against the Tariff of 1832 He was a member of the South Carolina Nullification Convention of November 1832, and reported that the nullification passed by that body on the November 24. After resigning from the Senate in 1832, he was Governor of South Carolina from December 1832 to December 1 834, and while in that position took a strong stand against President Andrew Jackson, though he was more conservative than many of the other people against it in his state. He was later president of the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railway from 1837 to 1839. Robert Young Hayne died in Asheville, North Carolina on September 24, 1839. His nephew, Paul Hamilton Hayne, was a poet who in 1878 published a book on the life of Senator Hayne. Andrew Jackson was born to Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson on March 15, 1767. This was only two years after they had emigrated from Ireland. He was born in the Waxhaws region. It is on the border of North and South Carolina. Jackson had two older brothers, Hugh and Robert. Their father died in an accident in February 1767, at the age of 29, three weeks before Jackson was born. The house that Jackson’s parents lived in is now preserved as the Andrew Jackson Centre and is open to the public. Jackson had a poor education in the local schools. At only 13 he joined a local militia as a courier during the American Revolutionary War. His oldest brother, Hugh, died from heat exhaustion during the Battle of Stono Ferry, on June 20, 1779. They other 2 boys were kidnapped by the British and held as prisoners. They were not given much food while locked away. Jackson refused to clean the boots of a British officer, the man slashed at the youth with a sword, giving him scars on his left hand and head, as well as an intense hatred for the British. They also got smallpox while being held. Their mother secured their freedom and Robert died just a few days later on April 27, 1781. His mother died from smallpox in November 1781. Jackson was left all alone at only 14. His entire immediate family had died from hardships during the war; he blamed the British. In 1781, Jackson worked for a time in a saddle-maker’s shop. Later, he taught school and studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina. In 1787, he was admitted to the bar, and moved to Jonesborough, North Carolina. Though his legal education was not the best, he knew enough to be a country lawyer on the frontier. Because he was not from a distinguished family, he had to prove himself. It didn’t take long before he prospered in the law world. He was a delegate to the Tennessee constitutional convention in 1796. When Tennessee achieved statehood Jackson was elected its U. S. Representative. In 1797, he was elected U. S. Senator as a Democratic-Republican. He resigned in less than a year. He served a judge in the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1798-1808. When he was elected president in 1829, and again in 1832, he was the very first President to invite the public to attend the White House ball honoring his first inauguration. Daniel Webster was born to Ebenezer and Abigail Webster on January 18, 1782 in Salisbury, New Hampshire. Him and his 9 other brothers a sisters were raised on his families farm, just a small piece of land belonging to his father. Daniel was not a healthy kid. Because of this his family tended to baby him. He was not made to do any farm work. He went to school at Phillips Exeter Academy, a preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. After high school he attended Dartmouth College. After he graduated from Dartmouth he was apprenticed to the lawyer Thomas W. Thompson. Because of lack of money at home, Webster was forced to resign and become a schoolmaster. This was very common back than. In 1802 he became the headmaster of the Fryeburg Academy, Maine, for only one year. After this he left New Hampshire and got employment in Boston under the very well known attorney Christopher Gore in 1804. In 1805 Webster was accepted into the bar and returned to New Hampshire to set up a practice in Boscawen. Webster took an interest in politics. In 1813 he became a member of the U. S. House of Representatives of New Hampshire, where he served until 1817. He was the 14th US Secretary of State from 1841-1843. Afterwards he became a member of the U. S. House of Representatives of Massachusetts from 1823-1827. In 1845 he was elected Massachusetts United States Senator till 1850. Than he became the 19th U. S. Secretary of State from 1850-1852. Webster favored the union and federalism. He represented at least four clients against states’ interests before the US Supreme Court – and won every case.

The Subclass Pterygota and Its Subdivisions

The subclass Pterygota includes most of the world’s insect species. The name comes from the Greek pteryx, which  means â€Å"wings.† Insects in the subclass Pterygota have wings, or had wings once in their evolutionary history. Insects in this subclass are called pterygotes. The main identifying feature of pterygotes is the presence of veined wings on the mesothoracic (second) and metathoracic (third) segments. These insects also undergo metamorphosis, either simple or complete. Scientists believe insects evolved the ability to fly during the Carboniferous period, over 300 million years ago. Insects beat vertebrates to the skies by some 230 million years (pterosaurs evolved the ability to fly about 70 million years ago). Some insect groups that were once winged have since lost this ability to fly. Fleas, for example, are closely related to flies, and are believed to descend from winged ancestors. Although such insects no longer bear functional wings (or any wings at all, in some cases), they are still grouped in the subclass Pterygota due to their evolutionary history. The subclass Pterygota is further divided into two superorders – the Exopterygota and the Endopterygota. These are described below. Characteristics of the Superorder Exopterygota: Insects in this group undergo a simple or incomplete metamorphosis. The life cycle includes just three stages – egg, nymph, and adult. During the nymph stage, gradual change occurs until the nymph resembles the adult. Only the adult stage has functional wings. Major Orders in the Superorder Exopterygota: A large number of familiar insects fall within the superorder Exopterygota. Most insect orders are classified within this subdivision, including: Order Ephemeroptera - mayfliesOrder Odonata - dragonflies and damselfliesOrder Orthoptera - crickets, grasshoppers and locustsOrder Phasmida - stick and leaf insectsOrder Grylloblattodea - rock crawlersOrder Mantophasmatodea - gladiatorsOrder Dermaptera - earwigsOrder Plecoptera - stonefliesOrder Embiidina - webspinnersOrder Zoraptera - angel insectsOrder Isoptera - termitesOrder Mantodea - mantidsOrder Blattodea - cockroachesOrder Hemiptera - true bugsOrder Thysanoptera - thripsOrder Psocoptera - barklice and booklice  Order Phthiraptera - biting and sucking lice Characteristics of the Superorder Endopterygota: These insects undergo a complete metamorphosis with four stages – egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The pupal stage is inactive (a rest period). When the adult emerges from the pupal stage, it has functional wings. Orders in the Superorder Endopterygota: The majority of the worlds insects undergo complete metamorphosis, and are included in the superorder Endopterygota. The largest of these nine insect orders are: Order Coleoptera - beetlesOrder Neuroptera - nerve-winged insectsOrder  Hymenoptera  - ants, bees, and waspsOrder Trichoptera - caddisfliesOrder  Lepidoptera  - butterflies and mothsOrder Siphonoptera - fleasOrder Mecoptera - scorpion flies and hangingfliesOrder Strepsiptera - twistedwing parasitesOrder Diptera - true flies    Sources: Pterygota. Winged insects.   Tree of Life Web Project. 2002. Version 01 January 2002 David R. Madden.  Accessed online September 8, 2015.Pterygota, pterygote. Bugguide.net. Accessed online September 8, 2015.A Dictionary of Entomology,  edited by Gordon Gordh, David Headric.Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Subclass pterygota, by John R. Meyer, Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University. Accessed online September 8, 2015.

Transformation In Death Of A Salesman - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1062 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/05/31 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Death Of A Salesman Essay Did you like this example? Transformation in Death of a Salesman During a 1999 interview with Charlie Rose, Arthur Miller stated that his play, Death of a Salesman, is a love story, basically, between a father and son its about the loss of love and finding of love again. Millers play, written in 1946, focuses on Willy Loman, a salesman who has spent his life trying to succeed in business and popularity, but never quite grasping how to be the success he portrayed himself to be. Realizing early on that he would never be his own definition of success, Willy works to instill in his two young sons, Biff and Happy, the importance of success in business and being well liked.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Transformation In Death Of A Salesman" essay for you Create order Unfortunately for Willie, the values that he teaches his sons, and the example he sets only serves to lead them astray. Now in his sixties, Willie is tired. He and Biff have been at odds since Biff discovered him having an affair. The discovery destroyed Biff and his view of his father, resulting in Biffs drifting unhappily and unsuccessfully through life. Upon his return home, witnessing the hopeless, delusional being that his father has become†suicidal, and unable to separate his memories of the past from the present, Biff attempts to help his father to regain his confidence and hope. However, the lies of their family run too deep, causing Biff to falter; and Willie, deciding that he is worth more dead than alive, takes his own life. In the course of attempting to help his father, Biff reveals himself as a protagonist in this play as he manages, unlike any of the other characters, to achieve some manner of personal growth by battling his inner demons, his fathers expectations, and his families lies and unrealistic endeavors in pursuit of riches. Biff learns that the only way he will avoid the fate of his father is to live his truth by choosing happiness over success. Lee Siegel asserts that, Biffs inability, at the age of 34, to get beyond the discovery, when he was a senior in high school, of his fathers infidelity†committed by Willy out of loneliness and desperation†roots him as fatally in his past as Willy is stuck in his. Until this discovery, Biff was on track to at least finish high school. The product of Willys raising, Biff was a gifted football star who valued popularity over academics. Biff followed his fathers dvice as if it were gospel, be liked and youll never want (Miller, Death, 33). Biff and Willy, for a time, exist in a relationship of mutual flattery, unrealistic dreams, and adoration. Willy is willing to overlook Biffs flaws of being a thief and a bully, and Biff does not believe Willy has any flaws. However, the discovery of Willys affair, shakes Biff to his very core and causes him to question everything Willy has ever taught him. If Willy is not authentic, then neither is Biff, for his authenticity depends comple tely on Willys authorizing it (Heims 1180). This event effectively stunts Biff, he is left without a certain idea of success, to battle the happiness he finds on a farm and in nature with his instilled desire to find success in business. Biffs stagnation torments Willy. Biff was meant to be Willys redemption for his own failures, a heavy burden for a father to place on a son. Willy, grows more irritated with each encounter with Biff and his lack of material success. He questions, How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand?its more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week! (Miller,Death, 16). However, even though Biff feels mocked by Willy, he also sees that his father is in distress, and feels the need to help him. Biff appears to Willy as a hero who inexplicably has not achieved his heroism and who is, consequently, a source of grief and not joy (Heims 1137). In one last attempt to live up to Willies standards, to rescue his father, and help him to regain respect, Biff plans to borrow money from an old boss and start his own sporting goods business with Happy. At this new Willie is overjoyed, pressing his son to succeed, its like the old says to him, but with a seemingly greater sense of desperation and urgency. However, the former lies of his family have only invaded Biffs perceptions of past events, his former boss, Mr. Oliver, has no recollection of him. Biff was not the prized salesman he and his family remembered him to be, but just a shipping clerk. In his pride injured state Biff steals the mans pen to make himself feel better. At the same time Willie has been fired, he tells his sons, the woods are burning, boys, you understand. Theres a big blaze going on all around (Miller, Death, 107). As Biff reveals the truth of his day to Willy, disappointing him in his time of great need, Willy is relieving the moment of Biff discovering his affair. Willy begins to lose his last bit of sanity. He has nothing left to give, but Biff refuses to live with the lies anymore. Biff has changed, hes had an epiphany in the midst of stealing the pen he asks himself, why am I trying to become what I dont want to be? What am I doing in an office making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! (Miller, Death, 132). With this realization Biff implores Willy to accept that his failures werent out of spite anymore, but simply because he never took the time to make anything of himself. In Willys last confrontation with Biff he realizes too, that the degree of Biffs alienation from, and rage at him are measures of his love for him (Heims 1080). Willy finally understands that Biff loves him, but it is too late. The only thing that changes in Willys decided course of action, is that he dies knowing that Biff loves him. In the end, it is only Biff who is able realize that happiness and comfort are not found in the reckless pursuit of material goods and popularity, but in the comfort of freedom and truth. It is Bills love for Willy that both torments and frees him.

High School Math Teacher Mark Biller Is An Inspiration

High school math teacher Mark Biller is an inspiration and ultimately the reason I decided to become a teacher myself. He has taught at multiple schools over his teaching career, but ultimately found his place at Polaris Expeditionary Learning School in Fort Collins, Colorado where he has been for the past 4 years. Teaching is not an easy thing, but it comes naturally to Mark as he shares his love of numbers with students in an engaging way. Although I only had the opportunity to be in 2 of his classes as a student, I was able to observe Mark’s teaching style more in-depth as a teacher’s aide for all of the classes that he offered as well as receive guidance in my own budding teaching style. The most important part of leaning to be a†¦show more content†¦And when other new teachers act like they know everything, call them out. Do not be afraid to stand up to them and help them to be better teachers or realize that they are not meant to be in education. Because Legal responsibilities are a daily occurrence, there are many things you need to look out for. Mark thinks one of the most important things to look out for special ed students or students with either a 504 or an IEP. It is critical to make sure to meet their accommodations, no matter how irritating or pointless you feel they might be. Ethical situations are also commonplace and a multitude of situations occur that need to be dealt with in a timely manner. Some hard decisions Mark has had to make include deciding when to tell a punk kid to stop being a macho idiot and when to stand up for a kid when they’re being mistreated, but not bullied by someone else. Also, when to give a student extra time when no one else gets it, but they’re trying their hardest and it’s still not good enough. Mark Biller describes the educational system like a delicate ecosystem, all parts of it need to work together if things are going to last. If the community does not support a school, odds are the school will have to close-down. If the teachers don’t work with parents, then kids will not get the support they need. If parents do not support teachers, students loose an

How Cleanliness Affects the Life of an Individual free essay sample

The significance of cleanliness and hygiene cannot be overlooked by any society. Every faith and civilisation stresses the importance of cleanliness. Historically, cleanliness has been considered one of the important factors by which to judge a civilisation’s or society’s development. Islam places great emphasis on cleanliness and purity, both physically and spiritually. In Islam, spiritual purity is linked to physical cleanliness and purity. More impor tantly, cleanliness is termed an indispensable fundamental of faith. However, this fundamental and powerful tenet of our faith, unfortunately, is not reflected in our society practically. Serious reflection is required on our individual as well as collective practices in order to make this valuable principle of Islam part of our lives. There are many verses in the Holy Quran which reflect the importance of cleanliness. For example, Allah says â€Å"†¦Truly, Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean† (2:222). We will write a custom essay sample on How Cleanliness Affects the Life of an Individual or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the Quran worship and seeking Allah’s love is conditioned with cleanliness and purity as the Holy Book says â€Å"†¦In it [mosque] are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure† (9:108). Furthermore, in one of his sayings the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has termed cleanliness as half of faith. The above few examples from the Holy Quran and sayings of the Holy Prophet reveal that without cleanliness of our body and environment, one cannot receive the proximity of Allah spiritually and most importantly, faith cannot be completed in the absence of cleanliness and purity. Much is said rhetorically about cleanliness in our society but practically its application is missing. A quick observation can reveal how insensitive a culture we have developed regarding cleanliness and hygiene. Throwing garbage in the streets, roads or parks has become a common practice in our society. In public places dustbins are seldom found. Even if dustbins are installed, people do not use them properly. Rather, they prefer to throw garbage outside them. It is also observed that people clean their homes and shops and throw the garbage on the street without considering its implications. It is evident that even students of elite schools throw garbage on the ground even in the presence of garbage bins. This shows our attitude towards cleanliness and hygiene. Another habit that is commonly found in our society is spitting openly. People spit paan from running vehicles without considering the pedestrians walking on the road. This practice not only affects the environment but is also an eyesore. Another area that needs consideration is the horrible condition of public toilets. The shortage of public toilets is a big challenge, hence people are compelled to use open spaces to answer the call of nature. The toilets that do exist are in such pathetic condition that one cannot use them. There are many other examples which can be cited to indicate the pathetic condition of cleanliness and hygiene in our society. Hence, conscious efforts are needed to tackle this issue. There is a dire need to educate and sensitise people about the importance of cleanliness in light of our faith. In this regard social institutions such as educational institutions, the media and religious institutions can play a vital role. It is essential to provide civic education in order to train the younger generations of a society. In Pakistan, the education system needs to transform its practices. Teaching and learning material regarding cleanliness and hygiene should be included in the curriculum and textbooks. Educational institutions should demonstrate cleanliness in their premises. To train young people schools should involve students in cleaning their schools, homes and environment and highlight proper sanitary practices. The use of dustbins should be strictly followed in the school premises. Secondly, the media can be a powerful source to educate and sensitise the masses about the importance of cleanliness and disadvantages of an unhygienic way of life. It should focus on both the good as well as unhygienic practices in our society. Thirdly, religious institutions such as mosques and madressahs can also play their part in educating the people about the importance of cleanliness in the light of Islamic teachings. Furthermore, the role and commitment of the government cannot be overlooked in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in society. The government’s will is very crucial in making policies and implementing them at the grass-roots level. The government can play an important role in cleaning areas, installing dustbins, collecting garbage and enforcing laws against littering etc. The importance of cleanliness cannot be ignored in individual as well as communal life. On one hand it is an important factor for human health and spiritual development; on the other hand it is essential for environmental development. By adopting a clean and hygienic lifestyle, a valuable amount can also be saved where health issues are concerned. A clean and healthy life helps in refining the culture of a society and reflects in every aspect of life such as art, architecture, food, music and so on. Ultimately, it leads towards a higher level of civilisation. Islam has put unique emphasis on the importance of cleanliness by making it a part of faith. Hence, there is a dire need to make conscious efforts in educating the people about the importance of cleanliness. In this regard, serious steps are required at multiple levels to make this precious value of our faith part of our individual and collective lives. Cleanliness  is both the  abstract  state of being clean and free from  dirt, and the process of achieving and maintaining that state. Cleanliness may be endowed with a moral quality, as indicated by the  aphorism  cleanliness is next to  godliness,[1]  and may be regarded as contributing to other ideals such as  health  andbeauty. In emphasizing an ongoing procedure or set of habits for the purpose of maintenance and prevention, the concept of cleanliness differs from  purity[disambiguation needed], which is a physical, moral, or ritual state of freedom from pollutants. Whereas purity is usually a quality of an individual or substance, cleanliness has a social dimension, or implies a system of interactions. [2]  Cleanliness, observed  Jacob Burckhardt, is indispensable to our modern notion of social perfection. [3]  A household or workplace may be said to exhibit cleanliness, but not ordinarily purity; cleanliness also would be a characteristic of the people who maintain cleanness or prevent dirtying. On a practical level, cleanliness is thus related to  hygiene  and disease prevention. Washing  is one way of achieving physical cleanliness, usually with  water  and often some kind of  soap  ordetergent. Procedures of cleanliness are of utmost importance in many forms of manufacturing. As an assertion of moral superiority or respectability, cleanliness has played a role in establishing cultural values in relation to  social class,  humanitarianism, and  cultural imperialism.

Speech Sounds free essay sample

Speech Sounds is a fictional story written by an African-American science fiction author by the name of Octavia E. Butler. Octavia Butler received both the Hugo and Nebula awards for various works of hers. At a very young age Octavia was diagnosed with dyslexia and had acquired a slight speech impediment, which led to ongoing teasing and humiliation from her peers. She was often belittled and bullied by this and also affected by racism and sexism. Writing fictional stories was Butler’s self-therapy to foster her emotions based on the experiences in her own life. She was drawn to reading and writing science fiction stories to elude her boredom and loneliness. Speech Sounds is one of her many fictional pieces that she has written to help convey her emotions to an audience. In 1984, Octavia Butler was presented with the Hugo Award for her story Speech Sounds and also received a lifetime achievement award for her writing from the PEN American Center. We will write a custom essay sample on Speech Sounds or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In most of her works, Butler explored multiple social issues such as race, sexuality, gender, religion, and social class. The main characters of this short fiction are Rye and Obsidian. They get their names from the exchanging of gifts that each had to give as a symbol of friendship. Obsidian presented Rye with a necklace with a black, shiny, igneous rock to keep, while Rye presented Obsidian with a pen that appeared to resemble wheat. The two of them are placed in this walking dead society as superiors. The main focus in Speech Sounds is the interpretation of the Illness, lack of communication among people, and the resulting isolation. Speech Sounds is a story about a disease that causes an entire society to develop an â€Å"impairment. † In the short story, the character Rye refers to this impairment as â€Å"The illness. † The illness had taken away the ability for human beings to communicate with one another, loss of human intelligence, and sometimes resulting in death. In homeland security we would call a widespread sickness like this a pandemic1. According to Harshit Sinha of the Indian Institute of Management, â€Å"Such events can plunge a community, a nation, or the entire world into a state of chaos. Intrigues of politics, financial bungling, poor management, ineffective planning, and numerous other shortcomings simultaneously come to the forefront, aggravating already intricate problems. Rye states, The illness had played with them, taking away, she suspected, what each valued most. With the ability to communicate lost by the people of the world, people began to rely on their survival instincts. Law and order is eliminated in society. With the downfall of an economy society then leads to complete chaos and anarchy. People without any knowledge of how things were three to four years prior to the illness now would not know how to function in the world leaving every man to fend for himself. In the story, Butler’s character Rye describes this pandemic as â€Å"stroke-like in some of its effects. † â€Å"Language was always lost or severely impaired Often there was also paralysis, intellectual impairment, and death. † The symptoms of a person having or have had a stroke would be sudden trouble speaking, sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements, sudden problems with walking or balance, and loss of movement to parts of the body, particularly to one side. Butler states, She [Rye] had lost reading and writing skills. That was her most serious impairment and her most painful†. Could this illness that Butler refers to be a stroke or another disease called dementia? Dementia is strictly a term used to describe a decline in mental capacity. A person with dementia may experience the loss of reasoning, effective and clear communication, the ability to focus, and exhibit memory loss. The second most common type of dementia is vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke. The Alzheimer’s disease accounts for approximately 60-80% of dementia cases. These cases are determined by a patient’s medical history, a series of lab tests, physical examination, and personality changes. Society today as we know it could very well run to ruins such as in the event of Chernobyl. On April 25, 1986 two Soviet radioactive reactors located in the Ukraine exploded from extreme pressures causing the release of fission and radioactivity into the atmosphere. This incident became a direct result of the Cold War isolation. The accident destroyed the Chernobyl 4 reactor killing 30 plant operators and firemen within three months and several further deaths later. Many people within reach of the toxic fumes given off by the plant suffered from cancer and other defects such as deformities and radiation burns. Speech Sounds has a parallel plot to Chernobyl and how things could be in the future. We could be pushed into a world of disease, death, and the destruction of all critical infrastructures. Butler’s work frequently explored the subject of life after apocalypse. Communication had been lost for years in Los Angeles and across the world leaving people to establish their own ways of communicating with movement and distorted sounds. â€Å"The loss of verbal language had spawned a whole new set of obscene gestures. † Body language became the new alphabet. The extinction of communication can lead to the extinction of the world in the future. Conflict and misunderstandings arise whenever the ability to communicate fails. For instance, Rye informs us that the fight on the bus more than likely started as a result of a misunderstanding rather than a disagreement. â€Å"She watched the two carefully, knowing that the fight would begin when†¦someone came to the end of his limited ability to communicate. † Butler mentions this idea of ‘superiority’. This was the idea that those who had certain abilities to communicate effectively were seen as superior to those who could not. When Rye had realized that Obsidian could read it upset her. â€Å"What did literacy mean to hima grown man who played cops and robbers? She felt sick to her stomach with hatred, frustration, and jealousy†. These feelings of hatred, frustration, and jealousy would not come up again until after Obsidian’s death. Rye realizes that these emotions are tools that can very well urge someone to kill all because they feel inferior to another person. â€Å"Had the woman died because she could talk and had taught her children to talk? Had she been killed by a husbands festering anger or by a stranger’s jealous rage? † These are the questions Rye begins to ask herself once she finds out that the two children can speak clear speech. Another theme in this story is isolation. Thomas Carlyle said, â€Å"Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness to a man. † It is a disease in and of itself. Isolation cripples a city or nation economically and socially. Rye mentions that she had not been touched by anyone for three years. She had been on her own ever since the illness had taken her family away from her. Isolation can then become an illness as well. People begin to compete against each other for food and resources while developing an extra sense of cautiousness and rage to others around. This is evident in history before China’s Open Door Policy. In 1976 China was largely closed to outsiders; the political struggles of the late Maoist years depressed economic growth and foreign trade. Isolation can take its toll on a person psychologically as well making someone feel depressed, angry, lonely, and on edge. For three years Rye had isolated herself from the rest of the living community. â€Å"She had found and lost the man so quickly. It was as though she had been snatched from comfort and security and given a sudden, inexplicable beating. † Rye and Obsidian almost immediately had a strong, passionate, attraction to one another. Throughout their short time together, it seemed to have grown rather quickly. Rye was anticipating spending an extended time with Obsidian. They practically went together hand and hand like a puzzle. Obsidian could read and write, and Rye could speak. He was there to protect her, and to protect other people who needed protecting, whether he was actually an LAPD officer or only playing. Being that LAPD officer is what kept Obsidian sane. It’s also what allowed Rye to let down her guard and trust someone. Both Obsidian and Rye had revealed their secrets to each other at this point, which made each of them find a sense of loyalty in the other. Rye could have taken her pistol and killed Obsidian after revealing her secret to him, but instead she trusted him. Now when she finally found that person she could trust and put her feelings into, the illness had stripped her once again of something that made living worthwhile. He [Obsidian] had died and left her—like everyone else. † The ending of Butler’s story brings a major twist that can be viewed as important. Just as Rye is placed in this tragic situation with the death of a woman, her murderer, and Obsidian, out runs two young children. Rye quickly gets up to leave because she knows that if she were to see those children cry it would make her vomit. But as she runs back to the car she realizes that she should try and bury at least Obsidian and the woman. These thoughts push her to go back for the two bodies. When it came time to take the woman’s body the little girl that was there shouts, â€Å"No! † Rye dropped the woman and looked at the little girl with surprise in her expression. â€Å"Go away†, she said. Just as she spoke, her brother reprimanded her and told her not to talk. Surprised, Rye could not believe that the two children had spoken so clearly and she could understand them. Rye spoke back to them and said, â€Å"It’s all right. † â€Å"You’re going with us, too. † This event gives the reader a sense of hope. It gives the reader hope that just maybe a new beginning can rise from this, or that there are more children or people out there who are considered to be superior. Also, for the story it gives hope for Rye and even for mankind.