Monday, September 30, 2019

The Extreme Deep Ocean Environment and the Cookiecutter Shark

An environment is the conditions or surroundings in which an organism lives in. An extreme environment has extreme conditions outside of the â€Å"normal range† in which organisms usually survive. These extreme conditions could be things such as very high or very low temperatures, an absence of water or an abundance of water and very high levels of precipitation or very low levels of precipitation. An example of an extreme environment is the deep sea. The sea covers around 71% of the Earth's surface and is sectioned into different ocean zones. The deep sea refers to all ocean zones more than 1,000m below the surface. These zones are; the Bathypelagic zone (Midnight Zone), the Abyssopelagic Zone (The Abyss) and the Hadalpelagic Zone (The Trenches). The different deep ocean zones all have varying extreme conditions that require the organisms which live within them to adapt. One of the creatures that lives in the deep ocean is the Cookiecutter Shark, formerly known as the Cigar Shark. The Cookiecutter Shark lives between the Abyssal and Midnight zones and sometimes climbs to the Twilight Zone. The shark is a parasite which means that it â€Å"eats its prey in units of less than one† and is named after the cookie shaped bites it leaves on its prey. Describe the conditions of the deep ocean zone(s) that require special adaptations for survival of the marine organism. I'm going to be outlining the conditions of the Midnight and Abyssal zones as these are the deep ocean zones in which my chosen organism lives.SunlightIn the Midnight and Abyssal zones there is no sunlight meaning that it is very dark. Most creatures in these zones are dark coloured. The dark colouring acts a camouflage against the darkness of the water to keep the creatures hidden from predators. This increases their chances of survival as it means they are less likely to be found and hunted by predators. Another adaptation that these creatures have is bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is â€Å"the ability to produce light by physiological processes which helps the species lure prey.† If deep sea creatures weren't bioluminescent they would be invisible to prey because of their dark camouflage and would therefore not be able to attract them. Bioluminescence can also serve to produce light in order for creatures to see. Because there is no sunlight in these zones, there are no plants. This is because plants require sunlight to carry out photosynthesis and therefore live. It is extremely difficult to see anything in these deep ocean zones, therefore creatures which live in these zones must have adaptations for their eyes which allow them to see in the dark. Most deep sea creatures have very large eyes and reflective retinas to help them see. They are also helped through the use of bioluminescence as mentioned above.TemperatureThe Midnight and Abyssal zones have a temperature range of 2 – 4 degrees celsius. It is slightly warmer in the Midnight Zone compared to the Abyssal Zone as it is closer to the surface of the water and is therefore closer to sunlight which provides warmth. Most animals in the deep ocean zones travel very slowly because their metabolism is slowed down by the cold temperatures meaning they can't get as much energy as fast as some other creatures in the warmer ocean zones (3 ). Some animals also have fat to stay warm against the very cold conditions.PressureThe pressure of the Abyssal Zone can reach 11,000 psi at times which means that the bodies of the creatures which live there need to adapt so they don't become crushed under the pressure. Most deep sea creatures are made up of liquids that are not easily compressed meaning that they are able to survive under immense pressure. These creatures also have strong bones so that they are not crushed due to the pressure. The pressure is so large because there is tonnes of water pushing down on the organisms which live within the deep ocean. The deeper the ocean zone, the more pressure there is due to the increased weight from above. Describe the adaptations that enable the chosen marine organism(s) to survive in the deep ocean zone(s).Behavioural adaptationsThe Cookiecutter Shark lives between different ocean zones depending on the time of day. During the day, Cookiecutter Sharks stay around 1,000 m – 3,500 m below the surface in the Midnight and Abyssal zones. At night they climb to around 300 m below the surface in the Twilight Zone. The sharks move to shallower waters at night in order to feed. They do this because the shallower ocean zones such as the Twilight Zone, are home to the larger mammals which the Cookiecutter Sharks usually feed on. These include dolphins, whales, tuna and other species of sharks.Structural adaptationsCookiecutter shark is a grey/brown colour with a dark ring around it's gill area and a lighter coloured belly. This adaptation allows the Cookiecutter Shark to remain camouflaged in the darkness of the deep sea environment. Because the shark is camouflaged it means that it can remain hidden from larger predators. This increases the shark's chances of survival. The Cookiecutter Shark is also bioluminescent in order to lure it's prey. The light from the shark's belly attracts larger fish which the Cookiecutter Shark feed on. The dark coloured ring on the throat of the shark, against the glow of the underside of the shark's body, is thought to make the Cookiecutter Shark look like a small fish when viewed from below. The larger prey see this and move in to feed on the seemingly small and harmless fish. This is when the Cookiecutter Shark turns from prey to predator and feeds on the larger creature by leaving cookie cutter shaped holes on the creature's body. The Cookiecutter Shark feeds on larger sea creatures by latching on to them with it's smaller top teeth while cutting the flesh with it's large bottom teeth. The shark spins its body to rip the flesh from it's prey leaving a cookie cutter shaped hole on its body. These bites are not fatal to the prey, but they provide enough nutrition for the Cookiecutter Shark. Because the bites are not fatal and the shark only eats a small part of its prey, they are classified as a kind of parasite. The Cookiecutter shark has adapted to losing all of it's teeth at once as opposed to having only a few fall out a time like other sharks. The teeth are then digested and are thought to increase the levels of calcium in the shark's body which helps keep the shark's bones strong. This is an effective adaptation because it makes sure the shark's bones are strong enough to withstand the immense pressure of the deep sea environment. In order to sea in the dark of the deep ocean, the Cookiecutter Shark has very large eyes on the side of it's head.Physiological adaptationsThe Cookiecutter Shark has an oily liver that is larger compared to the liver of similar sharks. It's large liver makes up around 35% of its total body mass.(1) The Cookiecutter's liver has low density oils which makes the shark able to float in the same place as opposed to sinking to the bottom. This makes the sharks â€Å"neutrally buoyant† meaning they don't float up or down. This allows the shark to save energy because it has no need to constantly swim to avoid sinking. This is good because in the Abyssal and Midnight zones there is not very much food available meaning that energy is very precious and should be saved wherever possible. The adaptations of the liver can also help the shark dive to greater depths. This would be very useful to the Cookiecutter Shark when swimming back down to the Midnight and Abyssal zones after feeding in the Twilight Zone. Explain in detail and analyse how these adaptations work together to allow the marine organism to survive in this extreme environment. In order for the Cookiecutter Shark to survive in this extreme environment, it must have adaptations to withstand the pressure. Two adaptations that work together to do this are; the shark's teeth falling out and the density/size of the liver. The density and size of the liver of the Cookiecutter Shark is a very crucial part of being able to withstand the pressure of the deep ocean. The oil in the liver of the shark is very low density and not easily compressed(3), which combined with the large size of the liver, allows the shark to be able to withstand the immense pressure. As mentioned previously, it is thought that Cookiecutter Sharks lose their bottom teeth and then swallow them in order to increase calcium levels. This increased amount of calcium helps to make the shark's bones stronger meaning that they are less likely to break under pressure. If this didn't happen, the levels of calcium that the shark has would be lower and it's bones would be brittle and easily crushed under the weight and pressure of the deep ocean. These two adaptations both work together to help the Cookiecutter Shark to survive in the Midnight and Abyssal zones. Another set of adaptations that work together to help the Cookiecutter Shark survive in the deep ocean environment are; bioluminescence, camouflage and movement between ocean zones. Because the Cookiecutter Shark lives in such a dark environment it needs to be seen in order to attract prey. The shark does this by using bioluminescence. The underside of the shark lights up against the darkness of the ocean to be seen from below by potential prey. The dark colouring of the shark does the opposite for the shark and keeps it camouflaged. This allows the shark to hide from predators and stay hidden when it moves from the deeper ocean zones to the Twilight Zone during the night. The colour of the shark also makes it seem small when viewed from below by prey. This paired with the bioluminescence fools prey into swimming closer to the shark in the hopes of eating it. When daylight nears, the Cookiecutter Shark then descends back to the Midnight and Abyssal zones where it remains hidden due to its camouflage. Explain in detail anything else that would be relevant to the organism's survival such as how the adaptations allow the marine organism to coexist with other marine organisms in the same ocean zone(s). The adaptation that allows the Cookiecutter Shark to coexist with other marine organisms is the teeth of the shark. This is because the Cookiecutter Shark is a parasite. This means that the shark eats small parts from prey as opposed to eating the entire organism. The shark takes small cookie shaped bites of flesh from the bodies of its prey. This leaves the prey injured but not fatally injured meaning it can live on and recover from the Cookiecutter attack. When I was researching I found it was very difficult to find information about the adaptations of the Cookiecutter Shark that help it coexist with other marine organisms. This means that the Cookiecutter Shark is quite an independent creature and more research needs to be done about the nature and behaviour of this shark.ConclusionThe deep ocean is the largest of many extreme environments on Earth and is home to very many different types of organisms all with their own sets of adaptations which work together to help them survive and coexist with other organisms. The Cookiecutter Shark is one of these deep ocean creatures and although I was able to research enough to write a report about it, more research needs to be done about this mysterious creature.Bibliographyâ€Å"Deep Sea: Cookiecutter Shark – Elasmo-research.† http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/ecology/deepsea-cookiecutter.htm. Accessed 6 Jun. 2018.â€Å"Interesting Facts About the Abyssal Zone That'll Sta rtle †¦ – ScienceStruck.† https://sciencestruck.com/interesting-facts-about-abyssal-zone. Accessed 5 Jun. 2018.â€Å"How Deep Sea Creatures Survive | Water Temperature Ocean †¦ – Fiboni.† 15 Mar. 2013, http://www.fiboni.com/2013/03/the-survival-strategies-of-deep-sea-creatures/. Accessed 6 Jun. 2018.â€Å"Cookiecutter Sharks, Isistius brasiliensis ~ MarineBio.org.† http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=491. Accessed 5 Jun. 2018.â€Å"The Cookiecutter Shark Is A Weird Species Of Shark – Shark Sider.† https://www.sharksider.com/cookiecutter-shark/. Accessed 13 Jun. 2018.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Street Crime or White Collar Crime

By general definition, a crime is a wronging, proclaimed by law against society. All acts of disobeying the law are crimes. Be it an assault or embezzlement one has committed a wrong. Yet we have learned values and morals from our surroundings which gave us concepts of the degree of harm pertaining to a particular crime. Our normal concept of crime is usually that of a physical one. We as a society, generally conjure images of a personal assault on oneself when defining the concept of a crime. We as a society, generally conceive our concepts by our surroundings. Society is more frequently exposed to street crimes. It is very rare that a day goes by that we do not hear a murder, physical attack or robbery through the media. Those so called street crimes affect our neighborhoods and society every day. Those crimes are contributing to the destruction of society, our cities, and our streets. The street crime is the most harmful of crimes; it is responsible for the disintegration of society as we know it. To demonstrate the harm caused by the society by street crime, one has to look no further than to inner city neighborhoods. Street crimes are responsible for injuries, death, sexual assaults and the loss of personal property through force. They can also be attributed to the decline of local business and the drop in education and pride in ones communities as well. In the lower economic neighborhoods, many resort to crime for financial reasons. Members of the community sell drugs or rob as means of support. These deviants do not inflict these crimes on neighborhoods other than their own. This is the major reason why street crime is so harmful.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Retailing - Essay Example A significant segment of this retailing upheaval has taken place in the area of logistics where British retailers had taken over the supply chain, thereby, lessening the lead times from the manufacturing plant to the store. The grocery segment, particularly, possesses a stream-lined logistical system with investment into multiple distribution hubs and transport in order to provide with an increasing figure of super-stores. This logistical concept is now being confronted by the technological, environmental, and political transformations. The policy of government to reduce environmental harm, thereby, revitalizing town centres puts forward great challenges for logistics. As put forth by Clarke, the early stress on retailers along with store location activities offered to feign both the wider anatomy of the product channel and the stand of consumption in shaping retail transformation (Clarke, 1996). By the midst of the twentieth century, consumers had an associatively restrained option of stores and stocks for their major periodical shopping spree. Most of the market-places were inclusive of a choice that encompassed the conventional super-markets, convenience stores, and a deteriorating number of small neighbourhood food shops. Following that, during the 1970s, however, an out-and-out bash took place in the new types of retail formats. 1980 initiated the 'significantly differentiated' formats which were competent for the dollars of customers. This new choice was inclusive of hyper-marches, warehouse shops, super-combos, super-stores, and limited variety discount stores. Apparently, in the early 1980s, strategic and tactical positioning became critical matters for survival in the retail industry (Arnold et al, 1983). Here, we will discuss the challenges as put forth by the transformations that have taken place since the 1980s. Around a century ago, even as retailing was entirely different from what it is now, there were a number of big transformations of the twentieth century which were already there in their embryonic stage. For example, most of the products were named, if not 'branded' by the retailers, which gave rise to manufacturer branding. Also, retail operations experienced various novel technologies, chiefly in construction and transport, and had great impact on them. Moreover, international sourcing was previously being practiced in a restrained way, and city centres had started to embellish into major hubs of comparison retailing. Today, we know that the epoch is entirely business-oriented. In no time of the world history has it inhibited such a significant place for business as it is not comprised of, where it affords sufficient opportunity for the highest honours, for the most long-lasting fame, and for wealth and authority that has no limits. Retailing today, is an arena which is capable of a lluring the able ones and the ambitious who can practice their greatest talents. This

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Coming of Sound Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Coming of Sound - Assignment Example This was mostly because of the lack of sound. Changes in the movie industry were witnessed in 1926 courtesy of the Warner Brothers and Western Electric ("Digital History.†). Evidently, they innovatively created a contemporary sound on disc system. To this end, the system worked through the recording of music and sound effects on wax record. The wax record consequently worked in synchronization with a film projector. The hallmark of sound technology was exhibited by Warner Brothers when they released the first motion picture complete with synchronized sound effects and a pre-recorded score. The movie was ‘Don Juan’ (Lastra, 45). However, the pioneer motion sound movie did not have an instant impact by influencing people to adapt talking technology. Many people were still comfortable with silent pictures. However, these perceptions were soon to change in October 1927 with the release of â€Å"The Jazz Singer†. It was based on the popular Broadway play by Samso n Raphaelson and Alfred Cohen’s story, â€Å"The Day of Atonement† ("Digital History.†). The script was based upon a Jewish boy, played by Al Johnson, who was aiming to be a Broadway star. Evidently, the movie triggered a sound movie revolution since it was the first one to utilize spoken dialogue. Furthermore, the movie was an instant box office hit with profits of up to $ 3.5 million. To this end, Warner Brothers earned its place as one of the top studios in Hollywood. Following the release of another sound movie and instant box office hit, â€Å"The Lights of New York†, the remainder of Hollywood adopted sound movies rapidly ("Digital History.†). The impacts arising from talking sound pictures were largely positive but equally negative to some extent in Hollywood. It is no doubt that the introduction of sound was of profound benefit to the motion picture industry. However it was highly disastrous to vaudeville entertainment ("Digital History.†). To this end, vaudeville performances found it increasingly difficult to compete with sound technology. This was majorly because most of the actors were not able to adapt to sound motion pictures. In addition, the musical accompaniment that was synonymous with silent pictures was dealt a deathly blow. This was evident through the loss of musical careers to majority of the orchestra musicians who offered live score services to the silent movies. They were quickly replaced by animated shots and newsreel. To this end, the introduction of live sound technology rendered their services redundant. The rapid technology change equally accounted for change within the Hollywood film industry. Evidently, upon showcasing of â€Å"The Jazz Singer,† the change to a contemporary type of motion picture technology began in earnest. There was a restructuring in film production and the film industry as a whole. These included the incorporation of sound recording into filmmaking, installation of sound equipment into theatres, and the drastic phasing out of silent films. Another impact in the Hollywood studio was felt pertaining to the voices and speech of certain actors. Initially, the silent motion pictures were only dependent on the physical gesturing of actors during the course of the play. Consequently, the element of an actor’s voice or speech was not an area of concern while recruiting or assessing the performance of actors. However, the advent of sound technology brought in a new

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Ground Combat Vehicle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ground Combat Vehicle - Research Paper Example It was designed and developed by a combination of proficient and highly qualified engineers. Ground combat vehicles are acquired through a special process known as the testing and evaluation. Departments of defense have in the recent past been keen on the application of Test and Evaluation (T & E) in acquisition of ground combat vehicles in the automobile industry. The process of evaluation takes a systematic review on three major documents related to the technical conditions of the vehicle before acquisition. The first document is the statement of objectives, which contains the parameters for ensuring that the combat vehicles are able to satisfy the objectives for which it is acquired. The next document is the statement of work. Statement of work contains information related to the working conditions of the vehicle. It seeks to confirm if the technical specification of the vehicle satisfies the requirements for the specified task and the possible life span. The United States of America has been in the process of acquiring major programs that is expected to replace the fragments of the Future Combat systems (FCS). An illustration to this is where the eight versions of the track controlled Ground Vehicle are replaced by the FCS. The US Federal Army is presently in the process of acquiring new combat vehicles to be produced under the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program presently under formulation. TRADOC Company and Ft. Monroe are presently preparing a map for the capability-gaps that exist in the today situation and the future requirements. The requirement in this project is a single common vehicle. Alternatively, it can be satisfied by many types of Ground Combat Vehicles. The last evaluation of this study came out in the month of September 2009 and it was very critical because it helped in bringing very critical information to the limelight, and this benefited many people. The review of this program was also very vital

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Module 5 TD-MGT 411 Managing Workplace Safety Essay

Module 5 TD-MGT 411 Managing Workplace Safety - Essay Example The management should also write a policy which emphasizes on workplace health and safety. Secondly, the management of Chesapeake Chicken plant should involve their employees and give them a stake in the health and safety program to ensure success of the same. This is because health and safety is everybody’s responsibility. This can be achieved by establishing a vigorous workplace health and safety committee. The third check should involve identification and controlling of hazards. This can be done by recording injuries, accidents, close calls and illnesses as they occur. Chesapeake should also review Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHA) logs, workers’ compensation complaints, reports as well as close calls. The fourth check and balance should be complying with various regulations. Chesapeake Chicken plant ought to identify OSHA regulations that are applicable in their workplaces as well as complying with them. The fifth check involves training of employees about the potential hazards that they may possibly be exposed to while working as well as available means of protecting themselves. Thus all personnel ought to be retrained as required by set standards together with specific training on hazards in regard to their jobs. Finally, Chesapeake Chicken plant must repeatedly review their program’s weaknesses and strengths and how accurately it reflects on their desire to manage health and safety as well as maintain a culture of safety whereby employees hold safety as one of the values of the company and should actively mind their own welfare as well as that of others by establishing 2 way communication and responding to concerns and needs of fellow workers (Hopwood & Thompson,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Financial Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Financial Reporting - Essay Example In that sense, â€Å"financial accounting reflects, mirrors, represents, or measures this pre-existent economic reality† (Hines 1991:316). On the other hand, the Conceptual Framework is criticised â€Å"for not fulfilling its functional objectives, principally that of providing a basis for guiding standard-setting and resolving accounting controversies† (Hines, 1991:313). The purpose of the essay is to provide a critical overview of the conceptual framework and to analyze why it is criticized for not fulfilling its functional objectives as discussed above. This paper is organized as follows. The remainder of this paper is structured in the following way: Section 2 provides a general overview of the Conceptual Framework and its development; Section 3 provides a critical discussion of the concepts identified in previous section; Section 4 is concluding part of the essay. The Conceptual Framework is a tool which â€Å"sets out the concepts that underlie the preparation and presentation of financial statements† (Ifrs.com, 2014, n.p.). This tool is used by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for developing and updating/revising International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) (Ifrs.com, 2014, n.p.). The main objective of the Conceptual Framework is to help users in developing, revising, interpreting and understanding the IFRSs (Hoogervorst, Clark & Knubley, 2014). The Conceptual framework was initially established in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s in the USA (Pike & Chui, 2012). CF served as a foundation for accounting standards with identification of key principles and a set of qualitative characteristics (Pike & Chui, 2012). The first product produced by the CF project was the concepts statement on the objectives of financial reporting (Solomons, 1986). CF was aimed to be a set of prescriptive principles that would guide board members in standards’ setting and practitioners in problem solving processes (Hines,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Crashes in Oregon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Crashes in Oregon - Essay Example Outside areas of this urban-rural boundary were divided into further boundaries of 2.5 miles. An intersection tool in ArcMap was used to locate crashes within these areas. By using R studio software, road accidents in Oregon were classified into fatality crashes, serious injury crashes (Injury Type A), non-fatal crashes and PDO (Property damaged only) crashes. By using the MOR method, this research essay found that the total number of crashes that were recorded were 49790. The number of fatal crashes was 305 while non-fatal crashes were 24455 and while 25030 crashes resulted in PDO, and 1432 crashes resulted in serious injuries. A rise in the percentage of crashes has been observed in crashes involving the use of alcohol, unbelted occupants, during weekends, during nighttime and on interstate highways. Crashes involving the use of alcohol have shown a rise in the range 20% -28% from the year 2006 to 2012 for all zones. Thus, it is essential to establish safety-associated outlays and shoulder widening, making suitable alterations to the existing vertical and horizontal curves, the introduction of median treatments and to introduce the resurfacing will go long way in reducing the number of road accidents in the Oregon rural roads. Road traffic crashes are typical incidents that take place on the road. These involve vehicles and result in harm to people and property in form of casualties, injuries, and damage to vehicle and damage to nearby properties. Broadly speaking, the damages of road crashes are divided into two categories human and financial damages. The first ever fatal traffic crash recorded in the history of the world took place in the UK in the year 1896, after the accident, the then British Secretary of Transport stated that ‘never should we allow this to happen again’ (Balogun, 2007).  

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Business in focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business in focus - Essay Example However, this key environmental trend is causing many regional and international companies to rethink their existing business strategies in order to satisfy consumer demand for eco-friendly products through marketing and in areas of facilities management. This report identifies differing viewpoints on environmental consciousness along with an assessment of how this both positively and negatively impacts retail business operations and finance. Piell (2009) offers that certain regulatory entities, in international retail selling environments, are adding considerable pressure to companies to comply with energy usage reductions, which is especially noticeable in the consumer sales environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency created its Energy Star labeling system which was a regulatory effort for appliance manufacturers to clearly list the energy-efficiency rating of their products, such as dishwashers, refrigerators and microwaves (Piell). Additionally, Verizon, one of the largest international mobile communications technology companies, proudly promotes the Energy Star labeling system in over 30 of its international retail stores that are at least 5,000 square feet in order to comply with these regulations and also show interested consumers that the business takes energy consumption at its stores quite seriously (Piell). This regulatory pressure forces many appliance retailers (and other energy-consuming product manufacturers) to change the internal energy mechanisms of their products in an effort to reduce a product’s carbon footprint, the volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the devices. From a manufacturing perspective, this key trend in regulatory activities related to the environment can be a costly business operation as it often involves devoting more financial resources to research and development in order to meet new standards of energy consumption. Energy

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Ratignolle’s delivery Essay Example for Free

Ratignolle’s delivery Essay The story commences with Edna Pontellior, her husband and family, spending their summer holidays on Grand Isle. Ratignolle who was presently pregnant that time and her family, was also there for vacation. Reisz, a great pianist, was also there for the holiday. Her playing of the piano awakens Edna’s concealed desires and passion. We are also introduced to Robert Lebrun who courts women in the summer season, in particular married women. Edna caught his picture. Robert persuades Edna to be true to herself by articulating her own needs and desires. They fell in love with each other and since she’s married this pointed him to detach himself from her and to look for his destiny in Mexico. Upset, Edna chose to put her desires before her family. In the course of realizing her true character, she paints and sketches and deserts her obligation as a wife and mother. She continued to be good friends with Reisz and Ratignolle. She has an affair with Alcee Robin, a womanizer, but is still feel warmth for Robert. She left her house and rents a tiny house that looks like a pigeon’s house. The leasing of the house was compensated by the little income she produces by selling her paintings. When Robert came back, Edna struggle to revive her relationship with him by telling him that she is an independent woman and not concerned with social mores. She plans to leave Leonce. When she went to Ratignolle’s delivery, Edna was told to reassess her decision as it will damage her two sons. She drowns herself after she found out Robert’s goodbye note that tells of his love for her and after realizing that she cannot go on with her life with Leonce. And being a divorcee in this society was unthinkable. Purpose: The purpose of the novel is to show how women are treated and to show how valuable a woman’s feelings are. It gives us a view of the demands of society and the needs of individuals. Women should be treated fairly and that they should be given the respect they deserve. It not about how you should live in the eyes of others, but how you live your life the way you want to and you know how much you deserve that kind of life. Main Characters: Mrs. Edna Pontellier is the main character in the book that awakens to a new life as she finds out her independence. She is the young wife of Leonce Pontellier and the mother of Raoul and Etienne. She falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Edna is honest about her feelings for Robert and of her disappointment with Leonce and the tradition of marriage. This is revealed in her dismissal of social principle and traditions which she felt have caged her. During the rest of the novel, she lives in New Orleans, wasted her time with Reisz, had an affair with Alcee Arobin, moves into her own small house, deserts her old life, and affirms her love for Robert. Mr. Leonce Pontellier is Ednas wealthy, traditional husband. Although he rarely shows his love through material things, he often shows his disappointment through rage. He perceives Edna to be reckless, and seek for help from Dr. Mandelet as to her moody temperament. â€Å"It would have been a difficult matter for Mr. Pontellier to identify to his own satisfaction or any one elses wherein his wife failed in her duty towards their children. It was something which he felt rather than perceived, and he never voiced the feeling without subsequent regret and ample atonement (8). † He went to New York for a business trip as Edna moves out and falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Robert Lebrun is the younger, attractive, teasing man with whom Edna falls in love with. Robert is a clean-shaven young man with the stand for of a bohemian and doesn’t care about the world. He smokes cigarettes because he can’t pay for cigars. He works in New Orleans as a clerk and visits his mother in Grand Isle. Even though he honestly loves Edna, he leaves her two times without following through on his feelings. â€Å"Robert spoke of his intention to go to Mexico in the autumn, where fortune awaited him (4). † In the end, he left a note that said: I love you. Goodbye, because I love you (132). Robert struggle to resist on his feelings for Edna because he knows it was not right to love a married woman. Thats why he left to Mexico. The insight of this caused Edna to drown herself. Adele Ratignolle is the personification of perfect womanhood from this era, mother of five children, and idyllic wife to Alphonse Ratignolle. She becomes a close friend of Edna while at Grande Isle and watches out for her friend in the ways of love. She knows the power of her own femininity and cautions Robert not to play with the old fashioned sense of feminism that Edna has. She exemplifies everything about femininity and womanhood of the last century. She is faithful to her husband, gives birth every two years, and embellishes herself with sumptuous outfits and jewelry. She dependent on her family, and is remarkable for her beauty. Mademoiselle Reisz is the unconventional single pianist who charms Edna with her Chopin Impromptu at Grande Isle. She is a close friend of Robert Lebrun, who writes to her asking for a performance of Chopin for Edna any time she desires. Reisz embodies everything that Ratignolle does not like being independent, carefree, a single life with no children, and a life overflowing with art. She brings out the subliminal feelings of Edna to Robert and to her independent spirit. She helps in Ednas view of life and love changes. Alcee Arobin is the young, charismatic, scandalous man who seduces Edna into his arms. He’s one of which Edna spends time with. He is a womanizer, gambler, and businessman. Raoul is one of Edna and Leonce Pontelliers sons. He becomes slightly ill making Leonce to shout at Edna for being irresponsible. Etienne is the other son of Edna and Leonce Pontellier. The Colonel is Ednas father who was an officer in the Confederacy in the Civil War. He like the parties, singing, dancing, and drinking at the Ratignolle parties and tries to influence Edna to come to his sisters wedding. He questions why Edna and Leonce do not spend more time together at night. Madame Lebrun is Robert and Victor’s mother. She manages the cottages in Grande Isle, and is friendly with Edna in New Orleans. Victor Lebrun is Roberts younger brother and the fortune of Madame Lebrun. He flirts with Edna and frequently tells her how beautiful she is. He also went to Ednas dinner and spends time with her in New Orleans. Conflict and Resolution: One of the conflicts in the novel is the married life and society’s prospect of men and women. It is a prejudice of gender roles in the society. Women did not have the freedom to do what they want because they are viewed as dependent to men and just to stay at home. The mother-women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels. (8) Leonce believes that Edna is not doing her womanly task and is an irresponsible mother. He believes women must be inclined to their children, household chores, and their husbands. And when Edna starts to show signs of independence, he lost his temper and was filled with disappointment and resentment. It relates to the novel as Edna looks for a source of income and eventually sells her painting to earn an income. And because of that, the consequence of the things she did was imposed to her child. â€Å"He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of her children. If it were not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it? (6)† Edna realized that she can’t portrays the person the society wants her to be and resolves that problem by changing the way she lives her life. Edna takes actions according to her own desire, with no consideration to Leonce. She goes out alone, visits friends by herself, and eventually annoys her husband. Leonce has trouble dealing with his wifes new free character and thinks her to be mentally uneven. Edna believes that she can be an artist and a lover and be independent. It was evidently clear that women were seen as property of their husband. This is illustrated from Leonce Pontelliers straightforward comments like â€Å"Looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage (2). † This was resolved when Edna left the house and when she eventually gave up and went to the ocean to drown than go back and enslave herself from the hands of her Leonce. Edna doesn’t want to depend on other people and doesnt want anyone to depend on her. She just wanted her independence, to be what she wants to be in her own way, and to not to give up her life and soul for her children. She wants to live her life for herself and to her affair with Robert. Edna admits to never belong to anyone again which in turn, brings her ahead of her time and out of the typical female of her time. Setting: The novel was set in 1899. This is the time when the Industrial Revolution and the feminist movement were starting to become known but were still outshine by the general attitudes of the 19th century. Grande Isle is the summer dwelling place for the Pontelliers and Ratignolles. They reside at the Lebrun cottages during the summer months. Edna and Robert meet and spend their time together while on Grande Isle. The Lebrun family owns the cottages at Grande Isle where the beginning of the story takes place. Madame Lebrun manages them and befriends Edna Pontellier. Next is at Kleins, it’s the hotel close to Grande Isle where Leonce Pontellier use up much of his time and money. The Carondelet Street in New Orleans is where Leonce Pontellier does much of his big business and bump into Robert Lebrun for quite a few times. The pigeon-house is Ednas new small home, where she has only one servant. This is where she paints, and finds freedom and independence. She sometimes visits her children at their grandmothers and goes back home to her independent, single life. She likes having time to herself, and knowing on her own when and where she wants to see other people. Edna and Robert rouse their relation by the ocean. Edna loves the water and learns how to swim, spending most of her time. Edna expresses her outlook of the beach, with the blue sky and ocean that makes her imagine of her youth. She talks of the view as a painter longing for a canvas to create an art. She then meets her end, while drifting deep into the ocean. Language Devices: The novel was full of symbolism where in each narrative section, there is a central and dominant symbol that adds meaning to the content and to emphasize some delicate point the author made. First symbol is the Art because it is a symbol of freedom and failure. It is through the progression of trying to be an artist that Edna achieved the utmost point of her awakening. She perceives art as a way of self-expression and of self-assertion. When Edna arrives, Adele Ratignolle is folding laundry. She abandons it to entertain her dear friend. Edna shows Adele her paintings and desires to paint Adele. She values her opinion greatly and hopes for positive feedback on her work. She humbly revels in Adeles overt appreciation of her painting. She gives her several as gifts, greets Monsieur Ratignolle and leaves, contemplating her life and her feelings for her friend. Birds are the major symbolic images. They symbolize the means to communicate and entrapment of women like the two birds in the cages. Flight is another symbol linked with birds because it acts as a place for awakening. The capability to spread your wings and fly is a symbolic theme that happens often in the novel like when Edna escapes from her home, her husband, her life and leaves for the pigeon house. Reisz address Edna for the need of having strong wings in artistic happenings â€Å"The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth (96). † Like these birds, Edna is ensnared by societys expectations of women, since she is not suited for the role of a mother and domestic wife. As the parrot talks with a language which no one knows, Edna convey her inner desires to flee from societys truss that stay silent and invisible to those around her. And like a newly emerged baby bird, she finds safety in the pigeon house, as she find out of her place in the world and fight against societal principle. In the last chapter of the story, Edna saw a â€Å"bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water (135). † Like the bird, Ednas wings are not strong and spirited enough to survive as a person fighting against societys advocate to be traditional. Edna is fully dressed when first introduced in the novel. Slowly over the line of the novel, she removes her clothes. This symbolizes the peeling of the societal rules in her life and her increasing awakening and stresses her physical and external self. Ednas dress counters the peripheral nature and it also opposes her inner nature. It signifies the partition between her and her surroundings and between her social character and her awakening nature. When she commits suicide, she was naked. She drops everything she has in her quest. The moonlight symbolizes the fight Edna has with the perception of sexual love and romantic love. At the end of chapter ten, subtle images of strips of moonlight (34) are introduced with strong sexual feelings. It suggests that this combination characteristically expect the problems Edna will have shaping the connection between sex and romance. The ocean is a sign for freedom and escape. Edna remembers the Kentucky fields in her childhood as an ocean, she learns to swim in the bay, and she then flee into the sea. The ocean is also a foundation of self-awareness, both an external knowledge of the growth of the universe and an inner obsession with self. The sound of the waves calls to her, console her throughout the novel, and proceed as a constant sign in the novel. Womens bodies are prone to moisture, blood, milk, tears, and amniotic fluid, so in drowning the woman is immersed in the womanly natural element. For Edna who had found freedom in the ocean, drowning brings her back inside herself. Sleep is a significant figurative pattern consecutively through the novel. Ednas seconds of awakening are often lead by sleep and she does a great compact of it. Sleep is also a mean of escape and patching up her worn out emotions. Another language used in the novel is a metaphor. The author uses metaphor to speak about the character of Edna towards the end of the novel. The author uses feelings to utter the feeling and entrapment that in the long run, lead to a lethal end. Describing Edna starts in a descending coil into the rebirth of her mind, to conclude in a sensual reawakening when Edna recognize what fear is, but also what strengths she had. The author assimilates a water pattern as a metaphor for Edna’s rebirth and sexual awakening. In Chapter 6, as Edna begins to awaken to her position in her world, the voice of the sea describes the start of a new world. The start of things, of a world especially, is necessarily unclear, muddled, and very troubling. â€Å"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude: to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace (135). The sea is a dominant metaphor in the novel. The sea has stood for ancient chaos and danger. In Chapter 10, Edna swims out into the ocean, only to feel an unruly fear. The author also draws awareness to the sea as a source of life and new birth. Ednas learning how to swim present a point as she swims with dominated control towards the limitless in which to mislay her. The sea has opened up a new area of discovery for Edna. By the storys end, Edna had given in to the authority of self-discovery and self-actualization that was voiced by the sea. As Edna begins her final walk into the bay, the sea signifies new birth, as Edna go into the water naked in the open air (135) as susceptible as a newborn infant. By combining these water metaphors with diverse awakenings, the author constructs a link between the ocean and Ednas feelings. Sleep and wakefulness also serve as metaphors throughout the novel. For Edna, to be awake is â€Å"to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her (14). To be awake is to recognize. To be awake is to be open-minded. At times, the author makes the metaphor precise. Like having literally awakened from her sleep, Edna metaphorically awakens to the dramatic details of the world and asking How many years have I slept? The whole island seems changed. A new race of beings must have sprung up, leaving only you and me as past relics (43) As with the metaphor of the sea, the metaphor of wakefulness concluded in the last chapter. Edna did reflect and realized her essential seclusion from the old world, and her need to enter a new one, when she lay awake upon the sofa till morning (134). They are associated with restlessness, and unawareness with sleep that Edna avoided. She is, greeted by the sea to an untainted kind of sleep as the sea, like a mother comforting a sleepy child. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace (15). unaided in the sea, Edna will sleep the sleep of death but the story entails her to be more awake than those she left in the old world. Work Cited Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Bantam Books. New York, 1992.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Smart Sensor Stick For Blind Information Technology Essay

Smart Sensor Stick For Blind Information Technology Essay The issue that needed most attention when dealing with problems faced by 90 of blind people in society is lack of sense of direction . Considering this sensitive issue, I have decided to present this report to the company on need-base analysis for Smart Sensor Stick for Blind, based on companys predefined criteria. This design after improvements and modifications would also be able to guide a person to park his car safely. In addition we would test our design against sustainability criteria and core stratifies for set of advantages and disadvantages associated. Specification This project aims to equip a blind person with an audible signal, signaling for an obstacle at a distance. This would give a blind person confidence taking right decisions. A sensor is mounted on the lower end of the stick which could sense an obstacle from a distance. Another sensor could hear the incoming sounds like of a ghastly approaching car and send to microcontroller. Microcontroller send signal to the speaker from where the blind person would hear and small chip on the blinds stick would decide to send an alarm to the person. The same should also be helpful for parking a car with accident based on the critical distance alarm. Design parameters Following are some design considerations in terms of design parameters and assumptions made for use and environment where would be working. Parameters Critical distance: 1 meter for both blind person movement and car parking Alert alarm: the microcontroller should decide and send warning to the blind person before he comes close to one meter of the obstacle. The same is applicable for the car parking guidance. Time period: the warning or alert system should take 1mili second or less for whole operation Cost: the system is very simple and should be very cheap. Modified parameters Design: the design is simple so that a layman is able to handle and operate it very easily. Additional parameters Energy-efficiency: it should meet guidelines of Green IT since it consumes low energy for longer life span. It only consists of low energy consuming sensor Mica2, it is shown in the Figure below and please refer to detail datasheet from the manufacturer Crossbow in the Appendix III (C r o s s b ow Te c h n o l o g y, 2008). Figure : MIca2 mote (C r o s s b ow Te c h n o l o g y, 2008) Safety: since it would be used by special people so it should be harmless in design. For example, should not produce electric shock or sharp edges. Reliability: we had added an extra sensor in the earlier design in order to make it more reliable, in case one fails other take charge. But one is made active other passive in line with energy efficiency design parameter as discussed above. Assumptions Following are underlining assumptions are used in order to better test and use the product in real scenarios. 1 meter is enough distance for a person moving at an average speed to take his decision to safety. The person is not duff so that product is best used, so it works well for people with blindness problem only. The warning distance for parking a car is 2 meter which is sufficient for car being parked at a normal speed. As the improved design would be solar energy supported we suppose that there is abundant supply of sunlight. Description of the Final Design This project aims to provide audible signals to the blind person to direct them to make decisions based on reliable information, so that they are directed to the safe path by avoiding the collisions after equipping them with the above mentioned system. Design description In order to design the above product as shown in the block diagram in Figure 1, we mounted two sensors on the stick (i.e. while stick used by the blind), one on lower end and other on the middle. The similar diagram in provided in the appendix I, as used in another work (Technologies, 2010). This is done primarily to achieve the reliability in case of one of the sensors get fail. This sensor is able to sense the obstacle from 10 meters and sends the signal to microcontroller. After receiving the signal the microcontroller plays an alarm or alert so that person holding the stick comes to know that there is hurdle in front of him and he should change the course until he is able to fine a free way (Rajendra Prasad Mahapatra, 2009). Similarly, this system can be mounted on a car with one sensor in front and other back of the car. Block diagram Following a simple block diagram for our modified design is given below: Obstacle Sensor 1 Obstacle Sensor 2 Distance Meter Decision Microcontroller Specked Power Source Figure : Block diagram Pseudo code Here we have shown a simple pseudo code for functioning of above design. While (signal) //search for signal { if (mode==1) { blind-mode)} // see for operation mode Else (parking-mode) Send (signal) // send alarm to controller to send alarm to speaker Microcontroller (signal){ Alert-alarm} } } do; Figure : Pseudocode for system design Design evaluation In this section, we will give critical evolution of the current product and give recommendations based on the suggested modifications and improvements. Discussion As per detailed analysis and considerations we have find out the current design need improvements. These improvements have been are in the form of previous design modifications and some additional features. These changes will make the final product more reliable, environment friendly, and safe to handle and operate. Recommendations An extra sensor is needed to be added in order to add reliability. Since, failure of device could endanger the person holding it. It wound compromise the energy efficiency, as we suggest making one of sensor in active mode and other in passive. It would take charge of signaling an obstacle as soon then first one fails. The overall modified design would meet the Green IT standards to safe energy and run so be cost effective. It has been noticed that an electronic device during its life time consume more energy-bill than it was used to buy it. It will be operated on two Mica2 (Please refer to the appendix III for datasheet) motes running on single battery and one active at time. The device should be able to handle two modes of operation; namely, blind-mode and parking-mode. It should switch between two modes with just single click of button. The transfer from one mode to another mode is made as transparent as possible. Another important modification in current design is safety procedures so make sure that device safe to be operated by a special person. The device is steel made for durability but with plastic cover to avoid injury. Moreover, since it operates though on small power supply should be eclectic shock proof since it has plastic and rubber cover. Sustainability Sustainability The sustainability in simple words is the, ability of the product to be sustained indefinitely (Design, 2004). Sustainable design The sustainable design can be defined as, The design of system that can be sustained indefinitely. And Sustainable product designed therefore be defined as, the design of the objects and sustainability of the systems in which they operate (Design, 2004). Now, we discuss Sustainability when considered against the primary factors, environmental or eco, financial, and social: Primary sustainability factors Following are three primary factor of sustainable product design: Environmental Sustainability Since bingeing, human have been destroying nature in order to conquer it. However, to achieve sustainability it is essential to accept the fact that human is dependent on the nature for their wellbeing and safety. Without a healthy natural environment, it is impossible to have healthy society and economy. The mistreatment of environment has resulted in a number of consequences that are posing immediate threat to society and economy. According to Edwin Datschefski all materials exist in closed loop systems (cycles), all energy comes from renewable sources (solar), no harmful substances are emitted (safe), and throughout the products life cycle it is no more than 10% of the resources used by an equivalent product in 1990 (efficient). The cyclic and solar system illustrated is illustrated in the Figure 3, as shown on the next page of this report. Environmental Sustainability Figure : the cyclic and solar system illustrated (Design, 2004) Financial Sustainability It is essential for two reasons, one that a businessman would pursue it if it is financially viable and second financial wealth is important for quality of life. However, on contrary they not need to be conflicting (Design, 2004). Carefully designing products within their business, social and environmental systems can result in a solution that have long term financial viability and consistently generate financial profits and wealth. A financially sustainable system has the following characteristics: Consistent revenue by meeting customer customized products Not rely on finite resources Increase profit margin by lowering cost Protect financial wellbeing of customers Not have any significant financial liabilities The following diagram in Figure 4, illustrate the different between a traditional business and a sustainable business. Figure : Business vs sustainable business Social Sustainability Sustainability is about creating and maintaining quality of life for the people, though environmental and social factors are important but they are sources to that end. Social sustainability involves protecting the mental and physical health of all stakeholders, encouraging community, treating all stakeholders fairly, and providing essential services. It is also important that essential services are effectively delivered to everyone who needs them. 10 relevant design strategies You are required to select 10 strategies from this list and outline why you believe each one you choose is relevant to your own final product design. Design business system first In order to make our product sustainable we have to try it in the integration with it business environment where it is to be deployed or used. In order to achieve this we have made certain assumptions about the testing environment. Clarity core function Consumers some time may not buy product for just sustainability function they need the manufacturer to focus on main functionality, some time they could ignore other benefits for the said. We have made sure that our product is good in itself not be sold with providing ice on the cake. Product service systems Typical aim of manufacturing is provide a high value product with low cost, by this often poor value to the customer. PSS is not new idea; it can offer substantial benefits to all the parties involved. This involves offering a service while lending them a product, not losing the ownership and has incentive to maximize product life cycle. Multi-functionalism In designing the product it would reduce product cost. In our system design we have provided with two functions in one product, i.e. blind-mode and parking-mode. Modularization We have taken care of this strategy as our product is designed in a way that it has two modules for two modes of functions and they can easily be fitted together to use either of the functions. Minimize material variety We have not taken care of this strategy since in our product design the two materials are used in manufacturing the product which offer other related benefits. For example, steal is used to made white stick durable and covered it with plastic to make it safe to be used by blind persons to avoid unwanted injuries. Low embodies energy materials All materials have energy consumption cost associated with them during manufacturing. We would use pre-manufactured material in our production of the final product to avoid this. Avoid glass Glass is often thought are environmentally friendly as it could be recycled, non-toxic, and manufactured from natural resources that are abundant. But due to its hardness it is difficult to recycle and inefficient to transport. Renewable energy In our final product design, we have suggested to use small solar panel with the blind stick or car in order to fulfill the green energy criteria. So the product would be self powered so that it make use of other attached benefits such as cost reduction and ease of use. Simplification Since our product is supposed to be used by we have made sure that product is simple enough to handles and maintained by hat person. The design is very simple and a novice can assemble it easily. Contribution to the primary factors In this section we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with above ten strategies in terms of three core strategies such as; economical, financial and social sustainability. Design business system first This strategy would help us deal with the deal with the social sustainability and eco and financial strategy indirectly since it would involve customer to design the product. Clarity core function The products with sustainable strategy are to replace the non sustainable product and manufacturer have the financial benefit but at the cost of paying environmental penalty. It has made sure the social sustainable strategy since it taken care of customers need is met. Product service systems Our product does not involve this service sine it involve increase use of energy and thus compromising other code design issues. Paybacks are slower and customers are tied to the conditions. Multi-functionalism It is eco friendly, since it would reduce the resources use and financially viable since it would increase our product demand. The customer has benefit of increased convenience and value for money. On the other hand drawback is the consumer may buy fewer products. Modularization Our product is eco friendly since it would reduce disposal of the product and by increasing the appeal for our customers they would repeat the business which gives us financial viability. It is social friendly since product has better taken care of customers needs over the life of the product as extended product life would offer good value for the money. It has draw also since increased product life cycle may reduce sales turn over. Minimize material variety It encourages recycling and increases the economy of sale with simplified logistics and reduced end life treatment cost. This could also result in using of inappropriate material leading to inefficiency and earlier disposal. Low embodies energy materials It would be eco friendly since it would reduce energy usage and financially beneficial since materials with low energy usage can be cheaper. Avoid glass It has reduces risk of injury to the waste disposal workers so is socially sustainable. Has financial benefit since it has reduced transport cost. And eco friendly as it avoid damage to the recycling facilities. The one environmental drawback is that its substitutes are even less desirable. Renewable energy It is eco friendly as it would discourage fossil fuel energy usage. It would give financial benefits as improved functionality would increase its demand. It is socially sustainable since product is mobile and never run out of battery. The disadvantages are increased units cost but are cheap in the long term usage. And product can be more bulky. Simplification The product would run longer and reduces waste and cost. Financial appeal is that it would reduce; development, manufacturing, and assembly costs. Socially sustainable since it is easy to be used by the bind person and made easier to meet our customers demand. The cons are that simplification may reduce functionality and efficiency. Financially simple products may be perceived as less valued. And social drawback is that simple products may be less capable of handling individual need. In our final design we have tried to lower the impact of related disadvantages of this strategy in order to increase the advantages. Conclusion We have studied the current designed according to the companys set criteria and suggested our modification and additions to make product more efficient and reliable. We have given our recommendations for new design and evaluated it against some sustainability strategies for its advantages and disadvantages and why the certain important design considerations were made. We have further evaluated the above ten strategies against financial, economical, and social core sustainable strategies to make use of related benefits it brings to us.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Blood :: essays papers

Blood Parentheses of blood Dramas are classified into four sub-fields: tragedies, comedies, melo-dramas, and satires. Each sub-field has characteristics, which makes it identifiable. It is common to find any combination of the sub-fields within a play. To classify drama one must look at the more prominent theme. This paper is focusing on the drama â€Å"Parentheses of blood†, by playwright Sony Labou Tansi. Tansi was born in Congo in 1947. Of his fifteen plays most were published in French. In 1986 his work was commissioned for English translation. Tansi has lived through Africas period of colonialism and the dictorial governments that followed. Congo was under French colonial rule through his adolescent years. It went through periods of military dictatorship before democratization. Tansi was a member of the opposing party in Congo and won himself a seat in the National assembly in 1993, just two years before his death. Like many others in post-colonial Africa, Tansi felt oppressed and untrusting of government, this is clearly evident in â€Å"Parentheses of blood.† This play is an African Drama. Three-dimensional characters are common in African dramas, this is necessary in order to make the drama believable. Another theme of African plays is the presence of a storteller. This is common because many plays have been passed down through generations by word. A third distinguishing feature is an audience that has an active role within the play. A final identifying source is the presence of song and dance. The characters in Tansi’s play were unquestionably three-dimensional. They all had distinct personalities and body, an essential for making the drama believable. How can the absence of the three remaining elements of African drama be explained? Tansi’s work was done in the post-colonial period. Because of French influence African song and dance became less prominent. It was not totally wiped out, but because of French policy many once common tribal songs and dance became less common among Africans. Writing in a modern period Tansi had no need for a storyteller. This play is a depiction of the way Tansi saw life in Africa from his own point of view. Tansi did not choose to have an active audience. Not all African dramas had this characteristic, but this could be another consequence of the transition to the post-modern literature of Africa.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Death of an Idol Essay -- Personal Narrative

When I was young, my mom took me along everywhere. At least once a month, we would travel to Oregon to visit my Aunt Kathy. I would go to the dark and creepy basement to play with my cousins, Carly and Marni. Together, we usually played with little Carebear figurines. I started to grow close to my cousins, especially Carly, even though she was seven years older than me. Her kindness made me feel warm and welcome. Though she got older, it seemed that I never grew. I always looked up to her and her dedication to everything. My mom used to take me to all of Carly's sporting events in high school. I just loved cheering her on. Whenever she was on the basketball court, she always found time to wink at me in the crowd. I even made big posters to take with me when she made it all the way to state for the three-point contest. After high school, Carly decided that she didn't want to stay around anymore. She wanted to go to college away from home. Since she was such a great student, she figured she'd be fine. Carly decided to attend Hofstra University in New York. We promised to be pen pals. Well, that lasted about a year. I was finally growing up, getting busy, and we were losing touch. When we did write, all that I heard of were the boys she dated, and that her A's were dropping to C's. Every once in a while, I would ask my aunt how Carly was doing. The only answer I ever got was "She's fine." A couple of years later, we ... ...at was the day a letter came in the mail for Carly. She had passed her CPA exam. My Uncle Don was the fire chief of the town, so the funeral was full of firemen and police officers. The procession was even led by a fire truck. I look back now and wish that I could have spent more time with Carly. What exactly was so important that the two of us didn't have time for each other? Even though we had some bad times, I'll always remember the good. I think that we all live a life that is already planned. She skipped her time to go, and got another chance. I'm grateful that in that period I got to reunite with her. I hope that I can live her dreams through my life. After all, she is my idol.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Not My Business

The poem ‘Not my business' is about a person who tries to remain detached of the recurring violence caused by the military and does not care about others’ suffering as long as he is not affected. It is a dramatic monologue by the Nigerian Niyi Osundare who uses the narrator to convey his opinion that injustice should push people to unite and fight against together. It is supposed to mirror the Nigerian society but can be applied to any part of the world where people refuse to rise up against injustices. In this poem, the poet has used a narrator to convey his opinion towards the socio-political environment. The narrator's tone in this poem is selfishly unconcerned about his friends’ and neighbors’ suffering and oppression as long as his life is unaffected, thus reflecting the title ‘Not my business'. Ironically, despite his belief that if he does not involve himself in these tragedies he will not be affected, he himself is taken away at the end of the poem. The poet conveys his feelings towards the socio-political environment through Akanni's arrest. They picked Akanni up one morning’. In this opening sentence, the military are deliberately depersonalized through the vague use of the word ‘They’, because a mysterious and potent force is much more ominous and menacing than a known one. Furthermore the narrator’s emotionless and detached tone is obvious from the very start. He converses casually as if he is talking about something inconse quential such as the weather which draws an angry response from the audience reflecting the poet’s own feelings. The poet presents the narrator’s beliefs as disgusting and repulsive in the refrain in an attempt to dissuade people from becoming like him. The narrator does not care about other people ‘so long as they don’t take the yam from my savoring mouth? ’ The yam symbolizes the narrator’s life and the fact that he doesn’t care about other people’s suffering as long as he can enjoy his life. Also the word ‘savor’ suggests that the narrator is selfish and greedy. The poet does this to discourage people from becoming like the narrator, it is also a call for them to unite and work together to end injustice and oppression. Niyi Osundare expresses his views on the socio-political situation through the dismissal of Chinwe. She went to work ‘only to find her job gone, no query, no warning, no probe’. The fact that people are unsafe even in their jobs cements the fear of them (the military) because their menacing tactics extend to more than just violence. Anyone who opposes them or speaks out will be punished. Also, the lack of procedure in dismissing an employee further highlights the oppressive nature of the military as they take people’s rights without even trying to justify themselves. This is underlined by the repetition of the word ‘no’ three times. Furthermore, the fact that Chinwe’s job is gone further emphasizes the military’s cold and merciless nature as she will have no way of supporting herself again emphasizing that we should unite and fight against tyranny and oppression. The poet conveys his opinions on the socio-political situation through his description of the narrator’s end. The narrator ‘sat down to eat yam, a knock on the door froze my hungry hand; the jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn, waiting, waiting in its usual silence’. The ending is ironic as the narrator believed that as long as he stayed detached from everything; his life would not get affected. However, this is not the case which is revealed by the description of the lawn as ‘bewildered’ as an echo of his own surprised feelings that the military have come for him. Furthermore, the repetition of the word ‘waiting’ is used deliberately to create tension and reminds us of the predatory and beast-like jeep in the first stanza. The poem ‘Nothing's changed' which is set in post-apartheid South Africa also shows how oppression and injustices can occur. It was written by Tatamkhulu Afrika as an observation of how, despite Nelson Mandela’s party overthrowing the racist apartheid party, the situation for black South Africans has not changed. The poet uses a narrator in a dramatic monologue to convey his sadness which later turns to anger because of the oppression and injustice blacks are subjected to while whites live a lavish, luxurious life. It is also implied ominously that if change does not occur, violence will spread throughout the country. Tatamkhulu Afrika conveys his opinion towards the socio-political environment through his use of language in the first stanza. Hard stones click', ‘weeds' and trodden on' all reveal his anger at how District 6 has become a hostile wasteland. It also shows his anger at the Apartheid government as they destroyed his home and roots. Furthermore, the use of alliteration and aggressive consonants like ‘sss' help to convey his fury towards the oppression and injustice that the bl ack race is still suffering from. The poet further reveals his views on the socio-political environment through his revelation of the narrator's pain and longing for his home. ‘District 6. The short sentence helps to emphasize the narrator's longing and disappointment at how his home was destroyed. Also, the fact that the line is end stopped and isolated helps mirror the fact that District 6 itself was isolated from the rest of the city due to its harbouring many people of different races. The poet goes on to show his feelings towards the socio-political development through the narrator’s connection with the land. The repetition of the word ‘my’ and his constant references to his body and organs help reveal the poet’s own feelings. The fact that the narrator uses the word ‘my’ and keeps repeating it shows that he views the land as more than just a place to eat and sleep, he needs it to survive, it is part of his identity. In addition to this, the description of his eyes as ‘hot, white,’ emphasizes the intensity of his anger and gives the idea that he is almost going mad because of it. Furthermore, the image of his eyes ‘turning inwards’ is quite grotesque and disturbing which shows how terrible his anger is because it is causing him pain and discomfort. Also, it also shows the transition from his disappointment into anger. Tatamkhulu Afrika conveys his views towards the socio-political environment through his description of the whites’ only inn. The people there are described as ‘squatters’ and the inn itself are ‘new, up market, with incipient Port Jackson trees’. The fact that the whites are described as squatters helps portray them as if they are there illegally and it also helps create the image that they are defouling the land with their racist actions. Also, the fact that Port Jackson trees, found on the other side of the coast of South Africa, are shipped all the way to this white inn emphasizes the luxury and lavishness that the whites live in contrasting the poor state of District 6 and working men’s cafe. The poet reveals his feelings towards the socio-political environment through the narrator’s tone about the whites’ only inn. He says ‘No sign says it is: but we know where we belong’. The first verse echoes ‘District 6’ of the second stanza ‘no board says it is’ which emphasizes the fact that nothing really has changed about the black people’s situation. In addition to this, the narrator is being cynical and ironic about how he knows it is a white’s only inn and he will not enter. He bitterly pretends that he will follow the rules and not enter the inn which informs the reader about his resentful and angry attitude towards the situation. The poet also shows his views towards the socio-political development through his description of black eating areas. ‘Down the road, bunny chows. Take it with you eat, wipe your fingers on your jeans it’s in the bone. ’ The narrator is now showing the guard’s implied meaning that blacks should eat from the working man’s cafe and not from this luxurious inn. It further emphasizes that despite the change in the government, there is still oppression and injustice on the black’s behalf reflecting the title ‘Nothing’s changed’. Furthermore, ‘wipe your fingers on your jeans, it’s in the bone. ’ shows that the whites do not think the blacks are as civilized as they are which is shown as the guard tells the narrator to ‘wipe his fingers on his jeans’ instead of washing or using a tissue. Tatamkhulu Afrika expresses his views on the socio-political environment in the final stanza through the description of the narrator’s feelings. I back away from the glass, boy again, hands burn for a stone, a bomb, to shiver down the glass. The narrator describes his hands as ‘burning’ for a bomb to destroy the inn which shows how intense his anger is and how it is pushing him to violence. Also, the narrator describes himself as ‘a boy again’ as if the situation is exa ctly the same as when he was a child which further emphasises that nothing has changed for the black situation. To conclude, Niyi Osundare conveys his opinions on the socio-political situation through his descriptions of Akanni’s arrest, Chinwe’s dismissal, the narrator’s arrest and his portrayal of the narrator. I believe that Niyi Osundare is completely correct in his opinion that people should unite to end injustice and oppression. I think this because if everyone thought only about themselves then they would be easy to capture and control. However, a large group of people are harder to stop and are stronger as a group than as divided entities. Also, to conclude Nothing’s changed, Tatamkhulu Afrika conveys his views on the socio-political environment through his description of: how District 6 became a wasteland, the luxury whites live in and the contrast between white eating areas and black eating areas. The poet wrote the poem to emphasise that if change does not come soon, violence will spread throughout the country. I disagree with the poet’s opinion that violence should be used to bring about changes. I can empathize with the writer because my own country, Algeria, went through a political election where one party won but it was not accepted so violence tore the country apart. Therefore, I know personally that violence will not solve the problem but will only escalate it and cause the death and suffering of thousands of people.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Gun Control Is Bad Essay

Gun control laws should not be strengthened, instead they should be enforced. Instead of making it harder for law-abiding citizens to obtain guns, guns should be taken away from unstable individuals or people who should not have guns like criminals. The first reason why gun control should not be strengthened is that citizens have the right to own guns; it is one of those entitlements that makes the United States different from other countries. Secondly, criminals are criminals and that is why they are called criminals, they don’t follow the law; basically if a criminal wants a gun they will get a gun, legally or not. My third reason is that guns are used for protection. Strengthening gun control laws will not prevent violence, guns aren’t the only tool used to hurt people, and people will use other objects to hurt people if they can’t have guns. Without a gun, murderers will still murder people whether they use a gun, knife, baseball bat, or any other object, it doesn’t matter. If not that many citizens have guns thanks to stronger gun laws, what if the government becomes tyrannical or does not protect the citizens’ rights? Well they won’t be able to do anything because they will be helpless, they can’t take out the leaders and fix the government. The second amendment states, â€Å"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Adolf Hitler took away guns from the Jewish people during his reign of power in Europe, the constitution states that guns are â€Å"necessary to the security of a free state† and Hitler did not want a free state, he did not want them to fight back. Same goes for Fidel Castro and other leaders like them. Guns are necessary to for the people to have, to make sure the government is kept in line. The founding fathers wanted citizens to be able to own guns to make sure that the people are in charge. Thomas Jefferson said, â€Å"When the people fear the government there is a tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.† If stricter gun control laws went into effect then citizens will begin to lose a basic right as a citizen of the United States. Some people who think strengthening gun control will reduce gun violence but it will only make law-abiding citizens not want to go through the process of getting a gun. Criminals will find a way to get guns if they want them which is why instead of strengthening gun laws, it should be made sure that criminals and unstable people do not have guns. When alcohol was illegal during Prohibition, the criminals still found a way to get it, if guns are illegal they will still find a way to get them. Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. In 2010 it was illegal for a citizen to own a handgun. In that same year more Chicago police officers were killed by gunfire than any other police agency. According to theacru.org a Harvard study showed, â€Å"Norway has the highest rate of gun ownership in Western Europe, yet possesses the lowest murder rate. In contrast, Holland’s murder rate is nearly the worst, despite having the lowest gun ownership in Western Europe.† This is showing how gun control does not work. According to dosomething.org, â€Å"Most guns used in crimes are stolen either from homes or gun dealers.† A criminal will find a gun illegally if they have to, they won’t care about gun control laws, only citizens who will follow the law will, and they will be the ones to get hurt by the criminals. If they want it, they will find a way to get it. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people and if guns are not available then people will still kill people, gun control laws being strengthened will not stop people from killing each other. The proof is in the facts, gun control doesn’t work. Guns can be used to balance power between the strong and the defenseless which can save innocent lives. For example, if an elderly woman was home alone and someone was breaking into her home she could easily shoot the intruder and defend herself. According to justfacts.com, in a survey done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1994, â€Å"Americans use guns to frighten away intruders who are breaking into their homes about 498,000 times per year.† An example of this is a story done by ABC News on October 20, 2012 a 12 year old girl was home alone when an intruder broke in, she hid in her closet with her mom’s gun and when the intruder came to the closet she shot him in the shoulder and he got scared off, that probably saved her life. Also, a survey from the Journal of Quantative Criminology from 2000 stated, â€Å"U.S. civilians use guns to defend themselves and others from crimes at least 989,883 times per year.† If gun control laws are strengthened it will be harder for citizens who obey the law to obtain guns which they would use to protect themselves therefore the crime rate will spike as the smaller and weaker cannot protect themselves. Stricter gun control laws will only make it harder for citizens who actually follow the law to acquire guns, criminals don’t care if it is illegal or not. It is an unalienable right as a U.S. citizen to own guns and guns are used as protection from people like who want to do harm to others. If gun laws are strengthened criminals will still get the guns if they want them, they don’t care if they break the law. Guns are used for protection by citizens. I think that the only way to lessen violence with guns is to have stronger penalties for murders and harm to other people. Also, I believe that people should keep track of their guns and keep them in a safe place so no one can steal them.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Analyse and compare the ways in which Blake presents the contrasting ideas of ‘innocence’ and ‘experience’ in his poetry

William Blake was born on the 28th November 1757 and is considered one of the first ‘Romantic poets'. The Romantic era was a movement that began in the eighteenth century. Romantic poets who included Wordsworth, Keats and Coleridge believed in rebelling against society's values and the strict rules of poetry and art; these were the people who changed English poetry. At the end of the 1700's Blake published a book titled ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience: The two contrary states of the human soul' which contained poems on similar subjects but explored in the two states of innocence and experience. I shall compare four of Blake's poems in this essay: ‘The Lamb', ‘The Tyger' and ‘The Chimney Sweep' (which appears in both collections). ‘The Lamb' asks us to relate the lamb's image as the most innocent of God's creation, to that of its maker, the ‘lamb of God'. It begins with a question made by a child, who asks the lamb how it came to be and who made ‘thee'. ‘Thee' is the archaic form of the word ‘you' and Blake used it throughout the poem, which gives it a religious tone as this was a word used in the Old Testament. These first two lines are a rhyming couplet in tetrameter. When reading ‘The Lamb' magnificent images spring to mind, especially half way through the first stanza: â€Å"†¦ by the stream and o'er the mead† (meadow). This imagery is similar to descriptions made in the Old Testament book of Psalms. (Especially Psalm 23, â€Å"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want†) The second stanza starts in much the same way as the first, with two lines of tetrameter. This time, instead of a question, a statement is made, leading on to answer the query made in the first verse. Again, Blake uses the archaic form of ‘you': ‘Little Lamb I'll tell thee', to re-enforce the religious side of the poem. This stanza goes on to say that the lamb was created by the one ‘who calls himself lamb', in other words, Jesus. Jesus is seen as the figure of innocence in the Bible. Like most of Blake's work, God has been discussed about in this poem. Each stanza in ‘The Lamb' contains five rhyming couplets and the repetition at the start and end of each verse makes the poem sound slightly like a nursery rhyme consequently reflecting the child-like innocent qualities of the poem. It appears almost devotional and the rhythm helps to give it ballad-like qualities. The poem generally has a repetitive structure and rhyme scheme. Blake uses vocabulary similar to that of a pastoral poem. The answer to the question asked in the first stanza reveals the child's innocence and faith. It indicates that he accepts anything he is told without question. The child associates himself and the lamb with Jesus, and in the Bible Jesus shows kindness towards children. Imagery in the first stanza is descriptive and rural, for example ‘By the stream and o'er the mead'. This forces the reader to think of the happiness and innocence connected with the countryside. This contrasts with the second, which is more spiritual and straightforward. Although the question asked by the child in verse one is naive, it is also very significant. It is a simple question but one that can be thought about a little deeper. This quality is present in almost all of Blake's work – his poems can be read on a number of levels. ‘The Lamb' is a reminder of innocence in a time of war, revolution and industrial labour that was all taking place while Blake was writing. ‘The Tyger' is the experience counterpart to ‘The Lamb'; it too begins with a question. The narrator is asking who created the tyger: ‘What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry'. From then on each stanza contains more questions, which branch out from this first; the narrator suggests the creator of the tyger is like a blacksmith, using words such as ‘anvil' and ‘furnace' in his descriptions. He seems surprised that the creator of the lamb could also be able to create such an opposite character such as the tyger. Blake could be comparing the two sides of man; good and bad as well as innocence and experience. The poem is made up of six quatrains in rhyming couplets. It is in a regular, rhythmic tetrameter. The beat is very prominent and if read in a certain way could start to sound like a chant or a spell, this makes the reader feel entranced and in touch with the poem. Blake builds on the idea of comparing nature and art, suggesting that although the tiger is beautiful it is also very violent and this could perhaps reflect it's creator. An underlying question arises whilst reading ‘The Tyger': ‘what type of God could create such a scary beast but also a sweet lamb'. By evolving this question further the poem could be seen to be asking why God lets bad things happen, when he can also let such good things occur. It ends with a repetition of the first verse, but uses the word ‘dare' instead of ‘could'. Blake is suggesting that because the tiger is such a terrifying beast, it would take great daring from God to create it. The central question in both poems is similar, but unlike ‘The Lamb', ‘The Tyger' finishes without an answer. This could suggest that because ‘The Lamb' is in the innocence collection that the question more easily answered when thought about in a naive way. When thought about as it is in ‘The Tyger', at a more in-depth level, the question becomes more complicated. When ‘The Tyger' and ‘The Lamb' are directly contrasted they give a clear comparison of human nature, this shows that nothing is without its bad side, for example, there cannot be heaven without hell. In both poems Blake emphasises his main point in the first and last lines. ‘The Tyger' contains harsh verbs such as ‘grasp' and ‘seize' and also uses harsh sounding alliteration with the letters B, D and T: ‘Burning Bright,' however, in ‘The Lamb' Blake uses softer letters such as L and M: ‘Little Lamb' to show the gentle nature of the poem and creature being described. In both poems metaphors are used and reflect Blake's view on religion and God. In ‘The Lamb' Blake, through the eyes of a child, compares the creator, God, to the lamb itself: ‘For he calls himself a lamb. ‘ Here, Blake is describing Jesus, the ‘Lamb of God'. Blake often wrote about the same subjects in both collections, he sometimes named the poems identically, such as in ‘The Chimney Sweeper in ‘Songs of Innocence'. This poem deals with chimney sweepers and the effect being one takes on a young child's life. It tells of two little boys and their suffering. One of the boys, the eldest, narrates. On first glance, the poem seems full of joy and gives the illusion of ending happily. Looking deeper, it conveys a message of exploitation and child suffering. The poem in ‘Songs of Experience' tells of a boy grieving and how he has to go to work, to almost certainly meet his death, while his mother and father think they are doing the right thing. In the first stanza of the innocence poem, the narrator tells of how his mother died and how young he was. The juxtaposition of the words ‘died' and ‘young' cause tension in the first lines because death and youth are not often associated. The boy cries ‘weep, weep, weep' which has two meanings. At first it seems to be the boy crying, but to be a chimneysweeper you must advertise by shouting ‘sweep, sweep, sweep'. So by including this in the poem; Blake has indicated that the boy is so young he can barely pronounce words properly, yet he must go to work. In the next line, a second person pronoun is used which directly implies that the reader is directly responsible for the underage dangerous work being done; making the reader feel responsible and guilty. The second stanza tells the beginning of a dream had by a younger boy, Tom. He dreams that thousands of chimney sweepers are locked in coffins. The word ‘locked' links directly with the word ‘key' in the next stanza and causes tension between the two verses. Blake was said to have had many visions of various creatures and people. He claimed to experience them from early on. When he was nine years old he told his mother that he had seen â€Å"a tree filled with angels,† and not long after, in a field of workers gathering hay, a vision of â€Å"angelic figures walking†. He has incorporated his visions into this poem by using the idea of a dream. The third stanza contrasts with the second immensely. While the second is full of misery and contains words such as ‘black', ‘lock'd' and ‘coffins'; the third tells of freedom and hope. The phrase ‘their bags left behind' in line three is a metaphor for their troubles left behind on earth. Blake uses metaphors to conjure up imagery in the reader's head. The fourth stanza contains the main message of the poem. Tom awakes to an angel telling him that if he works hard on earth he will be rewarded in heaven. This is Blake ironically criticising the hypocritical society of his time. The experience poem is narrated in third person and the first stanza contains the same phrase as the innocence poem. The boy is crying ‘weep, weep' which again indicates his young age. The first line of the poem, ‘A little black thing among the snow', is a very significant one and brings to mind clear images of black against white. Again, Blake has used tension in the beginning of the poem to create strong imagery in the readers head at an early stage. In the second verse the child is speaking. He tells of how he was dressed in clothes of death and sent out to work as a chimneysweeper. Again, there is tension between the mention of ‘happiness' in the first line and the word ‘death' in the third. Ironically, the parents are being ‘good' by clothing the child, but on the other hand, they are clothing him in clothes of death to be a chimney sweep. The last verse is the boy telling of how he fools his parents. He dances and sings to make them think they are doing no wrong, when in fact they are sending their own child to his death. The last phrase, ‘heaven out of misery' is a very significant one. The concept of heaven only works if there is suffering as well. There would not be a heaven if there were not a hell. Blake tells how children are being exploited by the promise of eternal happiness for work on earth. Adult manipulation is very clear in this poem and Blake is being ironic by suggesting that suffering is the only path to happiness. Both poems contain clear messages. ‘The Chimney Sweeper' in ‘Songs of Innocence' shows that the children have a positive and naive outlook on life. They make the best of it and do not fear death; this is because they do not know the truth and are therefore innocent. An opposite message is conveyed in the poem of ‘Songs of Experience' in which the child blames his parents for putting him in such a dangerous position. He is less naive and blames ‘God & his Priest & King'. This is different from the innocence poem because the little boy has been influenced by society and has an ‘experienced' view. The theme of God runs throughout both poems. In the first, an angel appears and talks about heaven. The word ‘lamb' in the second verse links with the ‘lamb of God', representing Jesus and suffering. In the second poem, heaven is talked about and a church is mentioned in the beginning. Both poems play on the idea of how to get into heaven and the naivety of young children. The poems that I have analysed in this essay have all included the theme of God, as did nearly all of Blake's work. Blake hated organised religion, but on the other hand was a very spiritual and religious man. The times in which he lived forced church upon people, rather than leaving them to make up their own minds. Blake also had a hatred for formal education, which we can see in his poem from ‘Songs of Experience' titled ‘The School Boy'. He felt school was unnecessary and not having attended school himself thought that it ‘oppressed the soul's creative spirit'. Blake wanted his current society's attitude to change; he knew that sending innocent children out to work at such a young age was wrong. In some of his other poetry Blake concentrates on areas of society he would like to be changed, such as in ‘The Little Black Boy'. Blake thinks that the attitude white people have learnt to associate with black people is wrong and should be changed. Much of his inspiration came from the French and Industrial revolutions. In fact, he was so interested in the changes taking place in France, he wrote a poem ‘The French Revolution' in 1791. Blake was living in an ever-changing society, where traditional ideas and values were being questioned and new ones created – he wanted to be a part of it but in his own imaginative, visionary way. The ‘Innocence' collection could represent the way that the society of Blake's time thought and believed, and the experience collection, representing the way it really was. The people of Blake's time would just ignore problems such as child employment and education, hoping it would go away, but Blake knew something had to be done, and he talked about this in his poetry. Songs of Innocence' and ‘Songs of Experience' give comparative images of children, babies, religion and the general society. It shows how different everything seems when we are innocent. Although the two collections show ‘†¦ the two contrary states of the human soul', they seem to join together and weave the same themes throughout. Some of these ideas are included both collections of poems, but are talked about in contrasting ways, such as religion, children, education and death.