Monday, September 30, 2019

John Donne’s The Funeral Essay

â€Å"As with most poets of his time, Donne was obsessed with death. Mesmerized by its mysteries, charmed by its allure, and convinced of the existence of an afterlife (as a result of Christian theology), he finds himself at times unable to settle on a particular view of the subject. While a considerable portion of Donne’s opus deals with death either directly or indirectly, some poems depict death as insignificant while others present it as something he, and therefore humans, should fear. As a Christian, Donne believed (although perhaps did not understand) the concept of an afterlife. This conviction is shown by his understanding of death as a necessary stage before reaching the glory of heaven, the promised life with God† (http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/oliver.htm). John Donne’s â€Å"The Funeral† is a sonnet of strong emotions. The writer is leaving behind someone he loved and who loved him greatly. â€Å"The Funeral† is a way for him to say good-bye, to end this love the best way he knows how. The poem begins with a reference to the â€Å"subtle wreath of hair which crowns my arm† (3). This small braid was apparently a tradition from the Renaissance era where a woman would give a braid of her hair to the man she loved. He requests that it should be left alone because it is what completes  him, his â€Å"outward soul† (5). He seems to have made this small symbol of her affection everything he is about. He says he is leaving it to control and to keep her from dying. How does a small circlet of hair keep her alive? He is keeping her essence, her spirit, and her memory alive by keeping a part of her with him when he crosses over to the other side. Donne mentions that â€Å"These hairs which upward grew, and strength and art/ Have from a better brain† (12-3). The hair the woman gave him is strong and beautiful, but from something better. She seems to be from a higher and better stature than he is so just the fact that he has this braid of hair from her, he feels noteworthy. I take the statement â€Å"Can better do it; except she meant that I/ By this should know my pain† (14-5) to mean that he better remember her when he is gone, unless he knows how much pain he is going to be going through when he dies. Donne continues, â€Å"As prisoners then are manacled, when they’re condemned to die† (16). His death will mean the loss of her, so the pain he will experience could mean the heartache a prisoner feels having to leave his or her previous life once sentenced to death. A prisoner’s life is over as soon as they are given their condemnation just as a person’s life is concluded when they die . The third stanza brings him back to where he started, the bracelet of hair. He doesn’t care what her intentions are or were behind the hair, all he wants to assure is that it will be with him when he is laid to rest. The man states that he is â€Å"Love’s martyr† (19) and that if some other person happens to stumble on the hair, â€Å"it might breed idolatry† (19). The fact that he has the idea that this small braid of hair could create someone to adore it supports the theory that this woman was more than just an average person was. She must have been of some importance in order for him to want to protect it so carefully. He calls the hair a relic, which is â€Å"a part of the body, clothing, or other belongings of a saint, martyr, or other deceased holy person which is carefully preserved as an object of veneration.† The use of the word relic helps support the belief of the woman’s significance. The last two lines of the sonnet are what drive home the impression that whoever this woman was, she was important. â€Å"So ’tis some bravery, / That  since you would save none of me, I bury some of you† (23-4). She didn’t keep anything that would remind her of him, and yet with some courage, he is able to bury this small token with him. Another interpretation says that â€Å"save† used to be printed as â€Å"have† which suggests a sexual relationship. This would mean that she didn’t want him in the same way he wanted her, it takes audacity for him to keep something of hers with him for the rest of time. He was very over protective of the slight braid of hair that he obtained from this female. It is as if he had a small part of a celebrity that he didn’t want anyone else to even have the opportunity to see. It is hard to draw any definite conclusions about who this woman was and what the relationship between she and he exactly boils down to. It is safe to assume however that she was at least of some relevance to him and he was consumed with even the idea of her.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

My doc

Two boys who live In the same town, one being a small and often diminished boy, Owen Meany and the other Johnny Wheelwright who loses his mother early In his life. It is narrated by Johnny himself, in which he describes how Owen altered his fate in god. The whole affair begins during a little league baseball game, when Owen hits a foul ball that unfortunately strikes Johnny's Mom in the head, in turn killing her. After this event Johnny lives in different homes, however he and Owen remain good friends and together overcome many obstacles throughout their lives.Johnny tells his story to show the reader how powerful it can be to have a friend who is so inspirational and well guided, to promote his fate in god, and to show how magnificent of a person Owen Meany is. A Reason for Johnny narrating the story Is that even thought Owen kills his mother, his only link to knowing who his father Is, he still manages to remain friends with Meany. This shows how much trust and admiration Johnny ha s for Owen. Throughout the novel, Owen continues to baffle Johnny with his â€Å"God Given† knowledge.Each time Owen assists Johnny; It makes Johnny want to become closer to god as he feels his friend is blessed. For example Johnny does not wish to join the army during the Vietnam war, and Meany ensures this wont happen as he convinces Johnny that cutting of his finger will exempt him from enlisting. This is Owen watching out for his best friend. This event is connected in Johnny's reason for telling his story because if it wasn't for Owen thought of amputating his finger, he could have ended up a statistic; one of the 58 thousand dead American soldiers.Owen however showed great courage and enlisted as a usually assistance officer, were he transported dead soldiers to there families. Early on In Johnny's life Owen assures him that God will gulled him to finding out whom his father Is. Throughout Owens life he considers himself to be â€Å"Gods Instrument†, as he Is sen t messages from god such as the fact that he This strong connection with God that Owen preaches throughout his life is another reason for Johnny to share his story of growing up with Meany. Owens messages from God begin in a school play were he invasions his gravestone, as he plays a ghost.Him playing a ghost is also a hint at his foreseeable death. He believes he is destined for a heroic death. Him and Johnny begin to practice a basketball move called â€Å"The Shot†, in which Johnny lifts Owen too the hoop, and Owen dunks. This move is later used to save the lives of several young boys, and Johnny. When the two pals meet later in there lives when Owen Is on duty in Arizona guiding refugee's to living areas, a patriotic teen tries to blow up a group of refugee Vietnamese children who Johnny and Owen are escorting. The grenade lands In Owens hands.As it does, he tells Johnny that the shot was practiced for this moment and Johnny does the move and lifts Owen too a window, whil e Owen chucks the live grenade out of the window. Due to the explosion Owen is killed, however he saves the bystanders in the process. This Owens actions and that he lead him towards a heroic and mind-blowing exit. A last and final reason why Johnny tells his heart breaking story, is that before Owens funeral at there hometown of Gravesend, Johnny stops by the reverend's office to talk o him and what happens next changes Wheelwrights life forever.Owen Meany's ghost possesses the reverend, and proceeds to tell Johnny that the reverend in fact is his father. Owen also tells Johnny that the reverend prayed for the foul ball to kill his mother, and in vengeance, god has turned from the reverend. This event, shows Just how divine Owen was, but what Owens father would tell Johnny soon after would solidify everything Johnny believed. Johnny pays a visit to Mr.. Meany, and is told by him that Owen was a virgin birth, Just like Jesus Christ.It all is clear to him now, the vision of the tombs tone, the shot and now this, Owen really was a messenger of God. Johnny Wheelwright tells the magnificent story of living along side Owen Meany to reveal to you, the reader, what a blessed individual the small and dwarfed Owen Meany was. He tells his account to display how somebody can be so close and intimate with God, and how Owen truly changed his life for the better. The events that took place during Johnny's life could only have been so, if it wasn't for the God favored boy, Owen Meany.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Introduction to Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to Business Law - Essay Example The report states that the contract included a clause specifically stating that the seller would provide up to $500.00 for any necessary repairs, after inspection, at the closing of the deal. Now the buyers have had the house inspected and the inspector has informed them of two needed repairs. Due to the clause in the contract, the seller is obligated to pay up to $500.00 in these repairs but no more than that. So in regards to the buyers possibly expecting more, legally that would be a breach of contract so they can only expect to receive the amount the clause states for the repairs. Any expenses above that and they are required to pay the additional fees. (Larson, 2003-2005). Since there does not seem to be any specific clause such as: "Waiver clause, Liquidation Clause, Non-Waiver clause, etc then the only other logical means to go about settling the dispute would be to use an arbitration system. If this case were to go to a court of law then the seller would be forced to uphold the terms of the agreement in the time that was specified.  

Friday, September 27, 2019

Operating management 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Operating management 5 - Assignment Example Cavalier Corporation Limited in New Zealand is a public company that specializes in the manufacture of broadloom wool carpets since its opening in 1984. This company ensures effective application of standardization in its operation management roles to include levels of commonality, reference, interchange ability, and compatibility. As a goods production company, Cavalier corporation limited goes on the full stretch to involve the use of standardization principles in generating, processing and analyzing statistics, testing company related theories, and keeping on check the supply chain management sector (Cavalier Corporation, 2010). ... s characterized by its dependency on the customers’ list of requirements to help in the determination of what type quality of goods should be manufactured, or services offered, whenever they are in need of it. A pull system of approach in operations management is a made-to-order process, within Goodman Fielder Company, a manufacturing, distributor and marketer of dairy products, bread, margarine, dressings, oil and a number of food ingredients in New Zealand and Australia. Goodman Fielder Company uses the pull system by carrying out surveys on their clients’ requirements and expectations on the goods and services they manufacture and distribute by ways of brainstorming sessions, focused group discussions and surveys on the user behaviors and types of needs. It is thus meant for producing goods and rendering services that are geared towards customers’ higher levels of satisfactions, company’s lower operation costs, lower inventory initiatives and constantly changing the product designs to meet the ever changing customers’ needs based on time, fashion, location and cost (Tari, Molina, & Castejon, 2007). A summary can therefore be drawn from this explanation that lean principles are based on a philosophy seeking to eliminate wastes in terms of delays, duplications, unnecessary movements, poor communications, incorrect inventories, opportunity lost, and errors in either transactions or damaged items, in all aspects of Goodman Fielder Company’s production activities. One of the disadvantages of this type of system is that it forces producers to the strongest terms and conditions possible to come up with mechanisms of investing heavily into research and developments to see into it that they precisely meet the needs of the ever changing clients’ desires, thus

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Executive Summary of Cyber Crime Task Force Plan Research Paper

Executive Summary of Cyber Crime Task Force Plan - Research Paper Example St. Luis just like any other organization has in the last decade faced huge challenges that relate to its online data. The changing trends incorporate defenses which counter several web crimes. These also include various changes in the development of high level software interfaces that are capable of defining notable developments in commercial web servers. Cyber security is a process that is carried out to protect computer systems from attacks, including protecting data from unauthorized access, use, transfer, disclosure or modification and this could either be intentional or accidental. Cyber attack takes several forms, notably from an internal network, public systems but the research done by Rogers, (2001) indicate that major cybercrimes are related to the use of internet. The scope of cyber crime is wide and businesses are repeatedly faced by attacks, making them victims of various kinds of security threats. In many countries, cyber crime has been criminalized and though computers are widely used to commit cyber crimes, governments have a responsibility to protect individuals and property against cyber threats, Gordon et al, (2006). According to Babu et al, (2004) unauthorized access to authenticated information has more than doubled in the last decade, estimates stating that from 2004 to 2011, break-ins have risen by over 150%. The greatest cyber crime threats that St. Louis County is currently facing Various research statistics indicate that St. Louis County reported huge capital losses which are attributed to attack on its major databases and subsequently leading to mass loss of data. Ideally, the changing provisions which are significantly based on application of IT platforms also explain that structural formation hugely contributes to cybercrimes. Ideally, IT platform also extinguishes transactions and processes that are adequately managed through a set of interfaces which are based on aided technologies that theoretically exhibit changing trends within the societal perspectives. The application of cyber crime prevention framework according to Rapaille (2007 is indicatively based on set of cultured codes that broadly classify the operational characteristics of the technological inference associated with web crime technologies. The analytical application is measured using a series of forecasts and merged technologies (Weil, 2008) which are based on diverse business values. The external factors through which cyber crime functionalities are measured explain three consequential architectural frameworks of the web crime technology. Derivatives of distributive building blocks/models that exhibit low level deployment perspectives User projections and implementation forecasts as a system model establishment base. (O’Reilly, 2005) Web redesign aspirations with sustainable business model establishments. The user profiles and software management developments that are based on elastic business models create the terminological relevance of the technology Which three types of cyber crime will be the top priorities for the task f The technological implementation of cyber crime control technology and its mainstream global relevance has been managed by changing trends within the competitive global markets (David, 2008). This is illustrated by the operational compatibility of its systemic units with enhanced technological preference among its

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Stress distribution in the ankle joint, Ideal requirement for ankle Essay

Stress distribution in the ankle joint, Ideal requirement for ankle arthroplasty - Essay Example However, the dynamic stability to the joint can be attributed to the ligamentous support and balanced muscular forces acting around the joint. Although end-stage degenerative joint disease in uncommon in the ankle joint, in contrast to the previously offered ankle arthrodesis, with the newer designs of total ankle arthroplasty implants, the later has become a viable alternative. However, given the complex mechanism of the joint in terms of force distribution, any successful implant must be congruent with the biomechanical properties of this unique joint. To this end, stress distribution and other mechanical forces are the most important considerations, and in this assignment, some current total ankle replacements systems will be investigated as to whether they conform to the ideal requirements of stress distribution (Alvine, 2000). Studies have supported the clinical choice of total ankle replacement despite its complications since in comparison to arthrodesis, the ideal patients undergoing indicated total ankle replacements can experience a near-normal gait, greater range of movement, symmetrical timing but a slower gait, and restored ground reaction pattern. In actual clinical conditions, thus stress distribution across the implant becomes the most important engineering issue to be considered while choosing an implant. This is important more so, given the fact that there is indeed a higher reported incidence of frequent failure of the ankle implants. These have been ascribed to the designers and surgeons inability to reconstruct and restore the stabilising ligaments, to a poor simulation and reproduction of the normal mechanics of the joint, and due to these reasons, leading to a lack of involvement of the subtalar joint while the entire ankle complex need a coupled pattern of motion. This makes the total jo int replacement challenging, but also indicates that there is space for improvements in implant design

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

To what extent do politics of the WTO, limit (or increase) developing Assignment

To what extent do politics of the WTO, limit (or increase) developing countries' ability to realize the gains from specializat - Assignment Example Using postulates from the theory, it is clear that the best combination of trade at the international front should be guided by profitability analysis. The Theory of Comparative Advantage The theory of comparative advantage states that a party enjoys a margin of superiority in producing services or goods. This means that the party enjoys comparative over another country due the opportunity cost that exists due to lower production cost Chang (2008). Better said, two parties can each enjoy from trade if they produce the same goods or services at relative costs that are not equal. This theory also applies even if one party happens to have absolute advantage over another country as it enjoys the capacity to gain when it trades with another that is less efficient provided that the relative efficiencies are unequal. The law of comparative advantage is based on a number of vital assumptions. One of the main assumptions is that the parties involved incur no transportation costs in their deal ings. It is further assumed that costs do not vary and no party enjoys economies of scale. Furthermore, it is taken for granted that no trade barriers and tariffs apply to the parties in their engagement in trade. The assumption that factors of production are perfectly mobile also applies for comparative advantage to apply. Yet another assumption is that the goods or services being traded are identical or homogeneous. The final assumption is that the parties involved in trade have perfect knowledge of the goods being traded and therefore buyers and sellers are able to tell where the cheapest products exist. The theory of comparative advantage normally applies in international trade, countries being the parties involved. In its perfect sense, the theory elements responsible for the realization of the theory is very difficult to achieve since international trade often involves transportation, tariffs and trade barriers, the immobility of production factors and imperfect knowledge. Acc ording to classical theories related to international trade, countries are bound to gain mutual benefits when they specialize in making goods or producing services with lower opportunity costs. The theory of comparative advantage advocates for free trade and specialization in production rather that pursuit for self sufficiency. The World trade organization has played an important role in the liberation of trade especially beyond national borders Chang (2008). Three major features of the World Trade Organization negotiating environment are the abidance to the most favored nation (MFN) principle, the occurrence of negotiations among few countries, and the extent in times of time of the negotiations with economically significant nations joining the equation on a continuous basis (Bagwell and Staiger, 2001). Under the MFN negotiating environment, there are two major hindrances to multilateral efficiency that come into effect according to Bagwell and Staiger (2001). For one, every market access concession that a country makes to another country automatically is enjoyed by partners who enter the negotiation later. In order to reduce the free-riding potential a nation may end up offering a little to early negotiator so as to maintain bargaining power in latter times. The second hindrance to

Monday, September 23, 2019

Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Essay - 1

Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Environment Paper - Essay Example develop better avenues in the quest of finding competitive offerings that are thrown in line with the products which I would be making for my clientele. Perhaps it would be wise to use localized data so that the name choice for the bakery is appropriate with the customers’ desires. What is more important is the fact that the bakery could deliver the goods when it comes to building a relation with quality, taste and superior service in the first place, to its local customers. Hence this bakery would have a strategic plan in place and the four functions of management would be implemented within its reigns so that success could be achieved for the sake of the business. As far as the strategic planning and management of this business is concerned, the bakery must come about due to the mechanisms that have already been employed right from the very beginning. This bakery might be new to the business but the input should be given significance. If I want to do something different from the other bakeries in the business, I must be given room to maneuver my strengths that I have learned or acquired with the passage of time. I would understand that the selected target market is important more than anything else and looking after their needs would be deemed as quintessential from my bakery’s perspective. What is needed now is to comprehend the fact that research mechanisms are not only addressed in a proper manner but are also incorporated within the working levels of the bakery itself. This would greatly benefit the bakery which is on an upsurge with a new vision in the form of my management and planning skills. I would go for adopting a strategic plan as this is something upon which I can wrest my initiatives which I have already taken by now. This strategic plan would provide me a vision as to what my course of action will be and how I can maneuver my troops within the coming days. It will give me a better understanding of the resources that are available at my

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Management Contracting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Contracting - Essay Example The paper tells that a design-build contract refers to an outstanding type of project delivery system used in construction as well as renovation projects. In this kind of contract, the client awards the project to a contractor. After the client enters into the contract with the contractor, the contractor is responsible for all design as well as construction work needed to complete the project. This will allow the client to deal with one source during the construction of the innovative and eye catching new property as opposed to coordinating various parties. If the client awards the design-build contract to a builder, the builder is responsible for hiring all engineers and architects needed to complete the work of designing the new property. The client has the right to reject or approve design options; however, he is no longer responsible for managing or coordinating the design team. When the owner approves the design, the same contractor directs the construction process of the new pr operty and hires subcontractors if needed. Most clients’ sign build contracts after a negotiation as opposed to a bid process. NEC3 contract is a family of contracts that facilitate the implementation of sound management practices and principles and defining legal relationships. The contract is a positive as well as a progressive form of contract that allows every part to participate in and contribute to the successful delivery of facilities, buildings, as well as best value solutions. The client and the contractor collaborate and their collaborative working across the whole construction process boosts the likely project outcomes. The contract stimulates good management of the relationship between the client and contractor and the work included in the contract (NEC 2010). The contract offers clients and contractors project focused outcomes leading to the achievement of the client objectives for the projects in terms of ultimate performance, quality, time and cost aspects. The NEC3 contract is advantageous in that it designs a system for managing the construction project interfaces. It also gets all the parties to sign up to the contract and

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Actions and context of social Essay Example for Free

Actions and context of social Essay Hale arrives in Salem and begins to interrogate Abigail. He is very direct and soon Abigail realises that she cannot avoid his questions any more. She knows she must escape his attention but she cannot run otherwise she will look suspicious. Instead, she cleverly implicates Tituba. Abigail constructs her involvement to become the leader of the proceedings, trying to force the other girls and her into following her lead. After confession, Tituba is told to tell the names of people seen with the devil. Mrs Putnam asks whether her past midwives had been in contact with the devil. Abigail soon says the names of Sarah Good and Goody Osburne as she quickly reveals that they are in contact with the devil. By satisfying her interrogators suspicions, despite their untruthfulness she can divert attention away from herself. Her intelligence and unique influence is demonstrated as she does so and sends the professional men of the court into a frenzied excitement, as they believe they have found someone in touch with the devil. By being the first and shouting out names, she has power and trust with the court. She then begins to call out more names, adding to Titubas list. This excites Betty whom immediately rises and joins in the chanting of names. She is described to be calling out hysterically and with great relief. Then their ecstatic cries turn into a gleeful tone, adding an evil edge. Abigail has forged her way out of trouble and Betty has picked up on the plan, assured that she is safe from punishment and joins Abigail. They are now beyond accusation or danger and happy to call names out. Betty is following Abigail, but Abigail has no need to continue as she has already said Elizabeths name. The other names of people, she has no involvement with and most importantly, people who bear no importance in Salem and are vulnerable to prosecution. It is a fiendish scene, as if the girls are possessed by evil. They are not however and that leaves only one reason, that Abigail is wreaking her specific revenge for her parents deaths. It is one of her more evil actions in the play, as it cannot be accounted for. This shows that she does not hate and have power over people she wants revenge for, but everyone of human society. In my opinion, she is a disturbed character. She is initially perceived as being wild bright and proud. Her character then develops a ghastly quality that becomes a large influence over everybody in the village of Salem. She abuses this ability to turn things to her advantage and others fate. She develops an evil insensitive, which would seem to be her character, however occasionally she shows different emotions in moments of intense passion and fear. Abigail is the hidden secret of the play. She covers behind her sweet little girl innocence and manipulates it between the characters, which brings up many truths from the past. Her quest however, soon becomes an addiction as she has people killed and blames anyone to get back John Proctor.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Blueprint For Action

Blueprint For Action Critical Book Analysis of Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating Barnett, Thomas P.M. Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating. New York, NY: G.P. Putnams Sons, 2005. Thomas P.M. Barnett Weblog. â€Å"Biography.† http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/biography.htm. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States (US) has struggled to define its role as the remaining superpower. Overnight containment and deterrence, the defining strategy of the second half of the 20th century, became questionable and a new grand strategy never emerged to take its place. Without a clear vision, US security policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union has generally relied on maintaining a balance of power in the international system. Then on 11 September 2001 (9/11), the US was attacked by terrorists and suffered its first domestic strategic military shock since the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In reaction, the US has undergone a historic reorganization of government and is waging an unprecedented global war on terrorism. Yet despite the thousands who have died and trillions of dollars spent since 9/11, the US has not established a coherent, sustainable, and realistic grand strategy that accounts for current circumstances and the future world contex t. In an attempt to fill this grand strategy vacuum and contextualize the current world environment Thomas Barnett has written a series of books that provide a new paradigm for understanding our current and future world circumstance. In the first book, The Pentagons New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century, Barnett frames the global dynamics in terms of rule sets that govern globalization and provides a vision for achieving global security. In the second book, Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating, Barnett delivers the specifics of actualizing this vision and is the subject of this essay. Specifically, this paper critically analyzes Blueprint for Action because it is inspirational in scope, relevant to the future of US national security strategy, and has implications that warrant serious military consideration. Thomas Barnett is a strategic planner who has worked in national security affairs since the end of the Cold War. Earning a PhD in Political Science at Harvard, Barnett served as professor at the Naval War College, senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and has been involved with several strategic related Department of Defense activities. Over the last decade, Barnett has authored two books, written several articles, and has been widely read by civilian and military audiences. Building off the vision articulated in Pentagons New Map, the thesis of Blueprint for Action is that in order to close the gap between the Core states (healthy and functioning) and the Gap states (unhealthy and disfunctioning) the US must lead a Core state effort to establish the rule sets and institutions that will connect Gap states with the benefits of globalization. This in turn will reduce threats to Core states, promote universal inclusiveness, and foster global peace. Barnett passionately argues, â€Å"we need to make sure our security rule sets match our growing network connectivity, and that our political rule sets keep pace with our economic transactions.† To accomplish this, the book postulates two fundamental actions to make this a reality. First, a System Administrator Force (SysAdmin) comprised of Core state capability must be created to ensure that combat intervention into Gap states have the required follow on forces to win the hearts and minds by rebuilding infrastructure, enabling government, etc. Barnett points out that the US militarys warfighting capacity (Leviathan) and the supporting US economy is not optimized for securing the security environment lying between war and peace. Weapons procurement and service centric force generation designed to support the Cold War high-end strategies of a bipolar world no longer apply to the multipolar globalized environment where low-end fourth generation warfare (4GW) requirements prevail. Given this, the US must â€Å"transform† its military to address existing and forecast security needs and enlist other Core state participation. To this end Barnett posits that dividing the military into a Leviathan force that prosecutes high-end war characterized primarily by US airpower (Air Force and Navy) and a SysAdmin force (Army and Marines) characterized by low-end 4GW proficient capability is required to address the war-peace gap. Moreover, the multinational SysAdmin force would be comprised primarily of other Core states and the significant US contribution would be its global logistics capability and 20% of the overall force structure. This approach would then leverage existing Core state military competencies and create a counterbalance to a US dominated Leviathan force. Even if the White House and all four services bought into this argument, the problem with this construct is that it makes the assumption that Core states will entrust the US with the preponderance of a Leviathan force. Essentially this proposal suggests that non-US Core states command the majority of the soft power and the US command the hard power. Given this, it is doubtful that rising powers such as China will find this arrangement appealing. Similarly, Russia with their resurgence of nationalism along with most European nations that comprise the majority of the Core states will also be suspicious of what would appear to be the US trying to corner the market on high-end warfare. Additionally, Core nations in general will be reluctant to support US combat dominance given its preemptive track record over the last five years. Barnetts blueprint suggests that the employment of force would not happen without the concurrence of â€Å"fellow great powers† because America would be deterred by the realization without the [multinational] SysAdmin little would change in a targeted Gap state. Unfortunately, this logic does not deter the US from pursuing its own vital interests in spite of other Core state objections. What this construct proposes is that the US will monopolize what matters most hard power and global reach. Therefore, the strategy is idealistic in that it does not provide a compelling case for US or its allies. Knowing that a constrained fiscal environment will challenge the preeminence of US power over the next 50 years, rising powers like China will be just as inclined to wait out an eventual decline of American strength. What Barnett fails to provide is a more convincing rationale to support his idea. To do this he needs to address how the US will give up its unilateral preemption policy and assuage Core state fears of US monopolizing hard power. For example, high-end weapon system development could be intentionally spread over multiple Core st ates. By making the US dependent on various foreign sources for arms manufacturing it would leverage the benefits of globalization, increase the interconnectivity of the Core, and create distributed weapon system dependency to keep the US in check militarily. Clearly, many in the US (i.e. military and defense contractors) would object to this, but for a global grand strategy of this nature to succeed checks and balances will need to be structurally imbedded into the institutional framework to foster trust and discourage unilateral tendencies. From a theater strategic joint warfighting perspective, Barnett is proposing a major transformation of US military force structure and strategy that is dependent on other Core state participants as much as they would be dependent on the US. To actualize this blueprint the Army would be optimized for 4GW and the Marine Corps should remain a mini-Leviathan within the SysAdmin force. Additionally, Civil Affairs units embedded in the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) would be integrated into the Army. The idea is to reconfigure US military forces into distinct Leviathan and SysAdmin force structures. This transformation also implies developing the ability to synchronize with the SysAdmin forces of other Core states and provide the logistical framework for rapid global deployment and sustainment. Given the existing issues involved with US force development the scale and scope of developing synchronized Core wide resourcing, doctrine, training, and equipping is questionable. The second postulate that Barnett advances is the requirement to establish global rule sets to guide Core state actions for dealing with politically bankrupt states inside the Gap and individual terrorists. The goal of these rule sets is to create transparency, reduce uncertainty, generate non-zero-sum outcomes, and foster a sense that everyone needs to play by the Cores emerging rules. The problem with the Gap rule set is that initiation of Core action is dependent on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to achieve consensus. Additionally, the rule set does not address how to reconstitute targeted Gap states politically in their transition to peace. Culture, religion, and other factors will clearly make any national rehabilitation unique, and Barnett fails to specify a fundamental political organizing philosophy. Clear political organizing principles need to be articulated to ensure the transparency. Finally, because the blueprint suggests that SysAdmin military force is structu rally divided among Core states the rule set would need to address how Core states will collectively react to an attack. Without a doubt, Blueprint for Action is a â€Å"must read† because it offers a plausible context for understanding the global security environment and a framework for addressing the threats we face today. More importantly, Barnetts paradigm forces readers to leap beyond national constraints and allows for the conceptualization of optimizing civil and military joint capability mulitnationally. Finally, Barnett offers an optimistic â€Å"future worth creating† and plants the seed for an international discussion on proactively securing the future for our planet.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Glass Menagerie Essay -- Literary Analysis, Tennessee Williams

Tennessee William’s â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† and John Updike’s â€Å"A & P† are both tales of anguishing confinement and eventual escape. Tom and Sammy are trapped in a place where they work away their existence, unable to abscond from their miserable conditions due to an opposing force holding them captive. Their families rely on them to bring in what income they can, and neither Sammy nor Tom wishes to let down those dependent upon him. Both have jobs which are stable and potentially life-long; however, they desire excitement and freedom rather than the perpetual routines to which they are bound. The men are despondent in the circumstances to which they are confined, and it requires a catalyst to spark the ambition to become independent. Undergoing a change which opens their eyes to a world that lies beyond the limited lives of oppression they previously led, they make the difficult transition to greater personal freedom. Complete liberty is only achieved by Sammy, however; Tom is physically free yet left with the memory of his dear sister Laura, forever binding his heart to the home he once knew. Sammy and Tom are constrained to monotonous jobs which lack gain or reward; their disgust of the work environment and those who hold them hostage is evident. Sammy lacks respect for the customers, whom he appraises to be â€Å"sheep pushing their carts down the aisle† (Updike 1493). He describes his boss, Lengel, as a â€Å"very patient and old and gray† (Updike 1496) man who is â€Å"pretty dreary† (Updike 1495) – a manager with a dry personality which matches that of the store itself. The A & P is a store which runs on policy, like a clock whose gears are expected to interlock and click away steadily but are of no value individually. Feeling ... ...u behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I †¦[do]†¦anything that can blow your candles out!† (Williams 97). While he has achieved a freedom in the sense of space and finances, he is still pulled back home by the constant though of his sister whom he loved deeply. He feels a sense of remorse for being yet another man to abandon Laura, a burden that Sammy does not carry because he left only a job, not his family. Both Sammy and Tom are liberated from the desolate situations they find themselves in, though Sammy finds his actions to lead to a more optimistic future while Tom can only dwell in the past. They learn that life cannot be lived based completely on the desires of others, nor can an occupation be solely for monetary gains; there must be goals toward which to stride. Only when they realize this are they able to find true freedom in life.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Historical Events that Impacted Contact Improvisation Essay -- Dance T

Historical Events that Impacted Contact Improvisation Dance has evolved greatly throughout the centuries. It began with ballet and has led up to contact improvisation. This form of dance begun in the early 1970's and was started by a man named Steve Paxton and a group of postmodern dancers from New York City. Contact improvisation is a partnering form of dance and known as the art of moving spontaneously with a group or another person. This form of dance does not require the exact set of traditional skills of other dance form, it doesn’t have a technique that could be studied, and it is practiced in order to accomplish the highest potential. Contact improvisation came at a great time period, which of course was the 70's. The main historical events that were taking place then were the Watergate Scandal, the end of the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. The Watergate Scandal was a very important and altering event in our nation’s history. The Watergate Scandal was during a presidential campaign when DC police arrested five men caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in a residence complex, the Watergate. Eventually, the scandal got back to Nixon and they realized that he was behind it. Then the House of Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment, which were Nixon’s abusing of power, obstructing justice, and defying Judiciary Committee subpoenas. Before Nixon was impeached he resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974. After this happened people had less confidence in the nation and Americans became suspicious of the government. This scandal I think had little affect on contact improvisation. They might have started this because they were showing their anger or unt... ... better way for people to express their emotions. First of all, improvisation is dancing what your feeling or thinking at that time so that expresses your emotions, and therefore contact improvisation would be more effective to get your feelings out on war. In conclusion, contact improvisation was a very big development especially for its time period. It is a partnering form and known as an art of moving spontaneously with another person. Steve Paxton began contact improvisation during the early 1970s. The events that were going on in the United States during the 70s had a great impact on contact improvisation. The main historical events during the 70s were the Watergate Scandal, the end of the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Contact improvisation has been a source of many new understandings in dancing and it has affected a lot of contemporary choreography.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Make Way Movie Brats Essay

In the late 1960s to late 1970s, as the veteran directors retired, a new generation gradually took their place. Associated with â€Å"New Hollywood,† these young and diverse directors, often in their late twenties and early thirties, were considered â€Å"movie brats. † These new directors Some of the more famous were Francis Ford Coppola, Stephen Spielberg, and George Lucas; all of whom had an intense awareness of film history, worked with quotations and remakes, and created extremely successful films. With an influx of new directors, it seemed fit that they would take over the industry entirely. However, director Robert Altman, born around twenty years earlier and being significantly older than his â€Å"movie brats† successors, Altman remained essential to the industry. Post mid-1970s, it was less commonplace for efforts to be put toward maintaining Hollywood art cinema. The new directors were focusing on box-office revenue and the production of both action-oriented and youth-oriented, blockbuster films with radiant special effects. Two films that demonstrated such qualities were Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and George Lucas’s Star Wars. Altman persisted for efforts to be continued. He, as well as other older directors like Paul Mazusky and Woody Allen, ventured into the American art cinema. Altman had to work at a rapid pace during the 1970s as he completed more than a dozen films. He also had to compete with the younger generation of Hollywood that was producing huge blockbuster hits. Though rather than trying to create an action flick, Altman stayed true to his roots and produced films primarily based on the character’s emotions rather than plot. Two specific movies in which Altman emphasized shifts from objective reality and subjectivity of the character are Images and 3 Women. In 1970, Altman directed M*A*S*H*; a film praised for its uses of humor with a topic as heavy as the Korean War and for becoming one of the highest grossing films of the year. However, Altman’s films did not always prove to do exceedingly well at the box-office. McCabe and Mrs. Miller and The Long Goodbye created a few years later were generally well received and proved to be moderate earners. His films That Cold Day in the Park, Brewster McCloud, and Thieves Like Us evidently all became box-office disappointments, even though the three generally received good reviews from critics. Although Altman’s movies are not always top box-office earners, they are still habitually the subject of a lot of critical attention. Such is evident with his film Images where the movie didn’t garner a lot of praise for Altman, even though the film might have been considered a peak for other directors. It was released between the films â€Å"McCabe† and â€Å"The Long† and as mentioned previously, they were moderately successful. They received more acclaim and attention resulting in less appreciation of Images upon its release on-screen and it’s availability in today’s time. For this reason, the film can be compared to Francis Coppola’s The Conversation. Although a great movie, it was only considered to be a minor significance to Coppola’s career coming between the crowd pleasers and box-office smash hits The Godfather and The Godfather 2. Images was shot in the wet autumn months of 1971 in Ireland. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival the following May. It was there that Susannah York won the award for best actress. York credited her role as Cathryn in the film as the role she is most proud of. Although taking home an award, Cannes audiences were primarily confused. Images isn’t the type of film an audience would feel sympathetic towards. It’s somewhat complicated to follow and comes off as cold. However, it’s not as nearly as hard to comprehend as the first reviewers of the movie suggested. As film critic Roger Ebert states, â€Å"[The film] is a technical success but not quite an emotional one. † Because Altman was a hot ticket item in 1971 with M*A*S*H*; Columbia Pictures took the distribution rights of the film and entered it in the New York Film Festival. Unfortunately for Images, neither Vincent Canby nor Roger Greenspan (two dominant film critics for the New York Times) took up the movie to review. It was then left to Howard Thomson, a journalist and film critic for the New York Times nicknamed â€Å"mishmash† for writing brief reviews for films. Thomson made no exception for Images, leaving it only with an imperceptive review. The film never went on to have a traditional commercial release in America. Essentially the film is about a children’s author and housewife Cathryn (Susannah York) who receives several phone calls on a gloomy night in her London home. The voice on the other end is a female stating that Cathryn’s husband Hugh (Rene Auberjonois) is having an affair with another woman. Hugh comes home seeing his wife in grief and tries to comfort her. He vanishes and another man is shown acting as if he was her husband. Frightened at the sight, she screams and backs way, later seeing the figure change back into the â€Å"image† of her husband. Hugh feels that her angst is a result of stress and her budding pregnancy. He takes her to vacation at an isolated cottage in an attempt to relieve some stress. As she stays there, Cathryn dives farther into foreboding delusions as the stranger reappears. It becomes difficult for her to distinguish what is happening in reality and what’s just going on her head. Images shows a lot of subjectivity through its characters because of the extreme personas of the characters and the situations they are placed in. Cathryn begins hearing sounds and hallucinates constantly. She feels guilt sexually after envisioning encounters with two men that are not her husband. One is a sinister Frenchman who asked to be shot by Cathryn to exorcise his ghost. After he apparently falls dead, it is shown that her husband’s expensive camera is all that was really shot. The other man is more realistic, portraying a neighbor who’s infatuated with her and believes Cathryn has rape fantasies and needs strong care. She bares an attraction to him but also feels guilt. She eventually stabs the neighbor with a kitchen knife eventually â€Å"killing† him. The husband Hugh is relatively the only normal character of the film. He never completely comprehends the extent of his wife’s mental horror. Truly having his wife’s best interests in mind and acting as an ideal husband, Hugh thought relocating her to a more isolated place would relieve her of woes. He’s a typical simple American who is addicted to dumb jokes. What Cathryn actually feels about him is only pointed at towards the last 20 minutes of the film where she tries killing off a ghost she incorrectly sees as her other self. Altman’s introduction of his characters and plot comes off as him trying his hand at feminist tax. For one thing, there’s barely any scenes that don’t revolve around the main protagonist Cathryn. Her character isn’t compelling which somewhat dooms the film from the beginning. The male characters come across as jerks. Altman’s goal seemed to make a point about the way movies objectify women, turning them into the â€Å"images,† the film’s title indicates, for the consumption of male viewers. After all, Cathryn is only a little more than something for the men in the film to enjoy. Cameras figure plainly in the film’s mise-en-scene. Her pointing and shooting a gun (a symbol of male power) is yet another example of Altman’s use of gender associations. Although Altman’s point is clear, it seems like he went about delivering the message in a cliched way. In terms of objective reality, every image revealed rovides a lot of suspense and anticipation of what effect Altman will provide next. However it is somewhat difficult to find the reality as it is one of Altman’s most abstract films. It is full of so much symbolism and images that it reflects the work of Bergman and Kubrik. These â€Å"images† consist of shimmering water and tinkling ornaments. They are astonishing beautiful â€Å"images† cut often by shocks of Cathryn’s sensibilities. One daunting scene that does not occur in her head is when she is writing her story and watching ponies, but a dog and frantic sounds break the peacefulness. Altman wrote the film entirely, but the children’s story that accompanies some of â€Å"the images† was composed by Ms. York. This blends art and actuality. The film also has a wonderful use of color that separates the protagonist Cheryl from her ambience in a particularly unique and incomparable way. A few things that this movie can be credited for is its complete originality and uniqueness. Images is a very bizarre Altman film. For a filmmaker who characteristically produces works with large ensembles and layered dialogue, Images feels more blunt and almost claustrophobic. One thing that makes it so different is that the visual style is more lyrical at some points while jagged at the others. Another difference is that the dialog does not overlap. In charge of photography was Vilmos Zsigmond, one of the best cinematographers of the seventies and Altman’s favorite cameraman at the time of production. He does an amazing job with his photography by remaining with the woman’s point of view while never suggesting at what is really going on. Altman added a clever touch to interchange the character’s names with the actors that portray them. Susannah is played by actress Cathryn Harrison and Cathryn is played by actress Susannah York. Another switch of names is shown in the characters of three actors: Hugh played by Rene Auberjonois, Rene played by Marcel Bozzuffi, and Marcel is played by Hugh Millai. Altman’s demand of the audience’s senses is both nontraditional and expert. The fragmented style applied to the movie will definitely not please all senses to each audience member. However its witty script, brave look at a twisted inner world, and the eerie atmosphere the film creates is enough to keep one’s attention for the films entirety. If that’s not enough, there is always the pleasure of watching characters played by phenomenal actors Altman is so famous for providing. American film critic and film/animation historian Leonard Maltin described the film best in stating the film was â€Å"difficult but fascinating† and that it comes off as â€Å"off-putting at first, but worth the effort to hang on. † It is a definite must see for Altman admirers who want to see him in a new style. Altman doesn’t worry about the defenses needed for his film, but rather simply creates a spiritual and poetic vision letting logic and caution fall in the depths of the films beauty. Whether or not Altman produced a commercial success, didn’t change the pace at which he put forth films. Five years after Images was produced, Altman came out with the film 3 Women. The idea for the film came to Altman in a dream. It was because of Allen’s success with filmmaking; 20th Century Fox approved the movie before he had a definite script. Although it was original intention to film without a script, he eventually had one made before filming. This script was more like a â€Å"blueprint,† which he regularly did with previous films. The film centers around two women whose characters are in keen contrast with one another among their first encounters. The third woman the title hints at is a minor character but has a key supporting role, although not first recognized to the audience but gradually can be understood. Essentially the movie tells a story of three women whose characters change and merge, until finally, in the perplexing ending scene, switch roles. 3 Women, although praised for its uniqueness, was not very popular at the time. American audiences may not have even recognized its release at the time. Why you might wonder? A little movie directed by George Lucas bearing the name Star Wars was released in the same year. The three women the title hints at are Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule who live in the same apartment complex in the desert of California. Duvall plays Mildred â€Å"Millie† Lammoreaux, who works as a physical therapist at a senior care center. She comes off as very confident about her charm and her appeal to men, even though the men she goes after openly mock her. Pinky Rose, played by Spacek, is a young, naive, and childlike woman from Texas who too gets a job at the senior center. With Millie’s roommate moving out, she is forced to find a new roommate, after accepting the conditions, Pinky becomes that new roommate. Rule plays the supporting yet vital role of Willie Hart, the pregnant wife of the landlord of the apartment complex. She gives off an incredibly sad aura as she moves with a gloomy silence, keeping isolated from other people. Willie is a muralist who makes visually appealing yet moderately unsettling murals; one in which is painted at the bottom of the apartment pool depicting godlike creatures, absurd men, and women who annoy each other. The opening scene of the film reflects roles of each of the three women that women in general often play. Willie, the pregnant wife, represents a mother. From the mural she is painting in the pool, one can determine that she seems very sad. Millie reflects a teenager in that she is often very interested in the opposite sex. She is an odd character in that she obsessively gives recipes to others and tells them how she organizes them by the allotted time, even though no one seems to care. Pinky, when first introduced at the clinic, comes off instantly as immature and naive just like an average child. During lunch, she blows bubbles through a straw into her drink and later plays around in a wheelchair, pretending as if she was a patient. Along with making faces at the workers, she says to Millie, â€Å"You’re the most perfect person I’ve ever met,† resembling a young child admiring their cooler older sister. As with Images, this film is also extremely subjective in terms of the characters. Each character has an excessive emphasis on their moods, attitudes, and opinions. There’s no subtly in any of the way the characters act. Millie, as explained in the previous paragraph, is portrayed as an annoying friend who talks excessively. We’ve all experienced or know someone who has experienced a friend like this before, but someone having a personality as dramatic as Millie is just unusual. The audience quickly understands how desperate she is to find a man. Tom, a neighbor who works the grill during poolside dinners, is someone Millie fancies a lot but can’t get attention from. She even tells Pinky that he has asked her out on dates but she’s always been too busy to accept; clearly an act of desperation over someone she cares fantasizes about so deeply. During her lunch break she eats and sits with the doctors, consisting of only men, rather than her co-workers even though it’s more expensive. Her efforts are useless in that they still don’t really acknowledge her. Her last hangout spot to socialize with men is a local bar/ recreation area, owned by Edgar and bartended by his wife Willie. The boys too preoccupied with shooting at a gun range and riding bikes outback, provides yet another obstacle for Millie to find someone. Pinky too reflects the extreme of a personality behaving as some would call childlike. She is a withdrawn woman trying to begin a new life in California, refusing to go into specifics of her past life. The way she looks up to Millie after knowing her for less than a day is extremely odd. Most people emulate people, especially when they are the new one in town as Pinky was, when they are popular or are known for doing something good. They think by acting similar to that person, they will share that same sense of praise and popularity. What’s strange about Pinky’s situation is that Millie isn’t your ideal role model and is the complete opposite of a popular girl. Millie is more of the nerd that’s oblivious to what other people truly think about her. It brings to the question, why would anyone want to duplicate Millie? Also, what made Pinky not want to keep her past life hidden? Altman was very creative in creating Willie’s character. Although Willie doesn’t have many lines in the film, shown mostly with her paintings instead of with people, her supporting role is necessary for the flow of the movie. With a macho husband possessing such an extravagant personality, it wouldn’t be hard to miss her character entirely. Although withdrawn from social interaction, it is made evident that she is still caring. After Pinky attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the apartment pool, Willie didn’t hesitate to jump in and save her. Also in the final scene, even though Willie and Pinky were both messing around with her husband, she still decided to take them in and let them work at the bar with her after the â€Å"accidental† death of her husband. The three women make a complete 360 from polar opposites, into a family. The objective reality of the film is evident through its use of the visual representation found in the mirrors and the water. Mirrors and reflections represent the way Millie views herself. Through the mirrors, we begin to understand Millie’s obsession with looking good, something she is proud of accomplishing. Millie is always beautifying herself by making small changes to her clothes, touching her hair constantly to make sure her curls are intact, and perfecting her makeup. She looks at her reflection, apparently adoring what she says looking back at her, even though no one can figuratively see her. The mirror and the reflections represent Millie’s invisibility to other people in that when you look in the mirror, you are the only one to take notice of what’s reflecting back. Water is also extremely prevalent in the film’s entirety. Each of the three female protagonists of the film is associated with water in one way or another. The opening shot of pregnant Willie painting a mural and water being immersed as a backdrop is said by Altman to represent â€Å"the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus,† (Ebert). The seceding scene shows Millie and her coworkers helping old people slowly descend into a pool- going to the water as their lives initially started. The wavy line shown on the screen is thought to represent an umbilical cord connecting the person to its life line. Also located in the pool is the crucial turning point in which Pinky jumps into the pool from the balcony, to be later saved by Willie. The movie does feature men; however they are of far less significance to the main protagonists. Edgar, played by Robert Fortier, is the husband of Willie. What someone might call a â€Å"manly man,† Edgar showcases himself with motorcycles, beer, and guns. He is very much a drunk who tries to portray himself as a benevolent western gunslinger and fails to acknowledge his wife properly. The other men, often seen lounging around the apartment’s pool, are objects of Millie’s captivation. She always comes off in preparation for dates or dinner plans with these gentleman, even though they never actually happen and they fail to notice her. It is understood fairly quickly that Millie is a lonely soul. The men are used only to further emphasize the personality of the female characters they come in contact with. It is obvious that this film was primarily focused on the significance of the character rather than creating an high-suspense adventure like Stephen Spielberg did with his film Jaws created a mere two years previously. Each actress perfectly resembles their characters through their looks and acting capabilities. Rule depicts Willie with no apparent expression on the face and a sad look in her eyes. Spacek’s light hair and eyes that stare in adoration fit a character named Pinky. Duvall especially contributed a lot to the creation of the film. She was accountable for creating the recipes, the diary entries, and a great deal of the dialogue her character Millie had. Her big brown round eyes resemble a deer in headlights as she is oblivious to the feelings others have towards her. It’s no wonder why she took home the Cannes Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards best actress award. Though the actors fit the characters well and portrayed each scene wonderfully, some things are left unanswered for the audience. Although Pinky is a main character, not a lot is understood about her past. Upon completion of the film, it is still left a mystery why she left Texas and whether or not she was actually from there. When Millie asked for specifics on what part of Texas she was from, Pinky accused her of giving her the third degree and avoided the question. Also, when Pinky saw her â€Å"parents† in the hospital she claimed that she had never seen them before, screaming for them to get out. This was a very peculiar scene since the old couple claim to be Pinky’s parents, but look far too old to actually be them. Whether they are frauds, grandparents, or her adoptive parents, is never actually presented. Another mystery Altman added to make the movie come off as a dream, where not everything makes sense and only certain details are vivid. For its use of water coming in and out of scenes with the primary characters, even though water is not actually present, and the mysteries that leave the audience questioning scenes, 3 Women possesses a dream-like quality. The idea of the film, the story, the cast, and everything included, was said by Altman to come to him in a dream, so he wanted to express it as such. The message and the overall point of the film are left open to interpretation for the audience. Altman himself says he is not exactly sure what the ending means but has a â€Å"theory† on what it signifies and what actually occurred. He wanted to create a film filled with emotion and allusion rather than â€Å"surface realities caught with the camera’s allegedly objective eye,† (Sterritt). Essentially this movie is not a narrative in any way but reflects the three stages of a woman’s life. The three women merge into a single person, who is mother, daughter, and granddaughter, â€Å"isolated but serenely self-sufficient (Canby). The film is about age and youth and the overall quality of American life. Trying to decipher the exact meaning of the movie is pointless in that no one could be definite for sure. 3 Women is a film concentrated more on mystery, mood, and behavior than the use of plot devices. In both Images and 3 Women, it is evident that Altman avoided an attempt to make a flashy movie in order to compete at the same level as his younger comrades in the business. Images depicted a fairytale and 3 Women, a dream; both very unconventional types of films. He was far too interested in the preservation of Hollywood art to care about garnering publicity. These were films that had emphasis on ambiguous between objective reality, and character subjectivity, decorated with abstract, enigmatic compositions. Both were films in which Altman was involved both with the writing and directing process, enabling him to project on screen what he himself envisioned as the direction of the movie. Also, these films examined madness in its female characters. It is no coincidence that these specific films both won a best actress award at Cannes. Although Altman’s movies don’t always do extremely well at the box office, they are perpetually the subject of a lot of analytical attention.

Monday, September 16, 2019

A fictional “lost tribe” Essay

A society with a limited language can be more informative than one would think. Based on the tidbits of information given about the Tagoman tribe’s, of Australia, language one could deduce quite a few things. First, from their words for terrain and rain, I presume that they live inland, perhaps in the plains or rolling hills, somewhat like ones in the North-Central part of the United States, and are a generally agricultural civilization, based on their dozens of phrases for grains. This statement is also backed up by the fact that they have only one word for snow, and no word for ocean. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that they are also vegetarians and animal activist type of people considering that they have no terms for leather, beef, pork, or veal. Their language also tells that they only use sexual activities for procreation purposes, not for recreation. They attach importance to their children, and the evidence suggests that they hold them on a higher pedestal than other members of the society. Based on the translation of mother and father, one could presume that the families are close knit, and even after they are married, siblings keep in close contact with their parents. The lack of words to explain from puberty to death makes clear that the average life expectancy of the Tagoman’s is tremendously succinct. For so simple a word as book, the Tagoman’s possess twenty words for it. One might conclude from this that they are exceedingly well educated and believe that education is extremely imperative. With no word for war, nine for artist, and four for theater, the evidence suggests several possibilities. First, they are extremely peaceful, friendly, and against war. They are very artistic. Additionally, this society’s word for praise translates to peacemaker. This backs up the assertion of peaceful people, and also concurs that they associate a great deal of respect with being a diplomat. Lastly, they believe in the creed of the Three Musketeers, â€Å"All for one, and one for all.† This is backed up by their words for leader all being plural.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Vampire Academy Chapter 19

NINETEEN IT'S HARD TO SAY WHAT finally made me do it. I'd held on to so many secrets for so long, doing what I believed best protected Lissa. But hiding her cutting did nothing to protect her. I hadn't been able to make her stop – and really, I now wondered if it was my fault she'd ever started. None of this had happened until she healed me in the accident. What if she'd left me injured? Maybe I would have recovered. Maybe she would be all right today. I stayed in the clinic while Dimitri went to get Alberta. He hadn't hesitated for a second when I told him where she was. I'd said she was in danger, and he'd left immediately. Everything after that moved like some sort of slow-motion nightmare. The minutes dragged on while I waited. When he finally returned with an unconscious Lissa, a flurry arose at the clinic, one everyone wanted me kept out of. She had lost a lot of blood, and while they had a feeder on hand right away, rousing her to enough consciousness to drink proved difficult. It wasn't until the middle of the Academy's night that someone decided she was stable enough for me to visit. â€Å"Is it true?† she asked when I walked into the room. She lay on the bed, wrists heavily bandaged. I knew they'd put a lot of blood back into her, but she still looked pale to me. â€Å"They said it was you. You told them.† â€Å"I had to,† I said, afraid to get too close. â€Å"Liss†¦you cut yourself worse than you ever have. And after healing me†¦and then everything with Christian†¦you couldn't handle it. You needed help.† She closed her eyes. â€Å"Christian. You know about that. Of course you do. You know about everything.† â€Å"I'm sorry. I just wanted to help.† â€Å"What happened to what Ms. Karp said? About keeping it all secret?† â€Å"She was talking about the other stuff. I don't think she'd want you to keep cutting yourself.† â€Å"Did you tell them about the ? ®other stuff'?† I shook my head. â€Å"Not yet.† She turned toward me, eyes cold. † ? ®Yet.' But you're going to.† â€Å"I have to. You can heal other people†¦but it's killing you.† â€Å"I healed you.† â€Å"I would have been okay eventually. The ankle would have healed. It's not worth what it does to you. And I think I know how it started†¦when you first healed me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I explained my revelation about the accident and how all of her powers and depression had started after that. I also pointed out how our bond had formed after the accident too, though I didn't fully understand why yet. â€Å"I don't know what's going on, but this is beyond us. We need someone's help.† â€Å"They'll take me away,† she said flatly. â€Å"Like Ms. Karp.† â€Å"I think they'll try to help you. They were all really worried. Liss, I'm doing this for you. I just want you to be okay.† She turned away from me. â€Å"Get out, Rose.† I did. They released her the next morning on the condition that she'd have to come back for daily visits to the counselor. Dimitri told me they also planned on putting her on some sort of medication to help with the depression. I wasn't a big fan of pills, but I'd cheer on anything that would help her. Unfortunately, some sophomore had been in the clinic for an asthma attack. He'd seen her come in with Dimitri and Alberta. He didn't know why she'd been admitted, but that hadn't stopped him from telling people in his hall what he'd seen. They then told others at breakfast. By lunch, all the upperclassmen knew about the late-night clinic visit. And more importantly, everyone knew she wasn't speaking to me. Just like that, whatever social headway I'd made plummeted. She didn't outright condemn me, but her silence spoke legions, and people behaved accordingly. The whole day, I walked around the Academy like a ghost. People watched and occasionally spoke to me, but few made much more effort than that. They followed Lissa's lead, imitating her silence. No one was openly mean to me – they probably didn't want to risk it in case she and I patched things up. Still, I heard â€Å"blood whore† whispered here and there when someone thought I wasn't listening. Mason would have welcomed me to his lunch table, but some of his friends might not have been so nice. I didn't want to be the cause of any fights between him and them. So I chose Natalie instead. â€Å"I heard Lissa tried to run away again, and you stopped her,† Natalie said. No one had a clue why she'd been in the clinic yet. I hoped it stayed that way. Running away? Where in the world had that come from? â€Å"Why would she do that?† â€Å"I don't know.† She lowered her voice. â€Å"Why'd she leave before? It's just what I heard.† That story raged on as the day passed, as did all sorts of rumors about why Lissa might have gone to the med clinic. Pregnancy and abortion theories were eternally popular. Some whispered she might have gotten Victor's disease. No one even came close to guessing the truth. Leaving our last class as quickly as possible, I was astonished when Mia started walking toward me. â€Å"What do you want?† I demanded. â€Å"I can't come out and play today, little girl.† â€Å"You sure have an attitude for someone who doesn't exist right now.† â€Å"As opposed to you?† I asked. Remembering what Christian had said, I did feel a little sorry for her. That guilt disappeared after I took one look at her face. She might have been a victim, but now she was a monster. There was a cold, cunning look about her, very different from the desperate and depressed one from the other day. She hadn't stayed beaten after what Andre had done to her – if that was even true, and I believed it was – and I doubted she would with Lissa either. Mia was a survivor. â€Å"She got rid of you, and you're too high and mighty to admit it.† Her blue eyes practically bugged out. â€Å"Don't you want to get back at her?† â€Å"Are you more psycho than usual? She's my best friend. And why are you still following me?† Mia tsked. â€Å"She doesn't act like it. Come on, tell me what happened at the clinic. It's something big, isn't it? She really is pregnant, right? Tell me what it is.† â€Å"Go away.† â€Å"If you tell me, I'll get Jesse and Ralf to say they made all that stuff up.† I stopped walking and spun around to face her. Scared, she took a few steps backward. She must have recalled some of my past threats of physical violence. â€Å"I already know they made it all up, because I didn't do any of it. And if you try to turn me against Lissa one more time, the stories are going to be about you bleeding, because I'll have ripped your throat out!† My voice grew louder with each word until I practically shouted. Mia stepped back further, clearly terrified. â€Å"You really are crazy. No wonder she dropped you.† She shrugged. â€Å"Whatever. I'll find out what's going on without you.† When the dance came that weekend, I decided I really didn't want to go. It had sounded stupid to begin with, and I'd only been interested in going to the after-parties anyway. But without Lissa, I wasn't likely to gain admission to those. Instead, I holed up in my room, trying – and failing – to do some homework. Through the bond, I felt all sorts of mixed emotions from her, particularly anxiety and excitement. It had to be hard hanging out all night with a guy you didn't really like. About ten minutes after the dance's start time, I decided to clean up and take a shower. When I came back down the hall from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around my head, I saw Mason standing outside my door. He wasn't exactly dressed up, but he also wasn't wearing jeans. It was a start. â€Å"There you are, party girl. I was about ready to give up.† â€Å"Did you start another fire? No guys allowed in this hall.† â€Å"Whatever. Like that makes a difference.† True. The school might be able to keep Strigoi out, but they did a horrible job at keeping the rest of us away from each other. â€Å"Let me in. You've got to get ready.† It took me a minute to realize what he meant. â€Å"No. I'm not going.† â€Å"Come on,† he prodded, following me inside. † ? ®Cause you had a fight with Lissa? You guys are going to make up soon. No reason for you to stay here all night. If you don't want to be around her, Eddie's getting a group together over in his room later.† My old, fun-loving spirit perked its head up just a bit. No Lissa. Probably no royals. â€Å"Yeah?† Seeing that he was starting to get me, Mason grinned. Looking at his eyes, I realized again how much he liked me. And again I wondered, Why couldn't I just have a normal boyfriend? Why did I want my hot, older mentor – the mentor I'd probably end up getting fired? â€Å"It'll just be novices,† Mason continued, oblivious to my thoughts. â€Å"And I have a surprise for you when we get there.† â€Å"Is it in a bottle?† If Lissa wanted to ignore me, I had no reason to keep myself sober. â€Å"No, that's at Eddie's. Hurry up and get dressed. I know you aren't wearing that.† I looked down at my ripped jeans and University of Oregon T-shirt. Yeah. Definitely not wearing this. Fifteen minutes later, we cut across the quad back over to the commons, laughing as we recounted how a particularly clumsy classmate of ours had given himself a black eye in practice this week. Moving quickly over the frozen ground wasn't easy in heels, and he kept grabbing my arm to keep me from falling over, half-dragging me along. It made us laugh that much more. A happy feeling started to well up in me – I wasn't entirely rid of the ache for Lissa, but this was a start. Maybe I didn't have her and her friends, but I had my own friends. It was also very likely that I was going to get head-over-heels drunk tonight, which, while not a great way to solve my problems, would at least be really fun. Yeah. My life could be worse. Then we ran into Dimitri and Alberta. They were on their way somewhere else, talking guardian business. Alberta smiled when she saw us, giving us the kind of indulgent look older people always give to younger people who appear to be having fun and acting silly. Like she thought we were cute. The nerve. We stumbled to a halt, and Mason put a hand on my arm to steady me. â€Å"Mr. Ashford, Miss Hathaway. I'm surprised you aren't already in the commons.† Mason gave her an angelic, teacher's-pet smile. â€Å"Got delayed, Guardian Petrov. You know how it is with girls. Always got to look perfect. You especially must know all about that.† Normally I would have elbowed him for saying something so stupid, but I was staring at Dimitri and incapable of speech. Perhaps more importantly, he was staring at me too. I had on the black dress, and it was everything I'd hoped it could be. In fact, it was a wonder Alberta didn't call me on the dress code right there and then. The fabric clung everywhere, and no Moroi girl's chest could have held this dress up. Victor's rose hung around my neck, and I'd done a hasty blow-dry of my hair, leaving it down the way I knew Dimitri liked it. I hadn't worn tights because no one wore tights with dresses like this anymore, so my feet were freezing in the heels. All for the sake of looking good. And I was pretty sure I looked damn good, but Dimitri's face wasn't giving anything away. He just looked at me – and looked and looked. Maybe that said something about my appearance in and of itself. Remembering how Mason sort of held my hand, I pulled away from him. He and Alberta finished up their joking remarks, and we all went our separate ways. Music blasted inside the commons when we arrived, white Christmas lights and – ugh – a disco ball casting the only light in the otherwise darkened room. Gyrating bodies, mostly underclassmen, packed the dance floor. Those who were our age stood in too-cool clusters along the edges of the room, waiting for an opportune time to sneak off. An assortment of chaperones, guardians and Moroi teachers alike, patrolled around, breaking up those dancers who did a little too much gyrating. When I saw Kirova in a sleeveless plaid dress, I turned to Mason and said, â€Å"Are you sure we can't hit the hard liquor yet?† He snickered and took my hand again. â€Å"Come on, time for your surprise.† Letting him lead me, I walked across the room, cutting through a cluster of freshmen who looked way too young to be doing the kind of pelvic thrusts they were attempting. Where were the chaperones when you needed them? Then I saw where he was leading me and came to a screeching halt. â€Å"No,† I said, not budging when he tugged my hand. â€Å"Come on, it's going to be great.† â€Å"You're taking me to Jesse and Ralf. The only way I can ever be seen with them is if I've got a blunt object, and I'm aiming between their legs.† He pulled me again. â€Å"Not anymore. Come on.† Reluctant, I finally started moving: my worst fears were realized when a few pairs eyes turned our way. Great. Everything was starting all over again. Jesse and Ralf didn't notice us at first, but when they did, an amusing array of expressions played over their faces. First they saw my body and the dress. Testosterone took over as pure male lust shone out of their faces. Then they seemed to realize it was me and promptly turned terrified. Cool. Mason gave Jesse a sharp poke in the chest with the end of his finger. â€Å"All right, Zeklos. Tell her.† Jesse didn't say anything, and Mason repeated the gesture, only harder. â€Å"Tell her.† Not meeting my eyes, Jesse mumbled, â€Å"Rose, we know none of that stuff happened.† I almost choked on my own laughter. â€Å"Do you? Wow. I'm really glad to hear that. Because you see, until you said that, I'd been thinking it had happened. Thank God you guys are here to set me straight and tell me what the hell I have or haven't done!† They flinched, and Mason's light expression darkened to something harder. â€Å"She knows that,† he growled. â€Å"Tell her the rest.† Jesse sighed. â€Å"We did it because Mia told us to.† â€Å"And?† prompted Mason. â€Å"And we're sorry.† Mason turned to Ralf. â€Å"I want to hear it from you, big boy.† Ralf wouldn't meet my eyes either, but he mumbled something that sounded vaguely like an apology. Seeing them defeated, Mason turned chipper. â€Å"You haven't heard the best part yet.† I cut him a sidelong look. â€Å"Yeah? Like the part where we rewind time and none of this ever happened?† â€Å"Next best thing.† He tapped Jesse again. â€Å"Tell her. Tell her why you did it.† Jesse looked up and exchanged uneasy looks with Ralf. â€Å"Boys,† warned Mason, clearly delighted about something, â€Å"you're making Hathaway and me very angry. Tell her why you did it.† Wearing the look of one who realized things couldn't get any worse, Jesse finally met my eyes. â€Å"We did it because she slept with us. Both of us.†

Saturday, September 14, 2019

“The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”: A Comparison Introduction

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† has received wide praise for its accurate depiction of madness and the symptoms attributed to mental breakdowns (Shumaker 1985). While these symptoms may seem obvious from today’s psychological perspective, Gilman was writing at the close of the 19th century when the discipline of psychology was still emerging out of a rudimentary psychiatric approach to treating the mentally ill.Though doctors have attempted to write about the treatment of insanity since ancient Greece, the history of madness has most often been characterized by a series of popular images, images that may have stunted the development of a medical model of mental illness: as a wild irrationality, an imaginative and corrupt gothic horror, a violent cruelty that must be confined in asylums, and lastly as a mere nervous disorder.The critic Annette Kolodny suggests that contemporary readers of Gilman’s story most likely learned how to foll ow her fictional representation of mental breakdown by reading the earlier stories of Edgar Allen Poe (Shumaker 1985), and indeed we can locate these strata of historical representations in both â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher.†But where Poe’s depictions seem to confirm negative – and thus not therapeutically useful – stereotypes of madness, Gilman tempers her representations through the emerging psychological model, which allowed her to articulate a new image anticipating the 20th century hope of curing mental diseases through psychological expression. Background Gilman’s story depicts the mental collapse of a late 19th century housewife undergoing the Rest Cure, who grows increasingly obsessed with a disturbing wallpaper pattern.It has been suggested that contemporary readers would have read the story as either a Poe-like study of madness, yet most modern critics focus on a feminist reading in which the wallpaper intentionally represents the â€Å"oppressive patriarchal social system† (Thrailkill 2002). Jane Thrailkill, in her essay about the psychological implications of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† argues that this feminist reading may actually block the work done by the story to shift 19th century medical conventions surrounding mental illness (Thrailkill 2002).Gilman stated that everything she wrote was for a purpose beyond mere literary entertainment, and that â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written in order to highlight the dangers of certain medical practices, particularly to convince Weir Mitchell to change the method of his Rest Cure for nervous ailments (which Gilman herself had unsuccessfully undergone) (Shumaker 1985, Thrailkill 2002).In Gilman’s words, the story was, â€Å"†¦intended†¦ to save people from going crazy, and it worked† (Thrailkill 2002). Like Gilman, Poe may also have suffered from mental illness, but following the concerns of his historical moment, Poe seems to have been more interested in the construction of aesthetic effects instead of how those effects might change social and scientific perspectives.The only mention of a cure in Poe’s tale is the â€Å"vague hope† that reading a book will relieve excitement (Poe 2003). Nonetheless, Gilman’s methods of representing madness clearly derive from Poe; they both use an â€Å"inspired manic voice,† unnamed narrators, nervous characters with no diagnosable illness, a rebellious foregrounding of the imagination, and a haunting mood with rational design that has been considered Poe’s signature style (Davison 2004).Published sixty years earlier, Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† in particular seems to anticipate â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† in its manor setting and mad characterizations, and thus can serve as an opening point from which to trace the 19th century trans itions in cultural and scientific representations of madness that culminate in Gilman’s tale. Analysis In â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† an unnamed narrator, visiting his old friend Roderick Usher, attempts to describe Roderick’s madness through both external and internal signs of irrationality.Most immediately, Roderick’s hair is described as â€Å"wild† and of â€Å"Arabesque expression,† which the narrator is unable to connect â€Å"with any simple idea of humanity† (Poe 2003). Similarly, Roderick’s manner strikes the narrator with â€Å"an incoherence – an inconsistency,† and his voice is compared to that of â€Å"the lost drunkard, or the irreclaimable eater of opium† (Poe 2003), all of which mark his social difference as not understandable.After the entombment of his sister, Roderick’s external madness intensifies: he roams with â€Å"unequal, and objectless step,† has a â€Å"m ore ghastly hue† of face, a â€Å"species of mad hilarity in his eyes,† a â€Å"restrained hysteria in his whole demeanor,† and speaks in a â€Å"gibbering murmur† (Poe 2003). But all of these are, as the narrator puts it, â€Å"the mere inexplicable vagaries of madness† (Poe 2003). When it comes to representing the internal process of mental breakdown, Poe (at least in this story) still only describes Roderick’s irrationality from an external and stereotypical position.Roderick describes his condition as a â€Å"deplorable folly† that will force him to â€Å"abandon life and reason,† he is â€Å"enchained by certain superstitious impressions,† and suffers from â€Å"melancholy† and â€Å"hypochondria† (two terms associated with earlier misunderstandings of madness) (Poe 2003). The only time we see the irrational thought process represented is in Roderick’s monologue about entombing his sister alive, which uses dashes, italics, and capitalization to indicate a nervous desperation, as in Poe’s â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†.In contrast, Gilman drops almost all of these external and stereotypical descriptions of madness in her story, focusing instead on a faithful rendition of irrational thought processes, in particular the narrator’s growing obsession with the yellow wallpaper. Early in the story, the narrator declares that she’s fond of her room, â€Å"all but that horrid wallpaper,† but within a few pages this statement is turned around; the narrator becomes fond of the room â€Å"perhaps because of the wallpaper.It dwells in my mind so† (236). The wallpaper gradually takes over the narrator’s thought process, breaking into other observations without transition, as when the narrator looks out her window and sees â€Å"a lovely country, full of great elms and velvet meadows. This wallpaper has a kind of sub-pattern†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (235 ). Eventually she â€Å"follows that pattern about by the hour† until there are few passages in the text that are not about the wallpaper (238).As her obsession grows, the narrator becomes paranoid that her husband and stepsister are â€Å"secretly effected by it,† and she’s thus â€Å"determined that nobody shall find [the pattern] out but myself† (239). Despite her original loathing of the wallpaper pattern, by the end of the story the narrator’s obsession is so consuming that she claims, â€Å"I don’t want to leave until I have found it out† (240). Instead of being directly told that the narrator is enchained by her impressions like Roderick Usher, we are more realistically shown those irrational impressions at work in the  mind.Another method for representing irrationality is to cast it against a more rational perspective, which both these stories do. Poe’s narrator, for instance, claims to rationally explain away the oth erwise inexplicable events of â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† while documenting Roderick’s breakdown (Gruesser 2004). The house’s peculiar atmosphere â€Å"must have been a dream;† his nervousness is â€Å"due to the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture;† the storm is â€Å"merely an electrical phenomena† (Poe 2003).And yet the uncertainty of events displayed in this narrative unreliability suggests that the narrator might himself be going mad. After describing Roderick’s wild appearance, the narrator says, â€Å"it was no wonder that his condition terrified – that it effected me,† and begins to feel â€Å"the wild influences of [Roderick’s] own fantastic yet impressive superstitions† (Poe 2003). This inability to rely on his own perceptions causes the narrator to flee aghast when the house collapses, where a more rational or unaffected person might first summon the servants or police (Gruess er 2004).According to John Gruesser, the challenge in Poe’s use of unreliability is that he sets reason in opposition to the supernatural, straddling the Gothic/Fantastic genre where supernatural events are more likely than their rational explanations. This supernatural possibility seems to lessen the question of whether madmen are always delusional or can speak the truth, which becomes central for Gilman’s story. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† also uses a rational perspective in the character of her husband and physician John, who is â€Å"practical in the extreme.He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition† (235). Not only does John explain away the unsettling nature of the house as a draught, but he also attempts to explain away the narrator’s mental illness, calling it â€Å"a temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency† (234). As we will see, this explanation of madness as merely nerves will beco me a large concern for 19th century discussions on mental illness, and as such comes off as far more scientifically realistic than explaining madness through the supernatural.Gilman also has her narrator attempt to rationalize her own madness, beginning the story with her claim of being â€Å"ordinary people,† and continuing this attempt to rationalize even through her mental deterioration: â€Å"it is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight. Just this nervous weakness I suppose† (238). While this use of unreliable explanations is similar to Poe’s, it reads as more realistic because Gilman frames her story in a way that denies the Gothic discourse of supernatural explanations.Despite its eventual medical ineffectuality, the label of â€Å"nerves† is one of the clearest literary representations of madness attempting to explain or deny its mental character. â€Å"True! – nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; † claims the narrator of Poe’s â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† â€Å"but why will you say that I am mad? † (Poe 2003). The Usher family madness in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is likewise coded; Roderick attempts to pass off their â€Å"constitutional and†¦ family evil† as a â€Å"mere nervous affection† (Poe 2003).He has an excessive â€Å"nervous agitation†¦ and acute bodily illness,† and â€Å"a morbid acuteness of the senses† that makes most food, garments, odors, light, and sounds intolerable (Poe 2003). Madeline is diagnosed with a â€Å"settled apathy, a gradual wasting away,† because whatever is actually wrong with her â€Å"long baffled the skill of her physicians† (Poe 2003). Whether or not these characters are actually mad, one gets the feeling that the word â€Å"nerves† is used by Poe to explain or make legible the Usher family condition for the mid-19th century reader, ind icating that it may be a biological rather than moral or supernatural disorder.The narrator in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† also articulates her condition as nervousness, but within the late-19th century occlusion of madness as merely nerves, this term seems to indicate less an explanation as much as an excuse or denial of any deeper mental problem. As the narrator says in what is easily read as a flippant tone, â€Å"I never used to be so sensitive, I think it is due to this nervous condition,† and â€Å"of course it is only nervousness† that causes her actions to require a greater effort (235).Though her husband has told the narrator that her nervous case is not serious, she expresses a new dissatisfaction with this diagnoses; â€Å"these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing† (236). This almost ironic but clearly critical representation of nervous disorders marks a break from Poe’s story, but even more importantly indicates the struggle Gilm an went through in her own life against the American medical industry’s changing view of mental illnesses.Though â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written to specifically address the Rest Cure, as Thrailkill suggests, the story helped shift the medical paradigm from looking at the patient’s body to listening to their words (Thrailkill 2003). The story is permeated with this desire to talk beyond the traditional psychiatric model: not only is the narrator forbidden to write, but her physician husband only sees her physical improvements of â€Å"flesh and color,† paternally dismissing any of her objections (240).To write, however, is the one thing the narrator consistently feels would make her well; it is a relief to â€Å"say what I feel and think†. Thrailkill offers a reading that Gilman’s narrator at first emulates Mitchell’s physiological approach in looking at the wallpaper, which then shifts to the articulation of a narrative surrou nding the woman in the paper, essentially equating the narrator to a medical text (Thrailkill 2003).We do not need to stretch so far however, as the story is already framed as a diary or journal, that is, it claims to be the expression of a person’s actual experience. Though the narrator has difficulty writing, she continues to write, honestly detailing the thoughts, feelings, and visions attending her mental breakdown in a manner that anticipates the 20th century psychological recognition that madness contains a truthful lucidity (Davison 2004).A mentally unstable person’s journal thus represents exactly the kind of â€Å"irrelevant story† that can cure, and which any sympathetic reader can understand as a valid psychological experience of someone who is no longer seen as socially other or â€Å"mad, bad, and dangerous. † Consequently, while Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† comes off as simply an entertaining story about some ste reotypical madmen, Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is ultimately a psychologically real portrayal of the subjective experience of someone going mad.