Religious Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath Essay

Religious Symbolism in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck portrays the movement of a family of migrant workers, the Joads, from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression. Steinbeck's novel, though it is surprisingly lacking in surface-level symbolism, was "conceived [on] simultaneous levels of existence, ranging from socio-economic determinism to transcendent spirituality" (DeMott, xiii). One of the many levels on which this novel can be read is as a parallel to the stories of Christ and the Exodus (Louis Owens, John Steinbeck's Re-Vision of America, quoted in DeMott, xiii). Steinbeck intertwines allegories based on these two stories throughout his novel. Through these intertwined religious textures, and the destitution and depression that constitutes the greater part of the novel, Steinbeck conveys the message of the impending "death of religion" while at the same time establishing his novel as a sort of new gospel for the people. On the surface, one can read Steinbeck's novel in one of two ways: by reading the longer, even-numbered chapters, one gains a close understanding of the life of this particular family. But by reading the shorter, odd-numbered, "intercalary" chapters, which could almost constitute a short novel in and of themselves, one begins to comprehend the "epic sweep" of the exodus of multitudes of workers to California, the apparent promised land. Steinbeck intended to separate these two stories in the reader's mind, as we see in his journal kept while writing the book, published later as Working Days: I find that I am not very satisfied with the numbering of these chapters. It may be that they simply will be numbered with large nume... ...apes highlight the differences between the times in which the two stories were written, and the flaws of the culture in which Steinbeck wrote. The approach of looking at this epic as it relates to the Christian tradition sheds some new light on it, and in addition shows that Steinbeck truly meant this work to be remembered for all time.    Works Cited DeMott, Robert. "Introduction". The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992: vii-xliv. Levant, Howard. "The Fully Matured Art: The Grapes of Wrath". The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Survey. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 1983. New Revised Standard Version Bible. New York: American Bible Society, 1989. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992. Steinbeck, John. Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath. Ed. Robert DeMott. New York: Viking, 1989.

Teens Go Gaga over Vampires

Teens Go Gaga Over Vampires: Its Causes and Effects Abstract This article will identify and discuss the reasons why teenagers are obsessed with vampires and what effects does it have on them. Study shows that this obsession has a great impact on both the teenager as an individual and to the people who surround her. The researcher studied and investigated the topic by finding different articles, essays, data and surveys from different sources in the Internet, as well as reading some vampire novels herself.The survey conducted by the researcher was among teenagers aged 14 to 16 who are Filipinos. All the research done about what cause this obsession came to one particular conclusion. Teens are obsessed and are addicted with vampires because they happen to fall in love with the vampire’s characteristics, some value the vampire’s physical appearance, while others take notice of the vampire’s romantic actions. This obsession has a lot of effects to our society today, both positive and negative.Teens Go Gaga Over Vampires: Its Causes and Effects Vampire, the word itself says it all. Even though the term vampires was not made known to people before the 18th century, most people agree that vampires originated long ago during the prehistoric times in many different cultures that are related to vampires (Betonio, 2011). Many choose to believe that vampires are just myths that only exists in people’s minds and imagination.Many also believe in the existence of vampires in our world, that they are not just myths and stories, but are real. People even classified vampires according to their kind. According to Agnes Embile Jimenez (2008), there is the Danag, which is a Filipino vampire known originally as a harmless vampire who helps the humans in their livelihood until one day when the Danag sucked all the blood out from a woman whose finger was wounded.There is the Romanian Varacolaci, who is described as a powerful undead being who has the abilit y to morph into a beautiful human. There is the very fast vampire from Slovakia who is called as the Nelapsi. Last but not the least, there is the Italian vampire, the Stregonibenefici, who is said to belong to the good side and is an enemy to all other vampires who do not side with the good.Some additional kinds of vampires from Sarah Todd (2008) are the Lilith, a Hebrew demon, who drinks the blood of a baby; the African vampire, the Adze, who drinks coconut milk, palm oil and blood and who appears as a firefly but turns human-like once captured; the Impundulu or the Lightning Bird, who is a giant bird who has the ability to turn into a handsome man to lure women whose blood they will consume; the Asanboam who lives in trees and flies down whenever they see a possible prey; the Ramanga who were originally human but evolved eventually due to the nail parings they eat and the sucking of their master’s lost blood; Jiang Shi, the Chinese vampire, who is made when the soul dead c annot escape its body; and the Caribbean vampire Loogaroo, a female vampire. In literature, the first major work about vampires is the short German poem, The Vampire, which was written by Heinrich August Ossenfelde in 1748. The first example of a vampire who has no choice to be one and loathes himself is Varney from the epic book, Varney the Vampire, which was written by James Malcolm Rymer in 1845. Carmilla, written by Sheridan le Fanu in 1872, was the first book with an erotic vampire. The story was about a heroine seduced by a female vampire whose blood was later drunk by the vampire. In 1897, the famous Dracula by Bram Stoker was published.Bram Stoker mixed death, blood, and sex with medieval vampire myths and vampire stories that are present during his days. After almost half of a century, Richard Mattheson wrote the book I am Legend where the story revolves around a post-apocalyptic age where vampirism is a disease. This was often called as the first modern vampire novel. In 1 975, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King was introduced to the world. King made the 20th century Maine as the setting of the story. After a year, the most famous Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice changed the whole concept of vampires. Vampire Chronicles featured vampires who are romantic and are the opposite of how they were first introduced (Laming, n. . ). In the year 2005, Stephenie Meyer published the phenomenal Twilight, the first book to the epic series that gave birth to billions of vampire-addicted teens and tweens in the 21st century. It all started when Meyer dreamt of a scene in 2003 wherein a handsome young vampire was talking to an ordinary human girl. After having this dream, she decided to make a story out of it. After many sleepless nights and countless instances where she wanted to give up, she still continued on working. And all that work finally paid off when that dream finally became Twilight. Twilight is about a story of two individuals who fell in love with each o ther.The difference it makes from other love stories is that Twilight is a love story between a human and a vampire, specifically Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. Bella Swan was just an ordinary girl, but to Edward Cullen, she was the most exquisite thing he has ever seen in his 104 years of existence. He treated her better than how he treated anyone else, even himself. He loved her like there is nothing else to love. He made her his reason for living. All these were perfectly described in the book. As someone who was able to read about their love story, who would not fall in love with this mythical being. Edward Cullen was the reason why teenage girls are obsessed with vampires today. Edward Cullen was the cause for this century’s cult-like vampire fans.This obsession has great effects to the lives of those teenagers who are addicted to these vampires. Because vampires in novels, movies and television show nowadays tend to have better qualities than humans that attract teens, s pecifically girls, causing them to be obsessed and to be addicted to the vampires. Teenage girls say that they like these vampires because of their characteristics. Discussion Vampires is novels, movies and television are already given a brand new image by authors these days which is based on the 19th century European Vampires (Rhoads, 2007). These authors do not describe them as how vampires were originally introduced.The word vampire itself is also associated with the word vamp, which means a woman who uses her charms or wiles to seduce and exploit men as a noun, and to practice seductive wiles on as a verb (Merriam-Webster, 1999). Instead of giving them a horrifying image, they gave them an image that everyone would want for themselves. Before the year 2000, most people still refer to vampires as monsters who seduce their prey who drain their prey’s blood afterwards even though the image of vampires in literature started to change as early as the 19th century. They also de scribe vampires as creatures who are scared of any kind of light because light may hurt them and may make them vanish into nothing. This description also came to the theory that vampires only attack during night, sleep in coffins and live in very dark places.Physically, they were described as creatures who have fangs as their teeth, powder-white skin and who wears black robes, which make them look like they are black and white. It is also said that vampires are cold-skinned because they are already considered as lifeless beings who continue to live despite the fact they do not have blood flowing inside of them. In 2005, when Twilight was published, vampires were described differently altogether. In almost all books published after 2005, proceeding Twilight, vampires are described as â€Å"beautiful people†. Vampires are described as more human-like, without fangs for their teeth, and even vary in skin color. They do not die nor do they age.Though they still drink blood, becau se this is what makes them a vampire, authors like Stephenie Meyer described her main characters, the Cullens to be exact, as â€Å"vegetarian vampires† or vampires who do not drink human blood but drinks animal blood as a substitute. While Twilight features vegetarian vampires, Blue Bloods still have vampires who drink human blood, but in a different manner. Even though they drink human blood, they do not drain the humans, they just drink a bit of the human’s blood to sustain their lives; they are prohibited to drink all the blood a human has. They even have a name for this event, â€Å"Caerimonia Oscular† or more popularly known as the â€Å"sacred kiss†.The humans from whom they drink blood are called their â€Å"human familiars†, and once they drink from a human, that human will be physically attached to the vampire. In other words, that human will fall in love with the vampire who drank from them. Most of these characteristics are found in alm ost all vampires today, some are even found in novels that involve fallen angels. Some of these famous vampires are Schuyler van Alen and Jack Force from the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, Zoey from P. C. Cast’s House of Night Series, Elena Gilbert from Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith and of course, Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.Besides the characteristics of these vampires, they make a great impact to the people who surround them. Another factor that attracts teenagers to them is how they treat those that they love and care for, and how those they love feel about them as well. Presently, many authors continue to write love stories about vampires, even though they were thought as heartless monsters who do not have the ability to love before. In books, vampires love differently from humans, which is why humans fall in love with them. Vampires treat the one that they love like he or she is the last being in the whole world. They will do any thing for the one that they love, even though it is the hardest thing that they will ever do.They would want to die if they found out that the one that they love is now dead. They will want everything that is the best for the person they love. They will respond very quickly and would want to answer â€Å"yes† all the time. They will sacrifice anything just to keep the one they love safe from danger. Most importantly, they will never look at or be interested in someone else other than the person that they love; they will always remain faithful and would love unconditionally. Though the way that a vampire loves is incomparable, no one should belittle how a human loves the vampire who loves him or her as well. Since they are just humans, they sometimes get confused about who they really love.But even so, they will still realize that the one that they truly love is the vampire who loves them. They become obsessed about their vampire â€Å"boyfriend† or â€Å"girlfriendâ⠂¬ . They want to spend every minute with the one that they love. They become attached to these vampires. Some would even agree to let the vampire drink their blood. Of course, they would also want to die for the safety of the person that they love. Since humans in novels, books, movies and television shows are already obsessed and addicted to these vampires, teenage girls who gets a chance to read these books or watch these shows and movies also get obsessed with the vampires featured in each.They say that they like these vampires because of their supernatural abilities, their physical appearance, which they describe as â€Å"hot†, their immortality, the forbidden love that the vampire and human has, and the butterflies that these vampires send to their stomachs. The attitude that humans in novels and movies have toward these vampires is still acceptable since they exist in the same world. The unhealthy thing for these teenage girls is that they become obsessed with these v ampires even though they already know that they are just fictional characters and that they do not exist in real life. Because of everything about these vampires, teenagers become addicted to them.Some even say or admit that they have already fallen in love with these vampires. As they are addicted to these vampires, most do not even have the slightest idea of what effects this obsession has on them. Some say that it affects them positively, but they fail to admit that those positive effects cannot be compared to the negative effects it has on them. Some positive effects or benefits this obsession can cause them to love reading books. If they loved reading the first book, they will continue on reading the following books in the series; and if they already read the whole series, they will continue to read other series that have the same qualities they loved in the first series that they read.Reading these novels will help them broaden their vocabulary and enhance their skills in Engl ish. It will also develop their patience and concentration. With benefits, there will always be side effects. The negative effects that this obsession has on teens are greater than the benefits it has. Firstly, because of their addiction, they forget to prioritize. They do not set their priorities straight and tend to give importance to those things that do not really need importance then forgetting about the things that really matter. They also forget about the real issues in their lives. They get stuck up on this â€Å"vampire world† of theirs. They never think of anything else besides these vampires.There are also those who think that it is good to be obsessed with your boyfriend or girlfriend just like what Twilight tells them (McCarthy, 2009). Some also become insecure of themselves because of the way the vampires are described. They also never get contented of what they have and would wait for a better one, a perfect one, just like how the vampires are stated in books. As Wyck Godfrey (n. d. ), director of Twilight, accidentally said, â€Å"There’s a huge amount of danger in this movie [Twilight]. There’s also just the excitement of a teenager doing things that are verboten. These are things that people connect to. And not just girls; I think that guys will discover it’s dangerous, there’s action, there’s a thriller element to it, and then, ultimately, that it’s cool to be a vampire. Another negative effect this obsession has on teens is that they bite, cut and suck blood from themselves. Though this is far from being true, it really does happen. This problem was even included in an article from consumer reports entitled â€Å"10 Troubling Teen Trends† by Dr. Orly Avitzur(n. d. ). These are just some of the common effects of this addiction to the teenagers as individuals, and most of them do not even realize it. But this obsession does not only affect these teenagers, but also all the people who su rround him or her. If they do not realize what effects this obsession has on them, how more can they realize the effects it has to their society, community or family.Parents, siblings, other family members, teachers, classmates, friends and others admit that they are also affected by obsession that teenagers have on vampires. Parents say that their children who get addicted to theses vampires bring nothing but trouble to them, especially to Christian families. First, because of this obsession, teenagers waste their time reading these nonsense books and watching these nonsense movies, leaving no amount of time for them to study or do their home works or projects. Before reading these books, they would buy them, and when these books are adapted into movies, they will surely watch them, wasting a lot of money.Some parents also admit that their children tend to follow these vampires. To Christian families, it has greater effects since the Bible stated that those who drinks blood and cla ims to be vampires are committing a sin against God (Goodwyn, n. d. ). You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangles animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. Acts 15:29  (Zondervan, 1983) Siblings and friends are also influenced by this obsession. If the teenager who is obsessed with vampires is older than his or her siblings, the younger siblings would follow the older sibling and would end up addicted to vampires as well.The same principle goes with the individual’s friends; they also follow what their friend does. There are also individuals who get addicted to vampires as well because of wanting to fit in. Some individuals who do not know anything about these vampires moreover are fascinated by them, say that they are bothered by the obsession teenagers have on these supernatural beings. They say that they do not like going to malls whenever a new vampire movie comes out, like Twilight, b ecause the mall gets too crowded. Consumers, like the teenagers, take these productions positively because they do not know what they are in for. Because the consumers continuously accept these offers, producers keep on producing them.The only positive outcome of this obsession is to the producers. This obsession is the source of their income. Due to this obsession, they get huge amounts of profits in producing vampire-affiliated shows, books, films or even products that feature the pictures of these vampires. Almost all are aware of the continuing growth of the population of teenagers who are addicted or obsessed with this kind of literature. Some may benefit from it but most just suffer from it. Some say that this obsession is almost like a mental illness wherein everyone, from children to adults, rich or poor, is a candidate. The teenager’s obsession on vampires is becoming a severe case in our society today.They even have terms like OCD, which stands for Obsessive Cullen Disorder or OVD, which means Obsessive Vampire Disorder If drug addiction, alcoholism, casino addiction and cigarette smoking can be cured through therapy in rehabilitation centers, vampire obsession most certainly can be cured. It’s all in the matter of the mind. If you are obsessed with something, you can’t help but spending almost all of your time doing things related to your obsession. You should start taking small steps towards your goal. Try to do some other stuff that does not have anything to do with vampires. Think of other things or do things which will occupy your mind so that you will forget about the vampires first.Slowly do these things until you know that you are already â€Å"cured† from your disorder (Patrick, n. d. ). Parents and other people who surround the individual should also show their support. They should also be with the individual every step of the way. This will help in boosting the individual’s confidence that he or she can d o it. Parents and friends should also comfort the individual whenever he or she is having a breakdown. If it can be cured, then it surely can be prevented. If you realize or happen to observe that you are beginning to have a different view, a better one, about these vampires, you might be starting to become obsessed or addicted to them. You should stop as early as you realize this.If you continue on reading books about them or watching movies where they are portrayed, you will get addicted to them in no time. Once you become addicted, it will take a long process before you will be able to totally get rid of your addiction. Preventing this addiction will also need your concentration. You should concentrate about your goal. You should stop yourself from anything that tempts you to read those books or watch those films and shows again. Of course, just like in curing this addiction, parents should always be there for the individual and should be very supportive. Parents should say that they are proud that their child knows how to stop his or her self. The obsession teens have on these ictional vampires found in literature has a lot of different effects both to them and to the society. Even though some may benefit from this obsession, those benefits cannot be compared to the numerous negative effects it has to the individual and to his or her surroundings, especially to the individual’s parents, siblings and friends. It is encouraged that teenagers should start dealing with their obsession as it may lead to a condition which is much more worse than what they have now. People who are surrounding the individual should know how to give their support and encouragement, especially parents. References Avitzur, O. (n. d. ). 10 troubling teen trends.Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://www. consumerreports. org/health/healthy-living/health-safety/10-troublesome-trends-to-talk-to-your-teen-about/overview/index. htm Betonio, D. (2011). 20 spectacular must read vampir e books. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. tripwiremagazine. com/2011/07/vampire-books. html Godfrey, W. (n. d. ). A christian response to vampire obsession. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. cbn. com/entertainment/screen/goodwyn-vampires-twilight-obsession. aspx Goodwyn, H. (n. d. ). A christian response to vampire obsession. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. cbn. com/entertainment/screen/goodwyn-vampires-twilight-obsession. spx Holy Bible, New International Version. (1983). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. Jimenez, A. E. (2008). Kinds of vampires. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. empressofdrac. com/2008/09/29/kinds-of-vampires/ Laming, S. (n. d. ). A brief history of vampires in literature. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. abebooks. com/books/dracula-twilight-sookie-stackhouse/history-vampires-literature. shtml Patrick. (n. d. ). Learn more about reading addiction. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. readingaddicti on. com/20/beating-addiction/learn-more-about-reading-addiction McCarthy, C. (2009). Obsession and risk talking: What new moon

Free Essays on Aeneas

Aeneas, the Devoted Hero In Virgil’s Aenied, he illustrates the hero and central character, Aeneas, as a man who presents piety and duty. This human emotion piety, pietas in Latin, is duty towards family, country, and gods. Aeneas always fulfills his duty to his family, his fated city, and his gods. This piousness is what keeps him going through the grueling journeys and challenges, even when things are not going perfectly. Pietas is the characteristic that makes Aeneas stronger through each trial as he makes personal sacrifices and never wavers from his duties to his family, his country, and most of all to the gods. The complete devotion to Aeneas’ family is a commendable trait of piety. Aeneas’ love for his kin is exemplified in his fleeing of falling Troy. He was recalling his story to Dido about how when he realizes that there was no use fighting any longer, and that he must leave Troy; he hurries off to find his family. Once he reaches his family, he has his father, Anchises, on his shoulder, Iulus, his son’s little hand in his own, and Creusa, his wife close behind as they head off for the ships. When he reaches his destination at the funeral mound, he realizes that his wife was missing. Aeneas â€Å"turn[s] back alone into the city†¦ nothing for it but to run the risks again †¦ comb of all Troy, and put [his] life in danger as before†(975-979 II). His devotion to his wife was worth risking his life in order to bring her to safety. As he frantically searches â€Å"in endless quest from door to door†(1001 II) for Creusa, her ghost appeared to him and told to him that she cannot go with him because she was longer living, but to go back to the family and that a special mission is ahead of him. Personal loss is a tragedy that Aeneas must face as he ventures on to reach is fate. His pious personality is the characteristic that saves his family and leads him on his journey to the future founding of Rome.... Free Essays on Aeneas Free Essays on Aeneas Aeneas, the Devoted Hero In Virgil’s Aenied, he illustrates the hero and central character, Aeneas, as a man who presents piety and duty. This human emotion piety, pietas in Latin, is duty towards family, country, and gods. Aeneas always fulfills his duty to his family, his fated city, and his gods. This piousness is what keeps him going through the grueling journeys and challenges, even when things are not going perfectly. Pietas is the characteristic that makes Aeneas stronger through each trial as he makes personal sacrifices and never wavers from his duties to his family, his country, and most of all to the gods. The complete devotion to Aeneas’ family is a commendable trait of piety. Aeneas’ love for his kin is exemplified in his fleeing of falling Troy. He was recalling his story to Dido about how when he realizes that there was no use fighting any longer, and that he must leave Troy; he hurries off to find his family. Once he reaches his family, he has his father, Anchises, on his shoulder, Iulus, his son’s little hand in his own, and Creusa, his wife close behind as they head off for the ships. When he reaches his destination at the funeral mound, he realizes that his wife was missing. Aeneas â€Å"turn[s] back alone into the city†¦ nothing for it but to run the risks again †¦ comb of all Troy, and put [his] life in danger as before†(975-979 II). His devotion to his wife was worth risking his life in order to bring her to safety. As he frantically searches â€Å"in endless quest from door to door†(1001 II) for Creusa, her ghost appeared to him and told to him that she cannot go with him because she was longer living, but to go back to the family and that a special mission is ahead of him. Personal loss is a tragedy that Aeneas must face as he ventures on to reach is fate. His pious personality is the characteristic that saves his family and leads him on his journey to the future founding of Rome....

What is the Meaning of Life in the Works of Gilgamesh and Agamemnon

What is the Meaning of Life in the Works of Gilgamesh and Agamemnon Introduction Men and women alike have tried to define the purpose of life in vain. Trying to answer the question ‘what is the meaning of life?’ has been one of the hardest tasks for humanity. In this article, I will make an attempt to briefly shade some light on this question. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"What is the Meaning of Life?† in the Works of Gilgamesh and Agamemnon specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More I will heavily borrow from the works of Gilgamesh and Agamemnon in trying to answer this question. I view these two works to be quite relevant in answering the question as the events taking place in the two works have an accurate reflection of the present day life. What is the meaning of life? Answering the above question needs a deep reflection. From the religious point of view, a person has a divine purpose which he/she ought to accomplish in his/her lifetime. Does that therefore mea n that one’s life is predetermined? And if it is predetermined, then why should we struggle to accomplish missions which will somehow be accomplished – since they are predetermined! Gilgamesh and Agamemnon Examining the works and lives of the Gilgamesh and Agamemnon one is left wondering why a person in a prestigious position should undergo so many miseries. Is it justified to suffer for the sake of gaining fame? This is what we mostly see in the lives of Gilgamesh and Agamemnon. Gilgamesh goes to all lengths to gain fame. In the course of doing this, there are a number of people who suffer because of his quests: Enkidu died miserably as a result of the conquests of Gilgamesh. It is a pity to see Gilgamesh trying to make the afterlife of Enkidu smooth by trying to appease the gods to accept him (Mack, 1997). Is it not ironical that at the end of his great conquests, Gilgamesh and Enkidu have bitter endings? One readily gets attempted to ask the question, ‘is li fe meant to have a bitter ending after a sweet lifetime?’ If the answer is yes, then what is the meaning of life? Life reciprocates proportionally Arguing philosophically we can claim that one determines the fate of his life. With respect to this view, then the meaning of life will be what you want it to be. Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In other words you determine what meaning your life will have. I find this argument quite practical in the present life as well I find it quite applicable in the two works being discussion in this article. Gilgamesh is seen seeking fame by trying to dethrone some gods and exalting himself above them, what does he expect back? This is also very evident in the life Agamemnon. Agamemnon gets involved in heinous activities, what does he expect back? Agamemnon’s miseries clearly have roots in the evils committed by him and thos e close to him. This argument leads us to the point of knowing that life reciprocates proportionally to what we do. So, what is the meaning of life? Now that we know that life reciprocates proportionally to what we do then what does that mean. From the above arguments I have made above, I believe that life is a chance one gets to make the world a better place or at least to participate in making the world a better place. Logically, then life is chance for one to experience his/her own actions. This calls for the need for every person to be accountable for what he/she does. If we embrace hearts of good faith towards our neighbors including the environment then we are more likely to find life a bit enjoyable. We are less likely to face misfortunes which often make us wonder what life means. Reference Mack, M. (1997). The Norton anthology of world masterpieces. New York, NY: Norton.

Euoplocephalus - Facts and Figures

Euoplocephalus - Facts and Figures Name: Euoplocephalus (Greek for well-armored head); pronounced YOU-oh-plo-SEFF-ah-luss Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and two tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large spines on back; quadrupedal posture; clubbed tail; armored eyelids About Euoplocephalus Probably the most evolved, or derived, of all the ankylosaurs, or armored dinosaurs, Euoplocephalus was the Cretaceous equivalent of the Batmobile: this dinosaurs back, head and sides were completely armored, even its eyelids, and it wielded a prominent club on the end of its tail. One can imagine that the apex predators of late Cretaceous North America (such as Tyrannosaurus Rex) went after easier prey, since the only way to kill and eat a full-grown Euoplocephalus would be to somehow flip it onto its back and dig into its soft bellya process that might entail a few cuts and bruises, not to mention the occasional loss of limb. Although its close cousin Ankylosaurus gets all the press, Euoplocephalus is the best-known ankylosaur among paleontologists, thanks to the discovery of over 40 more-or-less complete fossil specimens (including about 15 intact skulls) in the American west. However, since the remains of multiple Euoplocephalus males, females, and juveniles have never been found heaped together, its likely that this plant-eater led a solitary lifestyle (though some experts hold out hope that Euoplocephalus roamed the North American plains in small herds, which would have afforded them an extra layer of protection against hungry tyrannosaurs and raptors). As well-attested as it is, theres still a lot about Euoplocephalus that we dont understand. For example, theres some debate about how usefully this dinosaur could wield its tail club in combat, and whether this was a defensive or offensive adaptation (one can imagine male Euoplocephalus bonking each other with their tail clubs during mating season, rather than trying to use them to intimidate a hungry Gorgosaurus). There are also some tantalizing hints that Euoplocephalus may not have been as slow and plodding a creature as its anatomy would indicate; perhaps it was able to charge at full speed when enraged, like an angry hippopotamus! Like many dinosaurs of North America, the type specimen of Euoplocephalus was discovered in Canada rather than the U.S., by the famous Canadian paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in 1897. (Lambe originally named his discovery Stereocephalus, Greek for solid head, but since this name turned out to be already preoccupied by another animal genus, he coined Euoplocephalus, well-armored head, in 1910.) Lambe also assigned Euoplocephalus to the stegosaur family, which was not quite as big a blunder as it may seem, since stegosaurs and ankylosaurs are both classified as thyreophoran dinosaurs and not as much was known about these armored plant-eaters 100 years ago as it is today.

An empirical study of the differences in consumer behavior in an Dissertation

An empirical study of the differences in consumer behavior in an e-commerce environment compared to the traditional commerce - Dissertation Example One area of social concern that technology seem have gained much grounds today is business in general and marketing to be specific. When technology was ‘born’ at first, little did anyone think that it was going to grow beyond being used for office and secretarial purposes into becoming a tool for buying and selling: courtesy the internet! The internet has actually come to be an integrated invention that has coalesced the functions and activities of almost every major invention before it. To this effect, Leiner et al (2011) notes that â€Å"The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities.† Before the advent of the internet and even in its early days, general marketing trend of people was typically influenced by doing business with traditional stores. In those days, one came into contact with produ cts and services because one traveled some distance. Again, one bargained for prices of goods and services by meeting the manager in person. Today, all such bureaucracies have changed because of a new phenomenon of marketing known as electronic shopping, simply referred to as e-shopping. With e-shopping, people just have to click the button of a mouse in the comfort of wherever they are and they get a list of as many products as they want. Again, technology has made it possible that one does not have to walk to a particular shop to get things bought and payments made. All these are done via the internet. And of course, the ease with which e-shopping comes has greatly affected consumer behaviour. According to the University of Delaware (2006), â€Å"buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.† This research work is therefore dedicated to giving an empirical study of the differences in consumer behavior in an e-commerce en vironment compared to the "traditional" commerce. Specifically, consumer behaviour among students of a selected university shall be examined to ascertain the effects that the online shopping has had on their consumer behavior. To this effect, students buying behaviour on electronics shall be critically examined in relation to electronic shopping. Research Aim The primary aim of this research work is to find out whether consumers buy differently online as compared with traditional way of doing business. Then if they do, the researcher will be concerned with finding out factors that influence their decisions. Specific Objectives In other to achieve the broader research aim set above, the researcher has developed the following specific objectives. It is the hope of the researcher that the achievement of these specific objectives would lead to the achievement of the wider researcher aim. The specific objectives are as follows: 1. To explain what consumer behaviour is 2. To find out the different types of consumer behaviour 3. To explain what electronic business is in general and what electronic shopping is to be specific 4. To distinguish between factors that influence consumer behaviour with traditional businesses and factors that influence consumer behaviour with electronic business. 5. To discuss the role of electronic business/shopping in ensuring business growth 6. To find out the positive influence of e-shopping on consumer behavior

Ethical Analysis of Snowdengate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Analysis of Snowdengate - Research Paper Example The paper also shared the extent that private U.S. companies cooperated with the NSA and their collection and monitoring programs. The documents supporting the details behind NSA activities were provided by Edward Snowden working as a Booz Allen Hamilton employee as an infrastructure analyst inside the NSA center in Hawaii (NSA Chief, 2013). The remainder of this paper will discuss ‘Snowdengate’ with the intent of providing an ethical analysis of Snowden’s decision to release classified documents to the world. Once Snowden became tuned to a possible breach in the law by the NSA and their activities he had several options available to him with differing levels viability and ethical completeness. Essentially, Snowden chose to show the entire world, our enemies and friends, thousands of U.S. confidential intelligence documents that reported on our activities. Many critics feel like Snowden’s actions led to one of the biggest breaches to U.S. National Security and claim there were other ways for Snowden to criticize NSA activities. Our team will assess other options available and stakeholder interests in order to analyze Snowden’s actions. Edward Snowden, originally from North Carolina, was born in 1983. Snowden started his career in the Global Communications Division with the Central Intelligence Agency in 2006. In 2009, he began a position with Dell as a contractor to the NSA and left in 2013 to work for Booz Allen Hamilton as an infrastructure analyst within the NSA. Snowden’s motivation and dedication to work for the government as a government contractor stemmed from his upbringing. Snowden’s family has served the U.S. government for decades.His father, Lon, rose through the enlisted ranks of the Coast Guard to warrant officer, a difficult path. His mother, Wendy, worked for the US District Court in Baltimore, while his older sister, Jessica, became a lawyer at the Federal