Molly Brangs Ten Principles :: Art Molly Brang Essays

Molly Brangs Ten Principles My picture contrasts the dark, sharp, menacing objects with the light, calm, serenity of the hand. Using Molly Bangs ten principles, I was able to depict this injustice and suspenseful moment from the story, dormancy Beauty. Molly Bangs ten principles teach us how to illustrate moments from stories or poems with abstract shapes and basic colors. By applying these principles, both emotion can be expressed. Maleficent was the most challenging object in the picture. Since the whole purpose of the picture is to represent evil and suspense, I knew that she had to be black. First, she had much rounded corners and her cape was straight up and down. I obviously needed to make her look more evil. So I sharpened up every corner of her and brought her cape to a point. According to Molly Bang, We feel more scared looking at pointed shapes we feel more secure or comforted looking at rounded shapes or curves (70). The extended triangle to the right represents her outreached arm. I thought this made her look as if she were in self-assurance over the situation. This makes her appear more powerful. Generally, powerful rulers and kings extend their arms as a representation of power and authority. The more I looked at this outreached triangle and its descent to the picture, the more I thought of her cunning and conniving ways to hide this from others. Instead of just bringing the cape straight down off the page, it is more interesting to bring it to a point. Bang says, Diagonal shapes are dynamic because they imply motion or tension (46). Because the pointed cape implies motion, Maleficent looks as if she is fructify to pounce on Sleeping Beauty or grab her immediately after she touches the spindle. It shows that Maleficent is in suspense and on the edge of her feet waiting for Sleeping Beauty to touch the spindle. Some other details that make Maleficent stand out and look evil are her horns, size, location, and her eyes. It is ob vious that the horns give her outdoor(a) as having the characteristic of evil and menacing. Horns are associated with the devil therefore, these become an essential part of depicting her. Her size and location portray triumph and power. She looks as if she is on the Q.T. peering down upon Sleeping Beauty.

Gay Marriage Should Be Legal Essay -- Gay Marriage, argumentative, per

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Yet, same-sex marriage continues to be a highly debated content that leaves our golf club searching for answers. This has been very apparent during elections when politicians, in order to distract or sway conservative voters, all took a side and had an mentation on the issue of same-sex marriage. The debate has been presented on the left as a civil rights debate, bear upon rights. And on the right, as a morals debate, a referendum on homosexuality (Rauch, J. 2004). Everyone has an opinion on whether two men or two women should be allowed to get married, and in doing so, have all the same rights granted by the federal politics to them as are granted to more traditional couples. It is my belief that gay, lesbian, and transgendered couples should be afforded the same privileges as both other citizens including the choice of marriage. Singling out and disallowing certain rights to any person based on sexual orientation, just like race, ethnicity, or religious background, is discrimination. Also, religious views on homosexuality should not have an effect on our laws.By conservative estimates, there are probably about ten million gay men and lesbians in the United States. And theyre expiry to be there. Theyre going to be having relationships and theyre going to be having kids no matter what we do in our laws and no matter what courts say. And the question about whether gay and lesbian couples should have an equal right to get married under our state laws--were talking about state laws here, were not talking about private religious organizations. (Wolff, 2005)In the preceding(a) marriage was something everyone was expected to do. ... ...arch 8). Hollywood World of Wonder.Inalienable Rites? Gay Marriage in the Courts (2005, March 25). Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson Radio News Program. http//www.hoover.org/multimedia/uk/2934426.html pleasing v . Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)Masci, D. (2009, May 21). A Clash of Rights? Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion. http//pewforum.org/events/?EventID=216Masci, D. (2009, July 9). Public Opinion on Gay Marriage Opponents Consistently outnumber Supporters. http//pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=424Rauch, J. (2004, April 1). Can Gay Marriage Strengthen the American Family? Brookings Briefing. http//www.brookings.edu//media/Files/events/2004/0401children%20%20%20families/20040401.pdf Strasser, P. M. (1999). The Challenge of Same-Sex marriage Federalist Principles and Constitutional Protections. Westport Preager Publisher.

We Need Censorship :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

We Need Censorship     It wont kill us to make marchess, but it might if we dont. That is why it is JUSTIFIABLE to limit adults freedom of expression--it is in our, societys, best interests to protect the children. Lional Tate is just one example of a child gone bad because of the media. Tate mimicked his idol the Rock, cleanup spot a six-year onetime(a) girl by smashing her skull, pulverizing her liver, breaking her ribs and causing numerous cuts and bruises. If thats non enough of an example what about the teen from New Jersey who simply listened to Ozzy Osbornes felo-de-se Solution and killed himself? These are not random occurrences, we hear about them on the news frequently. If our freedom of expression is harming kids why cant we fix the problem by not allowing them access to it?   Argument one, People, especially children are very susceptible to being influenced by what they watch or see happen throughout their lives.   pixie see, Monkey do. Everyone has heard this phrase sometime in his or her life. This phrase is simple, yet very applicable to todays debate. When a child sees someone or something doing something. They will of trail follow suit and imitate the action being performed. Children do not know any better. Therefore they are innocent and deserve to be respected. It is for these by-line reasons that we argue for the censorship of harmful materials that could influence a child or children into violent acts, expressions, and other dangerous actions. Through television, video games, and movies, children and teens view countless acts of violence, brutality, and little terror as part of entertainment. They become conditioned to associating violence with entertainment. First-person shooter video games develop our childrens skills in operating weapons. The games reward marksmanship, and further reinforce the association of killing with entertainment. In the past, the heroes of movie and television sh ows were usually people who strictly followed the law. Now, heroes are often people who take the law into their own hands, who see an injustice or evil and seek to rectify it personally, sometimes brutally, regardless of the consequences. Such portrayals signal, to a child, societys approval of that behavior.

United States Governments False Portrayal of Marijuana :: Government Marijuana weed Drugs Essays

United States Governments False Portrayal of MarijuanaAbstractI believe that the governments handling of marijuana has been unethical because they used propaganda and lies to inform the American population about marijuana. In my casebook, I address how the government made propaganda films and other media to misinform the American population. Some powerful evidence that I used is from the book, On the Trail of Marijuana, in this book the authors illustrate their eight stages of marijuana intoxicationStage One Characteristic euphoria, or feelings of unnatural benefit and lightheadedness.Stage Two Intellectual excitation, dissociation of ideas, and exaggeration of emotion.Stage Three Illusion in regard to time and space.Stage Four Intense auditive sensibility, where every musical sound is distorted.Stage Five Fixation of ideas, which are derived by the suggestibility of near-by stimuli.Stage Six Overbalancing emotional disturba nces.Stage Seven Culmination of the ordinal stage, where the overexcited and distraught subject may commit violent irresponsible acts due to irresistible impulses of suggestive origin.Stage Eight Hallucination, varied and often terrifying. The oppose argument is supported not by opinion, but by scientific proof. There have been many studies done on the effects of marijuana, but I chose On Being Stoned because the author realized that the effects are only potential.Marijuana is illegal in the United States and in the past, in that respect have been many changes in legislation regarding marijuana possession, production, and use. The knowledge of marijuana usage has been warped and twisted by the American government beginning in the early 1900s. According to the Websters Dictionary definitions, ethics are principles of right conduct or a system of moral values, morals are the lesson or principle contained in or taught by a fable, a story, or an event , and government is the act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of humanity policy in a political unit. It bothers me that neither ethics nor morals were included in the definition of government.

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things :: Law College Admissions Essays

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things I never had the acquire of a spiritual guide. No atomic number 53 ever counseled me to search for beauty in all things. Perhaps it is close beneficial to learn some things through and through experience. I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an cloudburst mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a course before the state took custody of me and place me in a concourse home. Over the next four years I would live in some(prenominal) different homes ranging from a hundred children to slight than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on magazine and with honors. Group homes argon a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven oclock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and p reparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs at that place are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. booze and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school. In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a persons family and upbringing would define them. The core of my measure out system was formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was competent to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor P rojects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who noneffervescent constitute my family. For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances.One Must Search for Beauty in All Things Law College Admissions Essays One Must Search for Beauty in All Things I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No one ever counseled me to search for beauty in all things. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience. I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an alcoholic mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors. Group homes are a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven oclock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. Liquor and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school. In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a persons family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system w as formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was able to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who still constitute my family. For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances.

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things :: Law College Admissions Essays

One essential Search for Beauty in All Things I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No peer slight ever counseled me to search for beauty in all things. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience. I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an cloudburst mother when I was thirteen and it was the trump decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and dictated me in a pigeonholing home. oer the next four historic period I would live in several varied homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors. Group homes be a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven oclock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would pull away turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The mass of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. hard drink and hard drugs are common. While we were need to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school. In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a persons family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system was formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was qualified to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing pro jects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who muted constitute my family. For me the group homes were a irresponsible experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the modal(a) kid in my circumstances.One Must Search for Beauty in All Things Law College Admissions Essays One Must Search for Beauty in All Things I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No one ever counseled me to search for beauty in all things. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience. I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an alcoholic mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors. Group homes are a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven oclock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. Liquor and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school. In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a persons family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system was formed during the formative yea rs of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was able to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who still constitute my family. For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances.

Essay on the Animal

Animal Farm Essay Prompts Respond to ONE of the following prompts in a five-paragraph essay. Your body paragraphs must follow the shaping sheet. 1. Read the going from Chapter VII that begins with Comrades cried Squealer, and ends Snowballs secret agents are lurking among us at this moment Then, in a well-developed and organized essay, analyze how Squealer uses various telling techniques to manipulate the animals. 2. Read the passage from Chapter IV that begins at the beginning of the chapter and ends with audition in it a prophecy of their future doom. Then, in a well-developed and organized essay, discuss how the author uses various stylistic devices and selection of detail to comment on both historical events and human nature. 3. Analyze how Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin and the working class are satirized by the characters in Animal Farm. 4. Describe how the abuse of power causes three ostracize effects upon the animals of Animal Farm. 5. Choose three events from the novel and argue that they are model of events occurring in Russia during its revolution and the reign of Joseph Stalin.Consider the following. The Rebellion/the Russian Revolution The bereavement of the windmill/Stalins Five Year Plans Executions of pigs and chickens/Stalins Great Purge The employment of the Windmill/Germanys invasion of Russia Napoleons use of dogs/Stalins use of the secret police Cruel winters on the farm/Soviet dearth of the 1920s ***** You need to use your novel AND one historical etymon for numbers 3 & 5***** Animal Farm Essay PromptsRespond to ONE of the following prompts in a five-paragraph essay. Your body paragraphs must follow the shaping sheet. 6. Read the passage from Chapter VII that begins with Comrades , cried Squealer, and ends Snowballs secret agents are lurking among us at this moment Then, in a well-developed and organized essay, analyze how Squealer uses various persuasive techniques to manipulate the animals. 7. Read the passage from Chapt er IV that begins at the beginning of the chapter and ends with hearing in it a prophecy of their future doom. Then, in a well-developed and organized essay, discuss how the author uses various stylistic devices and selection of detail to comment on both historical events and human nature. 8. Analyze how Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin and the working class are satirized through the characters in Animal Farm. 9. Describe how the abuse of power causes three negative effects upon the animals of Animal Farm. 10. Choose three events from the novel and argue that they are representative of events occurring in Russia during its revolution and the reign of Joseph Stalin.Consider the following. The Rebellion/the Russian Revolution The failure of the windmill/Stalins Five Year Plans Executions of pigs and chickens/Stalins Great Purge The Battle of the Windmill/Germanys invasion of Russia Napoleons use of dogs/Stalins use of the secret police Cruel winters on the farm/Soviet famine of the 1 920s ***** You need to use your novel AND one historical source for numbers 3 & 5*****

Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights – the authors personal experiences in the play

Critiques say that Emily Bronte all overshadowed her sister, although when compared to her more out(p)going sisters, Emily was a seemingly trapped unripe woman. She expressed her wildest dreams through her writing. Emily, born on July 30th, 1818 in Thorton, Yorkshire, had four sisters and one familiar. (Encyclopedia Americana PG 596. ) The female authors of the family included Charlotte, Anne, and Emily. Charlottes most famous novel The Professor, along with Jane Eyre were highly praised. Anne wrote Agnes Gray. The Bronte family lived in Haworth.Mrs. Bronte died during Emilys third year. She first att oddityed Cowan Bridge School, where she received a fairly good education, although her time there broke of early, she returned home due to her sisters devastation. After returning home focused more on her writing. She focused on her poetry. The imaginary village of Gondal influenced her poems. Her sister Anne co wrote some of these poems with her. She later attended a initiate by the name of Roe Head, but became deeply home sick and returned home. (Stapleton, Michael PG 99.Her final attempt to go to school was at Law Hill, where her and Charlotte taught. Later their brother Branwell tried influencing them to begin publishing novels because it promised a lot of money. The deuce-ace sisters formed a publishing company of their own. (Encyclopedia Americana PG 597. ) Then Emily began her work on the famous known novel of Wuthering high school. At first, her novel received little praise compared to her sisters volumes. But its acknowledgment came later. Soon Emily no longer focused on her family, writing, or school. She withdrew herself from the valet around her.Her brother Branwell died on October 1st 1848, after drunken rages, that same year Emily became diagnosed with inflammation of the lungs. She died that same year on December 19th. (Www. lang. nagoya-u. ac. jp. ) Although Emily is gone, her novel Wuthering Heights will always be a legend, with its tw isted passion, and compelling opposites of Emilys own support hi yarn. The apologue begins in 1801, with a man named Lockwood who comes to rent a room at Thrushcross Grange. Lockwood then meets the master of the Grange and of Wuthering Heights. On his journey to the heights he sees the haunting ghost of Catherine, Heathcliffs long lost lie with.While lying in bed, he hears branches tapping the window, to vagabond them to a halt he r for each onees to grab them, but to his surprise he grabs the hand of a person instead Instead of which my fingers closed on the fingers of a little, ice cold hand (Emily Bronte PG 30. ) After this astonishment and returning to Thrushcross Grange, Lockwood asks the housekeeper, Nelly to tell him the tale of Heathcliff. The written report begins when Mr. Earnshaw, Catherine and Hindleys don returns home with an orphan. The boys name is Heathcliff. Hindley hates him, but Catherine comes to love him.With the death of both Mr. nd Mrs. Earnshaw, Hind ley inherits Wuthering Heights. On one evening Heathcliff and Catherine go to Thrushcross Grange to pick on Edgar and Isabella, the rich children that live there. Catherine is forced to stay there after a dog bites her. After a month or so she returns and has lost her love for Heathcliff. Hindley has a son named Hareton, who he calls upon Nelly to take deal out of since his wife, Frances, died giving the receive. Heathcliff over hears Catherine telling Nelly just about her engagement to Edgar, and runs away. He returns some years later as a young man. He plans to seek revenge on Hindley and Edgar.He soon inherits Wuthering Heights after Hindley dies, and marries Isabella to insure his ownership of Thrushcross Grange. Catherine becomes unhappy with Edgar and her love for Heathcliff returns with his arrival, although her pride will not allow her to follow her heat. She dies giving birth to her girlfriend Cathy. The story with Cathy begins when Edgar takes Linton, Heathcliff and Is abellas son, into their home. Heathcliff soon claims him and forces a marriage between Cathy and Linton. Edgar and Linton soon die, one right after the other, and then Heathcliff takes control of Thrushcross Grange.Which is then rented to Lockwood. Shortly after Lockwood returns to London. On returning to Wuthering Heights he sees that Heathcliff has become obsessed with the ghost of Catherine and soon dies. Cathy and Hareton, Hindleys son, are in love and plan a wedding. The story ends with Lockwood at Heathcliff and Catherines graves. Emilys life and experiences had much to do with the writing of Wuthering Heights. Emily used her own life to fuel the writing of Wuthering Heights. Her family, her experiences, her religion, and her bottled up, neglected personality all contributed to her writing of Wuthering Heights.First of all, Emilys religion compete a huge part in the story of Wuthering Heights. Emily did not limit her religion to one particular form, but when asked how she wor shiped, she replied, That is between me and god. ( unfavorable Essays on Emily Bronte PG 8. ) Emily beheld three important beliefs. One that Hell exists only on earth, and no souls suffer torments after death, two A soul that has suffered sufficiently on earth attains its heaven, Three A soul that has not suffered is in limbo for a time, but is redeemed by others sufferings if not by its own, after enduring the poena damni, deprivation of the desired heaven. Critical Essays on Emily Bronte PG 9. ) These rules are often reflected in Wuthering Heights.With Catherine, she does not go to either Heaven nor Hell, but remains on earth by the wish of Heathcliff, and cites herself in the novel she deserves no Heaven. The only time she achieves heaven is when Heathcliff dies and they are once again united, even if it may not be in actual heaven. Emily as well refers to Heathcliff as the d worthless. (Critical Essays on Emily Bronte pg13. ) When Mr. Earnshaw returns home from a trip, he br ings with him a boy, you must een take it as a gift from God, though its as dark just about as if it came from the devil. (Pg 40 of Wuthering Heights) Referring to him, as a devil, but yet a gift from God is actually quite complex. It utters Heathcliffs two personalities, as God, his undying love for Catherine and his ability to control people.With his ability to manipulate a situation, he also portrays devil like qualities. Also, in the book, there is a part where Cathy and Linton are comparison their perfect ideas of a hot summer day in July. Lintons idea was a more peacefulnessful one, while Catherine only wanted to dance and sparkle. I said his heaven would only be half alive, and he said mine would be drunk. (Pg 237 of Wuthering Heights) Emily immediately relates the differences in their ideas of summer evenings to Heaven. Which implies that Cathy and Linton are not meant for each other. Like e very one of us, family holds very important quality. Emilys family played an im portant role in Wuthering Heights. Influences for character mainly included her family. Emily was brought up in a large family, which was not uncommon for that day and age. As in the story, all the children were close in age. But, in Wuthering Heights, there were only two or three children in each family.Maybe this distinguishes an idea that Emily wished she had so she put it into her novel. Emilys brother Branwell fell victim to drugs, alcohol, and sex. This notes a direct portrayal to Catherines brother Hindley. Hindley has more evil to him than Branwell, but takes on drinking and gambling. He soon blows all of his money and dies when he has no place in the world. Exactly like Branwell. Patrick Branwell, Emilys father, and an Irish man, took care of his family and loved his children. He also died early on in Emilys life, as did Mr. Earnshaw. Mr. Earnshaw devoted himself to his children. I am going to Liverpool today, what shall I bring you? You may get hold of what you like (Wuth ering Heights pg 40. )With the death of Mr. Earnshaw turmoil boils among the family it brings Hindleys hatred toward Heathcliff to the surface, similar to the Mrs. Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. At the age of two, Emilys mom died. Mrs. Earnshaw is also not noted in the book for more than one or two pages before her death. Emily gave both the Earnshaws and the Lintons lives with out parents. Probably because she would not of known how to write parents into there lives not knowing hers very well at all.Other factors that have affected Wuthering Heights are her family history, the novel Bridegroom and Barna, and her experiences at Law Hill School. One even her father was telling his children about their ancestors. One of the stories must have connected with Emily because she used it as an outline for her novel. The story goes that his uncle Welsh abused Patricks father Hugh Branty, who happened to be adopted. Welsh, a representative of Heathcliff, was found on a boat and adopted by Hug hs Grandpa.Welsh later took over the household, and married the daughter of the house. Pyckett, Lyn PG 3-9. ) The Bridegroom and Barna is a story of Emilys time about two star-crossed lovers from rivaled families. Who are only united in death. Just like the Earnshaws and the Lintons, their children fell in love and only found peace after death. While Emily attended Law Hill School, the owner of the school had two sons, one adopted and one by birth. The son by birth constantly argued and was jealous of the adopted son. This relates directly to Hindley and Heathcliff, two sons arguing for the love of their own father. (Pyckett, Lyn pg10-15. )The last found influences towards Wuthering Heights are the traits of Emily herself. She was the only child out of six to be given a middle name. It seems as if her parents knew she would be different. She was a very quiet person who kept to her self. And when her own sister came upon her poems she was furious. (Pyckett, Lyn PG 8. ) During her lif e she experienced a lot of death. Death is also a main factor dealt with in Wuthering Heights. The amount of characters was cut in half by the end of the book. It also reflects the time period where people all died much earlier than they do today.Wuthering Heights was written towards the end of Emilys life. Which may be the reason the story has no theme of hope. Emily knew she was going to die, and did not want a doctor to be called in her last hours. (Critical Essays on Emily Bronte PG 51. ) She was also in a state of delusion. Probably living out the lives of her characters in her dreams. Wuthering Heights only has two main settings, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. This portrays an example of how Emily felt trapped in her own home. She wrote to imagine out. She had no love of her life yet wrote one the most passionate stories ever.In conclusion Emilys experiences, her feelings of being alone, the characteristics of her family members, and her relationship with God, all affected the outcome of Wuthering Heights. development her religion in her novel allows you to connect with her. It could not have been written the same by any other person because only she beheld these imaginative believes. The story is extremely personal, using references to her family member, not caring if it affected them, which may exemplify why it was written in the last stage of her life.Instead of writing about a tremendous love she had experienced, this way she has no boundaries, she may write whatever her mind will let her. Being an outsider, she enabled herself to express how she really felt, how she wished she could be. every in all, Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights will always be remembered for their originality, and their unique qualities, not for their popular, common traits. Emilys legend lives on just like Catherines. Lingering on worldly concern even after death.

Dr. Pepper Essay

By using the same supplier means that DPS have to take on what the competitors such as Coca Cola and Pepsi have done for the worldwide market in particular in US. This whitethorn cause costs to fix in the future but the supplier could have the advantages in producing their product by using own distribution and packaging in long term. DPS has the prospect to expand into international markets and to growth in the Hispanic population. Bargaining Power of Supplier ThreatsEconomic stability is a threat that will affect DPS. At this moment of recession, consumers dont spend money and at the same time prices for natural gas, corn, pulp and other commodities that argon necessary for the comp any increase. Also, wellness concerns, preferences may affect the industry. -Substitute Products OpportunitiesThe company may see the best opportunity in high growth and high margin categories, as well as energy drinks, ready to drink teas, juice drinks and other functional beverages. Positive externa l trends or changes that may help an organization improve its performance. Substitute Products Threats Dr. zest Snapple group should be aware on the substitutes product offered by the competitors. The company should maintain an excellent relationship with wholesalers and retailers such as supermarket, convenience store because they are the company promoting and selling the product to the buyer. This is in case if competitors use similar characteristics and taste as DPS, the competitors may possibly dominate the market and eliminate DPS from the industrial market. -Political-Legal Opportunities The company will follow all requirements with all laws regarding political contributions.There are surely some states that allow DPS to make political contributions surrounded by specific limits and reporting supplies by using a state beverage association. The company can not use their own facility, funds or any assets to support any political candidate unless it has an approval from Governme nt Affairs and the General Counsels office. The nominal legal contributions of DPS products are allowed. -Political-Legal Threats -Technological Opportunities The company recognize that they needed to increase its efforts in advertising and distribution.Therefore, the company launched a television commercial by using famous celebrities to endorse DPS by referring to the taste and relish and stating Trust me, Im a doctor. This commercial was use in the late 1980 and early 1990s, which the strategy that worked for the company. If they come out with new commercials or elder commercials with new generation it may help DPS to get more sells. -Technological Threats The larger advertising budgets of competitors can be a threat to maintaining market. Some of the technological threats may be billboards, super bowl and television.

Character Sketch †Cephalus from Plato’ S Republic Essay

Choose one of the three main characters from Book One of Platos Republic (Cephalus, Polemarchus or Thrasymachus). Write a character sketch that shows how the personality, social status, animateness situation and position affect the views the character holds about sustenance and about the virtue of justice. take the definition of justice for the character you are describing.In book one, we are introduced to four main characters Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus. Republic takes place in the home of Cephalus and Polemarchus, in the Piraeus. Cephalus is a elderly and financially secure merchant and businessman. He lives his life in moderation, he doesnt over-reach and try to become too wealthy, and was also not a fan of excessive spending. He certainly wouldnt approve of the credit card debts that many Americans have. But thanks to his financial security, Cephalus has a comfortable life in old age.By living his life in moderation, the transition to an elderly lifestyl e has not been shocking or depressing. Cephalus will admit that these are not his Golden Years, per say its certainly not the greatest period in his life, but thanks to that moderation, he finds the old age to not be as much of a burden as his friends do. His friends are depressed and woeful of their age. They miss the lifestyle that they had in their youth. Because of their age, they can no lasting partake in the things they thought made them happy sex, drugs, rock and roll, essentially.Cephalus has a simple idea of justice. Though he never goes to describe it himself, we can elicit some context from his discussion with Socrates to fill in the details. Cephalus is an honest man, and as we said, he lives his life in moderation in all aspects. He doesnt strive for unlimited wealth, but still values that wealth he has, and likely behaves ethically and morally for that reason. Cephalus keeps his desires at bay he works hard, and he enjoys himself, but always manages to hold onto m ost of his money. The problem is, it seems to Socrates to be easier to live a just and moderate life, because of the wealth that Cephalus possesses.Because Cephalus values wealth, he seems to put a heavy emphasis on the repayment of debts (and avoidance of debt in the first place as well) in his ideal of justice. He feels that if he can go to his next life not owing anyone a penny, it will lift a burden on his soul, in a metaphysical sense. A quietness of mind comes with not lying or engaging in deception which is easier to maintain when wealthy and not faced with problems (like, for example, feeding and clothing your family some wad will do anything when they are seemingly backed into a corner). Thanks to wealth, Cephalus is (at least in his own point of view) able to live a life without lies, without deception, and without debts.

How is the theme of evil dramatized in Macbeth? Essay

In Elizabethan times every oneness believed in the Natural Order which can also be referred to as The Chain of existence. The Chain of beingness is a hierarchy, where God is at the top and the queer is second, last atomic number 18 the elements fire, air, water and earth. If valet de chambreything happened to the king everything under the kings rank would be affected. This stop people overthrowing the king because they were told bad things would happen to them. We can tell that the Chain of Being was affected in Macbeth because of what some of the characters say in Act 2 Scene 4 after King Duncan has been murdered. A falcon towring in her pride of her place, Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed This shows an jut of a mouse hunting an owl and killing it which is the reverse of what happens under normal circumstances. Animals are under the kings rank. The horses also acquire to cannibalism, And Duncans horses tis said they eat each other.Treason is the illegal act of overt hrowing the government or king. Macbeth manages to overthrow King Duncan, which is treason, and at the end of the swindle Macbeth gets overthrown by Macduff. scarcely a few years before Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, Guy Fawkes attempted to overthrow King James I. Treason involves people at lower ranks of the Chain of Being moving up the chain, which will include killing and murdering, which are injustice acts.Shakespeare wrote Macbeth for King James I, who had just been crowned, to warn him about the revolution that was about to resign place.In Act 1 Scene 3 the opening establishes the witches as evil. They act haphazardly and randomly. There linguistic communication delightful is foul and foul is fair, is chanted in a mischievous way. It implies the witches believe that evil is good and they find good repulsive. Not only does this portray their attitude to life provided it is also a warning to the audience that there is much confusion and things are not what they may seem to be . Macbeth is also heard to utter these words and show that he is influenced by the witches. In Elizabethan times, witches were usually women rejected by society and represent evil. In the play they urinate a great influence over Macbeth and intend to involve him in their evil, There to meet with Macbeth.Evil is created around the witches because the witches are instantly thought to be dark and to have a connection with the devil. The olfactory modalitying of evil is made stronger because the witches meet in lifeless dark places away from society. In Act 1 Scene 1 the witches meet in a desolate place and in Act 1 Scene 3 they meet on a heath. This creates an eerie feeling. The put up reflects the witchess emotions and in the four witch scenes there is thunder. All this emphasizes their destructive nature. The witches also do not look human. They are supposed to be women but they are bearded. You should be women and yet your beards forbid me to interpret Anyone who does not look normal or human may have evil links. In some productions of Macbeth, the witches come across as alien, which can be evil as its not the norm. In one film production the witches are naked. It is a human property to cover up with clothes.When asked where the second witch has been she replies killing swine which shows cruelty for her own amusement. The curses they chant are to cause pain upon others which reflects their own evil behaviour sleep shall neither night or day the first witch causes insomnia upon Macbeth. In Act 4 Scene 1 the witches used moody magic which involves adding ingredients to a cauldron. They use the image of innocence by adding a finger of a birth strangled babe which shows new life destroyed. umteen people would say this is evil.That look not like. this, said by Banquo, shows us that he fears the witches and is unsure if they are real, on the other hand he confidently asks What are you, suggesting that he may know of the witches, or even be friendly with t hem. Although this also has the possibility of being interpreted as Macbeth comprehend the witches as unnatural and evil for he does ask about what they are.Macbeth can be considered as being an evil character in that he kills King Duncan in cold blood by stabbing him. It is premeditated as indicated in the soliloquy of his inner thoughts. Wed jump the life to come, but in these cases, we still have judgment here. It also shows selfishness, ambition and self gain for the Kings position. In suspecting his close friend Banquo may want to turn Macbeth in for his crime, Wisdom that doth guide his valorto act in safety. Macbeth knows he must get rid of Banquo and his manipulating character by convincing the murderers and himself that killing him is right. two of you know Banquo was your enemyso he is mine and it such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my nearst of life. He portrays evil in that he is plotting a murder against his friend and influencing other s in believing that they are doing the right act in killing him.Others may consider Macbeth to be more than of a strong warrior than evil. He goes beyond the limits of a solider in battle for his king and country. Therefore he can be seen as an honorable man What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won. Lady Macbeth describes him as having Too full othmilk of human kindness, a humanity. Macbeth can be seen as corruptible for ambition but lacking the ruthlessness to get what he really wants. He is a complex character he has aggression and determination which makes him a successful warrior. However he also has a conscience with a sense of guilt. These contrasts in Macbeths character and his attempts to fix them are what make him human. Commends thingredience of our poisoned chalice to our own lips. This shows Macbeth to be a reluctant murderer he is troubled by his conscience even before committing the act. He uses the soliloquy to express his struggle between right and wrong. Macbeth constantly questions his brutality and his inability to live with himself as a murderer. This is a sorry sight.At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth appears to be a kind, caring wife to Macbeth but underneath that innocent flower there is a serpent, a scheming and manipulative woman. Look like thflower but be the serpent undert. When Lady Macbeth finds out about the witches her heady ambition and her cold nature leads Macbeth astray. Lady Macbeth is so determined to succeed that she calls to the evil spirits to make herself more evil, fill me from crown to the toe-top, full of the direst cruelty Make thick my blood.On the other hand Lady Macbeth can be seen to be a lonely and frustrated character. She is an ambitious woman in a mans world where the men have all the power and control. She is often portrayed as being on her own, for instance when cultivation the letter as Macbeth is at battle and she misses him. She has a driven will with much energy and very little to do. She shows vulnerability and an inwards sense of annoyance at what she has done but at the same time she is denying these qualities incase she shows a weakness. These deeds must not be thought after these shipway so it will make us mad. In her sleepwalking, Lady Macbeths conscience tortures her and she imagines her detention covered in blood. The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands neer be clean? No more othat my Lord, no more othat. She committed suicide.In conclusion I feel that Shakespeares message to his audience is that revolution should be created slowly as the characters at the top of the Chain of Being are not sympathetic to others. This was one of his strong beliefs as Shakespeare was a secret Catholic who supported the pope and was a sympathizer to Guy Fawkes. He also tells the audience that committing evil acts and touch on the Chain of Being ends up corrupting the system. If you are one of the people who committed the acts then, Shakespeare t ells us it is hard to clear a guilty conscience.In Macbeths search for power, he ends up killing Duncan which leads to several more murders. He started off by being known as Brave Macbeth but once the king was murdered he was corrupted by power. He was defeated by his constant search for more authority and control. Macbeth was only meant to be Thane Of Cawdor and when he managed to become king, he abused his power. Shakespeares sends us the message that some people were made to have more control because they could handle it and had the personality trait to control themselves with the amount of power they have. He also sends us the message that too much power corrupts.Many people would say that ambition in the key to success but in Macbeth it is a downfall. Macbeth has the three witches and Lady Macbeth constantly pushing his ambition. Shakespeare gives us that message that having ambition is good but you should go out of your own ability because it may lead to your death, like Macb eth.The relationship between good and evil is very clear to see. The main theme of the play is showing the audience how an honest, regular man can be changed into evil and be dehumanized. He is not evil but instead is surrounded by evil influences such as his wife and the witches. However, goodness does win as Macbeth is killed and the evil dies away with him.

Hwangs trying to find Chinatown version4 Essay

Race has been a root of a lot of discords and wars for many centuries. From the past to the present, the world has been shared into different sides estimable because of this. However, the conflict that is caused by ethnicity is not only between multitude. Oftentimes, it is also between a person and himself. Many people from marginalized ethnic groups await internal struggles due to their incapability to accept their history, status and nationhood. They cannot accept their indistinguishability as a member of a certain(prenominal) race.However, people should accept their identity as a person belonging to a certain group of people. The reasons for this are numerous. First of all, acceptance of wholenesss own identity helps coiffe a person satisfied and happy. Second, a person who cannot accept his identity is ashamed, not only of his race, but also of himself. Third, failure to accept identity prevents people from labor union and advancing a certain cause. Last and most importa ntly, of all aspects of identity, ethnicity, whether by blood by culture, is something that cannot be changed forever.These arguments allow for be explained in the following paragraphs using the experiences and opinions of gum benzoin and Ronnie, as expressed in the play Trying to Find Chinatown. First, acceptance of ones own identity helps make a person satisfied and happy. This is because that person has less to desire or wish for. On the contrary, a person who cannot accept his own identity is often dissatisfied and unhappy. Aside from the things that he need and desire such as money, food, success, popularity and friends, he will have an additional desire that is difficult to obtain.He will exigency to escape his own race and be position of another, which he believes to be better and more superior. This may be shown by the attitudes of Ronnie and Benjamin in the play. Of the two, Benjamin seems to be happier and more satisfied. In fact, he is more at peace. He is able to ach ieve this happiness from simple things such as the sounds of screaming in Cantonese and Sze-Yup in Chinatown (Hwang 1484). He is happy remembering his father chasing the boys who was shouting to him, Gook Chink Slant-eyes (Hwang 1482).He is also at peace sitting on a stoop on Chinatown while sucking hua-moi because he feels at home and he is happy to China as his home (Hwang 1484). This is the exact opposite of how Ronnie feels. He views himself to be nobody (See 1484) because he thinks his ethnic group is not important in the world, thus he cannot get a sense of pride for just being a art object of it. While it takes simple things to make Benjamin happy, it also takes simple things to make Ronnie unhappy. He is unhappy using chopsticks, seeing ducks abatement on windows of restaurant and eating dim sum (See Hwang 1483).It is true that there are other factors worry wealth and education that determines a persons happiness and satisfaction. However, what differentiates a person who accepts his race from the one who does not is that, for the latter, satisfaction is endlessly not possible. Despite his riches and the things he achieved, he will always have that secret desire to have a different identity. Second, a person who cannot accept his identity is ashamed, not only of his race, but also of himself. He will always be in denial of what he is.For example, in the play, Ronnie repeatedly denied being a part of the Chinese community such as that one that may be found in Chinatown. For him, such types of places do not tell anyone anything about who he is (See Hwang 1483). He takes any association of himself with his ethnicity as an insult. In the beginning of the play, Benjamin asked Ronnie where Chinatown is and the latter got mad because he though the former chose him to ask because he is Chinese (Hwang 1480). He even tries to hide his ethnicity by dint of his clothes (See Hwang 1480).On the other hand, no trace of this shame as regards his race may be found on Benjamin. In fact, he is the one who tells people that China is his roots (See for example Hwang 1481). He takes pride of his history and his ancestors. Such pride in his background helps him to be proud of himself. Third, dissatisfaction with ethnicity prevents people from uniting and advancing a certain cause. On the contrary, satisfaction will help people achieve unity. Even just between Ronnie and Benjamin, this inability to unite is evident. sort of of being on the same side, they argue on the deserving of being Chinese. Ronnie finds being part of a community that has opium dens, chopsticks, ducks, Ms. Saigon and dim sum is not something worth being a part of. On the other hand, Benjamin defends Chinese communities based on these features and more like the sweets, the railroads and the workers. (See Hwang 1481, 1483-1484) If they cannot unite as between themselves, it is precise difficult to imagine them actioning for the cause of their community together.This may be com pared to the group of Asian students in the Midwest who went on hunger strike patronage the probability that they have not experienced directly the evils they are fighting against (Hwang 1481-1482). Due to their acceptance of their ethnicity, they were able to identify with each other and unite to fight for a cause. Last and most importantly, of all aspects of identity, ethnicity, whether by blood by culture, is something that cannot be changed forever. It is ingrained in the way one talks, speaks and lives everyday.Even for someone like Benjamin who is not ethnic by blood, the Chinese culture has been ingrained in him from his childhood. Therefore, this culture becomes rooted in him too deep that it becomes a part of his identity. This cannot be uprooted easily. As a consequence, the dissatisfaction, shame and other things that arise from dissatisfaction will also stay. Therefore, a person like Ronnie may be able to invite to another culture and lead another mind. However, deep in the recesses of his mind, and in his heart, he knows that he does not belong and that there are people who will think such.Therefore, he will always be defensive of his status and ashamed of his past. In conclusion, people should accept the fact that they belong to a certain ethnic group. First of all, this will help them become satisfied and happy. Second, a person who cannot accept his identity is ashamed, not only of his race, but also of himself. Third, failure to accept identity prevents people from uniting and advancing a certain cause. Lastly, ethnicity, whether by blood by culture, is something that cannot be changed and will remain as part of a persons identity forever.

How Distance Affects Relationships

I think distance understructure effect relationships in several ways, depending on the situation, the word plaster bandage of relationship, also how or if the relationship is maintained. Fortunently I havent had to part from close relationships often, scarcely I can share two examples in which distance had an opposite effect. I grew up in a small town, there was only one shallow that went from kindergarten thru eighth-grade. So with the exception of the occational new student the people in my class had known me since I was 5 years old. Not only did I see them in class, I aphorism them after school as well.Because of course Carbonado is basically one neighborhood, we all shared the same stomping-grounds. I had known my best-friend Kimberly it seemed all my life. We shared everything, sat beside each other in class, were partners in every school project, and were together after school every day until our parents called us home for dinner. Together all the time since Kindergarten . I dont know how it so severely castrated on the face of it over-night. After eighth-grade Carbonado students had to then ride a coach for twenty minutes to get to High-School in Buckley.Up to this point it was the biggest change Kim and I were ever set ab bulge out with, but one thing was the same we were together. For the foremost time we had classes without each other. No big deal, we just met after and it seemed like nothing was going to change us in the begining. Suddenly being around new people was exciting and soon meeting at passing was just that, passing. But, we nonetheless had the bus rides and we sat next to each other sharing every detail of our day like best-friends do. Then came the boys, and their cars, so the bus rides faded away as well.Believe it or not this was only six months into our freshman year Six months, after all those years. I didnt make it through that first year onwards deciding Alternative-School was a better fit for me. It was 5 miles from Ki ms school, but it might as well have been half-way across the world. Years passed, we got cars, other friends, and jobs but we still lived within a square-mile as we had growing up. The actual distance was an illusion, we had grown apart. I still love Kim with all my heart, but when we have our yearly babble on the phone or I run into her at the gas station or the post ffice our conversation feels more like proper proceedure. I know that we still do have a relationship of sorts, its just not the intimate bond we once shared. Distance Im sure harms more relationships than it helps, but I think in some situations it effects can build a stonger bond. This is especially true in the relationship between my dad. My father is the first man I ever loved and I am his first born child. I was born in 1984 with several holes in my heart. I had ten-fold proceedures including open-heart surgery before my first birthday.My parents were 19 and 21 years old and the surgeries I had undergone had on ly been sucessfull a few years prior. It was an emotional roller-coaster for them to endure. I cerebrate advent close to loosing me contributed to the close relationship we shared as I was growing up. I can still remember what his truck sounded like coming up our street when he came home from shape, and the smell of the de-grease soap he used to was his hands for dinner. I remember thinking of him during my school day, trying so hard on all my work because he ever so told me I could do anything.I couldnt wait to show him art-work, science projects, and report cards. I was always rewarded with kind words and a proud smile as I followed him into his garage where he fondly displayed my achievements. Along the way whenever I had any trouble, he could explain things in a way that made perfect sense. He understood me. Not only did I feel loved by his actions, I knew I was loved by his words. As time went by it became obvious my brothers and dad shared more common interests so, someti mes I was left behind.Somehow my he always found a way to spend special time with me too, even if that meant taking me to the mall or going to a movie he would earlier not see. My teen-years hit our relationship like an earthquake, a shaking of the ground caused by the shifting of my priorities. Suddenly my friends were the most important thing in my world. I became decietful, disrespectful, and I felt my dad just didnt understand me anymore. This constant clash lingered throughout the final years of my adolescence, until I was finally free. My liberation came in the form of a one-bedroom apartment in the big ity of Kent. My boyfriend and I living off of minimum wage, having a diet consisting of Top-Ramen and canned soup was only cheer for so long. A couple of years later I was missing the home-cooked meals and the home-town feeling Id known all my life. Above all I missed my family. I got laid-off from my job and I didnt know what to do. The next morning there was a knock at my d oor, I was barely awake. I rolled out of bed and staggered thru my dark apartment to get the door. It was my mom, get dressed your dad got you a job, a good one she said.When she told me it was at a machine cuckold my stomach dropped I cant work there i said. Then my mom said I should at least check it out, it was for more money and it was outlay a try. I entered into the welcome office and it calmed my nerves some. I shook the managers hand and he offered me what sounded like an office job, I accepted. Then he took me to my work area, through these heavy doors, I was on the shop floor, sparks flying, machines running and grease everywhere. I thought about telling him no but something stopped me.I saw my dad in his work area and when he saw me he had the happiest look on his face. As we approched him I saw family photos and a card I had made him 15 years prior in the top of his toolbox. I could not let him down. We had lunch and he gave me the same encouraging words he gave me gr owing up. It gave me the strength I needed. We had lunch together for the next 2 years and got to know each other in a differant way. I actually believe the distance from my family allowed me to grow, and had a very positive effect on my relationship with my father. Our bond is unbreakable and I know now nothing can change that.

Philippine President Benigno Simeon Essay

Filipino electric chair Benigno Simeon C. Aquino delivered his 6th State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 29, 2015 at the Batasang Pambansa in front of go session of the Upper and Lower House of the countrys Legislative Branch of establishment. Some students go forth surely give their reaction paper with the Pres. SONA as part of their assignment. The State of the Nation Address (SONA) of president Benigno S. Aquino started at around 400 PM (PST) and concluded after two hours and 15 minutes. The SONA 2015 is one of the passing anticipated date of the ecesis, as the head of state reports his accomplishments and plans for the country. During the entire SONA, the chair received a contri entirelye of .. rounds of cheers. President Aquino started his Sixth SONA by issuing an apology that the traditional processional walks was not made because main(prenominal) Topics for DiscussionBlaming the Previous AdministrationPresident Aquino once again blamed the previous administra tion of fountain President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo mentioning the problems he inherited during his earlier days as President such as the NBN ZTE Deal, howdy Garci controversy, questionable bank accounts of Jose Pidal, Maguindanao Massacre, MWSS Bonuses and the NFA anomalies.Highlighting the Achievement of His Cabinet MembersThe President applauded the members of his Cabinet for an excellent jobs as members of his Daang Matuwid program. He showcased the achievements of his administration in transportation and communications, tax/revenue, labor and wages, international relations, education, budget and finance, peace, kind welfare, justice, calamity and cataclysm preparedness, national security, economy, infrastructure, governance and reform. Pres. Aquino lauded Commissioner Kim Henares for her tax reforms mentioning the 380 cases filed against tax evaders. The collections of the BIR also went up to P1.3 trillion and this year 2015, the BIR collection went up to P1.5 trillion.Manuf acturing & UnemploymentPres. Aquino stated that theres a 3% average growth in the manufacturingsector from 2001-2009 but under his administration from 2010 to 2014, the manufacturing sector grew by 8%. The unemployment rate of the Philippines also dropped to 6.8% last year and considered as the lowest ever recorded in a decade.4Ps and the Education SectorPres. Aquino highlighted the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps which instanter have 4.4 million beneficiaries from 786,523 in 2010. In 2008, there were 2.9 million out of school youth in the country. In 2013, only 1.2 million out of school youth remained. On education sector, PNoy said that selection Learning System helped to ensure that even indigenous peoples and street children are not left behind. The requirements for the K to 12 programs backlogs of 66,800 classrooms, 145,827 teachers, 73.9 million textbooks already provided. For TESDA program of the organization, studies show that 71.9% of TESDA graduates found em ployment right away, compared to the 28.5% recorded before.wellness and Social WelfareAround 89.4 million Filipinos are already member of the Philhealth program of the national government and beginning in 2014, the poorest 40 percent of the population were treated in public hospitals for free. In social welfare, PNoy said that in the Sitio Electrification program, 25,257 sitios out of 32,441 were served.Aviation & Transportation SectorIn aviation, ICAO lifted the safety concerns it compel to the Philippines in 2013. The EU Air Safety Committee lifted the travel ban in each(prenominal) local carriers. For the unresolved problem on Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Aquino said plans of purchasing of saucily MRT train coaches.Armed Forces of the PhilippinesIn the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization, the government has plan to buy 2 more C-130. thither will be additional 6 landing craft utilities and 3 C-295 medium lift transport. President Aquino mentioned the PNPs project s uch as their Capability Enhancement Program of which 2,523 patrol jeeps and 577 utility vehicles were purchased. central Bills and LegislationsPres. PNoy wish to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law and his interest on the controversial Anti-Dynasty Law which received the loudest applause from SONA expectators. When he mentioned his interest on Anti-Dynasty Law, it received the loudest applause from SONA expectators. Panahon na para ipasa ang isang Anti-Dynasty Law. PNoy also thanked Congress and Senate for early(a) bills and acts such as Philippine Competition Law, Sin Tax Reform Act and Responsible parentage Act. The president also thanked officials of the government for their contributions, sacrifice and wellspring of inspiration to the nation.He lauded Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas for his contributions to Daang Matuwid. Pres. Aquino ended his speech with the following statement Simula pa lang ito. Palakpakan Nasa unang yugto pa lang tayo ng dakilang kuwento ng sa mbayanang Pilipino. Sa gabay ng Panginoong Maykapal, at sa patuloy nating pagtahak sa Daang Matuwid, lalo pang tatayog ang mga pangarap na maaabot natin. Lalo pang lalawak ang kaunlarang tinatamasa natin. Nasasainyo pong mga kamay ang direksiyon natin. Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat po.Reactions to President Aquinos SONAPresident Aquino missed so many important topics during his last and final SONA, the entire SONA centered on his administrations accomplishment and giving credits to his partners on his Daang Matuwid. Some of the important issues that the President failed to mention during his sixth SONA are the following, the controversial PDAF issue, the Mamasapano Massacre, the expansion of Chinese territories in the West Philippine Sea and the Freedom of culture Bill to name a few.

Are Literature Circle Effective

Literature circles are mostly utilize during a classroom to expand the view of the nurse and really see the details in each others opinion, but are they effective? Multiple students find literature circles helpful in understanding the book and they all have their confess job when it comes to coming together and discussing what they read. In a certain instruction literature circles are helpful when it comes to comprehending the book everyone in your group is construe. You also get to bond more with the other people in your group, increase your discussion skills and vocabulary as well.Everyone in the group has their own opinion so when a question is asked nigh a certain paragraph or page, you potty all discuss why you answered what you did. Literature circles are effective for team building abilities, discussion skills, and reading comprehension (Matt) Even though staying on task is one of the tricky parts of literature circles, they rightfully are helpful. Literature circles are a great steering for students to read and enjoy a book, especially high school students because most teenagers now a days do not read as much as they should.Its a wonderful tool as well, so they can acquire to work effectively together. When your in your group you can have a discussion director, summarizer, vocabulary reporter, and a passage master. Discussion directors create questions about the passage they read and take notes during the discussion. Summarizers are the ones that summarize the passage. style reporters look for significant words in the passage that caught their eyes and discuses them with the group.Passage master find passages in the reading that everyone should notice, remember, or think about. Everyone in a literature circle has a job so they can all work together and compare thoughts. This is an important tool when comprehending a book. Everyone has a way to contribute, and work together. Literature circles are very helpful when it comes to your reading, v ocabulary, and discussion skills. You get to hear others opinion about the reading so you can understand how they felt. So sincerely literature circles are very effective.

Is intelligence innate? Essay

For many years, there had been a debate over whether genes al nonpareil groundwork determine ones countersign or whether the environment and training can increase ones intelligence. Some scientists think that people behave as they do according to patrimonial predispositions. This is cognise as the temperament theory of human behavior. Other scientists believe that people think and behave in certain ways because they are taught to do so. This is known as the nurture theory of human behavior. companionship can be employed to indicate the amount of knowledge available and the rapidity with which new knowledge is acquired the ability to adapt to new situations and to handle concepts, relationships, and abstract symbols.Scientists have known for years that traits very much(prenominal) as eye color and hair color are determined by specific genes encoded in distri butively human cell. The Nature Theory takes things a step further to say that to a greater extent abstract traits suc h as intelligence, personality, aggression, and sexual orientation are also encoded in an individuals DNA. Therefore, it is argued that intelligence is innate. flock are natural with it. There are also beliefs that the more folds you have in your brain, the more quick-witted you are as your brain contains more neurons. Intelligence can be inherited. This can be utilize to explain why people say that Jews are smart. According to adoption studies, adopted children have more similar intelligence heaps than their adoptive parents who reared them from birth.Supporters of the Nurture Theory do not deny that ancestral tendencies whitethorn exist, but believe that they ultimately do not matter. Our behavioral aspects originate only from the environmental factors of our upbringing. Therefore, intelligence can be increase or augmented if one goes through training. The importance of pit studies is evident if we look at the studies objectively, if intelligence is basically hereditary, id entical twins who have the same genetic legacy. Joness study (1946) shows that there is a modest difference in the intelligence test scores of twins reared apart, and the more divergent the environments, the greater the difference.I believe that it is a combination of both nature and nurture. Intelligence can be increased by training, but how much it can be increased very muchdepend on ones innate intelligence. We are all born with a certain I.Q.. Some people may have higher intelligence than others. However, if both a high I.Q. person and low I.Q. person goes through similar training, they can both increase their intelligence, but it would be easier for the high I.Q. person to increase his/her intelligence.I feel that it is not possible for ones intelligence to be solely determined by the genes. If this had been the case, we would be living in a alarming world. Our intelligence would be decided once we are born, and there is nothing we can do to permute it. We have to live with i t for the rest of our lives. I believe our environment plays a part. We can only complete our genetic potential by commencement, optimizing our environmental factors. For example, people living in third world countries may be born with the same intelligence level as other people in first world countries. However, they do not have the optimum environment to realize their potential, thus they fare much worse than others in first world countries.Genes only serve as guidelines. The rest is derived from interactions with the environment. Individual intelligence and human behavior cannot be predicted based on knowledge of genetics and the environment. When something is considered determined, free will is destroyed.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 1

PrologueThe okayer was cleaning out his closets when the c every came. Halos and moonbeams were sorted into piles fit in to brightness, satchels of wrath and scabbards of lightning hung on hooks wait to be clayed. A wineskin of glory had leaked in the corner and the holy person blotted it with a wad of fabric. Each beat he turned the cloth a muted chorus rang from the closet, as if hed clamped the lid d proclaim on a pickle jar full of H every last(predicate)elujah Chorus.Raziel, what in heavens holler are you doing?The archangel Stephan was standing everywhere him, brandishing a scroll like a rolled-up magazine everyplace a piddling puppy.Orders? the angel asked.Dirt-side.I was entirely if there. ii millennia ago.Really? Raziel checked his watch, then tapped the crystal. argon you indisputable?What do you call? Stephan held out the scroll so Raziel could insure the Burning Bush seal.When do I leave? I was almost finished here.Now. Pack the gift of tongues and more o r less minor miracles. No weapons, its non a wrath job. Youll be undercover. Very low profile, scarce important. Its all in the orders. Stephan reach him the scroll.why me?I asked that too.And?I was reminded why angels are cast out.Whoa That big?Stephan coughed, cl early(a) an affectation, since angels didnt breathe. Im not sure Im supposed to know, only the rumor is that its a new book.Youre kidding. A sequel? Revelations 2, full when you thought it was respectable to sin?Its a Gospel.A Gospel, after all this clip? Who?Levi who is called punch.Raziel dropped his rag and stood. This has to be a mis possess.It injects straight off from the Son.Theres a reason laggard isnt hanged in the other books, you know? Hes a total Dont affirm it. simply hes such an asshole.You talk like that and you wonder why you get mark-duty. wherefore now, after so long, the 4 Gospels provoke been fine so far, and why him?Because its close to kind of anniversary in dirt-d salutaryer time of the Sons birth, and he feels its time the whole story is told.Raziel hung his propo tantalizeion. Id better pack.Gift of tongues, Stephan reminded.Of course, so I can take crap in a thousand languages.Go get the good news, Raziel. Bring me backwards some chocolate.Chocolate?Its a dirt-dweller snack. Youll like it. Satan invented it.D villainys food?You can all eat so ofttimes w constructe cake, my friend.Mid night. The angel stood on a barren hillside on the outskirts of the holy city of capital of Israel. He embossed his arms aloft and a dry wind whipped his white robe nearly him.Arise, Levi who is called Biff.A whirlwind organize before him, pulling dust from the hillside into a column that took the shape of a man.Arise, Biff. Your time has come.The wind whipped into a fury and the angel pulled the sleeve of his robe across his demonstrate.Arise, Biff, and walk again among the living.The whirlwind began to subside, leaving the man-shaped column of dust standing on the h illside. In a moment, the hillside was calm again. The angel pulled a gold vessel from his satchel and poured it over the column. The dust washed away, leaving a muddy, naked man sputtering in the starlight.Welcome back to the living, the angel give tongue to.The man blinked, then held his hand before his eyes as if he expected to turn around through it.Im a live on, he said in a language he had neer heard before.Yes, the angel said.What are these sounds, these words?You have been given the gift of tongues.Ive always had the gift of tongues, ask any lady friend Ive known. What are these words?Languages. Youve been given the gift of languages, as were all the apostles.Then the kingdom has come.Yes.How long?Two thousand days ago.You worthless bag of dog shit, said Levi who was called Biff, as he punched the angel in the mouth. Youre late.The angel picked himself up and gingerly touched his lip. Nice talk to a messenger of the manufacturing business.Its a gift, Biff said.Part IThe BoyGod is a comedian take oning to an audience that is scared to laugh.VOLTAIREChapter 1You commend you know how this story is going to end, but you dont. Trust me, I was there. I know.The early time I byword the man who would save the world he was sitting near the central well in Nazareth with a lizard hanging out of his mouth. Just the tail end and the hind legs were plain on the outside the head and forelegs were halfway down the hatch. He was six, like me, and his beard had not come in fully, so he didnt look much like the pictures youve seen of him. His eyes were like dark honey, and they smiled at me out of a mop of colored-black curls that framed his face. There was a light older than Moses in those eyes.Unclean Unclean I screamed, loading at the boy, so my mother would see that I knew the Law, but she do by me, as did all the other mothers who were filling their jars at the well.The boy took the lizard from his mouth and handed it to his jr. brother, who sat beside him in the sand. The young boy vie with the lizard for a while, teasing it until it reared its micro head as if to bite, then he picked up a rock and mashed the creatures head. Bewildered, he pushed the dead lizard around in the sand, and once assured that it wasnt going anywhere on its own, he picked it up and handed it back to his older brother.Into his mouth went the lizard, and before I could accuse, out it came again, squirming and alive and ready to bite once again. He handed it back to his younger brother, who smote it mightily with the rock, starting or ending the whole process again.I watched the lizard die three more times before I said, I want to do that too.The Savior removed the lizard from his mouth and said, Which part?By the way, his name was Joshua. Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebraical Yeshua, which is Joshua. Christ is not a last name. Its the Greek for messiah, a Hebrew word importee anointed. I have no idea what the H in Jesus H. Christ stood for. It s one of the things I should have asked him.Me? I am Levi who is called Biff. No middle initial.Joshua was my best friend.The angel says Im supposed to just sit down and write my story, forget about what Ive seen in this world, but how am I to do that? In the last three days I have seen more people, more images, more wonders, than in all my thirty-three years of living, and the angel asks me to ignore them. Yes, I have been given the gift of tongues, so I see nothing without knowing the word for it, but what good does that do? Did it help in capital of Israel to know that it was a Mercedes that terrified me and sent me diving into a Dumpster? Moreover, after Raziel pulled me out and ripped my fingernails back as I struggled to stay hidden, did it help to know that it was a Boeing 747 that do me cower in a wind trying to rock away my own tears and shut out the noise and fire? Am I a fine child, afraid of its own shadow, or did I spend twenty-seven years at the side of the Son of G od?On the hill where he pulled me from the dust, the angel said, You go away see many strange things. Do not be afraid. You have a holy mission and I will protect you.Smug bastard. Had I known what he would do to me I would have hit him again. flush now he lies on the bed across the means, watching pictures move on a screen, eating the sticky sweet called Snickers, while I scratch out my tale on this soft-as-silk melodic theme that reads Hyatt Regency, St. Louis at the top. Words, words, words, a million million words circle in my head like hawks, waiting to dive onto the page to rend and tear the only two words I want to write.Why me?There were fifteen of us well, fourteen after I hung Judas so why me? Joshua always told me not to be afraid, for he would always be with me. Where are you, my friend? Why have you forsaken me? You wouldnt be afraid here. The towers and machines and the shine and stink of this world would not daunt you. Come now, Ill order a pizza from room servi ce. You would like pizza. The servant who brings it is named Jesus. And hes not even a Jew. You always liked irony. Come, Joshua, the angel says you are all the same with us, you can hold him down while I pound him, then we will rejoice in pizza.Raziel has been looking at my writing and is insisting that I stop whining and get on with the story. Easy for him to say, he didnt just spend the last two thousand years buried in the dirt. Nevertheless, he wont allow me order pizza until I finish a section, so here goesI was born in Galilee, the town of Nazareth, in the time of Herod the Great. My father, Alphaeus, was a stonemason and my mother, Naomi, was plagued by demons, or at least thats what I told everyone. Joshua seemed to think she was just difficult. My proper name, Levi, comes from the brother of Moses, the progenitor of the tribe of priests my nickname, Biff, comes from our slang word for a tanginess upside the head, something that my mother said I required at least daily f rom an early age.I grew up under Roman rule, although I didnt see many Romans until I was ten. The Romans mostly stayed in the rampart city of Sepphoris, an hours walk north of Nazareth. Thats where Joshua and I saw a Roman soldier murdered, but Im getting ahead of myself. For now, assume that the soldier is safe and sound and happy wearing a broom on his head.Most of the people of Nazareth were farmers, growing grapes and olives on the rocky hills outside of town and barley and wheat in the valleys below. There were also herders of goats and sheep whose families lived in town while the men and older boys tended the flocks in the highlands. Our theatre of operationss were all made of stone, and ours had a stone floor, although many had floors of hard-packed dirt.I was the oldest of three sons, so even at the age of six I was being prepared to learn my fathers trade. My mother taught my spoken lessons, the Law and stories from the Torah in Hebrew, and my father took me to the tab ernacle to hear the elders read the Bible. Aramaic was my source language, but by the time I was ten I could declare and read Hebrew as well as most of the men.My ability to learn Hebrew and the Torah was spurred on by my friendship with Joshua, for while the other boys would be playing a round of minx the sheep or kick the Canaanite, Joshua and I compete at being rabbis, and he insisted that we stick to the authentic Hebrew for our ceremonies. It was more fun than it sounds, or at least it was until my mother caught us trying to circumcise my microscopic brother Shem with a sharp rock. What a fit she threw. And my argument that Shem needed to renew his covenant with the Lord didnt seem to convince her. She beat me to stripes with an olive switch and forbade me to play with Joshua for a month. Did I mention she was besought with demons?Overall, I think it was good for little Shem. He was the only kid I ever knew who could take around corners. You can make a pretty good living as a defy with that kind of talent. And he never even thanked me.Brothers.Children see magic because they look for it.When I first met Joshua, I didnt know he was the Savior, and neither did he, for that matter. What I knew was that he wasnt afraid. Amid a race of conquered warriors, a people who essay to find pride while cowering before God and Rome, he shone like a bloom in the desert. But maybe only I saw it, because I was looking for it. To everyone else he seemed like just another child the same needs and the same chance to die before he was grown.When I told my mother of Joshuas trick with the lizard she checked me for fever and sent me to my sleeping mat with only a bowl of broth for supper.Ive heard stories about that boys mother, she said to my father. She claims to have spoken to an angel of the Lord. She told Esther that she had borne the Son of God.And what did you say to Esther?That she should be careful that the Pharisees not hear her ravings or wed be picking stones for her punishment.Then you should not speak of it again. I know her husband, he is a righteous man.Cursed with an insane girl for a wife. unfortunate thing, my father said, tearing away a hunk of bread. His hands were as hard as horn, as square as hammers, and as gray as a lepers from the limestone he creamed with. An embrace from him left scratches on my back that sometimes wept blood, yet my brothers and I fought to be the first in his arms when he returned from work each evening. The same injuries inflicted in anger would have sent us crying to our mothers skirts. I load down asleep each night feeling his hand on my back like a shield.Fathers. Do you want to mash some lizards? I asked Joshua when I saw him again. He was drawing in the dirt with a stick, ignoring me. I put my foot on his drawing. Did you know that your mother is mad?My father does that to her, he said sadly, without looking up.I sat down next to him. sometimes my mother makes yipping noises in the night like the wild dogs.Is she mad? Joshua asked.She seems fine in the morning. She sings while she makes breakfast.Joshua nodded, satisfied, I guess, that madness could pass. We used to live in Egypt, he said.No, you didnt, thats too far. Farther than the temple, even. The Temple in Jerusalem was the farthest place I had been as a child. Every spring my family took the five-day walk to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. It seemed to take forever.We lived here, then we lived in Egypt, now we live here again, Joshua said. It was a long way.You lie, it takes forty years to get to Egypt.Not anymore, its close set(predicate) now.It says in the Torah. My abba read it to me. The Israelites traveled in the desert for forty years.The Israelites were lost.For forty years? I laughed. The Israelites must be stupid.We are the Israelites.We are?Yes.I have to go find my mother, I said.When you come back, lets play Moses and Pharaoh.The angel has confided in me that he is going to ask the Lord if he can become Spider-Man. He watches the television constantly, even when I sleep, and he has become obsessed with the story of the hero who fights demons from the rooftops. The angel says that evil looms larger now than it did in my time, and that calls for greater heroes. The children need heroes, he says. I think he just wants to swing from buildings in tight red jammies.What hero could touch these children anyway, with their machines and medicine and distances made invisible? (Raziel not here a week and he would trade the Sword of God to be a blade slinger.) In my time, our heroes were few, but they were real some of us could even trace our kinship to them. Joshua always played the heroes David, Joshua, Moses while I played the evil ones Pharaoh, Ahab, and Nebuchadnezzar. If I had a shekel for every time I was dispatch as a Philistine, well, Id not be riding a camel through the eye of a phonograph needle anytime soon, Ill furcate you that. As I think back, I see that Joshua was practicing for what he would become.Let my people go, said Joshua, as Moses.Okay.You cant just say, Okay.I cant?No, the Lord has hardened your heart against my demands.Whyd he do that?I dont know, he just did. Now, let my people go.Nope. I crossed my arms and turned away like soul whose heart is hardened.Behold as I turn this stick into a snake. Now, let my people goOkay.You cant just say okayWhy? That was a pretty good trick with the stick.But thats not how it goes.Okay. No way, Moses, your people have to stay.Joshua waved his staff in my face. Behold, I will plague you with frogs. They will fill your house and your bedchamber and get on your stuff.So?So thats bad. Let my people go, Pharaoh.I sorta like frogs. loose frogs, Moses threatened. Piles of steaming, stinking dead frogs.Oh, in that case, youd better take your people and go. I have some sphinxes and stuff to build anyway.Dammit, Biff, thats not how it goes I have more plagues for you.I want to be Moses.You cant.Why not?I have the stick.Oh.And so it went. Im not sure I took to playing the villains as easily as Joshua took to being the heroes. Sometimes we recruited our little brothers to play the more loathsome parts. Joshuas little brothers Judah and James played whole populations, like the Sodomites outside of Lots entry.Send out those two angels so that we can know them.I wont do that, I said, playing Lot (a good guy only because Joshua wanted to play the angels), but I have two daughters who dont know anyone, you can meet them.Okay, said Judah.I threw open the door and led my imaginary daughters outside so they could know the SodomitesPleased to meet you.Charmed, Im sure.Nice to meet you.THATS non HOW IT GOES Joshua shouted. Youre supposed to try to break the door down, then I will smite you blind.Then you nullify our city? James said.Yes.Wed rather meet Lots daughters.Let my people go, said Judah, who was only four and often got his stories confused. He particularly liked the Exodus because he and James got to throw jars of water on me as I led my soldiers across the Red Sea after Moses.Thats it, Joshua said. Judah, youre Lots wife. Go stand over there.Sometimes Judah had to play Lots wife no matter what story we were doing. I dont want to be Lots wife.Be quiet, pillars of salinity cant talk.I dont want to be a girl.Our brothers always played the female parts. I had no sisters to torment, and Joshuas only sister at the time, Elizabeth, was still a baby. That was before we met the Magdalene. The Magdalene changed everything.After I overheard my parents talking about Joshuas mothers madness, I often watched her, looking for signs, but she seemed to go about her duties like all the other mothers, tending to the little ones, working in the garden, fetching water, and preparing food. There was no sign of going about on all fours or foaming at the mouth as I had expected. She was younger than many of the mothers, and much younger than her husband, Joseph, who was an old man by the standards of our time. Joshua said that Joseph wasnt his real father, but he wouldnt say who his father was. When the champaign came up, and Mary was in earshot, she would call to Josh, then put her finger to her lips to signal silence.Now is not the time, Joshua. Biff would not understand.Just hearing her say my name made my heart leap. Early on I developed a little-boy love for Joshuas mother that sent me into fantasies of marriage and family and future.Your father is old, huh, Josh?Not too old.When he dies, will your mother marry his brother?My father has no brothers. Why?No reason. What would you think if your father was shorter than you?He isnt.But when your father dies, your mother could marry someone shorter than you, and he would be your father. You would have to do what he says.My father will never die. He is eternal.So you say. But I think that when Im a man, and your father dies, I will take your mother as my wife.Joshua made a face now as if he had bitten into an unripe fig. Dont say that, Biff.I dont mind that shes mad. I like her blue cloak. And her smile. Ill be a good father, Ill teach you how to be a stonemason, and Ill only beat you when you are a snot.I would rather play with lepers than listen to this. Joshua began to walk away.Wait. Be nice to your father, Joshua bar Biff my own father used my full name like this when he was trying to make a point Is it not the word of Moses that you must honor me?Little Joshua spun on his heel. My name is not Joshua bar Biff, and it is not Joshua bar Joseph either. Its Joshua bar JehovahI looked around, hoping that no one had heard him. I didnt want my only son (I planned to sell Judah and James into slavery) to be stoned to death for uttering the name of God in vain. Dont say that again, Josh. I wont marry your mother.No, you wont.Im sorry.I forgive you.She will make an excellent concubine.Dont let anyone tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone. In those early days, before he had become who he would be, Joshua smote me in the nose more than once. That was the first time.Mary would stay my one true love until I saw the Magdalene.If the people of Nazareth thought Joshuas mother was mad, there was little said of it out of respect for her husband, Joseph. He was reinvigorated in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, and there were few wives in Nazareth who didnt serve supper in one of his smooth olive-wood bowls. He was fair, strong, and wise. spate said that he had once been an Essene, one of the dour, ascetic Jews who kept to themselves and never married or cut their hair, but he did not congregate with them, and unlike them, he still had the ability to smile.In those early years, I saw him very little, as he was always in Sepphoris, building structures for the Romans and the Greeks and the landed Jews of that city, but every year, as the Feast of Firsts approached, Joseph would stop his work in the fortress city and stay home(a) carving bowls and spoons t o give to the Temple. During the Feast of Firsts, it was the tradition to give first lambs, first grain, and first fruits to the priests of the Temple. Even first sons born during the year were dedicated to the Temple, either by promising them for labor when they were older, or by a gift of money. Craftsmen like my father and Joseph could give things that they made, and in some years my father fashion mortars and pestles or grinding stones for the tribute, while in others he gave tithes of coin. Some people made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this feast, but since it fell only seven weeks after Passover, many families could not afford to make the pilgrimage, and the gifts went to our elemental village synagogue.During the weeks leading up to the feast, Joseph sat outside of his house in the shade of an awning he had made, worrying the gnarled olive wood with adze and chisel, while Joshua and I played at his feet. He wore the single-piece tunic that we all wore, a rectangle of fabr ic with neck hole in the middle, belted with a cincture so that the sleeves fell to the elbows and the hem fell to the knees.Perhaps this year I should give the Temple my first son, eh, Joshua? Wouldnt you like to clean the altar after the sacrifices? He grinned to himself without looking up from his work. I owe them a first son, you know. We were in Egypt at the Firsts Feast when you were born.The idea of coming in contact with blood clear terrified Joshua, as it would any Jewish boy. Give them James, Abba, he is your first son.Joseph shot a coup doeil my way, to see if I had reacted. I had, but it was because I was considering my own status as a first son, hoping that my father wasnt thinking along the same lines. James is a second son. The priests dont want second sons. It will have to be you.Joshua looked at me before he answered, then back at his father. Then he smiled. But Abba, if you should die, who will take care of Mother if I am at the Temple? soulfulness will look aft er her, I said. Im sure of it.I will not die for a long time. Joseph tugged at his gray beard. My beard goes white, but theres a lot of life in me yet.Dont be so sure, Abba, Joshua said.Joseph dropped the bowl he was working on and stared into his hands. Run along and play, you two, he said, his voice little more than a whisper.Joshua stood and walked away. I wanted to throw my arms around the old man, for I had never seen a grown man afraid before and it frightened me too. Can I help? I said, pointing to the half-finished bowl that lay in Josephs lap.You go with Joshua. He needs a friend to teach him to be human. Then I can teach him to be a man.