Antigone Essays - Antigone, Civil Disobedience, Creon, Free Essays

Antigone Essays - Antigone, Civil Disobedience, Creon, Free Essays Antigone In Ancient Greece, new ideals surfaced as answers to life?s complicated questions. These new beliefs were centered on the expanding field of science. Man was focused on more than the Gods or heavenly concerns. A government that was ruled by the people was suggested as opposed to a monarchy that had existed for many years. Freedom of religion was encouraged to be exercised in city-states. These new ideals, though good in intentions, often conflicted with each other creating complex moral dilemmas. Such was the case in Antigone a play written by Sophocles during this era of change. In the play, Antigone and Creon battle a philosophical war dealing with the controversy of the Greek ideals. They both based their actions on their beliefs of what is right and wrong. The conflict arose when the ideals that backed up their actions clashed with each other, making it contradiction between morals. Antigone?s side of the conflict held a much more heavenly approach, as opposed to the mundane road that Creon chose to follow. Antigone feels that Creon is disregarding the laws of heaven through his edict. After she is captured and brought to Creon, she tells him ?I do not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten unalterable laws of God and heaven, you being only a man.? Antigone?s staunch opinion is one that supports the Gods and the laws of heaven. Her reasoning is set by her belief that if someone is not given a proper burial, that person would not be accepted into heaven. Antigone was a very religious person, and acceptance of her brother by the Gods was very important to her. She felt that ?It is against you and me he has made this order. Yes, against me.? Creon?s order was personal to Antigone. His edict invaded her family life as well as the Gods?. An important ideal in Ancient Greece was the belief that the government was to have no control in matters concerning religious beliefs. In Antigone?s eyes, Creon betrayed that ideal by not allowing her to properly bury her brother, Polynices. She believed that the burial was a religious ceremony, and Creon did not have the power to deny Polynices that right. Antigone?s strong beliefs eventually led her to her death by the hand of Creon. Never, though, did she stop defending what she thought was right. As Creon ordered her to her death, Antigone exclaimed, ?I go, his prisoner, because I honoured those things in which honour truly belongs.? She is directly humiliating Creon by calling his opinions and decisions weak and unjust. She also emphasizes ?his prisoner,? which tells us that Creon?s decision to capture Antigone was his own, and was not backed up by the majority of the people. She feels that Creon is abusing his power as king and dealing with her task to a persona! l level. Creon?s actions are guided by the ideal that states ?Man is the measure of all things.? The chorus emphasizes this point during the play by stating that ?There is nothing beyond (man?s) power.? Creon believes that the good of man comes before the gods. Setting the example using Polynices? body left unburied is a symbol of Creon?s belief. ?No man who is his country?s enemy shall call himself my friend.? This quote shows that leaving the body unburied is done to show respect for Thebes. After all, how could the ruler of a city-state honor a man who attempted to invade and conquer his city. From that perspective, Creon?s actions are completely just and supported by the ideals. Though most of Creon?s reasonings coincide with the Greek ideals, one ideal strongly contradicts his actions. The ideal states that the population would be granted freedom from political oppression and that freedom of religion would be carried out. Creon defied both of these. First, Antigone was ?his prisoner?, not necessarily the publics. In fact, the general population supported Antigone, though they were too scared to say anything. Haemon, the son of Creon, knew of this, and told Creon, ?Has she not rather earned a crown of gold?- Such is the secret talk of the town.? This proves that Creon was exercising complete domination of political power, which is

Groundhog Day Statistics

Groundhog Day Statistics Every February 2, tens of thousands of people gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to celebrate Groundhog Day. On this date the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil - that seer of seers and prognosticator of prognosticators - emerges from his burrow in a hollowed out tree stump at Gobbler‘s Knob. Legend has it that if he sees his shadow, the there will be six more weeks of winter. And if not, then there will be an early spring. Phil’s forecasts are spoken in Groundhogese to a member of the Inner Circle. This group of Puxatany notables not only translates Phil’s forecast into English, they are also responsible for the care and feeding of Phil throughout the rest of the year. This tradition is said to have started in 1887, and has grown in popularity in the years since. The groundhog‘s popularity was given an even greater boost following the release of the 1993 Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. The origins of Groundhog Day come from the Christian celebration of Candlemas. This day, corresponding to 40 days after Christmas, celebrates the day the infant Jesus was presented in the Jewish Temple. February 2 also marks the midpoint of the coldest temperatures in the northern hemisphere. Historically a rule of thumb stated that in order to have enough food for livestock, farmers should have half of their stored provisions remaining on Candlemas day. Little to none of this remains in the modern day celebration of Groundhog Day. What follows is a collection of forecasts from Groundhog Days of years past, according to Punxsutawneys official Groundhog Club. Year Result 1887 Saw Shadow 1888 Saw Shadow 1889 No Record 1890 No Shadow 1891 No Record 1892 No Record 1893 No Record 1894 No Record 1895 No Record 1896 No Record 1897 No Record 1898 Saw Shadow 1899 No Record 1900 Saw Shadow 1901 Saw Shadow 1902 No Shadow 1903 Saw Shadow 1904 Saw Shadow 1905 Saw Shadow 1906 Saw Shadow 1907 Saw Shadow 1908 Saw Shadow 1909 Saw Shadow 1910 Saw Shadow 1911 Saw Shadow 1912 Saw Shadow 1913 Saw Shadow 1914 Saw Shadow 1915 Saw Shadow 1916 Saw Shadow 1917 Saw Shadow 1918 Saw Shadow 1919 Saw Shadow 1920 Saw Shadow 1921 Saw Shadow 1922 Saw Shadow 1923 Saw Shadow 1924 Saw Shadow 1925 Saw Shadow 1926 Saw Shadow 1927 Saw Shadow 1928 Saw Shadow 1929 Saw Shadow 1930 Saw Shadow 1931 Saw Shadow 1932 Saw Shadow 1933 Saw Shadow 1934 No Shadow 1935 Saw Shadow 1936 Saw Shadow 1937 Saw Shadow 1938 Saw Shadow 1939 Saw Shadow 1940 Saw Shadow 1941 Saw Shadow 1942 Partial Shadow 1943 No Appearance by Groundhog 1944 Saw Shadow 1945 Saw Shadow 1946 Saw Shadow 1947 Saw Shadow 1948 Saw Shadow 1949 Saw Shadow 1950 No Shadow 1951 Saw Shadow 1952 Saw Shadow 1953 Saw Shadow 1954 Saw Shadow 1955 Saw Shadow 1956 Saw Shadow 1957 Saw Shadow 1958 Saw Shadow 1959 Saw Shadow 1960 Saw Shadow 1961 Saw Shadow 1962 Saw Shadow 1963 Saw Shadow 1964 Saw Shadow 1965 Saw Shadow 1966 Saw Shadow 1967 Saw Shadow 1968 Saw Shadow 1969 Saw Shadow 1970 No Shadow 1971 Saw Shadow 1972 Saw Shadow 1973 Saw Shadow 1974 Saw Shadow 1975 No Shadow 1976 Saw Shadow 1977 Saw Shadow 1978 Saw Shadow 1979 Saw Shadow 1980 Saw Shadow 1981 Saw Shadow 1982 Saw Shadow 1983 No Shadow 1984 Saw Shadow 1985 Saw Shadow 1986 No Shadow 1987 Saw Shadow 1988 No Shadow 1989 Saw Shadow 1990 No Shadow 1991 Saw Shadow 1992 Saw Shadow 1993 Saw Shadow 1994 Saw Shadow 1995 No Shadow 1996 Saw Shadow 1997 No Shadow 1998 Saw Shadow 1999 No Shadow 2000 Saw Shadow 2001 Saw Shadow 2002 Saw Shadow 2003 Saw Shadow 2004 Saw Shadow 2005 Saw Shadow 2006 Saw Shadow 2007 No Shadow 2008 Saw Shadow 2009 Saw Shadow 2010 Saw Shadow 2011 No Shadow 2012 Saw Shadow 2013 No Shadow 2014 Saw Shadow 2015 Saw Shadow 2016 No Shadow

The CentralFush Website Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The CentralFush Website - Assignment Example Information categories on the website will be as follows:†¢Ã‚  Information about personsThe website will contain information of celebrities from around the world and the various activities that they are involved in, which are in tandem with the fashion trend being discussed. This information will be more graphical than written. The information will be in form of image and videos.†¢Ã‚  Statistical informationStatistical information on the site will cover the analysis of the numbers of young people who are following a particular trend in a given region.   The analysis will be in form of numbers and percentages as compared to the total figure.†¢Ã‚  Public informationPublic information will be general information that originated from the public. For instance, this category will cover the most stocked footwear in most shops in every region. The opinion that the shop-owners have for stocking the footwear will also be included on the website. This is public information. Fun ctions of the WebsiteThe primary function of the website is to deliver trending fashions content to the young people from all over the world. Secondary to this, is cultural integration through the appreciation of various fashions from other cultures.Other RequirementsThe major requirement that the site will need is tailoring it for mobile phone viewing. The reason for this is that many of the expected users will be browsing the site via their handsets. As such, it will be necessary to have the site optimized to run on tablets, iPads as well as mobile phones.

Marketing Ethics and Regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Ethics and Regulation - Essay Example The code of ethics is one which would really help marketers make the correct choices in many aspects of running a business from determining the price, the promotional materials one makes available to public, accuracy in the representation of the product, support claims made about the product, to the kind of message those advertisements would effect to, and a lot more (Marketing Code of Ethics, n.d.). Aside from these internal factors needed to be considered, a marketer would also have to think about giving the best and what is best to not only their customers but at the same time their employees which is more known as Corporate Social Responsibility. With all these responsibilities that one would be facing as a marketer, the code of ethics would be of utmost help. What is the basic idea of being able to align your business to what is ethical? Well, it is said that the simplest basis of doing so would be making sure you act according to the law. The code of ethics is this law plus all the other specifications that a marketer could possibly encounter that the law would no longer be able to provide for. It reminds any marketer to be responsible for anything they do especially in those situations where there is a grey area wherein it is so easy to succumb to a deceptive marketing. One example of which would be perhaps undergoing cost cutting by choosing a more harmful packaging which is cheaper but could harm your consumers while you justify the act that it is for the common good as you would not have to fire any employee and at the same time cutting cost for your consumers. Indeed, the code of ethics really come into play in pushing a marketer to make the right decision not just according to one point of view but in looking at all the angles of a certain decision (Marketing Tutorials, News, How-to and More, n.d). With

Men and Women are Made Not Born Essay Example for Free

Men and Women are Made Not Born Essay In this essay I will write about how women and men are made not born. I will beintroducing different cultures and their views on men and women, how women at onestage in time did not have any rights to become what they wanted, I will give my ideas onthe subject and I will also research other authors work to get a different variety about whywomen and men are made not born. Firstly I will start by researching different cultures and their ways of life. This reallyinterests me because it is good to see how different people and their countries really andfrom each other. In Australia men and women are equal,they both can work in any job they desire, they both have the right to vote and go to war. It was not always like this though in Australia, it was a long time until women got equalright to men. It was the nineteenth century when women were given the right to vote andto stand for election into parliament. Although it was not until the 1960s to the 1970swhen women gained equality with men with work, the law and general social standing. Ifwe take a look into a totally different country like Afghanistan, women are made bytheir fathers and husbands. Marriage for women is chosen by their families, women mustbe completely covered by a long veil and accompanied by a male relative when theyleave the house and women must do what they are told by their fathers and husbands. Soas we can see, it is hard for women in Afghanistan to become what they want and be whothey want to be. Another culture I want to look at is how women became men in the mountains ofNorthern Albania. A girl or her parents could decide to make them a male, circumstanceswhich would arise in order to do so would be that their husbands or fathers died at war orhad died from other reasons, so the wives or daughters would take on the lead role for thehousehold. They would become men if they wanted to work and build their communitiesinto something better, for example, working in the Communist Party Action Group, youcould only be a male to be a member. In order to get out of an arranged marriage orprotection against the kidnapping and trafficking of young women, it was easier for girlsto become men. What I am trying to say with researching different cultures is that in some countries menand women can choose how they want their lives to turn out and make a future forthemselves unlike other countries where peoples lives are made up for them. Another way we could look at the topic Men and Women are Made Not Born is thatmen and women have to earn what they want to achieve, they are not just born with theirtalents. For example, if a person does a good job for someone then they are going torecommend them to other people, thus achieving a good reputation. As ( Mead, G 2007,p. 29) quotes the self is something which has a development: it is not initially there abirth, but arises in the process of social experience and activity. This means that whenchildren are born they do not immediately have the social skills they require in life to dowell for themselves. The child has to go through a development which slowly teachesthem their life skills. It is up to the individual to decide what they want to achieve in life,they have the choice to carry on their education in what ever field they choose to bettertheir chances in the work force. The same in the work force, people have to betterthemselves to do better than others, to compete with the competition in order to get thejob. With an individual improving themselves in all kind of aspects, they are likely to geta good reputation and make something of themselves. This proves the heading Men andWomen are Made Not Born. In Australia it is a free country, everybody has the right to do or become what they wantto become. I believe the term men and women are made not born, to mean that it is up toboth men and women to make their lives and achieve what they want in life. Everybodyis their own unique person. Whether they are Australian, Chinese, Asian, American andso on, with their own personal beliefs. I guess the main reason I have focused on culturesis because I believe that an individuals culture has a massive effect on the lifestyles theylive which develops an individual into their own unique, special person. References: Factors that brought about the womens movement, www.skwirk.com.auAlessandro Monsutti, Culture of AFGHANISTAN, www.everyculture.comBessant, J. Watts, R. (2007) Sociology Australia, Allen Unwin. NSW. Gardner, J. (1987) Atlas of the World, Australia: Readers Digest. McWhirter, N. (1999) Book of Millennium Records, Virgin Publishings: Great Britain. Young, A. 2007, Once Were Women, Good Weekend, 20st October, 47-48. Mead, G 2007, The Self in Classic Readings in Sociology, Mind, Self and Society, pp25-32

Local Breast Cancer Hot Spot :: Beaches Breast Cancer Health Essays

Local Breast Cancer Hot Spot With the waves crashing in front of you, the sun warming your body, and a slight breeze coming just over the dunes, you would never think you were sitting on a beach considered to be a breast cancer "hot spot." Unfortunatly, if you were sitting on certain Cape Cod beaches, that's just what you'd be doing. "It's an unfortunate situation, I lost two sisters and my mother-in-law to breast cancer, all of us lived on the cape most of our lives. Their doctors were pretty sure it was caused from our contaminated drinking water," said Joan Swift, of Dennis, MA. In Massachusetts, determining the causes of breast cancer has been a top priority since 1990 when the Massachusetts Department of Public Health published a town-by-town cancer statistics for 1982-1990. The figures showed breast cancer incidence was significantly elevated in nine of the 15 towns that make up the Cape Cod region. What is significant? Research showed that breast cancer was about 20% higher on Cape Cod than in the rest of the state. In some of the towns - such as Dennis, Harwich, Chatham, Orleans and Falmouth - they are even higher. While women in this region continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer at an alarming rate, it is only normal for residence to want answers. Many years of research have found a couple of possibilities for this tragic problem. According to researchers at Silent Springs Institute in Newton Massachusetts, a possible reason behind the high cancer rates is the use of pesticides in marshes, cranberry bogs, golf courses and residential areas. Researchers are also looking into the possibility that synthetic chemicals found in common household products are to blame. Cheryl Osimo, Silent Springs Cape Cod coordinator, called the study's discoveries an important step. "It is not only about Cape Cod. The findings have implications for breast cancer research throughout the country," said Osimo. Silent Springs Institute, a nonprofit research organization, was founded in 1994 by the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and a group of Cape Cod citizens. Its goal is to find preventable causes of breast cancer, the most common cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women 35-46 years of age. The Institute focuses on measuring exposures Cape women may have had during the past 40 years to more than 100 chemicals known to mimic estrogen, a know risk factor for the disease.

To What Extent Was the Constitution a Radical Departure from the Articles of Confederation

Question: To what extent was the Constitution a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation? Thesis: Due to the fact that the Articles of Confederation were causing problems, the U. S. adopted the Constitution that solved the problems in the weak government including no executive control and no way to levy or collect taxes. I. On example of how the Constitution differed from the Articles of Confederation is the setup of their government a. Houses in Congress i. Articles of Confederation of 1777 had one-house congress 1.Weak government a. When the government was created, people were afraid of a strong government like England had. The government became very weak because of that. i. No executive branch; no president/leader 1. Colonists were afraid of the president turning into a king. 2. After Shay’s Rebellion and other rebellions, people realized that they needed someone to govern them. a. Shays rebellion was a rebellion caused by the government forcing people to go to jail if they were in debt b. ,000 men marched to Worcester where they closed down the commonwealth’s Supreme Court and then marched to Springfield where they broke in and freed imprisoned debtors. c. Massachusetts asked Congress for help but legally, there was not much Congress to do to relieve them. Noting, a greater authority in the central government is necessary ii. No judiciary; no courts iii. ALL power went to legislative b. Government couldn’t tax the states or individuals iv. Individuals were still only subject to their states and hadn’t had an interest in a national government c.Thomas Paine’s Common Sense v. Widely read, Paine argued how it never did any good for Americans to be subjects under a King and how they are strong enough to create an independent republic. ii. Constitution 2. Constitutional Convention in 1787 in Philadelphia was where people met to start creating and drafting a constitution d. After Shay’s Rebellion, it was notic ed that a strong central government was needed e. America was in debt after the war, we needed someone in charge to clear up the debt. i. Taxation is now allowed in the Constitution but taxation was not allowed under the Articles of Confederation. 3. Strong government f. Could tax individuals vii. Individuals were now subject to their state government as well as the national government viii. Taxes were enforced 3. Helped pay off war debt g. Checks and balances ix. Representation in Congress 4. Great Compromise d. Exactly 2 Senators from each state were chosen (in favor of the smaller states- equal representation) e.House of Representatives from each state were chosen based upon population (in favor of smaller states- population) x. Branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) 5. They were separate, and each checked on the other branch to make sure it is running efficiently Conclusion: The Constitution was created to fix the governmental problems that the Articles of Confederation failed to do. It was essential for the U. S. to depart from the Articles of Confederation because of the weak government it had created, there was no executive branch/leader, and Legislature was prohibited to levy or collect taxes.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

It made me forget about the real world and dragged my mind into the world of Miriam and Leila. Miriam is a girl who was â€Å"born a Hiram, a source of shame to her father and his family' (60). Her father Jail is of the upper-class men of Kabul, and her mother a lowly woman cast out of her home by her master Jail. Every Thursday, Jail would visit Miriam and tell her of the wondrous stories of her past, and Miriam, a naive little girl, would eat up all the Lies he feeds her. Her mother would warn her against It all, but Miriam chose to believe the happy version of events Jail told her.He was a rich man telling rich lies. Why would Marls own father be so cold-hearted to pretend to love her and aka up stories that arena even true? I think he does this because â€Å"[he is] ashamed of [her]† (50); but he doesn't want her to know his true personality or else she wouldn't respect him since he is her father after all. Social appearances told society whether you were worth their time or not, so Jail wanted to save his face and keep his good reputation. Nowadays, we are still Judged by our social status and appearance though it isn't as severe and open as back then in the late asses.Maria's mother once warned her that there was â€Å"only one skill† she had to perfect, â€Å"[a]ND it's this: tamale. Endure† (17). We can observe how obedient Miriam Is, because she did endure. She â€Å"quietly endure[d] all that [fell] upon [her]† (82) through the good times and the bad – especially through the bad. If I had to live Maria's life, I doubt that I would have endured through everything that came my way as well as she did. Miriam is like a coconut: she has a hard shell, and nothing can break her. But on the inside, her heart is so big and generous, yet she sometimes feels like she can't keep up the brave face any longer.The first few days of Maria's forced marriage were tough on her. She wasn't used to the new surroundings and she was oilin g â€Å"adrift and forlorn† (56). But little by little, chore by chore, with each smile and connection she made with her new husband, she thought to herself â€Å"that they would make good companions after all† (77). After losing her first child, Miriam returns to her state of misery and loses the connection she had with her husband Rehashed. His temper goes out of control, and everything she does has this sense of dreariness and to her â€Å"life †¦ [seems] so exhausting† (83).I can feel Maria's despair and grief as If It were almost my own even though I have no Idea what It feels like to have lost a child. This Is an example of Chalked Hussein's power In writing: he draws me In with his vivid words painting a clear picture in my mind. Chapter 16-25 (Part TWO) Journal #2 In Part Two of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the narrator takes us down the path of life of Leila. When she was only nine years old, the Soviet Union had already invaded Afghanistan. Some peop le, like Laic's teacher, said that â€Å"the Soviet Union was the best nation in the world†¦ Mind to its workers, and its people were all equal† (101). But others disagreed strongly with this statement. Laic's father believes firmly in education, especially for women. He thinks that education should come before marriage â€Å"because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated† (103), which is quite the opposite of what most other parents with daughters think. Leila has been â€Å"the top-ranked student† (103) for the past two years, but she feels that she cannot tell her friends Hessian and Gist as they do not have the same perspective on education as Leila and her father.Ever since Laic's two older brothers have went off to war, her mamma has been depressed and feels like there is no point in life. She is an â€Å"unmoving blanketed mound† lying in bed everyday. From this, I inferred that mamma prefers her sons to Leila. This is a great example of how in some cultures parents favor sons over daughters. Why is this so? I think this is because of the stereotype that boys are better than girls. I see no reason why a girl cannot be as strong or smart or talented as a boy in any way. Nowadays, we try to ban this way of thinking but some people still have this belief.One afternoon, â€Å"a stranger with news† (122) came knocking at her door. He came to tell her parents that Laic's brothers, Nor and Mad, have died triumphantly, fighting for their beloved country's sovereignty. Many people the next morning arrived at their funeral, but all Mamma did was â€Å"sway back and forth and stare at the rug with a remote, spiritless look† (125). Contrarily, it was hard for Leila â€Å"to summon sorrow, to grieve the deaths of people [she] had never really thought of as alive in the first place† (125, 126) because her brothers had left for war when she was a very young girl.Even though the last of the S oviet convoys left the city in 1989, Mamma swore she would not celebrate nor rejoice until the Unexamined win the war against Incunabula and â€Å"hold a victory parade right here in Kabul† (138). Three years later, unexpected happened. Incunabula surrendered ! From that day on, â€Å"Mamma rose from bed a new woman† (145) and resumed her motherly chores. Unfortunately, around a week later everything unraveled and instead of having a common enemy, the Unexamined found the enemy in each other. They fired rockets at the mountains, and â€Å"the mountains fired on Kabul† (157).One day after school when Gist was walking home with her friends, a stray rocket struck them. It was only during the funeral the next day the information finally started to sink in and â€Å"[a]t last, Leila began to weep for her friend† (161). For Leila, the bad news Just kept coming like an ocean's waves. This time it was her best friend and lover, Atari, who was moving to Pakistan. She felt betrayed and heartbroken, but at the same time she knew he had to go. Almost everyone in her neighborhood had packed their belongings and left, but Mamma refused.She said it was an â€Å"affront, a Dearly, These two women were similar; they were both compassionate and kind-hearted. One night, when Rehashed their husband was in a foul mood, Leila talked back to him. He immediately assumed it was Miriam who taught her to do this, even though they weren't exactly friends at that time. He took out his leather belt, and that meant a beating for Miriam. Just as he brought the belt down, Leila lunged at him, pleading him to not beat Miriam. Even though Miriam was Jealous and reluctant to befriend Leila at first; she soon learned to accept and appreciate the other woman's companionship.The beginning of their friendship sparked when Leila first asked Miriam to have tea, after a long weary day doing chores around the house. â€Å"l know it's chilly outside, but what do you say we s inners have us a cup of chaw in the yard? † Leila asked. Miriam protested weakly at first, but gave in to the thought of a break from all the work. From then on, they had daily chaw and were no longer enemies, but n understanding came across the two of them and they started to do their chores together. I don't relate at all to the lives of Leila and Miriam, so why did I feel their pain and their happiness like I was experiencing it?It was because Chalked Hussein wrote this book with such emotion and depth; he wound my mind carefully into the life of these two women. CONNECTIONS Chalked Hussein wrote this book with hope in his heart and a mind-blowing story to tell. He used many literary devices to spice up his book and to add more pizzazz. When Nana told Miriam â€Å"To Jail and his wives, I was a poker. A muggers. You too. † This is a powerful metaphor describing how others looked down on them because they were from a lower caste. Another device would be â€Å"early e vening† and â€Å"badly out of breath†.They are examples of alliteration for emphasis on the time of day and the condition of the character. He also used similes. Some examples of that would be â€Å"She could make out the minarets in the distance, like the dusty fingers of giants†¦ † Which compares the distant towers to the fingers of a giant and â€Å"She had a mouth that ran like a sewing machine† which compares tells us that Hessian not only talked a lot but also very fast. Lastly, one example of personification is â€Å"They are not friendly countries. † A country cannot be friendly, it is the people living in the country that are friendly or not.This book was written in two perspectives: Maria's and Laic's. It was a bit confusing Jumping back and forth from these points of view, but it showed the opinion of these two women and laid out the two sides of this story. ANALYSIS One part of the book that was very touching was when Miriam accept ed her punishment for killing Rehashed to save Leila, so that Leila can live the rest of her life peacefully and without fault. It shows owe big Maria's heart is, how willing she was to give up her life for someone she loves. Leila wanted Miriam to run away with her, but Miriam refused.She said, â€Å"Eve killed our husband. Eve deprived your son of his father. It isn't right that I run. I can't. Even if they never catch us, I'll never escape your son's grief. † It broke my heart to see Leila leave Miriam behind, but it was decided. Miriam said Leila and her children have given her the happiness she was looking for – there was nothing else she wanted. RESPONSE The other part that moved me so much was the letter Jail wrote to Miriam to apologize Tort now en treated near, Ana now en wasn't a good Tanner to near.He wrote, â€Å"l dare, I dare allow myself the hope that, after you read this, you will be more charitable to me than I ever was to you. That you might find it in your heart to come and see your father. That you will knock on my door one more time and give me the chance to open it this time, to welcome you, to take you in my arms, my daughter, as I should have all those years ago. It is a hope as weak as my heart. † This paragraph in his letter stood out to me the most, and it shows how sorry Jail was for not being there for his daughter all those years. For giving her away to marriage, for treating her like she wasn't good enough for him.RESPONSE After reading the letter, I think that Jail has changed, that death's open arms have given him a change of heart. It brought tears to my eyes, because Miriam didn't have the chance to forgive her father and make everything right again. Why didn't Miriam visit Jail after receiving his first letter? I think it was because she was scared of seeing him after so long, of what he would think of her, and mostly importantly she was scared of him not opening the door for her again like the day of he r birthday years before. RESPONSE The message the author tried to convey was as clear as a summer sky to me.It is that friendship is something we should all treasure. It shows us that sometimes teamwork is essential to win even though sometimes we have to sacrifice. Leila and Miriam won the war against Rehashed, but in this case Miriam had to give up her life for it. It was a beautiful but heart-breaking deed: Miriam sacrificing herself for her sister and only friend Leila; she was so humble to put others before herself. In conclusion, Chalked Hussein gave the readers a very powerful image of his home country Afghanistan and showed us how strong a true friendship can be. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini is one of the most admired Afghani authors of the 21st century. He is best know for works such as The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns that explore the hardships of living in Afghanistan during the Soviet Invasion and Taliban regime. This paper will discuss the life and work of Khaled Hosseini with special emphasis on the effect on women in Afghan society in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. Khaled Hosseini was born on March 4, 1965. He is the eldest of five children, and was born in Kabul, Afghanistan where his father worked for the foreign ministry and his mother taught Persian literature.Hosseini’s father was relocated to work in Tehran, where Hosseini’s passion for Persian literature grew and inspired him to write short stories of his own. In 1973 the Afghan King, Zahir Shah was overthrown by his own cousin, Daoud Khan, in a bloodless coup. In 1976, Hosseini’s father was again relocated to Paris where Khaled and his family moved. Onl y two years after Daoud Khan’s reign, he was overthrown by a communist faction, and killed. Hosseini’s family, now wary of the Soviet impact in Afghanistan, were granted political asylum in the United States.Although Hosseini struggled with English in his first year of high school, he was greatly inspired by John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, to continue his passion for writing. Determined to make ends meet for him and his family, after graduating high school in 1984 he enrolled in Santa Clara University to study biology, and later earn a his bachelor’s degree in 1988. Hosseini became a practicing internist after he gained his Medical degree at the University of California.Hosseini joined the Kaiser Permanente Health Maintenance Organization and settled in Mountain View, California with his wife, Roya, to start a family. Throughout Hosseini’s medical studies he felt it was his responsibility to tell the world about the country he knew, before it was consumed with war, so he published his first novel The Kite Runner. He told the story of two Afghan boys who’s lives undertake different paths with the events of the war. â€Å"The Kite Runner spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, and returned to the list five years after its initial ppearance† (Khaled Hosseini Biography). In 2003, following the success of his first novel, Hosseini returned to Afghanistan after twenty seven years. Where he felt devastated and shocked the remains of his country. In 2006 he joined the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, from war zones around the world. Since 2003 Hosseini had been working on his second novel which focuses on the effect of women during the Soviet Invasion and under the Taliban dictatorship. A Thousand Splendid Suns, like the first novel became an international bestseller, while The Kite Runner became a highly acclaimed motion picture.Khaled Hosseini gave up his medical practice t o write and continue his work for the United Nations. (Khaled Hosseini Biography; â€Å"Khaled Hosseini | Biography) A Thousand Splendid Suns is divided into four parts. In part one we meet Mariam. Mariam lives with her Nana in a kolba and is the illegitimate child of a wealthy cinema owner from Herat. Mariam praised the ground her father, Jalil walked on. But when her mother kills herself and she’s sent to live with her father, she realizes that she’s the personification of shame to her him.Jalil marries Mariam off to Rasheed, a shoe make from Kabul who turns out to be an abusive husband. In part two of the novel we meet Laila. She was born on the same day the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Due to the fact that her older brothers are off at war with the Soviets, Laila’s mother is in deep depression. Laila tells about her best friend Tariq, who she later falls in love with, and about her days during and after the Soviet Invasion. The day Tariq tells Laila that he ’s leaving Kabul due to the bombs reigning down on the city, they spontaneously end up having sex.Then two weeks after Tariq’s departure, Laila’s family also decides to leave, but a bomb hits her house and kills her parents. In part three Mariam and Rasheed take Laila in and nurse her back to health. When Laila finds out she is pregnant with Tariq’s child she decides to marry Rasheed so that he believes the child is his. Mariam and Laila are enemies at first, but Rasheed’s abusive behavior manages to bring them together. In an extreme act of self-sacrifice Mariam kills Rasheed in order to save Laila’s life, and turns herself in to the authorities.In part four Laila runs away with Tariq, who comes back after so many years where they manage to make a living in a hotel where they also work at. In order to pay tribute to Mariam, Laila decides to visit Herat where she sees the kolba that Mariam and her mother lived in, she reads the letter Mariam ’s father had left her, and when she finds out that she’s pregnant with her third child, she decides that if it’s a girl she’ll name her Mariam. A Thousand Splendid Suns tells of the relationship of two unlikely women who are brought together by the events taking place in their country. It’s our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It’s all we have† (19). Mariam didn’t heed the words of her mother back then in the kolba, but she did learn throughout her life that women in general had to endure the many hardships that life presented. The Soviet Invasion and Taliban regime has had a lasting effect on the women of Afghanistan. They have struggled with the Taliban’s political reign in government as well the the â€Å"cultural contraints†¦of tradition and religion†(Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in men’s power struggles).Through the lives of Mariam and Laila one sees the disastrous events that have ta ken place in Afghanistan as well as the sturggle that women have endured to gain independence. One can see where the â€Å"notions of honour and shame†¦emphasise female modesty and purity†(Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in men’s power struggles) through Mariam’s birth. Mariam’s mother was cast out of the house she lived in as a servant for having a passing affair with the owner of the house who was wealthy and of high class. Mariam thus considered herself â€Å"an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (4).Furthermore, in a poor excuse to rid himself of the shame and dishonor he brought upon his family, Mariam’s father marries her off. [He] â€Å"didn’t have the [heart] either†¦to stand up to his family, to his wives and in-laws, and accept responsibility for what he had done†(7). When Laila was rescued from the remains of her house and Rasheed claimed that her liv ing in his house would â€Å"look dishonorable†(214) shows that a women’s honor and purity means everything in Afghan society, and to ruin those things means bringing shame upon oneself and one’s family.That is why Laila agreed to marry him, because she knew that if anyone were to find out she was pregnant and unmarried, she would be thrown out into the streets, and plenty of unimaginable things were to happen it to her then. Sura 4:34 â€Å"Men stand superior to women in that God hath preferred the one over the other †¦ Those whose perverseness you fear, admonish them and remove them into bed chambers and beat them, but if they submit to you then do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great. † (qtd. in Legacy of the Prophet)This quote suggest that male relatives have the authority to beat their wives if they disobey them. They are many incidents in A Thousand Splendid Suns where Mariam and Laila are beaten into submission. Mariam is f orced to chew on pebbles as a demonstration of how her food tastes to her husband, and is left spitting â€Å"out pebbles, blood, and the fragments of two broken molars†(104). The Quran also states that women are to be beaten if they deny their husbands bed; Mariam is threatened to be beaten because Rasheed (her husband) claims that she is influencing Laila to not sleep with him.Mariam and Laila were tortured after they tried to escape Rasheed’s home by being locked in separate rooms, where they went without water and food for days. Laila is severely beaten, almost to the point of death, when Rasheed finds out that she allowed Tariq into his home and allowed him to see her without a burqa. Male relatives in Afghanistan also have a right to honor killings, if a women is not a virgin on her wedding night her male relatives have the right to kill her in order to avenge the family honor.If a wife is accused of adultery she is stoned to death, and if a woman is caught with a man who is not a relative, she is given a hundred lashes and a year in prison (Islam and Women’s Rights). Men are not greatly punished for the same â€Å"crime† that women commit since many of them can have multiple wives and concubines. This shows the injustice between men and women in Afghanistan and how tradition and religion is used to control their everyday lives. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1978 gave woman a better sense of independence.This new governmental reform encouraged woman to a better education, teach in schools, work in hospitals, and permitted them to not wear a burqa. This reform also included the prohibition of forced marriages and also raised the marriage age to sixteen. â€Å"Women have always had it hard in this country†¦but they’re probably more free now, under the communist, and have more rights than they’ve ever had before†(135). According to the Commision on the Status of Women one must fight against the u se of tradition in order to eliminate the discrimination of women (Women in Afghanistan).But such reforms were not taken lightly and were deemed un-Islamic, and thrust Afghanistan into a civil war between Soviet troops and the Mujahideen. â€Å"Of course, women’s freedom is also one of the reasons people out there took up arms in the first place† (135) The next ten years resulted in millions of Afghans leaving the country due to the fighting in many rural areas where men, women, and children became targets of the war at their doorstep. After the Soviet retreat in 1989, the Mujahideen were in a political power struggle that resulted in mass hysteria and the rise of the Taliban.Before the Soviet Invasion and Taliban regime, men and women were declared equal through God. They were given the right to vote, choose their own partners, and a right to an inheritance. But under the Taliban all of these rights were taken away, and many of their laws favored men over women (The P light of the Afghan Woman). â€Å"Attention Women: You will stay in your homes at all times. It is not proper for women to wander aimlessly about the streets. If you go outside, you must be accompanied by a male relative.If you are caught alone on the street, you will be beaten and sent home†¦Girls are forbidden from attending school. All schools for girls will be closed immediately. Women are forbidden from working. If you are found guilty of adultery, you will be stoned to death†(278) Although female health professionals were still given the liberty to work under strict rules, they had harsh woking conditions. Many hospitals weren’t provided with the necessary tools in order to work on patients. â€Å"They had no clean water,†¦no oxygen, no medication, no electricity†(286).Women were segregated from men in every aspects of life, but wouldn’t it be fair to provide them with the necessities they needed in order for survival? Not only did these h ospitals not have the equipment needed, they were probably too far to travel to if someone was at risk of dieing. It is because of these reason’s that Afghanistan has the â€Å"second highest infant mortality rate as well maternal mortality rate in the world†(Afghanistan: Mortality Rates Remain High For Mothers, Newborns). The Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law has reduced women to poverty, worsened their health, and deprived them to an education.Even though they have taken away basic individual rights, the Taliban’s laws against women were particularly inhumane. [Mariam] remembered Nana saying once that each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. â€Å"As a reminder of how women like us suffer†¦How quietly we endure all that falls upon us† (91). The women of Afghanistan have e ndured a lot in these past 33 years. They have struggled between life and death, poverty, and hopelessness.Through the connection of two unlikely friends one learns of the hopes and despairs people face in times of war and dictatorship. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini has managed to portray the events that have taken place in Afghanistan and the injustice, suffering, and endurance that women face in everyday life. Works Cited Esfandiari, Golnaz. â€Å"Afghanistan: Mortality Rates Remain High For Mothers, Newborns – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. † Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – Free Media in Unfree Societies. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. rferl. rg/content/article/1068295. html/content/article/1068295. html. Freeman, John. â€Å"A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini | Book Reviews | Chron. com – Houston Chronicle. † Houston News, Entertainment, Search and Shopping | Chron. com – Houston Chronicle. Web. 14 Mar. 201 0. http://www. chron. com/disp/story. mpl/life/books/reviews/4834205. html. Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Bandung: Qanita, 2007. Print. â€Å"Khaled Hosseini | Biography. † Khaled Hosseini | A Thousand Splendid Suns. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. khaledhosseini. com/hosseini-bio. html. Khaled Hosseini Biography — Academy of Achievement. † Academy of Achievement Main Menu. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. achievement. org/autodoc/page/hos0bio-1. â€Å"The Legacy of the Prophet. † Dhushara. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. dhushara. com/book/zulu/leg. htm. Papas, Voula. â€Å"Islam and Women's Rights | Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc. † Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc | Founded 1970. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. atheistfoundation. org. au/articles/islam-and-womens-rights. Qazi, Abdullah. â€Å"The Plight of the Afghan Woman. † Afghanistan Online. Web. 14 Mar. 010. http://afghan-web. com/woman/. â€Å"Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in Men's Power Struggles. † PeaceWomen Project. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. peacewomen. org/resources/Afghanistan/AIAfghanWomen. html. â€Å"Women's Human Rights Resources – Women in Afghanistan. † Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. . Bibliography Esfandiari, Golnaz. â€Å"Afghanistan: Mortality Rates Remain High For Mothers, Newborns – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. † Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty – Free Media in Unfree Societies. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. ferl. org/content/article/1068295. html/content/article/1068295. html. Freeman, John. â€Å"A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini | Book Reviews | Chron. com – Houston Chronicle. † Houston News, Entertainment, Search and Shopping | Chron. com – Houston Chronicle. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. chron. com/disp/story. mpl/life/books/reviews/4834205. html. Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns . Bandung: Qanita, 2007. Print. â€Å"Khaled Hosseini | Biography. † Khaled Hosseini | A Thousand Splendid Suns. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. khaledhosseini. com/hosseini-bio. html. Khaled Hosseini Biography — Academy of Achievement. † Academy of Achievement Main Menu. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. achievement. org/autodoc/page/hos0bio-1. â€Å"The Legacy of the Prophet. † Dhushara. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. dhushara. com/book/zulu/leg. htm. Papas, Voula. â€Å"Islam and Women's Rights | Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc. † Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc | Founded 1970. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. atheistfoundation. org. au/articles/islam-and-womens-rights. Qazi, Abdullah. â€Å"The Plight of the Afghan Woman. † Afghanistan Online. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. ttp://afghan-web. com/woman/. â€Å"Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in Men's Power Struggles. † PeaceWomen Project. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. peacewomen. org/resources/A fghanistan/AIAfghanWomen. html. â€Å"Women's Human Rights Resources – Women in Afghanistan. † Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www. law-lib. utoronto. ca/diana/afghanwomen. htm. Yardley, Jonathan. â€Å"Jonathan Yardley – Jonathan Yardley – Washingtonpost. com. † Washingtonpost. com – Nation, World, Technology and Washington Area News and Headlines. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. A Thousand Splendid Suns It made me forget about the real world and dragged my mind into the world of Miriam and Leila. Miriam is a girl who was â€Å"born a Hiram, a source of shame to her father and his family' (60). Her father Jail is of the upper-class men of Kabul, and her mother a lowly woman cast out of her home by her master Jail. Every Thursday, Jail would visit Miriam and tell her of the wondrous stories of her past, and Miriam, a naive little girl, would eat up all the Lies he feeds her. Her mother would warn her against It all, but Miriam chose to believe the happy version of events Jail told her.He was a rich man telling rich lies. Why would Marls own father be so cold-hearted to pretend to love her and aka up stories that arena even true? I think he does this because â€Å"[he is] ashamed of [her]† (50); but he doesn't want her to know his true personality or else she wouldn't respect him since he is her father after all. Social appearances told society whether you were worth their time or not, so Jail wanted to save his face and keep his good reputation. Nowadays, we are still Judged by our social status and appearance though it isn't as severe and open as back then in the late asses.Maria's mother once warned her that there was â€Å"only one skill† she had to perfect, â€Å"[a]ND it's this: tamale. Endure† (17). We can observe how obedient Miriam Is, because she did endure. She â€Å"quietly endure[d] all that [fell] upon [her]† (82) through the good times and the bad – especially through the bad. If I had to live Maria's life, I doubt that I would have endured through everything that came my way as well as she did. Miriam is like a coconut: she has a hard shell, and nothing can break her. But on the inside, her heart is so big and generous, yet she sometimes feels like she can't keep up the brave face any longer.The first few days of Maria's forced marriage were tough on her. She wasn't used to the new surroundings and she was oilin g â€Å"adrift and forlorn† (56). But little by little, chore by chore, with each smile and connection she made with her new husband, she thought to herself â€Å"that they would make good companions after all† (77). After losing her first child, Miriam returns to her state of misery and loses the connection she had with her husband Rehashed. His temper goes out of control, and everything she does has this sense of dreariness and to her â€Å"life †¦ [seems] so exhausting† (83).I can feel Maria's despair and grief as If It were almost my own even though I have no Idea what It feels like to have lost a child. This Is an example of Chalked Hussein's power In writing: he draws me In with his vivid words painting a clear picture in my mind. Chapter 16-25 (Part TWO) Journal #2 In Part Two of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the narrator takes us down the path of life of Leila. When she was only nine years old, the Soviet Union had already invaded Afghanistan. Some peop le, like Laic's teacher, said that â€Å"the Soviet Union was the best nation in the world†¦ Mind to its workers, and its people were all equal† (101). But others disagreed strongly with this statement. Laic's father believes firmly in education, especially for women. He thinks that education should come before marriage â€Å"because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated† (103), which is quite the opposite of what most other parents with daughters think. Leila has been â€Å"the top-ranked student† (103) for the past two years, but she feels that she cannot tell her friends Hessian and Gist as they do not have the same perspective on education as Leila and her father.Ever since Laic's two older brothers have went off to war, her mamma has been depressed and feels like there is no point in life. She is an â€Å"unmoving blanketed mound† lying in bed everyday. From this, I inferred that mamma prefers her sons to Leila. This is a great example of how in some cultures parents favor sons over daughters. Why is this so? I think this is because of the stereotype that boys are better than girls. I see no reason why a girl cannot be as strong or smart or talented as a boy in any way. Nowadays, we try to ban this way of thinking but some people still have this belief.One afternoon, â€Å"a stranger with news† (122) came knocking at her door. He came to tell her parents that Laic's brothers, Nor and Mad, have died triumphantly, fighting for their beloved country's sovereignty. Many people the next morning arrived at their funeral, but all Mamma did was â€Å"sway back and forth and stare at the rug with a remote, spiritless look† (125). Contrarily, it was hard for Leila â€Å"to summon sorrow, to grieve the deaths of people [she] had never really thought of as alive in the first place† (125, 126) because her brothers had left for war when she was a very young girl.Even though the last of the S oviet convoys left the city in 1989, Mamma swore she would not celebrate nor rejoice until the Unexamined win the war against Incunabula and â€Å"hold a victory parade right here in Kabul† (138). Three years later, unexpected happened. Incunabula surrendered ! From that day on, â€Å"Mamma rose from bed a new woman† (145) and resumed her motherly chores. Unfortunately, around a week later everything unraveled and instead of having a common enemy, the Unexamined found the enemy in each other. They fired rockets at the mountains, and â€Å"the mountains fired on Kabul† (157).One day after school when Gist was walking home with her friends, a stray rocket struck them. It was only during the funeral the next day the information finally started to sink in and â€Å"[a]t last, Leila began to weep for her friend† (161). For Leila, the bad news Just kept coming like an ocean's waves. This time it was her best friend and lover, Atari, who was moving to Pakistan. She felt betrayed and heartbroken, but at the same time she knew he had to go. Almost everyone in her neighborhood had packed their belongings and left, but Mamma refused.She said it was an â€Å"affront, a Dearly, These two women were similar; they were both compassionate and kind-hearted. One night, when Rehashed their husband was in a foul mood, Leila talked back to him. He immediately assumed it was Miriam who taught her to do this, even though they weren't exactly friends at that time. He took out his leather belt, and that meant a beating for Miriam. Just as he brought the belt down, Leila lunged at him, pleading him to not beat Miriam. Even though Miriam was Jealous and reluctant to befriend Leila at first; she soon learned to accept and appreciate the other woman's companionship.The beginning of their friendship sparked when Leila first asked Miriam to have tea, after a long weary day doing chores around the house. â€Å"l know it's chilly outside, but what do you say we s inners have us a cup of chaw in the yard? † Leila asked. Miriam protested weakly at first, but gave in to the thought of a break from all the work. From then on, they had daily chaw and were no longer enemies, but n understanding came across the two of them and they started to do their chores together. I don't relate at all to the lives of Leila and Miriam, so why did I feel their pain and their happiness like I was experiencing it?It was because Chalked Hussein wrote this book with such emotion and depth; he wound my mind carefully into the life of these two women. CONNECTIONS Chalked Hussein wrote this book with hope in his heart and a mind-blowing story to tell. He used many literary devices to spice up his book and to add more pizzazz. When Nana told Miriam â€Å"To Jail and his wives, I was a poker. A muggers. You too. † This is a powerful metaphor describing how others looked down on them because they were from a lower caste. Another device would be â€Å"early e vening† and â€Å"badly out of breath†.They are examples of alliteration for emphasis on the time of day and the condition of the character. He also used similes. Some examples of that would be â€Å"She could make out the minarets in the distance, like the dusty fingers of giants†¦ † Which compares the distant towers to the fingers of a giant and â€Å"She had a mouth that ran like a sewing machine† which compares tells us that Hessian not only talked a lot but also very fast. Lastly, one example of personification is â€Å"They are not friendly countries. † A country cannot be friendly, it is the people living in the country that are friendly or not.This book was written in two perspectives: Maria's and Laic's. It was a bit confusing Jumping back and forth from these points of view, but it showed the opinion of these two women and laid out the two sides of this story. ANALYSIS One part of the book that was very touching was when Miriam accept ed her punishment for killing Rehashed to save Leila, so that Leila can live the rest of her life peacefully and without fault. It shows owe big Maria's heart is, how willing she was to give up her life for someone she loves. Leila wanted Miriam to run away with her, but Miriam refused.She said, â€Å"Eve killed our husband. Eve deprived your son of his father. It isn't right that I run. I can't. Even if they never catch us, I'll never escape your son's grief. † It broke my heart to see Leila leave Miriam behind, but it was decided. Miriam said Leila and her children have given her the happiness she was looking for – there was nothing else she wanted. RESPONSE The other part that moved me so much was the letter Jail wrote to Miriam to apologize Tort now en treated near, Ana now en wasn't a good Tanner to near.He wrote, â€Å"l dare, I dare allow myself the hope that, after you read this, you will be more charitable to me than I ever was to you. That you might find it in your heart to come and see your father. That you will knock on my door one more time and give me the chance to open it this time, to welcome you, to take you in my arms, my daughter, as I should have all those years ago. It is a hope as weak as my heart. † This paragraph in his letter stood out to me the most, and it shows how sorry Jail was for not being there for his daughter all those years. For giving her away to marriage, for treating her like she wasn't good enough for him.RESPONSE After reading the letter, I think that Jail has changed, that death's open arms have given him a change of heart. It brought tears to my eyes, because Miriam didn't have the chance to forgive her father and make everything right again. Why didn't Miriam visit Jail after receiving his first letter? I think it was because she was scared of seeing him after so long, of what he would think of her, and mostly importantly she was scared of him not opening the door for her again like the day of he r birthday years before. RESPONSE The message the author tried to convey was as clear as a summer sky to me.It is that friendship is something we should all treasure. It shows us that sometimes teamwork is essential to win even though sometimes we have to sacrifice. Leila and Miriam won the war against Rehashed, but in this case Miriam had to give up her life for it. It was a beautiful but heart-breaking deed: Miriam sacrificing herself for her sister and only friend Leila; she was so humble to put others before herself. In conclusion, Chalked Hussein gave the readers a very powerful image of his home country Afghanistan and showed us how strong a true friendship can be.

Cardiovascular Fitness Essays

Cardiovascular Fitness Essays Cardiovascular Fitness Essay Cardiovascular Fitness Essay Cardiovascular Fitness Definition Cardiovascular fitness is the practice of using and transfer of oxygen to the organs in your body. The daily exercising can help bring oxygen to the body making it more simple to release oxygen. So enhancing your exercising routines is useful. An important thing about cardiovascular fitness is the maximum volume of oxygen you body can retain is called VO2 Max. There are different ways for you to exercise and practice cardiovascular fitness like walking. Cardio fitness can also involve aerobics, but either way fitness can be important in many ways. For example physical fitness can give you a boost in physical and cardiovascular fitness. Being healthy is important because you get to be more active knowing that your fit. Another way it can help is by keeping track of your weight. Obesity has grown in the U. S and just doing simple everyday execises in cardio fitness can maintain your weight and help decrease it. This also can boost someone’s life and can help people’s self-esteem and health problems. Cardio fitness can also help your breathing system which involves your heart and lungs. This is important because people also have harsh issues with their heart and lungs that can lead to serious health problems in their future. Exercising for cardio fitness can stop your breathing system from ever being damaged and can help maintain its healthy ways. All these are explanations on how cardio fitness can help a someone’s life and can make a healthier and stable life. Exercising is an important part for becoming more healthy and fit but doing other things involving health can help like eating a healthy diet and having enough energy to actually do exercises.

Whats the Deal with Improving Sentences SAT Writing Section Guide and Advice

What's the Deal with Improving Sentences SAT Writing Section Guide and Advice SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips There’s nothing harder than trying to figure out what someone else thinks is â€Å"the best,† and Improving Sentences asks you to do just that. Luckily, we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve that allow you to move through these questions with confidence. In this post,we’ll look at the writing skills these questions are designed to test and how to use those skills to answer the questions correctly. Improving Sentencesquestions havea section of a sentence underlined and 4 alternatives (plus the option to keep the sentence the way it is). The instructions say that these questions â€Å"test correctness and effectiveness of expression.† This means that the sentences aren’t necessarily wrong (though they usually are), they can also just be bad or confusing. We have to find the best, rather than simply the correct, way of saying something. But the types of choices and mistakes are the same in every test, so let's talk about the most common one and how to â€Å"improve† it. #1 Issue: Conciseness, Conciseness, Conciseness Almost all Improving Sentences questions involve conciseness; even if it’s not the main problem in the question, some of the incorrect answer choices will be wordy to the point of sounding like nonsense. Just to get a feel for what we mean by this, Here are some concise sentences and their less concise evil twins: Most dinosaur nests were hidden beneath vegetation from potential predators. Most dinosaurs laid eggs in hidden nests on the ground that was extremely well protected from other dinosaurs so that they would be more unlikely to be eaten by them. You can see that all the information in the longer sentence is included in the shorter one: things can only be hidden beneath vegetation if it's on the ground, and the word â€Å"predators† means hunting animals. The phrase â€Å"hidden from...predators† can only mean that the point is to keep the eggs safe. Here’s another fun one: Because bacteria and other organisms can penetrate eggshells and decompose the contents, very few fossilized eggs found today contain any embryonic material. For the reason that the walls of eggs can be penetrated by bacteria and other small organisms that feed on organic material, the stone-like fossilized eggs people find today are usually lacking any remnants of embryos, whether intact or not. Okay, the second sentence here is a bit long even for the SAT, but it drives home the point that there is virtually no limit to the amount of irrelevant and repetitive information that can be stuffed into a sentence. And the SAT loves to push that particular envelope. The key is the information: can the same meaning be conveyed in fewer words? Below, we look at the information in the sentences above: Short Sentence Long Sentence Because For the reason that bacteria and other organisms can penetrate eggshells and decompose the contents the walls of eggs can be penetrated by bacteria and other small organisms that feed on organic material very few...contain any embryonic material are usually lacking any remnants of embryos, whether intact or not fossilized eggs found today the stone-like fossilized eggs people find today As you can see, any extra information that the second sentence offers is not relevant to the point of the sentence: the appearance of the eggs, what organisms feed on (that’s obvious from the fact that they’re eating dino eggs), and whether the embryos are intact or not. Those things don’t matter here, because the sentence is about the absence of embryonic material in the eggs. Common Problem: Repeated References to Something Another way to spot an SAT-designed bad sentence is repeated references to a person or thing, like so: The dinosaur eggs, those which had been incubated by machines, they were almost ready to hatch. Can you spot the nouns and pronouns in this sentence that refer to the same thing (the eggs)? Go ahead, we’ll wait. There are three: â€Å"eggs,† of course, â€Å"those,† and â€Å"they.† In this case, you can just take out the second two and the sentence is SAT-approved. Generally, we only need to use a pronoun when there are two things going on in the sentence: After the incubators had warmed, turned and monitored them for two months, the eggs were ready to hatch. Above, there’s the actions the incubators took in gestating the eggs, and then the statement that they are ready to hatch. That makes the two references, â€Å"eggs† and â€Å"they,† necessary. In the previous sentence, the only thing that’s happening is that they’re ready to hatch; the rest of the information is extra. Even More Common Problem: Gerunds, a.k.a. â€Å"-ing† verbs First of all, let’s get one thing straight: a gerund, or â€Å"-ing† verb, cannot by itself be the only verb in a sentence. Let’s take â€Å"feeling† as an example: Can we say â€Å"She feeling better†? No, we have to say she is feeling better. We can use it to start a sentence, like â€Å"Feeling better, she walked downstairs.† But the operative verb in this sentence is walked, not feeling. Students overuse â€Å"-ing† verbs, because they are more all-purpose than other verb conjugations. But they have limited utility in good writing, and even less utility on the SAT. (Bonus SAT vocab lesson: â€Å"utility† means usefulness.) The SAT is constantly presenting us with these kinds of sentences: The dinosaur eggs were very delicate, the reason for this being that they needed to be incubated. Then they’ll give us some alternatives to the underlined section: (A) (same as original) (B) and the reason being you have to incubate them (C) for the reason that incubation was needed by them (D) because of the fact that their incubation is necessary and vital (E) because they required incubation Strategy: How to Eliminate Carefully and Effectively The key to maneuvering successfully through the SAT is elimination. The choices are designed to overwhelm and confuse students, which is part of the reason they’re overhauling the test in 2016. This is also one of the many reasons the SAT requires preparation- the strategy of elimination is actually quite refined and powerful, if you do it correctly. So rather than point out why the right answer is right, we’re going to use the â€Å"-ing† verbs example above to give you a sample of our elimination strategy. Step 1: Which choice is the longest? Above, it’s (D), and It’s almost never the answer. You can safely eliminate it on this question type: if the others all seem blatantly wrong, then consider it. Step 2: Which is the most straightforward? Active voice is always better than passive voice: â€Å"they required incubation† is always preferable to â€Å"incubation was needed by them†- eliminate (C). The second person- †you†- is oftenwrong on the SAT, unless the writer is speaking directly to the reader. When it’s used to mean â€Å"a person,† it’s confusing, vague, and inaccurate. Eliminate (B). These steps leave us with only (A), the original, and (E), the shortest answer choice. Hopefully (E) clearly sounds better to you (see, here I’m talking directly to you, the reader, so the second person in appropriate). This strategy allows us to work through questions methodically and efficiently without losing our respective minds. It works for all the Reading and Writing questions (and some Math ones), but is especially necessary when your choices are just heaps of words with one â€Å"best† option stuck in between. If you liked this post you may like: What is a good SAT score? A bad SAT score? SAT Writing Guide Part II: Essays SAT Writing Guide Part I: Improving Paragraphs

Sandel, Doing the Right Thing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Business plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

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