Thursday, November 28, 2019

T IS SOMETIMES SAID that women have always been op Essay Example For Students

T IS SOMETIMES SAID that women have always been op Essay uyopressed by men, that the antagonism between men and women has its origin deep in human psychology or biology, and that the way women suffer in our society is nothing but the same old story that has been going on ever since human life began. This is such a pessimistic view that it is hard to understand why it is so popular with feminists today. If women are put at a disadvantage by human nature itself, how can we ever change things? Either an all-out war against men could lead to men being forced to change their ways without changing their basically anti-women ideas; or a few women could separate themselves off from the rest of society and be free in a sense; or the human race could be destroyed by women refusing all co-operation with men. None of these conclusions can be very appealing for the majority of women. We will write a custom essay on T IS SOMETIMES SAID that women have always been op specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now On the other hand, the view that women are oppressed simply because men (and most women too) have the wrong ideas about women can be too optimistic. Liberating women is seen as just a matter of persuasion and education, of explaining to men that they have got it wrong and that they really should share the housework and the top jobs because it would be more fair. History shows that all ideas can change: none are so deep-rooted in human nature that nothing can be done about them. But they cant be changed by persuasion, by the light of reason alone, because ideas depend on material relations between human beings. The idea that black people are inferior, for example, belongs to societies that exploit black people, either as slaves or as cheap labour. To get rid of the idea once and for all we have to get rid of the system that produces the idea. This doesnt mean that we cant argue or organise against racism here and now, but it does mean that persuading people that they have the wrong ideas is only the first step to getting rid of the society that is responsible for them. The idea that women are inferior comes from societies that are divided into classes, where one set of people control the labour of others and enjoy wealth and power as a result. Our own capitalist society is far from being the first society divided into classes, though we hope to make it the last. In ancient Greece and Rome, slaves were exploited by slave-owners, in Europe in the middle ages lords lived off the labour of serfs on the land, and there have been variations of these societies at other times and places. With the rise of manufacture and the Industrial Revolution, those with wealth to invest as capital found new ways to make profits out of wage-earning men and women. In all these forms of society, women have been oppressed. But there have been, even in quite recent times, societies that were not divided into classes, and where women did not have an inferior position. These were the societies we call primitive, where there was no production other than the gathering of wild plants and hunting of wild animals. Nowadays, most of these societies have been affected by contact with European traders, rulers and missionaries, who have changed their ways of life. But when white men first came into contact with most of the native tribes of North America, Australia and the Pacific islands, these were societies without classes and in which women were as strong and as powerful as men. .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 , .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .postImageUrl , .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 , .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:hover , .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:visited , .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:active { border:0!important; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:active , .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262 .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8364b8e630829d5dfc4c462d2e8cb262:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Jackie robinson EssayWhen production was simple and population low, womens role as the bearers of children was important and respected. Though men and women might have their separate tasks and rituals, women as well as men took part in the most important decisions, such as whether to move a settlement or make war on another band or tribe. Couples might live together with their children, but sexual relations were more free and separation easier than in later societies. When production increased, agriculture appeared, and flocks and herds of animals were kept for food and wealth (for fields and cattle were the first forms of private property), class divisions began to appear. Men of wealth could make others work for them, buy slaves and take advantage of others poverty. They began to own wives, too, like cattle, and pass on their wealth to their male children. As Engels argued a hundred years ago, in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, the oppression of women began when class society began. Bibliography:thers work for them, buy slaves and take advantage of others poverty. They began to own wives, too, like cattle, and pass on their wealth to their male children. As Engels argued a hundred years ago, in The Origin of the Family, Private Prope

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Mars essays

Mars essays In 1962, the United States President, John F. Kennedy, spoke at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Kennedy promised to put an American on the moon by the end of the 1960s. (The History) On June 16, 1969 Kennedys dream promise was kept. The United States placed two men on the surface of the moon. (Apollo 11) By the year 2001, a few months short of 32 years later, no other body has had humans as guests. Why not? The vast wealth of knowledge which could be gained by a manned exploration of Mars is probably one of the better reasons to go. By further exploration of Mars the field of Comparative Planetology could be expanded. One of the procedures which could be performed my explorers sent to Mars is drilling samples out of the Martian ice caps. This process is done on Earth in order to get a climatic history. This information would be extremely useful when looking at Mars. We would finally know why the water which once rushed over Mars and created the great cannels of Mars have become frozen. Other important information which could be found on Mars deals with the vulcanism. We could more easily study to see when and why vulcanism ceased on Mars. (Collins 84) Opponents argue that this would just be all too costly. They claim that the money could not be found for such a venture.(Easterbrook 91) Well In answer to the money problem one comes to a totally new point, the economy. This spending of money would not break the United States government, it would stimulate the United States Industrial fields. The money spent on a Mars mission would not merely be spent in space, it would be spent in the United States. All of the money spent here would also push the United States industries to make better products. The companies would be pushed to create such dependable products in fields such as aerospace and avionics. Of course we would see the same effects seen after NASAs crowing achievement, putt...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

QUANTUM COMPUTER CHIPS NOW ONE STEP CLOSER TO REALITY Essay

QUANTUM COMPUTER CHIPS NOW ONE STEP CLOSER TO REALITY - Essay Example And the overall costing of this demonstration is $445 million. It is the first time in 34 years that a rocket other than the space shuttle will stand tall at the Launch Pad 39-B. NASA specially modified this pad for the erection of this rocket, which is purposed to carry astronauts to the moon. The test rocket includes a solid-rocket first stage, followed by a mock second stage, and dummy Orion crew capsule atop to stimulate the specified weight and size of Ares I. The Ares I rocket is by far the tallest booster in service and about to fly, and stands about 100 meters (327 feet) high, i.e. 14 stories taller than NASA's space shuttles. Thin and exceptionally tall, the Ares I-X depicts the actual Ares I rocket which will carry the astronauts into the orbit, possibly by 2015. Being a mock up, no person or payload will be on board during the demonstration (Moskowitz) (Dunn). Comparatively, the shuttle is 184 feet tall. The Saturn V rockets were a record-setting 363 feet that ferried astronauts to the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. John Shannon, shuttle program manager stated that Ares' first stage boosters is embedded with proven technology; it is the same kind of solid rocket booster used to propel space shuttles.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Riggs v.Palmer and Speluncean Explorers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Riggs v.Palmer and Speluncean Explorers - Essay Example Fearing that his grandfather might change his decision in respect of the will Elmer Palmer murdered his grandfather through poisoning. The plaintiffs presented the argument that the will would allow Elmer to profit from his heinous crime. Elmer would be punished under the statute for murder but his claim to the estate could not be invalidated under the terms of either probate law or criminal law (Dworkin). In sharp contrast, the Speluncean Explorers case is purely hypothetical in nature and was written by Lon Fuller for the Harvard Law Review in 1949. A team of five entrapped spelunkers is depicted in the Commonwealth of Newgarth who are able to establish radio contact with their rescue team. The spelunkers are told by the engineers that around 10 days would be required for their extraction (Suber) while the spelunkers relate the total food rations they have to the physicians in the rescue team which are deemed insufficient. Radio contact breaks down and resultantly the spelunkers decide to hold a lottery in order to murder one of their members so that others can consume him for survival. The losing member is executed and eaten up. After the rescue the spelunkers are all convicted for murder but there is debate as to the application of murder sentences to the rescued spelunkers (Fuller). For Riggs v Palmer the majority opinion clearly stated that the plaintiffs were justified in their claims and the eventual outcome reinforced Judge Robert Earl’s opinion. The decision declared that the tenets of universal laws and universal maxims would be violated if Elmer Palmer was allowed to profit from his crime. It was also related that the legislature could not reasonably be expected to foresee any contingencies when laws were being drafted and so such disdainful behavior ought to be punished. This is similar to the views of Justice Keen in the Speluncean Explorers case where he opines that the statutes of law must be upheld in any circumstances no matter what the

Monday, November 18, 2019

ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) OF PLASMA IgM Lab Report

ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) OF PLASMA IgM - Lab Report Example After washing again to remove unbound enzyme a chromogenic substrate is added which develops colour upon reaction with the enzyme and measurement is recorded. Constructing a graph using the data and extrapolating to get appropriate values the following graph is generated. To construct the graph 0.088 was subtracted from 1st reading, 2nd reading and average reading and the values were plotted. Since, the readings for G were too high we had to use reading for F. ELISA helps in quantification and detection of antigens and in this case we detected human IgM and quantified their concentration in two plasma samples. One major advantage of using antibody to capture the antigen is that there is no need to purify the antigen (Gan and Pate, 2013). A standard curve was obtained using the trend of which we have predicted the concentrations of IgM in the sample plasma.In well A and B we provided nothing but the TBS and therefore we obtained very low values which were a result of the some reactions between the substrate and the enzyme. From wells C, D, E to F we provided a gradual increase in the concentration of the IgM and a subsequent decrease in the TBS concentration and we obtained values of optical density which showed a gradual increase in trend. Each of the wells is coated with antibodies which can react with the antigen under study. IgM is now added and it binds to the antibodies already bound to the walls. IgM is a pentamer and has a number o f binding sites that allows it to bind to both the antibody and the enzyme linked antibody thereby allowing it to perform sandwich ELISA. Next, the enzyme linked antibody is added which is specific for plasma IgM antigen is added. Greater the number of antigens, greater will be the number of enzyme-bound antibodies as well. After the substrate is added a colored product is obtained. The intensity

Friday, November 15, 2019

Relationship Between Poverty and Employment

Relationship Between Poverty and Employment The social problem I have chosen to focus on is poverty, but specifically the lack of access to adequate employment and the obstacles people living in poverty might encounter. For this particular social issue, I have decided to compare and contrast the United States with Australia. Taking a closer look at this problem, I am going to focus on the more specific issues pertaining to this concern, which include, the lack of access impoverished individuals in rural or remote communities face when it comes to employment, as well as the difficulties individuals living in urban communities encounter. Some of these obstacles consist of, limited access to needed transportation, lack of sufficient means to acquire or obtain access to technology, such as computers and the internet; lack of essential hygiene necessities and other resources, such as the proper attire required for employment, and most people living in poverty lack the essential skills and knowledge needed for adequate employment. T hese problems are faced by impoverished people living in both the United States and Australia, because generally speaking and for comparison purposes, they are similar when it comes to their development, economy, industrial level and social problems. Even though these two countries are very well developed, poverty continues to be an issue, especially when dealing with employment, unemployment or lack of adequate employment. Due to the disadvantages mentioned above, people continue to remain in poverty and at a social disadvantage, because their social mobility is hindered. The social problem I chose, problems individuals living in poverty face when trying to find adequate employment, is a big problem in todays society because of the lack of employment and financial hardships that are occurring. Finding employment is a particular problem for impoverished people because individuals living in poverty typically lack access to living essentials such as clean water, food, housing, health care and education; these essentials are also the necessities when trying to get employed. I chose this social problem because, for employment purposes, individuals need access to a computer with internet and a printer, proper attire, necessary hygiene items, transportation and skills, however, people living in poverty lack most or all of these things. In our societys mind, we think individuals who do not have a job and who are living in poverty as just lazy or that it is their fault, however, in this paper I am going to discuss the problems they face and the reason why gett ing a job is not so easy for them. Also, this problem is not just affecting Americans; it is affecting individuals all over the world. There are many countries that have populations living in poverty and have different social/economic classes like the United States has, however, I think this problem is different in developing countries compared to developed countries or countries that have adequate economic resources. For my purposes, I wanted to compare this social problem between countries that were similar, so I chose to research this problem in the United States and Australia and find the similarities and differences between the two. I think there countries are comparable because they are of similar economic standing and they are a developed nation, and like the United States, they have individuals who are living in poverty along with other inhabitants who are doing financially well. This social problem of poor lacking access to employment in the United States has been going on all throughout history, but I believe has gotten worse after the economy began to decline. For my purposes, I am interested in the lack of access to resources that are essential to getting a job, when getting a job means improving their current situation in an honest way. They kind of poverty I am referring to is relative poverty, which is where someone lack resources that many people take for granted (S201 lecture 1/18/11). This problem affects any individual living in poverty regardless if they live in cities or away from the city. In World War II, populations and jobs moved away from the city and into the suburbs, which resulted in job loss for individuals living in the city and causing them to become poor (S201 lecture 1/20/11). This action had major implications that are still taking place today, where people cannot afford housing, which is a huge part to getting a job because employe rs need a permanent address for employees, and as learned in class, approximately 500,000 people are homeless on any given day (S201 lecture 1/20/11). Also, if they cannot afford a place to live, chances are they cannot afford a vehicle and they have access to public transportation at a relatively low cost, however, as mentioned the majority of decent jobs are in the suburbs, which is not typically serviced by public transportation. Public transportation also is not always reliable, which could result in them being late to work and getting fired because of it. These problems were encountered by Barbara Ehrenreich in Nickel and Dimed, where she had a difficult time finding and affording a place to stay and she relied heavily on her car. Another resource people in poverty lack is access to computers. When applying for a job, employers require a resume, references and sometimes a cover letter, which all need to be typed and printed or emailed, which cannot be done without a computer an d a printer. Also, some jobs only post openings online and some require an applicant to fill out an application online, which requires a computer and internet access. Without these resources, individuals cannot even get past the first step when applying for a job. There are public libraries which are available to everyone, however, an individual would need a way to get there, money to print or copy documents, and computer access is sometimes limited to 30 minutes, which is not enough time to complete everything. Individuals living in poverty lack many employment resources, one of these things is proper attire for a job interview. Interviewers are looking for someone who dresses well and is presentable, some require business professional or business casual, this type of clothing is expensive and not something an impoverished individual can afford, so here is just another employment element that stops them from getting employed. To go along with proper clothing, employers want someone who is clean and does not smell, which is a difficult thing to do when individuals do not have adequate water access and cannot afford the basics such as soap and tooth paste. In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich experienced these problems first hand when she had to buy clothing or had to wear worn out clothing to work or for an interview; sometimes she could not afford to wash her clothes, so she wore dirty, smelly clothes to work. When it comes to education, chances are that people living in poverty did not receive adequate education and also lack some basic employment skills (S201 lecture 1/25/11). Most employers require a high school diploma or GED, and without that it is impossible to get a good job. Another component is having some essential skills, which include good communication and experience working on computers and with computer programs, which poor people lack because they have not had much professional interaction and as mentioned earlier, they lack access to computers, th erefore they do not have the required computer experience that well-paying jobs are looking for. This problem is not only an issue in America, it is an issue other places, a relatively comparable place is Australia. In Australia, poverty has always been around just like in the United States, and it has been increasing, which results in more people living in poverty and lacking access to resources that are needed for employment. During the 1990s, poverty increased from 11.3% to 13.0%, which then resulted in 60% of poor Australian families relying on government assistance as their main income in 2000, an increase from 46% in 1990 (Harding, 2002). There is not a set standard for how to measure poverty or a poverty line, but in 2000 when researching individuals who make 50% of the average household income, there were 3,274,000 individuals, 17.5%, living in poverty (The Bare Necessities, p.66). The key cause of poverty in Australia is unemployment, where from the 1990s to 2000, the unemployment rate increased which then led to an increase in the number of individuals living in poverty (Harding, 2002). In Australia, just like in the United States, lack of opportunities or resources such as shelter, ed ucation, transportation and housing is included in the definition of poverty; when individuals lack these resources, it hinders their ability for employment (Brokensha). A more specific definition of poverty is participation poverty, which involves lacking resources to participate in economic and social life or is defined by the inability to access certain resources that result in the inability to attain a decent level of wellbeing; an example of this is not having appropriate transportation (The Bare Necessities, p.40). Also like the U.S., Australia has been going through a recession, where the economy was weak along with the job market, resulting in an increased unemployment (The Bare Necessities, p.13). All areas in Australia are affected by poverty, but unemployment and poverty are more present in major cities because there are low employment opportunities for multiple reasons, one of them being businesses in the cities have shut down or relocated; housing in the slums of the ci ties is cheaper, so poor people tend to live in these areas, which causes them to lack access to adequate employment opportunities (The Bare Necessities, p.107). Individuals living in rural communities are also majorly affected by unemployment and poverty because they also lack access to the necessary resources for employment, for example, not being in walking distance of a lot of community services and not having some form of transportation (Brokensha). Also affecting their opportunities is low education levels, which is a continuous cycle because, often individuals whose families could not afford to send them to school lack the education levels to get a decent job, therefore they are unable to afford to send their children to school (Poverty and its Causes p.2). Like the U.S., Australia has government programs that provide assistance to low-income/poor individuals, but the majority of these programs are for children living in poverty, which excludes individuals without children th at live in poverty (Brokensha). These government assistance programs have improved over the last few years, but the main assistance program used to combat poverty, social security, provides payments that are lower than the poverty benchmark and the groups who face the highest probability of living in poverty, receive the lowest payments (The Bare Necessities). When comparing the U.S. and Australia, we can see that there are quite a few similarities, but there are some differences as well. A similarity between the United States and Australia in reference to the social problem of poor lacking access to employment resources was, they both went through a recession which lead to an increase in unemployment, resulting in an increase in poverty. I think they share this because countries do business together and when the economy takes a turn in one country, it affects other countries. In both places, the government is involved in this issue, by providing assistance to individuals who need it, but people in both places still lack the resources needed to obtain a job, like access to technology and transportation. They might share this because they are both well developed countries and to be well developed, government needs to be somewhat involved but they cannot solve everything. Another similarity in both countries is poverty mostly affects the inner cities, which is a consequence of job relocation/shutdown. I think this is so because as mentioned, both countries went through a change in industrialization, which affected business stability and location. With these similarities there are also differences, one of them being the poverty percentages; in the U.S. the poverty rate is 24%, in Australia it is 19% (The Bare Necessities, p.10). These percentages arent really that far apart and I think this is because both countries are well developed but have both went through economic changes that affected the people; this difference could be associated with economic situation in the countries before economic events. Another difference is how the poverty line is determined; in the U.S. it is determined by the standard of living and the lack of goods and services that mainstream society tends to take for granted, which is constantly being evaluated (Poverty in the United States). In Australia, there are different methods for determining this, but there is no agreed upon measure. Although the definitions vary, I think it is hard to define what poverty is because th ere are so many variables which make it hard to determine and pinpoint, so I think this difference just comes from different approaches to poverty. Another definition variance is in the U.S., when an individual lacks resources or access to resources need to better their lives is referred to as relative poverty; in Australia, this is referred to as participation poverty. These definitions are basically the same, just with different terms. I think they both have a term for this because individuals that lack the ability to improve their lives do not fit into the typical definition of poverty, but they do lack resources needed for employment and that are typically taken for granted. As mentioned earlier, cities are the areas mostly affected by poverty, but rural communities are also affected; in the U.S., minorities, who have migrated here, tend to live in cities and in Australia, indigenous people tend to live in rural areas. This difference could be from groups not wanting to mix with other groups. Another difference was post World War II, when jobs in America moved from the cities to the suburbs, which left a lot of people at a disadvantage, and after the war in Australia, there was an economic boom, which some of the poor did not take advantage of (Poverty in Australia). Throughout this paper I have explained the problems people living in poverty face when trying to find a job and getting hired, where they lack housing, education, technology, transportation, clothing and hygienic necessities. This problem affects people in the U.S. and in Australia, so this is not an isolated issue. With this information, it can be determined that people in poverty have little social mobility because they lack resources needed to better their lives. This is clearly a social problem that has been around a long time and has no signs of disappearing.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Generation X, Less Happy, Why? :: essays research papers

Generation X, Less Happy, Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nowadays divorce is so common it's hard for people to try hard, fight through their problems and make a marriage last when there's such an easy way out, divorce. Marriages of earlier generations were sometimes happier, because divorce wasn't the immediate anecdote to family or marital problems. I come to this conclusion from hearing about my moms childhood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandparents have stayed together to this day regardless of their problems which made my moms childhood happier. One incident which illuminates my moms childhood being happier is when my grandpa had to take care of the kids because my grandmother was in the hospital. It was great for my mom to have her own father take care of them instead of being left with an aunt or a close family friend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandmother was told she'd be in the hospital for a couple of weeks , it ended up being three. This was the first time she was separated from her children, and the first time my grandpa, the businessman, had to take care of the house and kids. All the household duties changed and it was hectic, my grandpa had to take on the mother role. He had to make breakfast for the kids, pack their lunches, go grocery shopping, help with homework and take the kids to school. My mom who was only nine was the only girl so they made her make the beds and clear the table. Those three weeks were hell, for all of them. For my grandpa it was difficult to take care of everything and work over forty hours a week. For the children it was hard to be separated from mom. All my grandmother did was worry the whole time about the kids, the house and my grandpa probably having a nervous breakdown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was very difficult, but this incident brought all of them closer, in a way. My grandmother missed her family as much as they missed her. My mom and uncles also became a lot closer to my grandfather. Overall this experience showed my grandparents how much they loved, missed, and needed each other but it was better when they handled things together and then they knew they made the right decision by staying together. This experience, in a way, showed them what it would be like if they were divorced or separated, lonely, sad, and very Generation X, Less Happy, Why? :: essays research papers Generation X, Less Happy, Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nowadays divorce is so common it's hard for people to try hard, fight through their problems and make a marriage last when there's such an easy way out, divorce. Marriages of earlier generations were sometimes happier, because divorce wasn't the immediate anecdote to family or marital problems. I come to this conclusion from hearing about my moms childhood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandparents have stayed together to this day regardless of their problems which made my moms childhood happier. One incident which illuminates my moms childhood being happier is when my grandpa had to take care of the kids because my grandmother was in the hospital. It was great for my mom to have her own father take care of them instead of being left with an aunt or a close family friend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandmother was told she'd be in the hospital for a couple of weeks , it ended up being three. This was the first time she was separated from her children, and the first time my grandpa, the businessman, had to take care of the house and kids. All the household duties changed and it was hectic, my grandpa had to take on the mother role. He had to make breakfast for the kids, pack their lunches, go grocery shopping, help with homework and take the kids to school. My mom who was only nine was the only girl so they made her make the beds and clear the table. Those three weeks were hell, for all of them. For my grandpa it was difficult to take care of everything and work over forty hours a week. For the children it was hard to be separated from mom. All my grandmother did was worry the whole time about the kids, the house and my grandpa probably having a nervous breakdown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was very difficult, but this incident brought all of them closer, in a way. My grandmother missed her family as much as they missed her. My mom and uncles also became a lot closer to my grandfather. Overall this experience showed my grandparents how much they loved, missed, and needed each other but it was better when they handled things together and then they knew they made the right decision by staying together. This experience, in a way, showed them what it would be like if they were divorced or separated, lonely, sad, and very

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Chapter 36 The Parting of the Ways

Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Barty Crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around Barty Crouch, binding him tightly. He turned to Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Harry upstairs?† â€Å"Of course,† said Professor McGonagall. She looked slightly nauseous, as though she had just watched someone being sick. However, when she drew out her wand and pointed it at Barty Crouch, her hand was quite steady. â€Å"Severus† – Dumbledore turned to Snape – â€Å"please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the hospital wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the hospital wing in half an hour's time if he needs me.† Snape nodded silently and swept out of the room. â€Å"Harry?† Dumbledore said gently. Harry got up and swayed again; the pain in his leg, which he had not noticed all the time he had been listening to Crouch, now returned in full measure. He also realized that he was shaking. Dumbledore gripped his arm and helped him out into the dark corridor. â€Å"I want you to come up to my office first. Harry,† he said quiedy as they headed up the passageway. â€Å"Sirius is waiting for us there.† Harry nodded. A kind of numbness and a sense of complete unreality were upon him, but he did not care; he was even glad of it. He didn't want to have to think about anything that had happened since he had first touched the Triwizard Cup. He didn't want to have to examine the memories, fresh and sharp as photographs, which kept flashing across his mind. Mad-Eye Moody, inside the trunk. Wormtail, slumped on the ground, cradling his stump of an arm. Voldemort, rising from the steaming cauldron. Cedric†¦dead†¦Cedric, asking to be returned to his parents†¦. â€Å"Professor,† Harry mumbled, â€Å"where are Mr. and Mrs. Diggory?† â€Å"They are with Professor Sprout,† said Dumbledore. His voice, which had been so calm throughout the interrogation of Barty Crouch, shook very slightly for the first time. â€Å"She was Head of Cedric's house, and knew him best.† They had reached the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore gave the password, it sprang aside, and he and Harry went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. Dumbledore pushed it open. Sirius was standing there. His face was white and gaunt as it had been when he had escaped Azkaban. In one swift moment, he had crossed the room. â€Å"Harry, are you all right? I knew it – I knew something like this – what happened?† His hands shook as he helped Harry into a chair in front of the desk. â€Å"What happened?† he asked more urgently. Dumbledore began to tell Sirius everything Barty Crouch had said. Harry was only half listening. So tired every bone in his body was aching, he wanted nothing more than to sit here, undisturbed, for hours and hours, until he fell asleep and didn't have to think or feel anymore. There was a soft rush of wings. Fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on Harry's knee. â€Å"‘Lo, Fawkes,† said Harry quietly. He stroked the phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. There was something comforting about his warm weight. Dumbledore stopped talking. He sat down opposite Harry, behind his desk. He was looking at Harry, who avoided his eyes. Dumbledore was going to question him. He was going to make Harry relive everything. â€Å"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze. Harry,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"We can leave that till morning, can't we, Dumbledore?† said Sirius harshly. He had put a hand on Harry's shoulder. â€Å"Let him have a sleep. Let him rest.† Harry felt a rush of gratitude toward Sirius, but Dumbledore took no notice of Sirius's words. He leaned forward toward Harry. Very unwillingly, Harry raised his head and looked into those blue eyes. â€Å"If I thought I could help you,† Dumbledore said gently, â€Å"by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened.† The phoenix let out one soft, quavering note. It shivered in the air, and Harry felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down his throat into his stomach, warming him, and strengthening him. He took a deep breath and began to tell them. As he spoke, visions of everything that had passed that night seemed to rise before his eyes; he saw the sparkling surface of the potion that had revived Voldemort; he saw the Death Eaters Apparating between the graves around them; he saw Cedric's body, lying on the ground beside the cup. Once or twice, Sirius made a noise as though about to say something, his hand still tight on Harry's shoulder, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him, and Harry was glad of this, because it was easier to keep going now he had started. It was even a relief; he felt almost as though something poisonous were being extracted from him. It was costing him every bit of determination he had to keep talking, yet he sensed that once he had finished, he would feel better. When Harry told of Wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger, however, Sirius let out a vehement exclamation and Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry started. Dumbledore walked around the desk and told Harry to stretch out his arm. Harry showed them both the place where his robes were torn and the cut beneath them. â€Å"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's,† Harry told Dumbledore. â€Å"He said the protection my – my mother left in me – he'd have it too. And he was right – he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face.† For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second. Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him. â€Å"Very well,† he said, sitting down again. â€Å"Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier. Harry, continue, please.† Harry went on; he explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and told them all he could remember of Voldemort's speech to the Death Eaters. Then he told how Voldemort had untied him, returned his wand to him, and prepared to duel. But when he reached the part where the golden beam of light had connected his and Voldemort's wands, he found his throat obstructed. He tried to keep talking, but the memories of what had come out of Voldemort's wand were flooding into his mind. He could see Cedric emerging, see the old man, Bertha Jorkins†¦his father†¦his mother†¦ He was glad when Sirius broke the silence. â€Å"The wands connected?† he said, looking from Harry to Dumbledore. â€Å"Why?† Harry looked up at Dumbledore again, on whose face there was an arrested look. â€Å"Priori Incantatem,† he muttered. His eyes gazed into Harry's and it was almost as though an invisible beam of understanding shot between them. â€Å"The Reverse Spell effect?† said Sirius sharply. â€Å"Exactly,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This phoenix, in fact,† he added, and he pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on Harry's knee. â€Å"My wand's feather came from Fawkes?† Harry said, amazed. â€Å"Yes,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago.† â€Å"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?† said Sirius. â€Å"They will not work properly against each other,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle†¦a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed – in reverse. The most recent first†¦and then those which preceded it†¦.† He looked interrogatively at Harry, and Harry nodded. â€Å"Which means,† said Dumbledore slowly, his eyes upon Harry's face, â€Å"that some form of Cedric must have reappeared.† Harry nodded again. â€Å"Diggory came back to life?† said Sirius sharply. â€Å"No spell can reawaken the dead,† said Dumbledore heavily. â€Å"All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged from the wand†¦am I correct, Harry?† â€Å"He spoke to me,† Harry said. He was suddenly shaking again. â€Å"The†¦the ghost Cedric, or whatever he was, spoke.† â€Å"An echo,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"which retained Cedric's appearance and character. I am guessing other such forms appeared†¦less recent victims of Voldemort's wand†¦.† â€Å"An old man,† Harry said, his throat still constricted. â€Å"Bertha Jorkins. And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Your parents?† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. Sirius's grip on Harry's shoulder was now so tight it was painful. â€Å"The last murders the wand performed,† said Dumbledore, nodding. â€Å"In reverse order. More would have appeared, of course, had you maintained the connection. Very well, Harry, these echoes, these shadows†¦what did they do?† Harry described how the figures that had emerged from the wand had prowled the edges of the golden web, how Voldemort had seemed to fear them, how the shadow of Harry's mother had told him what to do, how Cedric's had made its final request. At this point. Harry found he could not continue. He looked around at Sirius and saw that he had his face in his hands. Harry suddenly became aware that Fawkes had left his knee. The phoenix had fluttered to the floor. It was resting its beautiful head against Harry's injured leg, and thick, pearly tears were falling from its eyes onto the wound left by the spider. The pain vanished. The skin mended. His leg was repaired. â€Å"I will say it again,† said Dumbledore as the phoenix rose into the air and resettled itself upon the perch beside the door. â€Å"You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight. Harry. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it – and you have now given us all we have a right to expect. You will come with me to the hospital wing. I do not want you returning to the dormitory tonight. A Sleeping Potion, and some peace†¦Sirius, would you like to stay with him?† Sirius nodded and stood up. He transformed back into the great black dog and walked with Harry and Dumbledore out of the office, accompanying them down a flight of stairs to the hospital wing. When Dumbledore pushed open the door. Harry saw Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. They appeared to be demanding to know where Harry was and what had happened to him. All of them whipped around as Harry, Dumbledore, and the black dog entered, and Mrs. Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream. â€Å"Harry! Oh Harry!† She started to hurry toward him, but Dumbledore moved between them. â€Å"Molly,† he said, holding up a hand, â€Å"please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay with him,† he added, looking around at Ron, Hermione, and Bill too, â€Å"you may do so. But I do not want you questioning him until he is ready to answer, and certainly not this evening.† Mrs. Weasley nodded. She was very white. She rounded on Ron, Hermione, and Bill as though they were being noisy, and hissed, â€Å"Did you hear? He needs quiet!† â€Å"Headmaster,† said Madam Pomfrey, staring at the great black dog that was Sirius, â€Å"may I ask what – ?† â€Å"This dog will be remaining with Harry for a while,† said Dumbledore simply. â€Å"I assure you, he is extremely well trained. Harry – I will wait while you get into bed.† Harry felt an inexpressible sense of gratitude to Dumbledore for asking the others not to question him. It wasn't as though he didn't want them there; but the thought of explaining it all over again, the idea of reliving it one more time, was more than he could stand. â€Å"I will be back to see you as soon as I have met with Fudge, Harry,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I would like you to remain here tomorrow until I have spoken to the school.† He left. As Madam Pomfrey led Harry to a nearby bed, he caught sight of the real Moody lying motionless in a bed at the far end of the room. His wooden leg and magical eye were lying on the bedside table. â€Å"Is he okay?† Harry asked. â€Å"He'll be fine,† said Madam Pomfrey, giving Harry some pajamas and pulling screens around him. He took off his robes, pulled on the pajamas, and got into bed. Ron, Hermione, Bill, Mrs. Weasley, and the black dog came around the screen and settled themselves in chairs on either side of him. Ron and Hermione were looking at him almost cautiously, as though scared of him. â€Å"I'm all right,† he told them. â€Å"Just tired.† Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears as she smoothed his bed-covers unnecessarily. Madam Pomfrey, who had bustled off to her office, returned holding a small bottle of some purple potion and a goblet. â€Å"You'll need to drink all of this. Harry,† she said. â€Å"It's a potion for dreamless sleep.† Harry took the goblet and drank a few mouthfuls. He felt himself becoming drowsy at once. Everything around him became hazy; the lamps around the hospital wing seemed to be winking at him in a friendly way through the screen around his bed; his body felt as though it was sinking deeper into the warmth of the feather matress. Before he could finish the potion, before he could say another word, his exhaustion had carried him off to sleep. Harry woke up, so warm, so very sleepy, that he didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. The room was still dimly lit; he was sure it was still nighttime and had a feeling that he couldn't have been asleep very long. Then he heard whispering around him. â€Å"They'll wake him if they don't shut up!† â€Å"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?† Harry opened his eyes blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. He could see the fuzzy outlines of Mrs. Weasley and Bill close by. Mrs. Weasley was on her feet. â€Å"That's Fudge's voice,† she whispered. â€Å"And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?† Now Harry could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing. â€Å"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva -† Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly. â€Å"You should never have brought it inside the castle!† yelled Professor McGonagall. â€Å"When Dumbledore finds out -â€Å" Harry heard the hospital doors burst open. Unnoticed by any of the people around his bed, all of whom were staring at the door as Bill pulled back the screens, Harry sat up and put his glasses back on. Fudge came striding up the ward. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at his heels. â€Å"Where's Dumbledore?† Fudge demanded of Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"He's not here,† said Mrs. Weasley angrily. â€Å"This is a hospital wing. Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -â€Å" But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward. â€Å"What has happened?† said Dumbledore sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you – I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch -â€Å" â€Å"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!† she shrieked. â€Å"The Minister has seen to that!† Harry had never seen Professor McGonagall lose control like this. There were angry blotches of color in her cheeks, and a hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.- â€Å"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events,† said Snape, in a low voice; he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -â€Å" â€Å"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!† McGonagall fumed. â€Å"I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -â€Å" â€Å"My dear woman!† roared Fudge, who likewise looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, â€Å"as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -â€Å" But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's. â€Å"The moment that – that thing entered the room,† she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, â€Å"it swooped down on Crouch and – and -â€Å" Harry felt a chill in his stomach as Professor McGonagall struggled to find words to describe what had happened. He did not need her to finish her sentence. He knew what the dementor must have done. It had administered its fatal kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead. â€Å"By all accounts, he is no loss!† blustered Fudge. â€Å"It seems he has been responsible for several deaths'.† â€Å"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius,† said Dumbledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. â€Å"He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people.† â€Å"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?† blustered Fudge. â€Å"He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!† â€Å"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius,† Dumbledore said. â€Å"Those peoples deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body.† Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore. â€Å"You-Know-Who†¦returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort – learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins – went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return.† â€Å"See here, Dumbledore,† said Fudge, and Harry was astonished to see a slight smile dawning on his face, â€Å"you – you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who – back? Come now, come now†¦certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders – but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"When Harry touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, he was transported straight to Voldemort,† said Dumbledore steadily. â€Å"He witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office.† Dumbledore glanced around at Harry and saw that he was awake, but shook his head and said, â€Å"I am afraid I cannot permit you to question Harry tonight.† Fudge's curious smile lingered. He too glanced at Harry, then looked back at Dumbledore, and said, â€Å"You are – er – prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?† There was a moment's silence, which was broken by Sirius growling. His hackles were raised, and he was baring his teeth at Fudge. â€Å"Certainly, I believe Harry,† said Dumbledore. His eyes were blazing now. â€Å"I heard Crouch's confession, and I heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; the two stories make sense, they explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer.† Fudge still had that strange smile on his face. Once again, he glanced at Harry before answering. â€Å"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who†¦well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fudge shot Harry another look, and Harry suddenly understood. â€Å"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge,† he said quietly. Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill all jumped. None of them had realized that Harry was awake. Fudge reddened slightly, but a defiant and obstinate look came over his face. â€Å"And if I have?† he said, looking at Dumbledore. â€Å"If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place -â€Å" â€Å"I assume that you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar?† said Dumbledore coolly. â€Å"You admit that he has been having these pains, then?† said Fudge quickly. â€Å"Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly – hallucinations?† â€Å"Listen to me, Cornelius,† said Dumbledore, taking a step toward Fudge, and once again, he seemed to radiate that indefinable sense of power that Harry had felt after Dumbledore had Stunned young Crouch. â€Å"Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous.† Fudge had taken half a step back from Dumbledore, but he looked no less stubborn. â€Å"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before†¦.† â€Å"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!† Harry shouted. He tried to get out of bed again, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. â€Å"I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy -â€Å" Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge. â€Å"Malfoy was cleared!† said Fudge, visibly affronted. â€Å"A very old family – donations to excellent causes -â€Å" â€Å"Macnair!† Harry continued. â€Å"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!† â€Å"Avery – Nott – Crabbe – Goyle -â€Å" â€Å"You are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!† said Fudge angrily. â€Å"You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heavens sake, Dumbledore – the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year too – his tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them – the boy can talk to snakes. Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy?† â€Å"You fool!† Professor McGonagall cried. â€Å"Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!† â€Å"I see no evidence to the contrary!† shouted Fudge, now matching her anger, his face purpling. â€Å"It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!† Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought of Fudge as a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. But now a short, angry wizard stood before him, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of disruption in his comfortable and ordered world – to believe that Voldemort could have risen. â€Å"Voldemort has returned,† Dumbledore repeated. â€Å"If you accept that fact straightaway. Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors -â€Å" â€Å"Preposterous!† shouted Fudge again. â€Å"Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!† â€Å"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!† said Dumbledore. â€Å"They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!† Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage. â€Å"The second step you must take – and at once,† Dumbledore pressed on, â€Å"is to send envoys to the giants.† â€Å"Envoys to the giants?† Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. â€Å"What madness is this?† â€Å"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!† â€Å"You – you cannot be serious!† Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. â€Å"If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants – people hate them, Dumbledore – end of my career -â€Å" â€Å"You are blinded,† said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, â€Å"by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any – and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now- take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act – and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!† â€Å"Insane,† whispered Fudge, still backing away. â€Å"Mad†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And then there was silence. Madam Pomfrey was standing frozen at the foot of Harry's bed, her hands over her mouth. Mrs.Weasley was still standing over Harry, her hand on his shoulder to prevent him from rising. Bill, Ron, and Hermione were staring at Fudge. â€Å"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I – I shall act as I see fit.† Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand. â€Å"Now, see here, Dumbledore,† he said, waving a threatening finger. â€Å"I've given you free rein, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -â€Å" â€Å"The only one against whom I intend to work,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side.† It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, â€Å"He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled. â€Å"There,† said Snape harshly. â€Å"There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold.† Fudge stepped back from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word Snape had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, â€Å"I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry.† He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped at Harry's bed. â€Å"Your winnings,† he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto Harry's bedside table. â€Å"One thousand Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around Harry's bed. â€Å"There is work to be done,† he said. â€Å"Molly†¦am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?† â€Å"Of course you can,† said Mrs. Weasley. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. â€Å"We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride.† â€Å"Then I need to send a message to Arthur,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius.† â€Å"I'll go to Dad,† said Bill, standing up. â€Å"I'll go now.† â€Å"Excellent,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry -â€Å" â€Å"Leave it to me,† said Bill. He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room. â€Å"Minerva,† said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, â€Å"I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also – if she will consent to come – Madame Maxime.† Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word. â€Å"Poppy,† Dumbledore said to Madam Pomfrey, â€Å"would you be very kind and go down to Professor Moody's office, where I think you will find a house-elf called Winky in considerable distress? Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens. I think Dobby will look after her for us.† â€Å"Very – very well,† said Madam Pomfrey, looking startled, and she too left. Dumbledore made sure that the door was closed, and that Madam Pomfrey's footsteps had died away, before he spoke again. â€Å"And now,† he said, â€Å"it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius†¦if you could resume your usual form.† The great black dog looked up at Dumbledore, then, in an instant, turned back into a man. Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back from the bed. â€Å"Sirius Black!† she shrieked, pointing at him. â€Å"Mum, shut up!† Ron yelled. â€Å"It's okay!† Snape had not yelled or jumped backward, but the look on his face was one of mingled fury and horror. â€Å"Him!† he snarled, staring at Sirius, whose face showed equal dislike. â€Å"What is he doing here?† â€Å"He is here at my invitation,† said Dumbledore, looking between them, â€Å"as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other.† Harry thought Dumbledore was asking for a near miracle. Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with the utmost loathing. â€Å"I will settle, in the short term,† said Dumbledore, with a bite of impatience in his voice, â€Å"for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any us. Very slowly – but still glaring at each other as though each wished the other nothing but ill – Sirius and Snape moved toward each other and shook hands. They let go extremely quickly. â€Å"That will do to be going on with,† said Dumbledore, stepping between them once more. â€Å"Now I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher – the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there.† â€Å"But -† said Harry. He wanted Sirius to stay. He did not want to have to say goodbye again so quickly. â€Å"You'll see me very soon. Harry,† said Sirius, turning to him. â€Å"I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don't you?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry. â€Å"Yeah†¦of course I do.† Sirius grasped his hand briefly, nodded to Dumbledore, transformed again into the black dog, and ran the length of the room to the door, whose handle he turned with a paw. Then he was gone. â€Å"Severus,† said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, â€Å"you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready†¦if you are prepared†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I am,† said Snape. He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely. â€Å"Then good luck,† said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius. It was several minutes before Dumbledore spoke again. â€Å"I must go downstairs,† he said finally. â€Å"I must see the Diggory's. Harry – take the rest of your potion. I will see all of you later.† Harry slumped back against his pillows as Dumbledore disappeared. Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were all looking at him. None of them spoke for a very long time. â€Å"You've got to take the rest of your potion. Harry,† Mrs. Weasley said at last. Her hand nudged the sack of gold on his bedside cabinet as she reached for the bottle and the goblet. â€Å"You have a good long sleep. Try and think about something else for a while†¦think about what you're going to buy with your winnings!† â€Å"I don't want that gold,† said Harry in an expressionless voice. â€Å"You have it. Anyone can have it. I shouldn't have won it. It should've been Cedric's.† The thing against which he had been fighting on and off ever since he had come out of the maze was threatening to overpower him. He could feel a burning, prickling feeling in the inner corners of his eyes. He blinked and stared up at the ceiling. â€Å"It wasn't your fault. Harry,† Mrs. Weasley whispered. â€Å"I told him to take the cup with me,† said Harry. Now the burning feeling was in his throat too. He wished Ron would look away. Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her. His mother's face, his father's voice, the sight of Cedric, dead on the ground all started spinning in his head until he could hardly bear it, until he was screwing up his face against the howl of misery fighting to get out of him. There was a loud slamming noise, and Mrs. Weasley and Harry broke apart. Hermione was standing by the window. She was holding something tight in her hand. â€Å"Sorry,† she whispered. â€Å"Your potion, Harry,† said Mrs. Weasley quickly, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. Harry drank it in one gulp. The effect was instantaneous. Heavy, irresistible waves of dreamless sleep broke over him; he fell back onto his pillows and thought no more.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Statistics For Managers Example

Statistics For Managers Example Statistics For Managers – Coursework Example Statistics for Managers Regression Analysis Regression Analysis is a procedure that uses statistics to estimate the connection between different variables. The dependent variables rely on other factors to make estimations while independent variables are rigid and normally operate on their own (Montgomery, 2011). For instance, a manager can suggest that sales of a product depend on the promotional strategies used or the prices charged. This implies that sales are dependent variables because they depend on price and product promotion while price and promotion are the independent variables (Montgomery, 2011). In this regard, if a regression model uses one independent variable, then it is a simple model. In situations where two or extra independent variables are applied, then the model is a multiple. Regression analysis requires close scrutiny of the variables to know the ones that influence each other directly or indirectly.The benefit of performing a regression analysis in the business context is that it helps in decision making. For instance, management can adopt a strategy that contributes to higher sales and returns by considering the variables used (Montgomery, 2011). Another benefit is that it helps in speculative purposes where a company can use the present results to predict future results. This applies if a company studies changes in consumer spending to determine the future production of goods and pricing (Montgomery, 2011). The other benefit of regression analysis to businesses is that it assists in the detection and correction of mistakes. Sometimes, managers make predictions or decisions using wrong figures, but the results do not reflect the correct information. ReferenceMontgomery, D. C. (2011). Introduction to linear regression analysis. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Figure of Sound in Prose and Poetry

Figure of Sound in Prose and Poetry A figure of speech that relies primarily on the sound of a word or phrase (or the repetition of sounds) to convey a particular effect is known as a figure of sound. Although figures of sound are often found in poetry, they can also be used effectively in prose. Common figures of sound include alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, and rhyme. Examples and Observations: AlliterationA moist young moon hung above the mist of a neighboring meadow.(Vladimir Nabokov, Speak Memory: An Autobiography Revisited, 1966)AssonanceShips at a distance have every mans wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the same horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.(Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937)ConsonanceThis earth is tough stuff, he said. Break a mans back, break a plow, break an oxs back for that matter.(David Anthony Durham, Gabriels Story. Doubleday, 2001)OnomatopoeiaFlora left Franklin’s side and went to the one-armed bandits spread along one whole side of the room. From where she stood it looked like a forest of arms yanking down levers. There was a continuous clack, clack, clack of levers, then a click, click, click of tumblers coming up. Following this was a metallic poof some times followed by the clatter of silver dollars coming down through the funnel to land with a happy smash in the coin receptacle at the bottom of the machine.(Rod Serling, The Fever. Stories From the Twilight Zone, 2013) RhymeA veritable fusillade of smells, compounded of the pungent odors of deep fat, sharks fin, sandalwood, and open drains, now bombarded our nostrils and we found ourselves in the thriving hamlet of Chinwangtao. Every sort of object imaginable was being offered by street hawkersbasketwork, noodles, poodles, hardware, leeches, breeches, peaches, watermelon seeds, roots, boots, flutes, coats, shoats, stoats, even early vintage phonograph records.(S.J. Perelman, Westward Ha! 1948)Figures of Sound in Poes ProseDuring the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.(Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher, 1839)Figures of Sound in Dylan Thomass ProseThere was no need, that holiday morning, for the sluggardly boys to be shouted down to breakfast; out of their jumbled beds they tumbled, and scrambled into their rumpled clothes; quickly at the bathroom basin they catlicked their hands and faces, but never forgot to run the water loud and long as though they washed like colliers; in front of the cracked looking-glass, bordered with cigarette cards, in their treasure-trove bedrooms, they whisked a gap-tooth comb through their surly hair; and with shining cheeks and noses and tidemarked necks, they took the stairs three at a time.But for all their scramble and scamper, clamour on the landing, catlick and toothbrush flick, hair-whisk and stair-jump, their sisters were always there before them. Up with the lady lark, they had prinked and frizzed and hot-ironed; and smug in their blossoming dresses, ribboned for the sun, in gym-shoes white as the blancod snow, neat and silly with doilies and tomatoes they helped in the higgledy kitchen. They were calm; they were virtuous; they had washed their necks; they did not romp, or fidget; and only the smallest sister put out her tongue at the noisy boys.(Dylan Thomas, Holiday Memory, 1946. Rpt. in The Collected Stories. New Directions, 1984) Figures of Sound in John Updikes Prose- Do you remember a fragrance girls acquire in autumn? As you walk beside them after school, they tighten their arms about their books and bend their heads forward to give a more flattering attention to your words, and in the little intimate area thus formed, carved into the clear air by an implicit crescent, there is a complex fragrance woven of tobacco, powder, lipstick, rinsed hair, and that perhaps imaginary and certainly elusive scent that wool, whether in the lapels of a jacket or the nap of a sweater, seems to yield when the cloudless fall sky like the blue bell of a vacuum lifts toward itself the glad exhalations of all things. This fragrance, so faint and flirtatious on those afternoon walks through the dry leaves, would be banked a thousandfold and lie heavy as the perfume of a flower shop on the dark slope of the stadium when, Friday nights, we played football in the city.(John Updike, In Football Season. The New Yorker, November 10, 1 962)- By rhyming, language calls attention to its own mechanical nature and relieves the represented reality of seriousness. In this sense, rhyme and allied irregularities like alliteration and assonance assert a magical control over things and constitute a spell. When children, in speaking, accidentally rhyme, they laugh, and add, Im a poet / And dont know it, as if to avert the consequences of a stumble into the supernatural. . . .Our mode is realism, realistic is synonymous with prosaic, and the prose writers duty is to suppress not only rhyme but any verbal accident that would mar the textual correspondence to the massive, onflowing impersonality that has supplanted the chiming heavens of the saint.(John Updike, Rhyming Max. Assorted Prose. Alfred A. Knopf, 1965) Poetic Functions of Language[English poet] Gerard Manley Hopkins, an outstanding searcher in the science of poetic language, defined verse as speech wholly or partially repeating the same figure of sound. Hopkins subsequent question, but is all verse poetry? can be definitely answered as soon as the poetic function ceases to be arbitrarily confined to the domain of poetry. Mnemonic lines cited by Hopkins (like Thirty days hath September), modern advertising jingles, and versified medieval laws, mentioned by Lotz, or finally Sanskrit scientific treatises in verse which in Indic tradition are strictly distinguished from true poetry (kavya)all these metrical texts make use of the poetic function without, however, assigning to this function the coercing, determining role it carries in poetry.(Roman Jakobson, Language in Literature. Harvard University Press, 1987)Word Play and Sound Play in a Poem by E.E. Cummingsapplaws)fellowsitisnts(a paw s(E.E. Cummings, Poem 26 in 1 X 1, 1944) The False Dichotomy Between Sound and SenseIn plain expository prose, such as this book is written in, says [literary critic G.S. Fraser], both writer and reader are consciously concerned not mainly with rhythm but with sense. This is a false dichotomy. The sounds of a poem connected by rhythm are indeed the living body of thought. Take the sound as poetry and there is no further stage of interpretation into poetry. Just the same is true of periodic prose: the rhythm of the period organizes sound into a unit of sense.My criticism of the logical tradition in grammar is just that stress, pitch, attitude, emotion are not suprasegmental matters added to the basic logic or syntax but other glimpses of a linguistic whole which includes grammar as usually understood. . . . I accept the now unfashionable view of all the old grammarians that prosody is a necessary part of grammar. . . .Figures of thought like understatement or emphasis are no more and no less expressed in sound than anything else.(Ian Robinson, The Establishment of Modern English Prose in the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Cambridge University Press, 1998) Figures of Sound in 16th-Century Prose- Suspicion that an inordinate attraction to figures of sound was likely to tyrannise a writers style, that the claims of the ear threatened to dominate those of the mind, has always dogged analysis of Tudor prose, especially in the case of [John] Lyly. Francis Bacon indicted [Roger] Ascham and his followers for precisely this failing: for men began to hunt more after words than matter; more after the choiceness of the phrase, and the round and clean composition of the sentence, and the sweet falling of the clauses, and the varying and illustration of their works with tropes and figures, than after the weight of the matter, worth of subject, soundness of argument, life of invention, or depth of judgment [The Advancement of Learning].(Russ McDonald, Compar or Parison: Measure for Measure. Renaissance Figures of Speech, ed. by Sylvia Adamson, Gavin Alexander, and Katrin Ettenhuber. Cambridge University Press, 2007)- Shall my good will be the cause of his ill will? Because I was content to be his friend, thought he me meet to be made his fool? I see now that as the fish scolopidus in the flood Araris at the waxing of the moon is as white as the driven snow, and at the waning as black as the burnt coal, so Euphues, which at the first increasing of our familiarity was very zealous, is now at the last cast become most faithless.(John Lyly, Euphues: the Anatomy of Wit, 1578) See also: 10 Titillating Types of Sound Effects in LanguageEuphonyEuphuismExercise in Identifying Sound Effects in Poetry and ProseFigures of SpeechHomoioteleutonHomophonesOronymProsodyReduplicativeRhythmSound Symbolism

Monday, November 4, 2019

Louis i kahns phenomenah Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Louis i kahns phenomenah - Essay Example But more than that, the buildings that are created become the living testimony of the coming together of men, of the institution of men. This whole manner of looking at the intricate connection of man, of buildings and of the institution of men is given to humanity by a man who himself changed the image, the very esse of architecture in the contemporary milieu – Louis I Kahn. The aim of this paper is to address one poignant question Why Louis I Kahn’s work is important in the history of architecture in particular and in the history of humanity in general? In order to answer this question, this paper will look into three factors that are integral into the analysis of the question. First part of the paper will be the presentation of Louis I Kahn as the man, the architect and the philosopher. Second, the paper will delve into some of his buildings which attest to the great legacy that Kahn has left humankind - Salk Institute, the National Assembly in Sher-e-bangla in Bangladesh and the Kimbell Art Museum. Third, drawing heavily from what have been elucidated in the first and second parts of this paper, the paper will present the answers to the main question of this paper. And as the task of answering the main query of this paper throws light to the gift and brilliance of Louis I Kahn, it is acknowledged that to be able to fully understand Louis I Kah n it â€Å"involves the rewriting of the history of architecture† 1 the paper holds that this simple exposition is minute in comparison to the greatness of Louis I Kahn the architect, the philosopher, the man. â€Å"Man is born with what to do but not how to do it; how to do it takes a long, long, long time.†2 Louis I Kahn said this statement in his 1966 Berkeley Lecture. This claim thrust the reader into the conception that Kahn’s notion of the human nature is anchored on the age old philosophical ideal that human nature is beaming with potentiality for action and that what determines

Friday, November 1, 2019

Leonardo Davinci aritist or scientist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leonardo Davinci aritist or scientist - Essay Example (Catholic Encyclopedia) Leonardo da Vinci is best described as one of the greatest minds of the Renaissance. He was born in a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. He was a multi-talented artist-scientist who excelled in various fields as painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scholar. "Leonardo was one of the greatest men of science in history, but the world which admired him as an artist did not discover the man of science until many centuries after his death" (Dibner, 380). He was chosen the 13th among the "Immortals of Science" by nearly 1,200 college and university presidents, editors of science periodicals, science editors of the world's great newspapers, and professors of science at scores of universities. (Dibner, 380) Leonardo's fascination with machines probably began during his boyhood. Some of his earliest sketches clearly show how various machine parts worked. As an apprentice in the studio of the artist Verrocchio, Leonardo observed and used a variety of machines. By studying them he gained practical knowledge about their design and structure. (Museum of Science) During the Renaissance, European artists began to study the model of nature more closely and to paint with the goal of greater realism. They learned to create lifelike people and animals, and they became skilled at creating the illusion of depth and distance on flat walls and canvases by using the techniques of linear perspective. (Holmes, 87) In the fifteenth century, Italy was not the unified country we know today; rather it was divided into many small independent states. Naples in the south was ruled by a series of kings. Popes of the Roman Catholic Church ruled the middle section. To the north different families controlled the largest and wealthiest city-states of Florence, Milan, and Venice. They fought wars against each other and against smaller neighboring states to increase their power. (Museum of Science) In that time of the renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci trained as a painter, and his amazing power of observation and skill as an illustrator enabled him to notice and recreate the effects he saw in nature. Leonardo was curious and observant, and wrote down and sketched so many of his observations in his notebooks. He was among the very first to take a scientific approach towards understanding of the world. (Museum of Science: Leonardo's Perspective) Leonardo wrote in Italian using a special kind of shorthand that he invented himself. He used "mirror writing", starting at the right side of the page and moving to the left. He did this probably to make it harder for people to read his notes and steal his ideas. Another reason is that he was hiding his scientific ideas from the powerful Roman Catholic Church; and also, writing left handed from left to right was messy because the ink just put down would smear as his hand moved across it; therefore he chose to write in reverse because it prevented smudging. (Museum of Science) As an artist, Leonardo borrowed almost nothing from the past - a few details in a candelabrum in the small "Annunciation" of the Louvre, rare sketches such as the "Dancers" of the Academy of Venice, a warrior's head at London (British Museum). Leonardo, therefore,