Suggest one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Suggest one - Essay Example However, they must take into consideration the effects of every bill that they propose to be imposed. Every supplement gaining for approval of government to enter the market includes tonnage of paper works and tedious process. With the current situation of the state where the supplements are freely roaming the stores and pharmacies, and there are some drugs that are easily bought over the counter, their move to regulate them may cause these products to be out of market. This can hurt the public especially those who are relying on affordable ways to get treatment for their sickness. There is no therapeutic claim for supplements that is a bare fact. But it can not be denied that there are positive effects that these supplements give to human bodies that’s why people keep on patronizing them. When strict regulations on these products are ruled out, some of these supplements can possibly fade in the market circulation causing people relying on them to lose their chances of achieving good health in cheaper and easier ways. People from the government imposing bills and laws must see to the general welfare of the public first. If laws imposed can cause decline for public health, then I think they should think and rethink the limitations of the law to make it beneficial to

Review Article - Rheumatoid Arthritis & Il-6 Essay Example for Free

Review Article Rheumatoid Arthritis Il-6 Essay Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune condition principally causing synovial joint inflammation and cartilage erosion. The pathogenesis encompasses intricate cellular and humoural manifestations, and vascular reactions that result in the infiltration of the synovium by white blood cells, of which release inflammatory mediators, inclusive of Interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 serum levels of RA patients as shown by Capell et al. (1993) displayed a median of 55 IU/ml, as compared to that of healthy controls of 10 IU/ml. With a wide-ranging pleiotropy endorsed by both a membrane-bound (IL-6R) and soluble (sIL-6R) receptor, and by the relative omnipresence of the trans-membrane protein gp130, IL-6 endorses a pro-inflammatory effect via its influence on numerous cell types and signalling-pathways. As a result, heightened levels of IL-6 aids in the promotion of osteitis, sequential joint damage, pain/discomfort and impaired function in RA patients. Pleiotropy of IL-6 Interleukin 6 exerts effects on numerous pathways contributing to the pathophysiology of RA. IL-6 as it is called today has been known by several names that exemplify its pleiotropy for example, hepatocyte-stimulating factor known to cause the induction of C-reactive protein (CRP); due to IL-6 association with synovial fibril aggregation has been known as Amyloid protein; a thrombopoietin; both B-cell differentiation and stimulating factor 2; plasmacytoma growth factor; and cytotoxic T-cell differentiation factor. It also causes the differentiation of Th17 cells; is a causative factor in adhesion molecule expression on the surface of endothelial cells, and is involved in the differentiation to mature from precursor osteoclasts cells (REF!!). IL-6 Recptor binding IL-6 implements its influence via a protein complex primarily comprised of a membrane bound IL-6R and a glycoprotein comprised of two intra-cytoplasmic transducer sub-units, gp130. When IL-6 binds to membrane bound IL-6R (mIL-6R) it causes homo-dimerisation of the gp130 sub-units, of which triggers intra-cytoplasmic signal transduction. Whilst expression of gp130 is relatively omnipresent upon the surface of the body’s cells (Akil, et al., 2008), IL-6R is most prominently located on hepatocytes, macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils and select lymphocytes. However, (sIL-6R) of which is systemic also binds IL-6, and just as mIL-6R, can also engage with gp130 for sIL-6-gp130 trans-signalling (REF!). Synoviocytes, for example do not express mIL-6R but do express gp130. Raised levels of IL-6 in the synovium is a characteristic biomarker of RA (Attar, et al., 2010), and Kim, et al. (1996) states enhanced IL-6/sIL-6R in synovial fluid increased the risk of joint destruction, as IL-6 stimulates endothelial cells to express adhesion cytokines and other molecules of which attract inflammatory cells to synovial membrane (Romano, et al., 1997) thus could contribute to exemplifying the significance of sIL-6R in RA pathophysiology. sIL-6R is formed by either an incomplete proteolytic enzymic dissection of mIL-6R or alternative splicing of mRNA (REF!!). With the aforementioned ubiquitous nature of gp130, mIL-6R and systemic sIL-6R, increasing evidence REFERENCES SEE NOTES!! shows that a non-membrane bound, systemic, soluble gp130 (sgp130) found in higher circulatory concentrations than that of sIL-6, also binds IL-6/sIL-6R, thus functioning as a redundency factor inhibiting the cytoplasmic signal-transducing potential of mgp130 REFERENCES SEE NOTES!!, (IL-6/IL-6 receptor system and its role†¦) thus serving as a natural inhibitor of IL-6 signalling (IL-6/IL-6 receptor system and its role†¦). Intracellular signalling gp130 dimerisation brings Janus Kinases (JAKS), a receptor-associated protein complex, into close proximity causing a trans-activation of the two molecule types. Auto-phosphorylation of JAKS occurs, of which causes intracellular signal transduction by recruiting signal-transducers and activators of transcriptions (STAT) that form either hetro or homo dimers and migrate to cell nucleus effecting target gene transcription of various physiological processes (REF). IL-6 can be detrimental to human physiology (REF!), thus expression of proteins known as the suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS) function as a negative-feedback system, and are activated by STAT’s. The regulation of the JAK-STAT signalling pathway by SOCS is more specifically down-regulated by SOCS 3 (REF!). SOCS 3 binds JAK’s causing negative-regulation thus functioning as an auto-regulatory mechanism, by inhibiting JAK activity. IL-6 and the Adaptive Immune System The trans-signalling of IL-6 is known to cause the induction of pre-B-cell-colony-stimulating factor (PBEF) in fibroblast cells of the synovium (Bryant, et al., 2006), and since PBEF upon its discovery was considered a B-cell differentiation cytokine(McNiece et al., 1994), it could be considered plausible that IL-6-induced PBEF and the IL-6 maturation of B-cells, collectively contribute to RA. It has been found the effect of IL-6 on plasmablasts indirectly induces the production of B-cell antibodies by assisting elements of CD4+ T-cells (of which act upon activated B-cells) due to elevated IL-21 production (Bond, et al., 2009), thus IL-6 may potentially be a co-adjuvant to humoural immunity enhancement (Bond, et al., 2009). Enhanced levels of the RA associated Rheumatoid Factor are located in the IgA, IgG and IgM isotypes (Ahmed, et al., 2010), and citruline antibodies located in serum and joints, can be linked to the plasmablast-induced antibody production of IL-6 (Ahmed, et al., 20 10). IL-6 enhances T-cell proliferation where they have been mitogen stimulated (Mihara, et al., 2002). IL-6 also impacts T-cell development (Mihara, et al., 2002). Along with transforming growth factor (TGF)- ÃŽ ², IL-6 contributes to Th 17 differentiation, an effector T cell with pro-inflammatory elements, and is further compounded by Th 17 production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17 (Bettelli, et al., 2007). Interestingly, without IL-6, TGF- ÃŽ ² induces Treg production, of which are Th 17 cell suppressors (Hirota, et al., 2008). CD4+ Th cells have been considered Th 1 and Th 2 based upon their cytokine-producing characteristics (Diehl and Rincon, 2002). Th 1 and Th 2 produce IFN-á µ § and IL-13 respectively, of which are both pro-inflammatory molecules, however whereas IL-6 bolsters IL-4 induced differentiation of Th 2, it causes the inhibition of IL-12 induced differentiation of Th 1 (Diehl and Rincon, 2002). Acosta-Rodriguez, et al. (2007) found that in vitro levels of IL-1ÃŽ ² – induced Th 17 polarisation of naà ¯ve human CD4+ T-cells were heightened by IL-6 involvement. More research however, is required to make clear the full extent of IL-6 role in human Th 17 cell development, in vivo. During inflammation, neutrophils of which are essential inflammatory mediators, systemically increase substantially, resulting in relative neutrophilia. Endothelial cells, macrophages and monocytes all emit IL-6. Neutrophils are directly affected by IL-6 due to the expression of IL-6R. Filer, et al. (2005) found that co-cultured endothelial cells and fibroblasts extracted from synovial fluid of RA patients caused an increase in IL-6 and neutrophil recruitment. Adhesion molecules, of which it has been shown in the work of Woodfin et al. (2010) to be required in the transmigration of neutrophils, are augmented by IL-6 such as vascular cell adhesion molecule – 1 (VCAM) and intracellular adhesion molecule – 1 (ICAM) of which produce chemokine production. Thus neutrophils being the most numerous and systemic of leucocytes have a strong initial synovial presence and is bolstered by the amplification of the inflammatory cascade, contributing to the inflammatory escalation during acute-phase response; and findings from animal and human studies revealed that the blockade of IL-6 caused a reduction in neutrophil levels at inflamed sites (Hashizume, et al., 2008), as well as a reduction in systemic neutrophil counts in RA patients (Deguchi, et al., 2003 and Broll, et al., 2006),thus indicating a prominent role for IL-6 in neutrophilia. IL-6: Acute to Chronic Farnarier, et al. (2003) suggests the transition from acute to chronic inflammation as emphasised by a shift of biomarker from neutrophil to monocyte, is influenced by IL-6. It was found that if stimulated for a number of hours by inflammatory cytokines, neutrophils switched from the production of IL-8 and transitioned to monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) (Yamashiro, et al., 1999). sIL-6R is released from neutrophils of which in turn causes the chemokine release of endothelial cells, thus Romano, et al. (1997) suggests the IL-6 – sIL6R complex contributes to the release of MCP-1 from endothelial cells. As earlier discussed, neutrophil-count was found to be directly associated with the blockade of IL-6R?!; and endothelial cells expressing the gp130 but not the IL-6R, thus reliant upon the IL-6 – sIL6RÃŽ ± complex for induction of MCP-1 release, i.e. the release of monocyte, not neutrophil specific chemo-attractants (Gres, et al., 2001), it would appear IL-6 tran-signalling plays an integral role in the transition from acute to chronic inflammation via neutrophil and endothelial cells. *CHART SHOWING CELLS THAT RELEASE IL-6!!* IL-6 induces a disintigrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) proteinases of which are pivotal in the degradation of extracellular matrix. IL-6 more specifically, has been shown to induce ADAMTS-4 and MMP’s 1, 2 and 13 production in cells lining the synovium and chondrocytes (Hashizume and Mihara, 2009; Hashizume, et al., 2010; 2012). However, it has been suggested the IL-6 – sIL-6R complex has bearing on the extracellular matrix turnover, as it causes generation of tissue inhibitors of MMP’s (TIMP’s) in synovium fibroblasts and chondrocytes (Dayer, et al., 1998 and Hashizume, et al., 2012). The drug tocilizumab (TCZ), an IL-6 inhibitor reduces MMP-3 blood serum levels of RA patients (Garnero, et al., 2010), and has been show to restore biomarkers associated with cartilage turnover (Dayer, et al., 1998). Thus, in RA patients the reduction of IL-6 activity appears to be a mediatory factor in sustainment of healthy joint cartilage. Angiogenesis is a key process in the local inflammatory process. Neovascularisation of the synovium and other angiogenic processes such as hyperplasia of synovial cells and permeation by inflammatory cells are characteristic processes in pannus development and RA pathology (Ballara et al., 2001). In addition to notable constituents of the inflammatory process such as monocytes and T cells, both of which as stated previously have affiliations with IL-6 expression (CITATION OF A FEW), levels of a key angiogenic specific growth factor Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) has also been associated with systemic levels of IL-6, as demonstrated in the work of Hasizume, et al., 2009 and Hagihara, et al., 2003 revealing IL-6 induces VEGF production from synovial cells. VEGF induces proteins that contribute to the breakdown of endothelial basement membrane, including MMP’s, of which increases the permeability of blood vessels, thus allowing enhanced infiltration of inflammatory constituents (Delisle, et al., 2010). VEGF levels accordingly, have been shown to coincide with the articular severity of RA (Hagihana, et al., 2003), and has shown a reduction in response to TCZ (Hagihana, et al., 2003), of which correlates with findings of a semi-quantitative assessment by Akoi, et al. (2011) using ultrasonography that found TCZ responsible for a marked reduction in RA neovascularisation. Bone Remodelling Bone remodelling is a highly regulated process in which mature bone tissue is removed by osteoclasts and formation by osteoblasts. The pathogenesis of RA favours bone loss (resorption) via the excessive production of osteoclasts. Anecdotal evidence by Kazuto et al. (1996) revealed synovial fluid highly +ve for IL-6 –sIL6R complex from RA patients, stimulated increased formation of osteoclasts in mouse co-culture of osteoblast and bone marrow cells. This study coincides with research by Balena, et al. (1994) of which indicated that mice deficient in IL-6 displayed no significant changes in gross or trabecular bone structure. In human studies, biopsies of RA patients revealed that peri-articular bone loss was found to correlate with local excessive presence of IL-6 (Sugiyama, 2001), and work by Garnero et al. (2009) showed the administration of TCZ to RA patients in a multi-centre double-blind placebo-controlled study yielded an increase in bone-formation markers, with a decrease in bone-resorption markers. Collectively, research suggests IL-6 has a negative effect on bone mass. Acute-phase response Acute-phase response is an innate immune reaction in which IL-6 is notably involved via the stimulation of hepatocytes, and is a key inducer of the acute-phase protein CRP. CRP is considered a dependable biomarker of inflammation and RA activity as serum half-life remains constant due to its inflammatory-induced, hepatic-stimulated production being the exclusive systemic determinant and due to its noted increase in RA serum levels (Hirshfield and Pepys, 2003). Anaemia Approximately 1-in-4 RA patients will suffer symptoms of anaemia within the first year (Figenschau, Nikolaisen and Nossent, 2008). The hormone hepcidin, produced in the liver and integral in stemming the metabolism of iron, has been shown in vitro to increase in presence due to IL-6 stimulation of hepatoma cells (Ganz, 2003). This study correlates with Gabayan et al. (2004) in which IL-6 induced patients experienced a 7.5 fold increase in hepcidin production. Anaemia in RA patients, as a result of a hepcidin-IL-6 axis, has limited but supported credence. Osteoporosis has also shown a correlation with IL-6. As mentioned earlier, healthy bone metabolism requires adequate regulation of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, in which excessive IL-6 expression and the Th17 derived IL-17 (Gillespie, et al., 1999) both contribute to excessive osteoclast formation (Campbell et al., 2005). This has also been found to be the case in transgenic mice (De et al., 2006; and Choy and Dayer, 2009) in which bone formation was reduced, and negative ossification was reported. As shown, there are comparable cross-over aspects of IL-6 pathology between RA and osteoporosis. Treatment As highlighted throughout this review, IL-6 plays a pleiotropic pathophysiological role in RA, thus would make an ideal therapeutic target. The most promising and note-worthy of treatments at present, TCZ interrupts IL-6 induced trans-signalling. Numerous studies have shown promising results including a phase III clinical trial in 2005 using the ACR (American College of Rheumatology)* RA activity measure, which had improvement measures of 89, 70 and 47% at ACR’s of 20, 50 and 70 respectively at 52 weeks, in patients treated with TCZ. This multicentre, double-blind placebo-controlled trial by Hashimoto et al. (2004) showed bone resorption and joint destruction could potentially be completely prevented (Kishimoto, 2010), as exemplified when a culture of patient synovial and peripheral mononuclear cells, extracted from the same patients showed that osteoclast generation was completely prevented (Hashimoto et al., 2004; Kishimoto, 2010). At 6 weeks within this study, it was also found that IgG, CRP and serum amyloid A levels all normalised. It has also been suggested that TCZ aids in Th17 differentiation, hence IL-17 production, thus aids in the improvement of RA symptoms (Kimura and Kishimoto, 2010). Other notable studies such as the SAMURAI (Study of Active controlled Monotherapy Used for RA, an IL-6 Inhibitor) and LITHE (TociLIzumab safety and THE prevention of structural joint damage trial) served to enhance conscensus. This humanised, monoclonal antibody has now been approved in many countries^^. 286 With a wide-ranging pleitropy, IL-6 has the most profuse SF and systemic cytokine presence in RA pathophysiology, and coincides with cartilage erosion and disease activity. It has a role in elements of B-cell differentiation and increasing evidence suggests a definite yet ambiguous role in Th17 differentiation. IL-6 has several key positions in immune and inflammatory processes (recruitment, permeation and adhesion of inflammatory elements), and bone and joint degradation, of which over-expression causes adversity, such as release of hepcidin and CRP from the liver contributing to anaemia and inflammation, osteoporosis and pannus development. It plays a key role in the cross-over from acute-to-chronic disease. 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Saloon Culture Essay -- essays research papers

Saloon Culture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Royal Melendy writes about a rising social culture taking place at the turn of the twentieth century. He depicts this culture as the ambiance emitted in early Chicago saloons. â€Å"Saloons served many roles for the working-class during this period of American history, and were labeled as the poor man’s social clubs† (summary of saloon culture, pg. 76).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Saloons were described as part of the neighborhood. An institution recognized and familiar to its people. Many laws restricted their services; however, they continued to exist. The article talks about two types of saloons. The first being the more upscale in downtown districts. These would close around midnight not in accordance to law, but demand. The other type Melendy calls â€Å"saloons [of] workingmen’s districts† (Melendy, pg. 77). He illustrates these clubs as home away from home. They supplied the basis of food supply for those whose home was in the street or for those residents of cheap lodging establishments. It is even stated that many saloons provided free lunches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article discusses the need for these early Chicago saloons as a neighborhood commune for those men who labor long hours only to come home to poverty and despair of a desolate household. Melendy focuses on the mental, physiological, and moral nature of these workingmen. He points out that this saloon culture allows it’s patrons to develop these traits by interacting with their peers—others facing the same despair. These establishments are described as the â€Å"workingman’s school. He is both scholar and teacher† (Melendy pg. 78). Patrons gather at the bar, around tables and in the next room amongst games of pool, cards, and darts to discuss political and social problems, sporting news, and other neighborhood gossip. Here men, native and immigrant, exchange opinions and views of patriotism, brotherhood, and lessons in civil government. Melendy describes this atmosphere as cosmopolitan, and articulates that these businesses advertise this issue in their names. For example one of the downtown saloons was entitled â€Å"Everybody’s Exchange.† The saloon’s customers experienced a buffet of nationalities upon which was not so for those of poverty in previous decades. Saloons also served as disguises of corruption as Melendy illustrates by declaring â€Å"... ... Melendy’s discussion are lightly touched on in the excerpt. The article does explain how some patrons abused alcohol and would â€Å"revel in drunkenness and shame,† (Melendy, pg. 76) and even how the saloon wrecked their life. It also expresses the fact that some saloons would display nudeness and play on human lust in order to boost liquor sales. Finally, Melendy in his last sentence of the excerpt states â€Å"the youths are here [the saloon] corrupted is too well known†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Melendy, pg. 79). Courtesy of the Chicago Historical Society. Available at: http://homicide.northwestern.edu/timeline/1905/large/29.jpg References A Millennium Biography, Chicago in 1900. (October 1999). Available at: http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/1900/fun.html Melendy, Royal. â€Å"The Saloon in Chicago,† The American Journal of Sociology, 6 (November 1900): 289-306. Above references with page numbers note an excerpt of this article as published in For the Record: A Documentary History of America from Reconstruction through Contemporary Times. Edited by David E. Shi and Holly A. Mayer. Other references denote the full length article available at:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5765/ Saloon Culture Essay -- essays research papers Saloon Culture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Royal Melendy writes about a rising social culture taking place at the turn of the twentieth century. He depicts this culture as the ambiance emitted in early Chicago saloons. â€Å"Saloons served many roles for the working-class during this period of American history, and were labeled as the poor man’s social clubs† (summary of saloon culture, pg. 76).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Saloons were described as part of the neighborhood. An institution recognized and familiar to its people. Many laws restricted their services; however, they continued to exist. The article talks about two types of saloons. The first being the more upscale in downtown districts. These would close around midnight not in accordance to law, but demand. The other type Melendy calls â€Å"saloons [of] workingmen’s districts† (Melendy, pg. 77). He illustrates these clubs as home away from home. They supplied the basis of food supply for those whose home was in the street or for those residents of cheap lodging establishments. It is even stated that many saloons provided free lunches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article discusses the need for these early Chicago saloons as a neighborhood commune for those men who labor long hours only to come home to poverty and despair of a desolate household. Melendy focuses on the mental, physiological, and moral nature of these workingmen. He points out that this saloon culture allows it’s patrons to develop these traits by interacting with their peers—others facing the same despair. These establishments are described as the â€Å"workingman’s school. He is both scholar and teacher† (Melendy pg. 78). Patrons gather at the bar, around tables and in the next room amongst games of pool, cards, and darts to discuss political and social problems, sporting news, and other neighborhood gossip. Here men, native and immigrant, exchange opinions and views of patriotism, brotherhood, and lessons in civil government. Melendy describes this atmosphere as cosmopolitan, and articulates that these businesses advertise this issue in their names. For example one of the downtown saloons was entitled â€Å"Everybody’s Exchange.† The saloon’s customers experienced a buffet of nationalities upon which was not so for those of poverty in previous decades. Saloons also served as disguises of corruption as Melendy illustrates by declaring â€Å"... ... Melendy’s discussion are lightly touched on in the excerpt. The article does explain how some patrons abused alcohol and would â€Å"revel in drunkenness and shame,† (Melendy, pg. 76) and even how the saloon wrecked their life. It also expresses the fact that some saloons would display nudeness and play on human lust in order to boost liquor sales. Finally, Melendy in his last sentence of the excerpt states â€Å"the youths are here [the saloon] corrupted is too well known†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Melendy, pg. 79). Courtesy of the Chicago Historical Society. Available at: http://homicide.northwestern.edu/timeline/1905/large/29.jpg References A Millennium Biography, Chicago in 1900. (October 1999). Available at: http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/1900/fun.html Melendy, Royal. â€Å"The Saloon in Chicago,† The American Journal of Sociology, 6 (November 1900): 289-306. Above references with page numbers note an excerpt of this article as published in For the Record: A Documentary History of America from Reconstruction through Contemporary Times. Edited by David E. Shi and Holly A. Mayer. Other references denote the full length article available at:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5765/

The Living Dead of Afghanistan Essays -- Essays Papers

The Living Dead of Afghanistan Travesties are committed against women every day, in every country, in every city, town and home. In Afghanistan women are not only discriminated against, they are publicly reduced to animals. Women are deprived of basic human rights: they are not allowed to travel outside their homes without being completely covered by the traditional shroud-like burqa; they are not allowed to speak or walk loudly in public; they are not allowed to laugh or speak with other women; they are not allowed to attend school nor work; they are expected to be invisible; they are the ghosts of what were once educated, notable, and successful women. With their ruthless and extreme laws, the Taliban have effectively removed the physical presence of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban have stolen the very souls of these women and have turned them into the â€Å"living dead† of Afghanistan. The Taliban’s harsh restrictions and extreme religious laws have tainted the freedoms and basic human rights of the once valued and prominent women of Afghanistan. In 1996, the Taliban took control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. A report by the U.S. Department of State describes that this takeover was done in a very brutal and violent manner and the Taliban left the proof of their victory hanging in the streets of the city for over a week (par. 2). In Jan Goodwin’s article, Buried Alive, it is written that the men who are in charge of enforcing the laws of the Taliban are called the Department of the Propagation of Virtue and the Suppression of Vice; these men also punish citizens who disobey the laws. The majority of this group is made up of fifteen year old boys carrying machine guns, but also consists of men arme... ...stated in an interview with reporter Jan Goodwin that: â€Å"Our current restrictions are necessary in order to bring the Afghan people under control. We need these restrictions until people learn to obey the government† (par. 48). Women’s lives have changed drastically since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. They have been deprived of basic human rights and been reduced to faceless figures that roam the streets of Afghanistan like ghosts. Most of the world could never imagine the shock of not being able to go to work or wear your regular clothes, to be deprived of such things would be utterly terrible. The Taliban have tried to smother the flames of these women but they refuse to die they refuse to stop shining. These women are strong and will eventually overcome the oppressive rule and rise up from the ashes from which they have been forced to lay.

African Americans and the Prison System Essay

I. Introduction In the book the Mugging of Black America, Earl Ofari Hutchinson relays an interesting experience by a reporter. The reporter, who spent two and a half hours watching suspects march before Washington, D. C. Superior Court Judge Morton Berg, noted that all but one of these subjects was Black. He stated, ?  §There is an odd air about the swift afternoon? Xan atmosphere like that of British Africa in colonial times? Xas the procession of tattered, troubled, scowling, poor blacks plead guilty or not guilty to charges of drug possession, drug distribution, assault, armed robbery, theft, breaking in, fraud and arson. According to Hutchinson, the reporter witnessed more than a courtroom scene; he witnessed the legacy of slavery. This paper will attempt expand on Hutchinson?  ¦s theory. It will do so by first describing slavery and its lasting impact then it will attempt to show how the current criminal justice system mirrors slavery. PART 1: Slavery I. The History of Oppression and African Americans The history of the oppression as it relates to African Americans began in 1619. It was this year in which a Dutch ship brought the first slaves from Africa to North America. Following this arrival of twenty Africans in Virginia, white European-Americans created the institution of slavery. Slavery spread so quickly that by 1860 the original twenty slaves turned into nearly four million. In the beginning the legal status of these Africans was undefined. This absent definition created a lack of certainty which allowed for some slaves to become free after years of service. This only lasted briefly. In the 1660s, however, the colonies began enacting laws that defined and regulated slaves and the institution of slavery. One of the most important of these was the provision that black slaves, and the children of slave women, would serve for life. These ?  §breeding laws were just the beginning. Soon, slavery in the United States was governed by a body of laws developed from the 1660s to the 1860s. Even though every slave state had its own slave code and case law, it became universal that slavery was a permanent condition. In addition to slavery being a permanent condition, slaves were also, under these laws, considered property. Slaves, being property, could not own property or be a party to a contract. Since marriage is a form of a contract, slave marriages had no legal standing. Most codes also had sections regulating free blacks. Under these codes blacks who were not slaves were still subject to controls on their movements and employment. These laws served not only as a physical limitation, but an ideological one also. In addition to granting slave owners and white people power over slaves and in some cases free blacks, the laws also granted slaveholders and white-Europeans an intangible source of power. Socially, the institution of slavery allowed white slave owners to believe they had not only physical control, but physical and mental superiority over the slaves. With only a few exceptions, all slaves were Africans. This fact placed the label of inferiority on black skin. The actual institution of slavery as it relates to master and slave lasted up in till the Civil war. The American Civil War was fought, in part, over slavery. During the war, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which ?  §freed all slaves. This seemingly, brought the end of slavery throughout the United States, but unfortunately left a lasting impression. From this point on slavery took on a new form as former slaves being associated with the label of inferiority. II. The lasting effects of slavery: continuous oppression Slavery is defined by Webster?  ¦s dictionary as ?  §The state of being under the control of another person . Aalthough the actual physical control and violence supposedly ended after the emancipation proclamation, The intangible theory of supremacy derived from the institution of slavery resulted in many lasting effects. These effects in and of themselves are a form of force, a form slavery. a. The lost sense of culture and cultural pride: Feeling of inferiority Slave drivers made great efforts to eliminate African culture. For instance Africans were beaten if they were caught speaking their native languages or carrying out native rituals . Therefore, they were not able to effectively pass the languages, stories and traditions on to their children. This forced suppression resulted in the loss of verbal records and a rich legacy of history. It is no secret that there is pride in culture. Taking away the culture takes away the pride and the motivation and results in feelings of worthlessness. b. no economic foundation Slave drivers not only attempted to deprive the Africans of there culture and pride, but they successfully robbed them economically. Slaves were forced to work without pay for years while padding the pockets of the slave owners. This deficit of economics resulted in an inability to establish an economic foundation in the United States. c. Unleveled playing field Along with the deprivation of financial resources, another significant factor concerning the state of African Americans is arrested development. Slaves were deprived of opportunities to learn and become more competitive in many areas of society. Black people were not allowed to read or learn to read, so they could not take advantage of written text. All these lasting effects placed blacks in a severely disadvantaged state when slavery was â€Å"abolished†, led a socioeconomic structure in which white people generally held the highest ranks and Black people generally held the lowest ranks. III. Maintaining oppression In order to maintain this socioeconomic structure, there always seems to be a new form of oppression set in place to maintain ?  §slavery. As if the above detrimental effects of slavery were not enough, the White southerners were anxious to maintain more direct power and control over people with black skin, despite there classification as ?  §free. The White southerners decided to, again, use the law in order crystallize there theory of inferiority and keep black people at the lowest ranks. In 1865, southerners created Black Codes, which served as a way to control and inhibit the freedom of ex-slaves. These historic Codes controlled almost all aspects of life, and prohibited African Americans from almost all the freedoms that had been won during the Civil War. The codes, which were blatantly racist and oppressive, were eventually suspended in June 1866, during the ?  §reconstruction era. During this time period in America and despite resistance, African-Americans were slowly becoming part of this nation’s inclusion. By 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution confirmed the long awaited citizenship for Blacks in America. By 1870, the 15th Amendment was added to the Constitution which made it illegal to deny the right to vote based on race. The Reconstruction era, although short-lived, showed the first real attempts of inclusive freedom for African-Americans since the abolition of slavery. Gains were taking place: Citizenship, Voting, Education, and Politics. But, the underlying desire to have power over those in black skin never subsided. Just like the black Codes, this desire to dominate again manifested itself in another form, Jim Crow Laws. These laws promoted discrimination and the denial of equal protection by law. Just like the codes, they too were eventually abolished. Just like the Codes, Jim Crow laws, the desire of our society to suppress those in black skin will soon take another form. Today that form is the Criminal Justice System. PART 2 The New Age Slavery: The Prison System I. The Prison Institution Prisons are big in the United States. During the past 20 years, the United States experienced a massive increase in incarceration. The prison population increased fourfold, from 330,000 in 1980 to nearly 1. 4 million in 1999, and the incarceration rate increased from about 140 to about 476 per 100,000 resident populations. Today there are more than two million Americans behind bars. But even more startling is the fact that more than one-half of these incarcerated Americans have black skin. Although black Americans only make up about 12% of the US population, they account for more then 30% of all arrests, 44% of all prisoners and 40% of prisoners on death row. II. Race and the Prison System These obvious disparities in the criminal justice system can be attributed to many different things ranging from racial profiling to the lack of opportunity and poor education, but most criminal justice observers believe that these disparities have emerged from the underlying assumptions rooted in slavery. The assumption that slaves were inferior has carried over to today. Currently this theory of inferiority and desire to maintain oppression influences one of the major policies in place attacking African Americans today, the ?  §war on drugs. Most of the shocking disparities in the criminal Justice System as it relates to African Americans in prison can be attributed to the ?  §war on drugs. According to a study by Human Rights Watch, African-Americans comprise 62 percent of the drug offenders admitted to state prisons. In seven states, â€Å"blacks constitute between 80 and 90 percent of all people sent to prison on drug charges. † According to studies of the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, African-Americans constitute 15 percent of the national drug users, but comprise an amazing one-third of all those arrested on drug charges and 57 percent of those convicted on drug charges. The criminal justice system generally, and contemporary crime and drug policies in particular, serve as a means for White America to control the African Americans like they did in the 1600 . III. The lasting oppression Similarly to the black codes and segregation implemented after the abolition of slavery; restrictions are placed on prisoners after they are released. Once a prisoner is released from prison, parole and the bans on public assistance, public housing restrictions, etc. create barriers and a seemingly doomed cycle of dominance. Since half of the prisoners in prison are African American, these barriers, like the lasting effects of slavery, have a disproportionate effect on our black communities. III. The effects of oppression According to the Department of Justice?  ¦s Bureau of Justice statistics, the number of adults in prison, jail, or on probation or parole reached almost 7 million during 2004. Since Blacks comprise 30 percent of probationers and 41 percent of prisoners. That means around 4,500,000 African Americans are affected directly by the criminal justice system. Unfortunately those African Americans sent to prison or under parole are not the only people affected. The impact on the black community does not stop at the prison door, conversely it goes far beyond. Even after a prisoner is released there are lasting effects to the prisoner, his or her family and the community as a whole. a. Demise of the Black family One effect of the high rate of incarceration of African American males in particular has been the decreasing number of marriageable men in the African American community. Along with high rates of homicide, AIDS-related deaths and other factors, this has created a substantial imbalance in the male-female ratio among adult African Americans. Whereas gender ratios for African Americans at birth are about 102-103 males for every 100 females, by the age range 40-44, this declines to 86 males per 100 females, whereas white rates are 100:100 for this group. b. Lost political voice The impact of the criminal justice system on the black community goes beyond the declining family structure to issues of political influence as well. As a result of laws that disenfranchise felons and ex-felons in various states, an estimated 1. 4 million African American males, or 13% of the black male adult population, is either currently or permanently disenfranchised as a result of a felony conviction. In fourteen states, a felony conviction can result in lifetime disenfranchisement, and in seven of these states, an estimated one in four black males is permanently disenfranchised. Thus, not only are criminal justice policies contributing to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans, but imprisonment itself then reduces the collective political ability of African Americans to influence these policies. V. Solutions The constant demise in the structure of the black family, lost political influence and seemingly arrested development are all very familiar results of a history of oppression. Since these effects of slavery and disparities in the criminal justice system seemingly steam from hundreds of years ago there is no â€Å"quick fix†. Ideally the answer would lie in the destruction of all prejudice. But, it is impossible to erase the deep seated legacy and resurfacing effects of slavery. Therefore this problem must be attacked from a variety of different angles. Recommendations for change can be considered in the areas of awareness, legislative change, criminal justice officials?  ¦ initiatives, and criminal justice/community partnerships. The following are some suggested that will allow for a beginning to a seemingly circular and endless problem. 1. Legislative Actions Legislation should be pushed to Reconsider Mandatory Sentencing Policies and Equalize Penalties for Crack and Powder Cocaine . 2. Criminal Justice Officials?  ¦ Initiatives ?n Criminal Justice Officials should Expand Drug Policy Options And Expand the Use of Alternative Sentencing 3. Criminal Justice/Community Partnerships. The criminal Justice system and the community should attempt to Increase Community-based Diversion from the Criminal Justice System And Strengthen the Link between Communities and the Justice System VI. Closing Oppression in the form of institutionalization is nothing new to those dressed in black skin; it has been present since 1619. In this year Africans were brought to the United States and forced into the institution of slavery. Even after the abolition of slavery, a series of codes and segregation laws were set in place to maintain the suppression of black people because black skin was stigmatized as inferior. Even though the prejudice and biased codes and laws were eventually abolished themselves, this stigma remains. Because this theory of black inferiority was embedded in the American culture due to slavery, various means of oppression are able to continually resurface in different forms. Today that form is Criminal Justice System, more specifically the drug policies. Practically mirroring the institution of slavery, African Americans are being controlled and dominated by this system. Control by the USCJS includes the probation, parole, imprisonment, lost economic power, struggling communities and lost political voice. In order to end this vicious cycle of oppression, action must be taken. First people must be made aware of the disparities. Next those who are made aware must press for legislative change, criminal justice officials?  ¦ initiatives, and criminal justice/community partnerships. The challenge for the community at large is to engage in broad discussion of the mix of family, community, and government initiatives that can begin to reverse the cycle that has been set in motion in recent years. Let?  ¦s do what Abraham attempted o do in 1877, let?  ¦s end this legacy of slavery.

Conversational Email

Conversational Email Conversational Email Conversational Email By Ali Hale One reader, Bruce, wrote in to ask: I find it curious that the written word now includes expressions clearly intended for verbal exchange. Im referring to many of the suggestions you provided for email. In an attempt to be accurate and possibly too literal, I have tended to opt out of those uses. Specifically, when using phrases or words such as: I said†, I use I stated, instead of looking forward to hearing back from you, I use looking forward to your response. What is your take on this? This is a fascinating question, and there is no easy answer. Ultimately, few people would be surprised or annoyed by the use of â€Å"said† and â€Å"heard† in emails, even business ones. Here’s a few points that Bruce, and anyone else who’s wondered about the same issue, might want to consider. How common are verbal expressions in emails? Searching Google for the phrase â€Å"I said in my email† gives 26,500 hits, suggesting that this expression is in fairly widespread usage. (And given that most instances will be in private emails, that are not indexed by Google, this is probably a fraction of the true number.) Are emails closer to a letter or a phone call? For those of us who use email daily (probably most Daily Writing Tips readers!), we often feel it fills a gap somewhere between letters and telephone calls. Of course, emails are written, like letters are, but they have the immediacy of a phone conversation, and often a similar degree of informality. This is one reason why many of us tend to drop into using verbal phrases in our emails. My company has recently switched to using Google Mail, and email threads there are called â€Å"Conversations† by Google – again, suggesting that the way we think of email is bound up with verbal ideas. Perhaps part of the influence comes from instant messaging applications. Just think of the word â€Å"chat†, which used to have a verbal meaning – for many people now, the primary association is with â€Å"chat room† and â€Å"chat client†. When messages are sent through these applications, the format is often â€Å"Johnny says†¦Ã¢â‚¬  How formal should you be in an email? As I mentioned in my article of email stock phrases, it’s often unnecessary to be as formal in an email as you would be in a letter. To many recipients, Bruce’s â€Å"I stated† would sound very formal – even a little standoffish. If you do need to use formal or official language, though, it is safest to write â€Å"As I wrote in my previous email†¦Ã¢â‚¬  rather than â€Å"As I said in my previous email†¦Ã¢â‚¬  However, phrases like â€Å"Hope to hear from you soon† are appropriate even in a formal email if there’s a chance that the response might come by phone. Were verbal expressions used in letters in the past? One of my favourite books is an 18th century epistolary novel (a novel written as a series of letters between the characters) called Clarissa Harlowe, or, The History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson. His character Clarissa is a model of perfect behaviour and excellent letter-writing abilities. Early in the first volume (Letter II), she writes to her friend Anna: My brother was then in Scotland, busying himself in viewing the condition of the considerable estate which was left him there by his generous godmother, together with one as considerable in Yorkshire. In her next letter, Clarissa writes to Anna: (my brother being then, as I have said, in Scotland) From this, I would argue that the use of â€Å"said† to refer to something stated in previous written correspondence is not a 21st century innovation. What’s your take on this? Since this is an area with no hard-and-fast rules, it would be great to have your opinions. Do you think phrases like â€Å"As I said in my previous email† are appropriate? Would you write â€Å"Look forward to hearing from you† if you expected an emailed response? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph ExamplesOne Fell Swoop7 Other Types of Pronouns

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Essays

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Essays A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Paper A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Paper Essay Topic: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Themes Doubt and Ambiguity One of this story’s difficult aspects is the sense of uncertainty it creates by leaving important facts unresolved and seeming to offer several possible interpretations for its events. The reader is never allowed to doubt that the old man and his strange wings are as â€Å"real† as anything else in the story; yet the reader can never be sure just what he is - a heavenly angel, a sad human who happens to have wings, or perhaps some other, unexplained possibility. This deliberate uncertainty can leave readers feeling a bit cheated - particularly in what seems to be a fairy tale. Stories are expected to have clear-cut meanings, and the author is expected to reveal them to the reader; if not, there is a tendency to feel he has failed in his storytelling, or that his audience has failed as readers. But in works of realism (and many other forms), ambiguity is often used as an intentional effect, to make a story seem less â€Å"storylike,† and more like life itself. It reflects the understanding that real life is far more uncertain than the stories in books, and often forces readers to choose among several, equally possible explanations of events. As characters in daily life, readers seldom know â€Å"the whole story† - but it is traditional to expect writers to tie all tales neatly together for our understanding. While it complicates the task of the reader, the skillful, suggestive use of ambiguity is often admired by critics, and is usually considered to be one of the most appealing features of â€Å"magic realism. Even in stories dealing with magic or the supernatural, there are rules a writer is expected to follow - for example, that there must always be a clear distinction between magical events and â€Å"normal† ones, and that the nature and significance of all characters is eventually made known to the reader. But as a magic realist, Garcia Marquez insists on breaking these rules as well. Without its fantastic elements, there is no story; yet the reader is never sure just how to take them, and how far to trust the narrator. Sometimes, he makes it obvious that the villagers† magical beliefs are in fact ridiculous delusions; but at other times, the reader seems expected to take logically impossible events at face value. The changing of a human into a giant spider, a man who can’t sleep because â€Å"the noise of the stars† disturbs him - are these things that â€Å"really happened? † Can they be dismissed as mere hallucinations? Are they poetic images, meant to be interpreted on some level beyond their literal meaning? Like the old man with his miracles, Garcia Marquez may be suspected of having a kind of â€Å"mocking fun† with the reader, suggesting all sorts of miraculous possibilities, then stubbornly contradicting all the expectations he creates. In appreciating such a story, it may be necessary to limit one’s reliance on clear meanings and moral lessons, and to be prepared to enjoy the sheer wealth of possibility and comic misunderstanding that is presented. The Problem of Interpretation One effect of ambiguity is to focus attention on the uncertain nature of all efforts to assign meaning to events. The troublesome nature of interpretation has been a matter of intense interest for literary critics in the years since this story was written - which may be one reason Garcia Marquez remains a popular subject of scholarly attention. Many theorists stress that all â€Å"readings† (whether of texts, or of life itself) are strongly influenced by their context, and by the specific interests and point of view of the person making the judgment. While one may detect such influence in the opinions of others, it usually operates unconsciously in the self; the assumptions behind one’s own thinking are so familiar that one tends not to even recognize them as assumptions. Some critics go so far as to suggest that all explanations are actually inventions, and that â€Å"true meanings† can never be reliably determined. While one may not choose to embrace so extreme a position, the speculation serves as a reminder that confident pronouncements about the world are seldom, if ever, as rational or disinterested as one believes them to be. The villagers† quirky thought-patterns may be seen as a parody of this universal human tendency. They â€Å"talk themselves into† all kinds of wild speculations, clinging to irrational notions (such as the â€Å"fact† that mothballs are the proper food for angels) and leaping to impossible conclusions (for example, that the old man should be named â€Å"mayor of the world. †) It seems that, once they get an idea into their heads, they willfully convince themselves of its truth and ignore any evidence to the contrary - unless a more appealing version of the truth comes along. Their folly is a kind of exaggerated ignorance, which Garcia Marquez uses consistently for comic effect; but in their unquestioning application of â€Å"conventional wisdom,† and their stubborn faith in their own ideas, they reflect habits of mind that can be recognized in all cultures. On another level, the author may be seen as placing the reader in much the same position - forcing the reader to accept interpretations that seem absurd, or to give up any hope of understanding events. In this sense, it might be said that the story’s meaning lies in the manner it denies any clear meanings, complicating the reader’s efforts to understand, and showing usual means of determining the truth in a strange, uncertain light. The context of literature may tempt one to â€Å"read into† these odd characters, looking for symbolic meanings and creatively-coded messages from the author. Nothing prevents the reader from doing so, but there are few clues or hints to help and no obvious way to confirm or deny any interpretation one may construct. The reader can’t be sure if he is finding the story’s meaning or making one up; he may even wonder if the story has a meaning at all. Garcia Marquez presents a rich mystery, which engages the reader’s thinking and seems to â€Å"make sense† in the manner of fairy tales; then he leaves the reader to decide its meaning for himself. However one goes about the job, he is never allowed to escape the suspicion that he may, in his own way, wind up being as foolish and gullible as the villagers. Characters Bird-Man See Very old man with enormous wings Elisenda In her marriage to Pelayo, Elisenda takes an active part in decision-making. Her husband runs to get her as soon as he discovers the old man, and they try to make sense of him together, apparently sharing the same reactions. It is she who first conceives of charging the villagers admission to see the â€Å"angel,† an idea which makes the couple wealthy. At the end of the story, she is the mistress of an impressive mansion, dressed in the finest fashions. Yet the old man seems to be a constant annoyance to her, a feeling that only intensifies over time. He is useless and infuriating to her, â€Å"dragging himself about here and there like a stray dying man†; she seems to be constantly shooing him out of her way. She eventually grows so â€Å"exasperated and unhinged† that she screams that she is living in a â€Å"hell full of angels. † Elisenda is also the only witness to the old man’s departure, watching silently from the kitchen window as he tries out his newly regrown wings. Her reaction as he disappears over the horizon shows a measure of sympathy for the â€Å"senile vulture,† as well as her hope that her own life will return to normal: she lets out a sigh of relief â€Å"for herself, and for him. Father Gonzaga A former woodcutter, Father Gonzaga is the village priest whose religious training and standing in the community make him a moral and intellectual authority. Of all the characters, he seems uniquely qualified to pass judgment on the strange visitor and to determine whether he is really one of God’s angels or â€Å"just a Norwegian with wings. † However, his understanding of church doctrine leads him to no solid conclusions. He counsels the villagers to withhold their own judgment until he can receive a definitive answer from scholars in the Vatican. Father Gonzaga is never able to provide an explanation, and he loses sleep over the mystery until his parishioners eventually lose interest in the old man entirely. Examining the angel-like creature, Father Gonzaga immediately suspects that he is â€Å"an impostor. † The old man’s unbearable odor, his derelict condition, and his undignified appearance all make him seem â€Å"much too human† to accept as a perfect immortal or member of a divine race. But rather than make a judgment from the evidence of his senses (and knowing that the devil likes to trick people with appearances), he applies a series of tests to the old man, presumably based on church teachings about the nature of angels. First, he greets the old man in Latin; the lack of a response is yet another suspicious sign, for it shows that the â€Å"angel† doesn’t â€Å"understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers. † A series of letters from higher church authorities results in further â€Å"tests† of divinity (Does the old man have a belly-button? Does his language seem related to the biblical dialect of Aramaic? ) but fail to lead him to any final judgment. Unable to provide the answer that they seek from him, the Father can only warn his flock not to jump to any conclusions - a warning which they ignore with enthusiasm. As a comic authority figure Father Gonzaga is open to a variety of interpretations. He is clearly ineffective in his role as a spiritual authority and as a source of wisdom and enlightenment. His superiors in the church hierarchy prove no more helpful and seem to be obsessed with obscure heological abstractions, such as how many angels can fit on the head of a pin. Such factors suggest at least a mildly satirical view of the Catholic Church and perhaps of organized religion in general. To some critics, Father Gonzaga’s means of inquiry are also a parody of the scientific method, while his fruitless correspondence with church scholars reflects the useless-ness of bureaucracies everywhere. And other critics even see a reflection of themselves - the figure of the cultural authority, whose profession makes him unwilling to admit the obvious limits of his understanding. Old Man See Very old man with enormous wings Pelayo It is Pelayo, the town bailiff, who discovers the old man with wings struggling face down in the courtyard of his home after a storm. As the strange visitor begins to attract crowds, Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, exhibit him as a carnival attraction. Though the old man proves to be only a temporary sensation, he creates a highly profitable windfall for the young couple. In â€Å"less than a week they had crammed their rooms with money† from paid admissions; they quickly earn enough to rebuild their house as a mansion and to live in luxury by village standards. Pelayo quits his job and sets up a rabbit warren on the edge of town, trading a minor administrative position for the leisurely life of a gamekeeping squire. While Pelayo’s discovery of the winged being brings him great fortune, it also brings confusion and complication into his life. It is not the sort of luck he hopes to see repeated. When he and Elisenda design their new home, they are careful to include â€Å"iron bars on the windows so that angels wouldn’t get in. † Spider-Woman The centerpiece of a traveling carnival, the â€Å"woman who had been changed into a spider for disobeying her parents† proves to be a more popular attraction than the old man, causing the villagers to lose interest in him and putting an end to Pelayo and Elisenda’s profitable courtyard business. As a young girl, she had once gone dancing all night against her parents’ wishes; later, while walking home, she was allegedly struck by lightning and transformed into â€Å"a frightful tarantula the size of a ram. . . with the head of a sad maiden. † Compared to the baffling old man, the spider-woman provides a far more satisfying spectacle. While she is at least as grotesque and fantastic as the â€Å"bird-man,† she charges a lower admission price; more importantly, she is willing to communicate freely with her visitors, recounting her sad experience and inspiring sympathy for her fate. The â€Å"meaning† of her story is easy to grasp and teaches a clear moral lesson - one that confirms the villagers’ conventional beliefs. In contrast, the old man makes no attempt to explain himself and seems to contradict all religious and folk beliefs about the nature of angels. His very existence raises disturbing questions, but he offers no reassuring answers. Very Old Man with Enormous Wings The old man is the story’s central character and its central mystery. He is given no name but is precisely described in the title, which includes everything that can be said about him with any assurance: he is an extremely old man, in failing health, with all the frailties and limitations of human old age, and he has a huge pair of bird’s wings growing from his back. We follow the other characters in their comic efforts to explain him, to assign some â€Å"meaning† to his sudden appearance, and finally to just put up with his annoying presence, but when he flies away at the story’s end, the mystery remains. The very idea of a â€Å"winged humanoid† evokes the image of angels, and most of the â€Å"wise† villagers quickly assume that he is an angel. But everything about him seems to contradict traditional stereotypes of heavenly power and immortal perfection. When Pelayo first finds him in the courtyard, apparently blown out of the sky by a strong rainstorm, his condition is pathetic: he lies â€Å"face down in the mud,† â€Å"dressed like a ragpicker,† and tangled in his half-plucked, bug-infested wings. The narrator tells us directly that this â€Å"pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather had taken away any sense of grandeur he might have had,† and Father Gonzaga underscores the point later, when he observes that â€Å"nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels. † Nor do the villagers allow him any dignity or respect; throughout the story, they treat him â€Å"without the slightest reverence. † He is displayed like a circus animal or sideshow freak; poked, plucked, and prodded; branded with a hot iron; pelted with stones and garbage; and held prisoner for years in a filthy, battered chicken coop, exposed to the elements. Though he is the source of the family’s great fortune, Elisenda comes to find him an intolerable annoyance, becoming â€Å"exasperated and unhinged† by his presence. He is understandably â€Å"standoffish† toward people, tolerating only the company of the couple’s young child, and the villagers come to think of him as â€Å"a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals. † Given his cruel captivity, the reader can only agree when the narrator observes that his â€Å"only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Even this virtue is later deprived of any otherworldly greatness; it becomes merely â€Å"the patience of a dog who had no illusions. † The old man is described in imagery of earthly poverty and human weakness, contradicting traditional heavenly stereotypes. Even the birds with which he is compared to are ignoble ones (â€Å"buzzard wings,† â€Å"a huge decrepit hen,† â€Å"a senile vulture†). Yet there is clearly something of the magical about him beyond his unexplained wings and mysterious origin. He does, after all, perform miracles - but they, too, fail to satisfy expectations. The blind man’s sight isn’t restored, but he suddenly grows three new teeth; the leper’s sores aren’t cured, but sunflowers begin growing from them. These are â€Å"consolation miracles,† which show â€Å"a certain mental disorder,† as if senility had caused his magic powers to misfire. Alternately, they could be practical jokes, a form of â€Å"mocking fun† to avenge his abuse by the crowd. Their sick child recovers when Pelayo and Elisenda take in the old man, but this could be coincidence, or perhaps another case of failed magic (if, as the neighbor woman believes, he is an angel of death sent to take the baby). And, despite his obvious infirmities, he is possessed of a surprising inner strength. His health seems to be in irreversible decline throughout; a doctor’s examination finds it â€Å"impossible for him to be alive,† and very late in the story his death appears imminent. Yet with the coming of spring, after years of uselessness, his wings grow new feathers and regain their strength, allowing him to escape the village forever. Although his wings make him a creature of the sky and he is clearly not at home on land, the old man also has some association with the sea. He comes from the sea (or at least from over it), washed up with a tide of crabs by a three-day storm; his first attempts to fly away are accompanied by â€Å"a wind that seemed to come from the high seas. † Pelayo and Elisenda first take him for a foreign sailor (perhaps because they detect â€Å"a strong sailor’s voice† in his incomprehensible speech), and an early plan called for him to be set out to sea on a raft with provisions. As his wings begin to regenerate, he sings â€Å"sea chanteys† under the stars. Critics disagree in their interpretations of this connection and in their judgments on its significance. But in Garcia Marquez’s other works, they often find the sea to be an important theme or symbol, both as a natural force of great power (equally capable of bringing rich gifts or terrible destruction), and as a force associated with the supernatural. Several of his stories include episodes where unusual strangers from the â€Å"outside world† appear in a small town and have a strong effect on its people. Very often, these remarkable visitors arrive by sea. The old man is also connected in some way with Pelayo and Elisenda’s child. The newborn is ill when he first appears, but quickly recovers when the â€Å"angel† takes up residence. The â€Å"wise neighbor woman† believes that he was sent to takes the child’s life. Both the child and the old man come down with chicken pox at the same time, and the old man uncharacteristically allows the child to play with and around him, tolerating â€Å"ingenious infamies† with patience. But beyond these details, the connection or bond between the two is not developed. Because the old man is a misunderstood outsider subjected to cruel mistreatment, he becomes primarily a figure of pity - a strange emotion for an â€Å"angel† to inspire. He has enough magical qualities to let the reader see him, at least potentially, as a figure of wonder, but his very human vulnerability keeps this from being much more than a suggestion. Finally, there is at least an equal suggestion of a potential â€Å"dark side. † Pelayo’s first impression is that of having seen a â€Å"nightmare,† and the â€Å"mental disorder† of the old man’s miracles suggests that his â€Å"magic powers† are uncontrollable, making him dangerous. When burned with a branding iron, his startled wing-flapping creates â€Å"a whirlwind of chicken dung and lunar dust,† â€Å"a gale of panic that did not seem to be of this world. † It is almost a moment of terror; when he calms down, the villagers regard him with renewed caution and fear: â€Å"his passivity was not that of a hero taking his ease, but that of a cataclysm in repose. † And though his visit brings truly miraculous results for Pelayo and Elisenda by making them fabulously wealthy, it also seems to be a frightful and unnerving experience for them. Elisenda comes to feel that she lives in â€Å"a hell full of angels,† and when they design their dream home, the couple make sure to â€Å"angel-proof † it with iron bars. Media Adaptations  ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† was adapted, with some modifications, as a film with the same title in 1988, in a Spanish production directed by Fernando Birri. Starring Daisy Granados, Asdrubal Melendez, and Luis Alberto Ramiriz, the film is available with English subtitles on Fox/Lorber Home Video, Facets Multimedia, Inc. or from Ingram International Films. Plot Summary While Garcia Marquez makes no divisions in the text, this discussion will consider the plot in four separate stages. The story begins with the â€Å"old man’s† arrival and ends with his departure. The intervening period, which covers several years, may be divided into two stages: the brief sensation caused by his appearance and a long period of declining interest in which the strange visitor is all but forgotten. Arrival The setting is an unnamed coastal village, at an unspecified time in the past. A long rainstorm has washed crabs up from the beach into Pelayo’s house, creating an odor he thinks may be affecting his sick newborn child. Disposing of their carcasses, he sees a figure groaning on the ground in his courtyard; as he moves closer, he discovers it to be â€Å"an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn’t get up, impeded by his enormous wings. † Staring at this pitiful â€Å"bird-man,† Pelayo and his wife Elisenda begin to overcome their amazement, and even find him familiar, despite those mysterious wings. While they can’t understand his language, he seems to have â€Å"a strong sailor’s voice,† and at first they decide he is a shipwrecked foreign sailor, somehow managing to overlook the need to explain his wings. But a neighbor soon â€Å"corrects† them, stating confidently that he is an angel. Assuming he is nothing but trouble, she advises them to kill him. Not having the heart for it, Pelayo instead locks the old man in his chicken coop, still planning to dispose of him, only now by setting him to sea on a raft. He and Elisenda wake the next morning to find a crowd of neighbors in the courtyard and a far more complicated situation on their hands; suddenly, â€Å"everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house. † Sensation The villagers treat the old man like a â€Å"circus animal†; they toss him food and speculate about what should be done with him. Some think he should be made â€Å"mayor of the world,† others want him to be a â€Å"five-star general in order to win all wars,† and still others hope he will father a super-race of â€Å"winged wise men who could take charge of the universe. The village priest arrives to inspect the captive, and presumably to make a more reasoned judgment on his nature. Father Gonzaga suspects â€Å"an impostor† at once and finds the old man’s pathetic appearance to be strongly at odds with the church’s traditional image of heavenly messengers. Finding the old man smelly and decrepit, his battered wings infested with insects, and showing no knowledge of church etiquette, the priest concludes that â€Å"nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels. Despite his skepticism, he refuses to give a definitive ruling on the old man, choosing instead to write letters to his church superiors and wait for a written verdict from scholars in the Vatican. In the meantime, he warns the villagers against reaching any rash conclusions. But word of the â€Å"angel† has already traveled too far, drawing fantastic crowds and creating a carnival atmosphere; events unfold quickly, described in language that suggests the exaggerated, dreamlike world of fairy-tales. Surrounded by all this hectic activity, the old man takes â€Å"no part in his own act,† keeping to himself and tolerating the abuses and indignities of his treatment with a patience that seems to be â€Å"[h]is only supernatural virtue. † Drawn by the crowds, traveling circuses and carnivals arrive in town - including one that provides formidable competition for the puzzling attraction of â€Å"a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals. † Decline The new sensation is â€Å"the spider-woman,† whose fantastic nature includes none of the majesty we associate with angels; she represents a kind of â€Å"magic† familiar from fairy-tales and folk legends. When still a girl, she once disobeyed her parents by going dancing; later, on the way home, she was struck by lightning and changed into a giant tarantula, retaining her human head. As a spectacle, she appeals to the crowd in ways the old man cannot, and even charges a lower admission price. Significantly, she speaks to her visitors, explaining the meaning of her monstrous appearance; her sad story is easy to understand, and points to a clear moral (children should obey their parents), one her audience already believes to be true. In contrast, the old man does nothing to explain himself, teaches nothing, and doesn’t even entertain people; rather than confirming their beliefs, his mysterious nature challenges all the expectations it creates. He does perform some miracles, but they are equally puzzling, seeming to be either practical jokes or the result of some â€Å"mental disorder. † These disappointing miracles â€Å"had already ruined the angel’s reputation, when the woman who had been changed into a spider finally crushed him completely. The crowds disappear from Pelayo and Elisenda’s courtyard as suddenly as they had come, and the unexplained mystery of the â€Å"bird-man† is quickly forgotten. Still, thanks to the now-departed paying customers, Pelayo and Elisenda are now wealthy. They rebuild their home as â€Å"a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn’t get in during the winter, and with iron bars on the windows so t hat angels wouldn’t get in,† and settle into a life of luxury. But the ruined chicken coop and its ancient captive remain; as the years pass, the couple’s growing child plays in the courtyard with the old man, who stubbornly survives despite his infirmities and neglect. When a doctor comes to examine him, he is amazed that the old man is still alive, and also by â€Å"the logic of his wings,† which seem so natural that the doctor wonders why everyone doesn’t have them. Even the bird-man’s mystery and wonder grow so familiar that he eventually becomes a simple nuisance: a disagreeable old man, â€Å"dragging himself about here and there,† always underfoot. Elisenda seems to find him everywhere in the house, as if he were duplicating himself just to annoy her; at one point she grows so â€Å"exasperated and unhinged† she screams that she is living in a â€Å"hell full of angels. † Finally the old man’s health deteriorates even further, and he seems to be near death. Departure As winter gives way to the sunny days of spring, the old man’s condition begins to improve. He seems to sense a change taking place in himself, and to know what it means. He tries to stay out of the family’s sight, sitting motionless for days in the corner of the courtyard; at night, he quietly sings sailor’s songs to himself. Stiff new feathers begin to grow from his wings, and one morning Elisenda sees him trying them out in the courtyard. His first efforts to fly are clumsy, consisting of â€Å"ungainly flapping that slipped on the light and couldn’t get a grip on the air,† but he finally manages to take off. Elisenda sighs with relief, â€Å"for herself and for him,† as she watches him disappear, â€Å"no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea. † Style Imagery In establishing the character of the old man, Garcia Marquez plays against traditional stereotypes of angels. Angels are supernatural creatures and are expected them to be presented in images that convey grandeur, perfection, wisdom, and grace. By definition, angels are contrasted with humans; though they resemble humans physically, they are super-human in every conceivable way. But like Father Gonzaga, the reader’s first response to the old man is likely to be that he is â€Å"much too human. † Instead of presenting a majestic, awe-inspiring figure, Garcia Marquez describes a creature with mortal weaknesses and senility (â€Å"a drenched great-grandfather†), in circumstances without any trace of reverence or dignity. While his feathered wings invite comparisons with birds, even this imagery is common and debased; he is â€Å"a senile vulture† or a â€Å"decrepit hen,† not a soaring eagle or an elegant swan. While the villagers face the problem of understanding an apparent â€Å"angel† who fits none of their expectations for the type, the reader finds himself placed by the author in the same position. Also unusual is the way Garcia Marquez combines different types of imagery. The opening line reveals that it is â€Å"the third day of rain,† and a few lines later this information is repeated in another form: â€Å"The world had been sad since Tuesday. † One is a direct statement of fact, which might appear in a weather report; the other is a poetic image, projecting human emotions onto the weather and individual feelings onto the entire world. Expressed in other terms, the reader accepts the first version as â€Å"real,† while the second version (if taken at face value) is â€Å"magical,† involving a logically-impossible connection between human feelings and the weather. Both attitudes are familiar to readers, who know to read a factual account in a rational, literal frame of mind, and to suspend disbelief in a more imaginative story, where descriptions are expected to be used for their creative, suggestive effects. But Garcia Marquez never allows the reader to settle comfortably into one attitude or the other; throughout the story, realistic and magical details are combined, seeming to suggest that both attitudes are valid, and that neither one is sufficient by itself. Narration The ambiguity within the story is reinforced by inconsistencies in the narrative voice. The narrator is, after all, the â€Å"person† presenting all this odd imagery to the reader, and readers habitually look to the narrator for clues to help find a proper interpretation. For example, when the narrator states that Father Gonzaga’s letters to his church superiors â€Å"might have come and gone until the end of time† without reaching a conclusion, he confirms the reader’s suspicion that the priest’s approach is futile, despite his confident assurances to the crowd. Narrators don’t just present facts; they also give direction as to â€Å"how to take† the information we receive This narrator, however, seems to direct the reader all over the map and to be inconsistent in his own attitude to events. The villagers† wild ideas about the old man are often presented as obvious delusions, characterized as â€Å"frivolous† or â€Å"simple† by the narrator. But at other times, he seems no more skeptical than the villagers. For example, the story of the spider-woman seems far more fantastic than that of an old man with wings, but the narrator gives no suggestion that her transformation is particularly unusual and seems to expect the reader to accept this frankly â€Å"magical† event as if it presented no mystery at all. Though they are wise in ways the villagers are not, and see through the various fanciful interpretations of the visitor, readers come to feel that the narrator may not fully understand the old man himself. Such an unreliable storyteller makes a mystery even more mysterious, complicating efforts to fix a definite meaning to the tale.

Some Tips On How to Write a Poetry Research Paper #038; Succeed

Some Tips On How to Write a Poetry Research Paper #038; Succeed What is Poetry Research Paper? Writing about poetry might be a challenging task for many people due to the peculiar demands associated with it. Some people may simply not understand where to start since this form of literature greatly differs from prose or drama. The effectiveness of the poetry research paper directly depends on your talent to prepare the work following the key tips and steps. A poetry research paper is an insight into the meaning hidden behind either common or extraordinary word combinations. Besides, the research papers are more complicated than essays. This assignment requires you to do thorough work, to be attentive to the details and apply the available information, theory, and even facts from the author’s biography while completing the topic. Why Is It Important? Just like any other piece of writing, the poetry research paper is important as it helps you to boost a range of skills. It’s not going to make you like the poems. However, after accomplishing a research paper, you’ll find it easier to comprehend the literary devices, to see the hidden meanings, and expressive means. If a poem is a ciphertext, having enough theoretical information and relevant skills will help you to decode it. Eventually, you’ll start enjoying the poetry to the fullest. What is more, the type of work under consideration requires you to use a specific set of writing rules that help properly complete the task. It is important to learn how to read, understand, and analyze the poem. At the same time, you have to create the outline, the thesis statement, to choose the methodology, synthesize some sources, select the correct reasoning arguments, and create a summary. These skills would be useful for future work as well. Besides, it is an excellent way to learn how to organize one’s work process. The Choice of the Topic: So, It Begins! When it comes to the topic, it may seem to be a hard task due to the variety of options. For sure, it is easier when you have a number of the issues to choose from. However, when it comes to independent work, one would have to follow specific rules. The chosen topic should not be mediocre, too general or done to death. At the same time, do not push yourself too hard and choose the topic that is both relatively challenging and interesting to explore. It would be better to choose the area that one is familiar with. What Topic Is Considered a Good One? To ensure your topic is not too long or hard to understand, it should raise some interest among the readers. For example: â€Å"The Recurring Themes in the Poems by Robert Frost† or â€Å"Symbolism in Renaissance Poetry.† From these titles, one can easily tell about the main subject of the work. What Topic is Considered a Bad One? The wrong topic can be detected at once as it is usually either too short or too long. Besides, a primitive topic does not give a clue as for the purpose of the written work. For example, the topic ‘The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost’ does not specify the purpose of the paper. Besides, you cannot understand whether it would talk about the structural peculiarities of the poem, the symbols, or what it means to the author. Pre-Writing Tips to Get Ready for the Writing Session To complete a solid and proper research paper, read the required poem several times to have the idea of it. Do it more than two times to be able to mention all the details later. Reading the work for the first time, ensure to perceive it and be attentive to catch the main point and plot. As for the second reading, take a pencil to make some notes about the characters, symbols, literary devices, expressive means, rhyme, and so on. After this, review your notes to sort everything out and read the poem once again. As soon as you’re done with the technical moments of the poem, it is high time to learn something about the background of it. Naturally, at this point, you have to be aware of the author’s biography as well. It is not a secret that poetry is a personal sphere. Therefore, certain events or facts from the author’s life may have a considerable impact on the content. With enough information regarding the technical aspects of the poem, as well as its background, you will have a deep understanding of the poem and, correspondingly, would be able to complete the research paper properly. How to Create a Helpful Research Paper Outline? Many students underestimate the importance of the outline. Nevertheless, having a detailed plan of the future paper helps to construct a coherent and easy to read work. What is more, the outlines organize the work process so you can focus on different stages of research and include the whole scope of relevant information into the paper. To create a proper outline that would serve as a backbone of the written work, think about the initial goal of research. The outline is only a sketch that is, however, a must have for a paper. If it is rather weak, it would be hard for you to proceed to the effective paper writing. The Structure of the Poetry Research Paper: The One Our Writers Follow Let’s take the symbolism in Renaissance poetry as the topic example for your research paper. In the body part, one would investigate the following issues: The characteristic features of the symbolism; The peculiarities of the poetry in the mentioned period; The way symbolism was developed during this time span; Some major symbols of the era; The most prominent individuals who contributed to the poetry back then and the way they used symbolism in their works. Each of the points given above is to be examined in the body part. Therefore, there should be included some subtitles that define the topic of each paragraph. The research paper requires a decent and step-by-step structure that consists of the introduction, the body part, and the conclusion. At the same time, however, the research work is more complicated than the essays. Besides, it presupposes some subtitled parts for a more in-depth analysis. The approximate structure of the poetry research paper would look the following way: Title; Abstract; Introduction; Background; Body; Conclusion; References. The abstract is also known as the summary of the entire work that defines all the major points that would be considered within it. At the end of the abstract, provide a list of the keywords. Usually, the keywords section includes the terms that are used in a piece. The introduction suggests a general overview of the issue and consists of the thesis statement that defines the key objective of the work. The background part is associated with things like the context of the poem or genre formation. The background information will be helpful when certain allusions to some other pieces of literature or historical persona appear. Such moments add to one’s understanding of the topic. The body part is the core of the work as it examines and discusses the major issues mentioned in the abstract. As it has already been mentioned, the body is an essential part since it includes the main bulk of information on the topic. In this section, one would need to operate with a number of sources, new and familiar terms. All the body paragraphs must be well-structured, have a topic sentence, 2 or 3 supporting sentences, the quote and the analysis of it, as well as the concluding sentence that would also serve as a transition to the next paragraph. The conclusion is as relevant as any other part of the research work since it points out the key ideas that were proven within the text. What is more, the conclusion should also restate the thesis mentioned in the introduction paragraph. Importantly, both the introduction and conclusion should not be too long. Instead, make them concise and informative. Finally, the references include all the sources that were used to complete the paper. To make it easier, imagine the entire paper as 100%, while the introduction, as well as the conclusion, would take 10% of the entire work. Searching for the Credible Sources Searching for the relevant and trusted sources might be a long-lasting and even boring thing to do. Nevertheless, you have to choose the best sources out of many options and, correspondingly, browse a lot of information shaping the vision of the paper topic. So, which sources are the most appropriate? To find a credible source. Use the journal articles, e-books, or even some documentary movies to complete the paper. At the same time, avoid citing the sources like Wikipedia, ambiguous web pages, or blogs. Keep in mind the rule of five years which means that the sources are required to be no older than five years since the date of publication. However, some early editions of the books may be the exceptions. How to Cite the Sources? There are different types of formatting, including standard APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. To know how to cite the selected source, you need to visit the website dedicated to the rules of citation (for instance, Purdue Online Writing Lab https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/). With the suggested examples, you will easily put some in-text citations and create a proper list of references. The Post-Writing Tips to Do the Job of Polishing As soon as the research paper is done, don’t hurry up to relax. At this point, you have to do a thorough revision of the written work. Keep in mind that the main part of the writing is related to the research of the literature itself, or the writing process. The checks and reviews of the complete paper are as important as any other stage. Sometimes, editing and proofreading might be even more important! The completed work is a bulk of information structured in accordance with the outline. To make it sound good, reread and revise everything that has been written, and the post-writing tips would help to do this properly. The post-writing tips are the techniques used to correct the mistakes, paraphrase certain parts to make the text more coherent, and even delete some paragraphs or, on the contrary, add some fresh ideas. In an ideal scenario, you should look at the research paper with a fresh pair of eyes. You may not notice the trivial mistakes due to the lack of time or a bunch of materials that you had to process. For that reason, one should review the piece in 30 minutes or more. In case if the deadline is short, ask someone else for suggestions, and this may be even better.