Friday, November 15, 2019

Slumdog Millionaire A Short Summary Film Studies Essay

Slumdog Millionaire A Short Summary Film Studies Essay The character of an 18 year-old orphan named Jamal Malik from the Mumbais slums, who experienced the miserable days of his life. Whole nation discerning, he is just one question far from winning 20 million rupees on program, Indias Who likes to be a Millionaire? But when the brandish breaks for the night, policemen apprehend him on suspicion of betraying; how could a road child realize so much? Despairing to verify his innocence, Jamal notifies the scenes in the slum of his life where his brother and he grow up, of their excursions simultaneously on the street, of vicious runs into with localized gangs, and of Latika, the young girl he loved her and then he lost her. Each episode of his story reveals the input to the answer game shows questions. Eighteen year vintage Jamal Malik is having an astonishing responding mark on Who likes to be a Millionaire. He is just one right answer away from the large-scale pay. Is Jamal betraying? Is it solely luck that they have inquired him the questions to which he realizes the replies? Considering Jamals life expedition to this issue finally answers these inquiries. His life journey encompasses at an early age he became orphan; living with his brother, Salim, who was his protector, antagonist and guardian; and having an attachment since childhood with another orphaned progeny, a young female. His inspiration for being on the brandish furthermore may provide some answers to his success. Possibly it was all just intended to be. In Mumbai, Jamal Malik is tormented by the cops in consideration of cheating a game brandish. Jamal, who has no discovering and works in a call center assisting tea, is close to winning twenty million rupees in the display who likes to be a Millionaire? The policeman inspector exhibitions the videotape and after each investigation, Jamal notifies components of his childhood with his male sibling Salim, his trample for Latika and their assault to endure on the roads to support each correct answer, guided by his prevalent sense and past know-how, and verify his innocence. Mumbais policeman Sergeant Srinivas and his better interrogate and detain Jamal Malik. They suppose that he was betraying a popular Indian TV game display. They have clues that Jamal has had no prescribed learning and has been a job roinbber as a progeny, and are very resolute to inquiry him utilizing any method to get that how he can be able to enter in this game of money. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2009) Production of film: The genesis of Slumdog Millionaire started at conduit 4 when the Head of movie and Drama, Tessa Ross, got a phone call from Film4s publication scout, Kate Sinclair, who clarified that shed read a verification of an exceptional article. Whereas yet to be released, when Sinclair chucked the article, Ross directly optioned the publication. Ross proposed that, while the publication was difficult to change into a play, she thought Beaufoy had the ability and know-how to do it. He knows how to explain the life of man from birth to his success. It was perhaps incoherent and few tales were nearly discreet little tales that had no quotation to the foremost individual characteristics at all. Its very distinct to starting with ones own concept and evolving it. Simon came up with the new name of Slumdog Millionaire. Its a comedy but its furthermore, at times, a horrifying drama. There are instants of large agony. Its a story and like all the best tales, it has instants of authentic darkness and repugnance. There is a large combine of things that really make you antic and make you bawl and make you gasp. When the script was in good enough form to take it to Danny, the groups number one alternate was Danny Boyle. In the world of video development, where tasks can labor to move ahead, certainly opposite re-writes, new writers, comprehensive comments and delays as other videos move into yield, Slumdog Millionaires development arc was rapid. Mechanically the places and bustle affiliated with every area the yield traveled to intend that Danny and his camera section, including the award winners controller of taking photos Anthony Dod Mantle, had to address some camera alternatives and firing methods. The crew was primarily conceiving to fire certain scenes utilizing highly complicated SI-2K digital cameras, but Boyle was obstinate that he did not yearn to take large and rather cumbersome 35mm cameras into the slums. The lesser, more flexible digital cameras enabled them to blaze rapidly with much less disturbance to the localized groups. Finding places and being allocated get access to be a logistical challenge for the place support and scouts from the groups Indian additions was vital. A localize d yield business India Take One expressed its knowledge to the yield, endowing the team to very quickly journal out how they would shift quickly from one location to the next. But distance is not habitually the large-scale topic in India. With millions of vehicles, rickshaws and taxis vying for the streets, traffic jams are part of everyday life as intense and dozing. General, in Mumbai, the maintain systems for filming were very much complicated than the yield had initially likely. Though disordered to an amount, Colson issue out that amenities were accessible across all facets of the production procedure. Mumbai is a world center for film making. The amenities are first class. There are truly incredible crews, studio space etc. Box office reception: Fox Searchlight issued 351 publishes of the movie over India for its full issue there on 23 January 2009. At the Indian carton bureau, in its first week, it makes business for about Rs. 23,545,665. Although not as much successful as foremost Bollywood matters in India throughout its first week, this was the biggest weekend whole for any Fox video. In its second week, the films whole increased to Rs. 30,470,752 at the Indian box agency. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2009) Twosomes of analysts have proposed their attitudes about the films presentation at the Indian carton bureau. Komal Nahta, Trade analyst, stated that, There was an adversity with the title. It is not a well known phrase for majority Indians. In supplement, trade analyst Amod Mehr has claimed that with the exclusion of Anil Kapoor, the movie lacks recognizable stars and that the video. is not ideally matched for Indian sentiment. A videos proprietor commented that to find out slum juvenile men talking flawless English dont appear good but when speaks in Hindi language; the movie looks much realistic. The named Hindi type, did better at the box agency, and added exact replicates of that type were issued. Following the films achievement in the 81st Academy Awards, the movie is growing in India bigger by 470%. As of 15 March 2009, grossed of Rs. 158,613,802 of Slumdog Millionaire has at the Indian carton agency. Reviews: According to Times Entertainment One juvenile man, Jamal, has suspiciously or miraculously, extended the two worlds. An office boy, or chai wallah, from a Call center business, he has won a treasure on the Indian type of who likes to Be a Millionaire. The anchor is so skeptical of Jamals proficiency to answer the inquiries that he has try to punish the reality out of the lad. His interpretations, all anxiety to his miserable life as an orphan without home in the enterprise of his male sibling Salim, and not often sufficient, with the winsome, consistently abused Latika. The quest of Jamals finding his love Latika is similar to the idea of Indian movies from Raj-Kapoor movies. Factual to its sources, Slumdog, acclimatized from the innovative QA by Vikas Swarup, finishes with a purely delighted kiss and an all out promenade number, conceived by Bollywood deity A.R. Rahman. Despite of its components of cruelty, this is a floating tune to life, and a film to commemorate. (Singh, 2009) According to New York Times bathing comes regularly to Jamal, who profits from a dwelling as a chai-wallah assisting fragrant tea to call-center employees in Mumbai and who, after a sequence of alternating exhilarating and unnerving excursions, has set down in the moderately hot chair on the TV game brandish Who likes to Be a Millionaire. Yet while the item undoes with Jamal on the verge of catching the large-scale reward, here, narrative doesnt start and end. By all privileges the consistency of Jamals life should have been brutally changed by disaster by the time he makes apprehend for the TV prize. But because Slumdog Millionaire is self deliberately bordered as an up to designated day tales or because Mr. Boyle bends in the main heading of the sanguine, this verifies to be one of the most upbeat tales about living in torment imaginable. Salim, observer the murder of their mother by marauding fanatics equipped with anti-Muslim epithets and associations. In the end, what presents me reluctant hesitate about this bright, cheery, hard-to-resist video is that its enjoyment senses much like a filmmakers assessment than a dependable bawl from the heart about the human essence. (Dargis, 2008) People remarks about film: Every one-by-one has his own admiration and way of conceiving. Some adored it and some have critical comments. Some of them are granted: Without a doubt the best video I have ever glimpsed encompassing a pulsing, assuring soundtrack, appealing cinematography throughout, a captivating movie bragging gritty realism yet awe-inspiring romance. But as for being contradictory in the main heading of India, it teaches as far as the prostitution and the slums etc. is considered, it displays India as a vibrant, colorful, fast-moving, hope-filled location. Absolutely, not feeling good movie. Blaring, energetic, fast-moving and colorful, but how can so much brutality and unhappiness go away any individual feeling good? I regret going to glimpse a video which takes advantage of poor children. This Oscar being triumphant film Slumdog millionaire was very inspirational and uplifting movie with lots of wants in it. Regrettably, its not so looking at the pureness of the Oscar winning children genuine life. These children were the aim of the movie. They were the funnies and large actors with no popularities and with the smallest past know-how of portraying. (Dargis, 2008) (Time Out London, 2009) Impact made by movie: Most of the persons loved this video just because of the work of player and the way he get ease of his sad life but some persons criticize this video. Persons hold praising the films very sensible portrayal of slums life in India. But its not that thing. Slums life is a miserable. It takes self-assurance from you in the shape of the wealthy and the privileged. It robs your dignity, deadens your ambition, bounds your fantasy and psychologically cripples you when you step out-of-doors the solace zone of your own locality. Most people in the slums not ever complete a fairy-tale ending. Reviewer said that Sudips concept is indeed sensible. Although, I would furthermore like to note that not every individual answers the way how individuals should react. Individuals in the slums might be stolen off of self-assurance because they worry that their family constituent be enforced with hazard if they do something foolish. (WebbieStuff, 2009) Message got from movie: Despite of all the hype, Slumdog consigns a patronizing and ultimately sham affirmation on communal fairness. Danny Boyles Slumdog Millionaire, probably one of the most commemorated videos in latest times, notifies the rags-to-rajah article of a love-struck Indian juvenile man, with a small support from fate success over his wretched starting in Mumbai. Slumdog has enraged numerous Indians because it tarnishes their insight of their homeland as an expanding financial authority and a bonfire of democracy. Indias English newspapers, said mostly by its middle classes, have conveyed many bristling reconsiders of the film that articulate an acute sense of wounded nationwide dignity. Though comprehensible, the emotion is not justifiable. So at times pathetically artificial, many of the films heart trembling scenarios are motivated by a miserable, but well-documented truth. Corruption is certainly rampant amidst the policeman, and most will willingly use torment, so none is expected dim sufficient to aim an eloquent, English-talking man which is actually an expanding newspapers incident. Beggar-makers do round-up forsaken juvenile kids and mutilate them in alignment to make them more agreeable, while it is highly unlikely that any such progeny will ever possibility upon a $100 account, much less be adept of recognizing it by feel and scent alone. (Sengupta, 2009)

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

A Critique Of American Sandwich Essay

The whole article tells a true story that happened when the author was a little kid. The Author moved from Portugal to American along with his parents. With so special family background, the author aspire to American Sandwiches rather than thick sliced ham and vegetables wrapped with large loaf of bread. Actually, it reflects the expectations of author that could be a strong desire to touch American cultures and fit into American social circles. Throughout the articleï ¼Å'Edite Cunha utilize the conversation between his mother and him as well as the mental activities behaved by him to describe his vivid dream of owning the sunbeam bread. The frequent transform of the scenes are better to draw the attention of the readers to focus on the rhythm of the story. I think each person has undergone same experience during his or her early stage of life. Take mine experience as an example, I was born in a remote town of a small city, when I was 10 years old, I moved out of the small town to the central areas of the city. I begun to study with these â€Å"urban kids†Ã¯ ¼Å'it took a quite long period for me to get rid of the loneliness. Because we are wired to feel fear whenever we stepping into an unfamiliar environment, this is why I stick to face the question and become more positive. Currentlyï ¼Å'I am logging for the American lifestyle, observing and mimicking people surround me.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Vampire Academy Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN A FEW DAYS LATER, LISSA found me outside the commons and delivered the most astonishing news. â€Å"Uncle Victor's getting Natalie off campus this weekend to go shopping in Missoula. For the dance. They said I could come along.† I didn't say anything. She looked surprised at my silence. â€Å"Isn't that cool?† â€Å"For you, I guess. No malls or dances in my future.† She smiled excitedly. â€Å"He told Natalie she could bring two other people besides me. I convinced her to bring you and Camille.† I threw up my hands. â€Å"Well, thanks, but I'm not even supposed to go to the library after school. No one's going to let me go to Missoula.† â€Å"Uncle Victor thinks he can get Headmistress Kirova to let you go. Dimitri's trying too.† â€Å"Dimitri?† â€Å"Yeah. He has to go with me if I leave campus.† She grinned, taking my interest in Dimitri as interest in the mall. â€Å"They figured out my account finally – I got my allowance back. So we can buy other stuff along with dresses. And you know if they let you go to the mall, they'll have to let you go to the dance.† â€Å"Do we go to dances now?† I said. We never had before. School-sponsored social events? No way. â€Å"Of course not. But you know there'll be all kinds of secret parties. We'll start at the dance and sneak off.† She sighed happily. â€Å"Mia's so jealous she can barely stand it.† She went on about all the stores we'd go to, all the things we'd buy. I admit, I was kind of excited at the thought of getting some new clothes, but I doubted I'd actually get this mythical release. â€Å"Oh hey,† she said excitedly. â€Å"You should see these shoes Camille let me borrow. I never knew we wore the same size. Hang on.† She opened her backpack and began rifling through it. Suddenly, she screamed and threw it down. Books and shoes spilled out. So did a dead dove. It was one of the pale brown mourning doves that sat on wires along the freeway and under trees on campus. It had so much blood on it that I couldn't figure out where the wound was. Who knew something so small even had that much blood? Regardless, the bird was definitely dead. Covering her mouth, Lissa stared wordlessly, eyes wide. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† I swore. Without hesitating, I grabbed a stick and pushed the little feathered body aside. When it was out of the way, I started shoving her stuff back into the backpack, trying not to think about dead-bird germs. â€Å"Why the hell does this keep – Liss!† I leapt over and grabbed her, pulling her away. She had been kneeling on the ground, with her hand outstretched to the dove. I don't think she'd even realized what she was about to do. The instinct in her was so strong, it acted on its own. â€Å"Lissa,† I said, tightening my hand around hers. She was still leaning toward the bird. â€Å"Don't. Don't do it.† â€Å"I can save it.† â€Å"No, you can't. You promised, remember? Some things have to stay dead. Let this one go.† Still feeling her tension, I pleaded. â€Å"Please, Liss. You promised. No more healings. You said you wouldn't. You promised me.† After a few more moments, I felt her hand relax and her body slump against mine. â€Å"I hate this, Rose. I hate all of this.† Natalie walked outside then, oblivious to the gruesome sight awaiting her. â€Å"Hey, do you guys – oh my God!† she squealed, seeing the dove. â€Å"What is that?† I helped Lissa as we rose to our feet. â€Å"Another, um, prank.† â€Å"Is it†¦dead?† She scrunched up her face in disgust. â€Å"Yes,† I said firmly. Natalie, picking up on our tension, looked between the two of us. â€Å"What else is wrong?† â€Å"Nothing.† I handed Lissa her backpack. â€Å"This is just someone's stupid, sick joke, and I'm going to tell Kirova so they can clean this up.† Natalie turned away, looking a little green. â€Å"Why do people keep doing this to you? It's horrible.† Lissa and I exchanged looks. â€Å"I have no idea,† I said. Yet as I walked to Kirova's office, I started to wonder. When we'd found the fox, Lissa had hinted that someone must know about the raven. I hadn't believed that. We'd been alone in the woods that night, and Ms. Karp wouldn't have told anyone. But what if someone actually had seen? What if someone kept doing this not to scare her, but to see if she'd heal again? What had the rabbit note said? I know what you are. I didn't mention any of this to Lissa; I figured there were only so many of my conspiracy theories she could handle. Besides, when I saw her the next day, she'd practically forgotten the dove in light of other news: Kirova had given me permission to go on the trip that weekend. The prospect of shopping can brighten a lot of dark situations – even animal murder – and I put my own worries on hold. Only, when the time came, I discovered my release came with strings attached. â€Å"Headmistress Kirova thinks you've done well since coming back,† Dimitri told me. â€Å"Aside from starting a fight in Mr. Nagy's class?† â€Å"She doesn't blame you for that. Not entirely. I convinced her you needed a break†¦and that you could use this as a training exercise.† â€Å"Training exercise?† He gave me a brief explanation as we walked out to meet the others going with us. Victor Dashkov, as sickly as ever, was there with his guardians, and Natalie practically barreled into him. He smiled and gave her a careful hug, one that ended when a coughing fit took over. Natalie's eyes went wide with concern as she waited for it to pass. He claimed he was fine to accompany us, and while I admired his resolve, I thought he'd be putting himself through a lot just to shop with a bunch of teenage girls. We rode out the two-hour trip to Missoula in a large school van, leaving just after sunrise. Many Moroi lived separately from humans, but many also lived among them, and when shopping at their malls, you had to go during their hours. The back windows of the van had tinted glass to filter the light and keep the worst of it away from the vampires. We had nine people in our group: Lissa, Victor, Natalie, Camille, Dimitri, me, and three other guardians. Two of the guardians, Ben and Spiridon, always traveled with Victor. The third was one of the school's guardians: Stan, the jerk who'd humiliated me on my first day back. â€Å"Camille and Natalie don't have personal guardians yet,† Dimitri explained to me. â€Å"They're both under the protection of their families' guardians. Since they are Academy students leaving campus, a school guardian accompanies them – Stan. I go because I'm Lissa's assigned guardian. Most girls her age wouldn't have a personal guardian yet, but circumstances make her unusual.† I sat in the back of the van with him and Spiridon, so they could dispense guardian wisdom to me as part of the â€Å"training exercise.† Ben and Stan sat up front, while the others sat in the middle. Lissa and Victor talked to each other a lot, catching up on news. Camille, raised to be polite among older royals, smiled and nodded along. Natalie, on the other hand, looked left out and kept trying to shift her father's attention from Lissa. It didn't work. He'd apparently learned to tune out her chatter. I turned back to Dimitri. â€Å"She's supposed to have two guardians. Princes and princesses always do.† Spiridon was Dimitri's age, with spiky blond hair and a more casual attitude. Despite his Greek name, he had a Southern drawl. â€Å"Don't worry, she'll have plenty when the time comes. Dimitri's already one of them. Odds are you'll be one too. And that's why you're here today.† â€Å"The training part,† I guessed. â€Å"Yup. You're going to be Dimitri's partner.† A moment of funny silence fell, probably not noticeable to anyone except Dimitri and me. Our eyes met. â€Å"Guarding partner,† Dimitri clarified unnecessarily, like maybe he too had been thinking of other kinds of partners. â€Å"Yup,† agreed Spiridon. Oblivious to the tension around him, he went on to explain how guardian pairs worked. It was standard stuff, straight from my textbooks, but it meant more now that I'd be doing it in the real world. Guardians were assigned to Moroi based on importance. Two was a common grouping, one I'd probably work in a lot with Lissa. One guardian stayed close to the target; the other stood back and kept an eye on the surroundings. Boringly, those holding these positions were called near and far guards. â€Å"You'll probably always be near guard,† Dimitri told me. â€Å"You're female and the same age as the princess. You can stay close to her without attracting any attention.† â€Å"And I can't ever take my eyes off her,† I noted. â€Å"Or you.† Spiridon laughed again and elbowed Dimitri. â€Å"You've got a star student there. Did you give her a stake?† â€Å"No. She's not ready.† â€Å"I would be if someone would show me how to use one,† I argued. I knew every guardian in the van had a stake and a gun concealed on him. â€Å"More to it than just using the stake,† said Dimitri in his old-and-wise way. â€Å"You've still got to subdue them. And you've got to bring yourself to kill them.† â€Å"Why wouldn't I kill them?† â€Å"Most Strigoi used to be Moroi who purposely turned. Sometimes they're Moroi or dhampirs turned by force. It doesn't matter. There's a strong chance you might know one of them. Could you kill someone you used to know?† This trip was getting less fun by the minute. â€Å"I guess so. I'd have to, right? If it's them or Lissa†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You might still hesitate,† said Dimitri. â€Å"And that hesitation could kill you. And her.† â€Å"Then how do you make sure you don't hesitate?† â€Å"You have to keep telling yourself that they aren't the same people you knew. They've become something dark and twisted. Something unnatural. You have to let go of attachments and do what's right. If they have any grain of their former selves left, they'll probably be grateful.† â€Å"Grateful for me killing them?† â€Å"If someone turned you into a Strigoi, what would you want?† he asked. I didn't know how to answer that, so I said nothing. Never taking his eyes off me, he kept pushing. â€Å"What would you want if you knew you were going to be converted into a Strigoi against your will? If you knew you would lose all sense of your old morals and understanding of what's right and wrong? If you knew you'd live the rest of your life – your immortal life – killing innocent people? What would you want?† The van had grown uncomfortably silent. Staring at Dimitri, burdened by all those questions, I suddenly understood why he and I had this weird attraction, good looks aside. I'd never met anyone else who took being a guardian so seriously, who understand all the life-and-death consequences. Certainly no one my age did yet; Mason hadn't been able to understand why I couldn't relax and drink at the party. Dimitri had said I grasped my duty better than many older guardians, and I didn't get why – especially when they would have seen so much more death and danger. But I knew in that moment that he was right, that I had some weird sense of how life and death and good and evil worked with each other. So did he. We might get lonely sometimes. We might have to put our â€Å"fun† on hold. We might not be able to live the lives we wanted for ourselves. But that was the way it had to be. We understood each other, understood that we had others to protect. Our lives would never be easy. And making decisions like this one was part of that. â€Å"If I became Strigoi†¦I'd want someone to kill me.† â€Å"So would I,† he said quietly. I could tell that he'd had the same flash of realization I'd just had, that same sense of connection between us. â€Å"It reminds me of Mikhail hunting Sonya,† murmured Victor thoughtfully. â€Å"Who are Mikhail and Sonya?† asked Lissa. Victor looked surprised. â€Å"Why, I thought you knew. Sonya Karp.† â€Å"Sonya Kar†¦you mean, Ms. Karp? What about her?† She looked back and forth between me and her uncle. â€Å"She†¦became Strigoi,† I said, not meeting Lissa's eyes. â€Å"By choice.† I'd known Lissa would find out some day. It was the final piece of Ms. Karp's saga, a secret I'd kept to myself. A secret that worried me constantly. Lissa's face and bond registered complete and utter shock, growing in intensity when she realized I'd known and never told. â€Å"But I don't know who Mikhail is,† I added. â€Å"Mikhail Tanner,† said Spiridon. â€Å"Oh. Guardian Tanner. He was here before we left.† I frowned. â€Å"Why is he chasing Ms. Karp?† â€Å"To kill her,† said Dimitri flatly. â€Å"They were lovers.† The entire Strigoi thing shifted into new focus for me. Running into a Strigoi I knew during the heat of battle was one thing. Purposely hunting down someone†¦someone I'd loved. Well, I didn't know if I could do that, even if it was technically the right thing. â€Å"Perhaps it is time to talk about something else,† said Victor gently. â€Å"Today isn't a day to dwell on depressing topics.† I think all of us felt relieved to get to the mall. Shifting into my bodyguard role, I stuck by Lissa's side as we wandered from store to store, looking at all the new styles that were out there. It was nice to be in public again and to do something with her that was just fun and didn't involve any of the dark, twisted politics of the Academy. It was almost like old times. I'd missed just hanging out. I'd missed my best friend. Although it was only just past mid-November, the mall already had glittering holiday decorations up. I decided I had the best job ever. Admittedly, I did feel a little put out when I realized the older guardians got to stay in contact through cool little communication devices. When I protested my lack of one, Dimitri told me I'd learn better without one. If I could handle protecting Lissa the old-fashioned way, I could handle anything. Victor and Spiridon stayed with us while Dimitri and Ben fanned out, somehow managing not to look like creepy stalker guys watching teenage girls. â€Å"This is so you,† said Lissa in Macy's, handing me a low-cut tank top embellished with lace. â€Å"I'll buy it for you.† I regarded it longingly, already picturing myself in it. Then, making my regular eye contact with Dimitri, I shook my head and handed it back. â€Å"Winter's coming. I'd get cold.† â€Å"Never stopped you before.† Shrugging, she hung it back up. She and Camille tried on a nonstop string of clothes, their massive allowances ensuring that price posed no problem. Lissa offered to buy me anything I wanted. We'd been generous with each other our whole lives, and I didn't hesitate to take her up on it. My choices surprised her. â€Å"You've got three thermal shirts and a hoodie,† she informed me, flipping through a stack of BCBG jeans. â€Å"You've gone all boring on me.† â€Å"Hey, I don't see you buying slutty tops.† â€Å"I'm not the one who wears them.† â€Å"Thanks a lot.† â€Å"You know what I mean. You're even wearing your hair up.† It was true. I'd taken Dimitri's advice and wrapped my hair up in a high bun, earning a smile when he'd seen me. If I'd had molnija marks, they would have shown. Glancing around, she made sure none of the others could hear us. The feelings in the bond shifted to something more troubled. â€Å"You knew about Ms. Karp.† â€Å"Yeah. I heard about it a month or so after she left.† Lissa tossed a pair of embroidered jeans over her arm, not looking at me. â€Å"Why didn't you tell me?† â€Å"You didn't need to know.† â€Å"You didn't think I could handle it?† I kept my face perfectly blank. As I stared at her, my mind was back in time, back to two years ago. I'd been on day two of my suspension for allegedly destroying Wade's room when a royal party visited the school. I'd been allowed to attend that reception too but had been under heavy guard to make sure I didn't â€Å"try anything.† Two guardians escorted me to the commons and talked quietly with each other along the way. â€Å"She killed the doctor attending her and nearly took out half the patients and nurses on her way out.† â€Å"Do they have any idea where she went?† â€Å"No, they're tracking her†¦but, well, you know how it is.† â€Å"I never expected her to do this. She never seemed like the type.† â€Å"Yeah, well, Sonya was crazy. Did you see how violent she was getting near the end? She was capable of anything.† I'd been trudging along miserably and jerked my head up. â€Å"Sonya? You mean Ms. Karp?† I asked. â€Å"She killed somebody?† The two guardians exchanged looks. Finally, one said gravely, â€Å"She became a Strigoi, Rose.† I stopped walking and stared. â€Å"Ms. Karp? No†¦she wouldn't have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I'm afraid so,† the other one replied. â€Å"But†¦you should keep that to yourself. It's a tragedy. Don't make it school gossip.† I went through the rest of the night in a daze. Ms. Karp. Crazy Karp. She'd killed someone to become Strigoi. I couldn't believe it. When the reception ended, I'd managed to sneak off from my guardians and steal a few precious moments with Lissa. The bond had grown strong by now, and I hadn't needed to see her face to know how miserable she was. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked her. We were in a corner of the hallway, just outside the commons. Her eyes were blank. I could feel how she had a headache; its pain transferred to me. â€Å"I†¦I don't know. I just feel weird. I feel like I'm being followed, like I have to be careful, you know?† I didn't know what to say. I didn't think she was being followed, but Ms. Karp used to say the same thing. Always paranoid. â€Å"It's probably nothing,† I said lightly. â€Å"Probably,† she agreed. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. â€Å"But Wade isn't. He won't shut up about what happened. You can't believe the things he's saying about you.† I could, actually but I didn't care. â€Å"Forget about him. He's nothing.† â€Å"I hate him,† she said. Her voice was uncharacteristically sharp. â€Å"I'm on the committee with him for that fund-raiser, and I hate hearing him run his fat mouth every day and seeing him flirt with anything female that walks by. You shouldn't be punished for what he did. He needs to pay.† My mouth went dry. â€Å"It's okay†¦I don't care. Calm down, Liss.† â€Å"I care,† she snapped, turning her anger on me. â€Å"I wish there was a way I could get back at him. Some way to hurt him like he hurt you.† She put her hands behind her back and paced back and forth furiously, her steps hard and purposeful. The hatred and anger boiled within her. I could feel it in the bond. It felt like a storm, and it scared the hell out of me. Wrapped around it all was an uncertainty, an instability that said Lissa didn't know what to do but that she wanted desperately to do something. Anything. My mind flashed to the night with the baseball bat. And then I thought about Ms. Karp. She became a Strigoi, Rose. It was the scariest moment of my life. Scarier than seeing her in Wade's room. Scarier than seeing her heal that raven. Scarier than my capture by the guardians would be. Because just then, I didn't know my best friend. I didn't know what she was capable of. A year earlier, I would have laughed at anyone who said she'd want to go Strigoi. But a year earlier, I also would have laughed at anyone who said she'd want to cut her wrists or make someone â€Å"pay.† In that moment, I suddenly believed she might do the impossible. And I had to make sure she didn't. Save her. Save her from herself. â€Å"We're leaving,† I said, taking her arm and steering her down the hall. â€Å"Right now.† Confusion momentarily replaced her anger. â€Å"What do you mean? You want to go to the woods or something?† I didn't answer. Something in my attitude or words must have startled her, because she didn't question me as I led us out of the commons, cutting across campus toward the parking lot where visitors came. It was filled with cars belonging to tonight's guests. One of them was a large Lincoln Town Car, and I watched as its chauffeur started it up. â€Å"Someone's leaving early,† I said, peering at him from around a cluster of bushes. I glanced behind us and saw nothing. â€Å"They'll probably be here any minute.† Lissa caught on. â€Å"When you said, ? ®We're leaving,' you meant†¦no. Rose, we can't leave the Academy. We'd never get through the wards and checkpoints.† â€Å"We don't have to,† I said firmly. â€Å"He does.† â€Å"But how does that help us?† I took a deep breath, regretting what I had to say but seeing it as the lesser of evils. â€Å"You know how you made Wade do those things?† She flinched but nodded. â€Å"I need you to do the same thing. Go up to that guy and tell him to hide us in his trunk.† Shock and fear poured out of her. She didn't understand, and she was scared. Extremely scared. She'd been scared for weeks now, ever since the healing and the moods and Wade. She was fragile and on the edge of something neither of us understood. But through all of that, she trusted me. She believed I would keep her safe. â€Å"Okay,† she said. She took a few steps toward him, then looked back at me. â€Å"Why? Why are we doing this?† I thought about Lissa's anger, her desire to do anything to get back at Wade. And I thought about Ms. Karp – pretty, unstable Ms. Karp – going Strigoi. â€Å"I'm taking care of you,† I said. â€Å"You don't need to know anything else.† At the mall in Missoula, standing between racks of designer clothes, Lissa asked again, â€Å"Why didn't you tell me?† â€Å"You didn't need to know,† I repeated. She headed toward the dressing room, still whispering with me. â€Å"You're worried I'm going to lose it. Are you worried I'll go Strigoi too?† â€Å"No. No way. That was all her. You'd never do that.† â€Å"Even if I was crazy?† â€Å"No,† I said, trying to make a joke. â€Å"You'd just shave your head and live with thirty cats.† Lissa's feelings grew darker, but she didn't say anything else. Stopping just outside the dressing room, she pulled a black dress off the rack. She brightened a little. â€Å"This is the dress you were born for. I don't care how practical you are now.† Made of silky black material, the dress was strapless and sleek, falling about to the knees. Although it had a slight flair at the hemline, the rest looked like it would definitely manage some serious clinging action. Super sexy. Maybe even challenge-the-school-dress-code sexy. â€Å"That is my dress,† I admitted. I kept staring at it, wanting it so badly that it ached in my chest. This was the kind of dress that changed the world. The kind of dress that started religions. Lissa pulled out my size. â€Å"Try it on.† I shook my head and started to put it back. â€Å"I can't. It would compromise you. One dress isn't worth your grisly death.† â€Å"Then we'll just get it without you trying it on.† She bought the dress. The afternoon continued, and I found myself growing tired. Always watching and being on guard suddenly became a lot less fun. When we hit our last stop, a jewelry store, I felt kind of glad. â€Å"Here you go,† said Lissa, pointing at one of the cases. â€Å"The necklace made to go with your dress.† I looked. A thin gold chain with a gold-and-diamond rose pendant. Emphasis on the diamond part. â€Å"I hate rose stuff.† Lissa had always loved getting me rose things – just to see my reaction, I think. When she saw the necklace's price, her smile fell away. â€Å"Oh, look at that. Even you have limits,† I teased. â€Å"Your crazy spending is stopped at last.† We waited for Victor and Natalie to finish up. He was apparently buying her something, and she looked like she might grow wings and fly away with happiness. I was glad. She'd been dying for his attention. Hopefully he was buying her something extra-expensive to make up for it. We rode home in tired silence, our sleep schedules all messed up by the daylight trip. Sitting next to Dimitri, I leaned back against the seat and yawned, very aware that our arms were touching. That feeling of closeness and connection burned between us. â€Å"So, I can't ever try on clothes again?† I asked quietly not wanting to wake up the others. Victor and the guardians were awake, but the girls had fallen asleep. â€Å"When you aren't on duty, you can. You can do it during your time off.† â€Å"I don't ever want time off. I want to always take care of Lissa.† I yawned again. â€Å"Did you see that dress?† â€Å"I saw the dress.† â€Å"Did you like it?† He didn't answer. I took that as a yes. â€Å"Am I going to endanger my reputation if I wear it to the dance?† When he spoke, I could barely hear him. â€Å"You'll endanger the school.† I smiled and fell asleep. When I woke up, my head rested against his shoulder. That long coat of his-the duster-covered me like a blanket. The van had stopped; we were back at school. I pulled the duster off and climbed out after him, suddenly feeling wide awake and happy. Too bad my freedom was about to end. â€Å"Back to prison,† I sighed, walking beside Lissa toward the commons. â€Å"Maybe if you fake a heart attack, I can make a break for it.† â€Å"Without your clothes?† She handed me a bag, and I swung it around happily. â€Å"I can't wait to see the dress.† â€Å"Me either. If they let me go. Kirova's still deciding if I've been good enough.† â€Å"Show her those boring shirts you bought. She'll go into a coma. I'm about ready to.† I laughed and hopped up onto one of the wooden benches, pacing her as I walked along it. I jumped back down when I reached the end. â€Å"They aren't that boring.† â€Å"I don't know what to think of this new, responsible Rose.† I hopped up onto another bench. â€Å"I'm not that responsible.† â€Å"Hey,† called Spiridon. He and the rest of the group trailed behind us. â€Å"You're still on duty. No fun allowed up there.† â€Å"No fun here,† I called back, hearing the laughter in his voice. â€Å"I swear – shit.† I was up on a third bench, near the end of it. My muscles tensed, ready to jump back down. Only when I tried to, my foot didn't go with me. The wood, at one moment seemingly hard and solid, gave way beneath me, almost as though made of paper. It disintegrated. My foot went through, my ankle getting caught in the hole while the rest of my body tried to go in another direction. The bench held me, swinging my body to the ground while still seizing my foot. My ankle bent in an unnatural direction. I crashed down. I heard a cracking sound that wasn't the wood. The worst pain of my life shot through my body. And then I blacked out.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The eNotes Blog Remembering W. S.Merwin

Remembering W. S.Merwin The poet W. S. Merwin passed away on March 15, marking the conclusion to a long and richly productive life. His body of poetry proves difficult to sum up. Over the course of his seven decades of writing, Merwin changed again and again, in style and tone and subject. Merwin’s first volumes of verse, published in the 1950s, reveal his context and influences- Graves, Auden, and Yeats- more than his own passions. These early works are crisply formal and erudite, commanded by a cryptic, abstruse intelligence. In the 1960s, anger entered Merwin’s verse. His poetry became heated by the political woes of the age, namely the Vietnam War and the mounting environmental crisis. By then, Merwin had slipped free from traditional verse forms and had shed almost all punctuation. These qualities can be found in the opening lines of â€Å"For a Coming Extinction† (1967): Gray whaleNow that we are sending you to The EndThat great godTell him That we who follow you invented forgivenessAnd forgive nothing In the late 1970s, Merwin moved to Hawaii, where his poetry ripened into a masterful and unmistakable style. Merwin studied Buddhism and ecology, translated classical Asian poetry, and slowly transformed a blighted pineapple plantation into a thriving rainforest- activities to which he was committed for the rest of his life. The passions of Merwin’s life shine through his art, which increasingly reflected his natural surroundings through beautifully minute observation. Indeed, Merwin’s later poems show the workings of a mind attuned to the riches of the present moment and calibrated to the slow cycles of soils, trees, and migrating birds. In these poems, Merwin’s signature lack of punctuation conveys the immediacy of felt experience and the layered character of time. Consider â€Å"The Making of Amber† (2009): The September flocks form cryinggathering southwardeven small birds knowingfor the first timehow to fly all the way as oneat daybreak the split figis filled with dewthe finch finds itlike something it remembersthen across the afternoonthe grape vine hangs low in the doorwayand grapes one by onetaste warm to the tonguetransparent and soundlessrich with late daylight The poem exemplifies the marvel of Merwin’s best poetry, in which his immense technique seems to disappear, leaving on the page moments of delight, sorrow, or wonder. Merwin’s loss is irreplaceable, but in his poetry he left the record of a life deeply lived and beautifully expressed. As long as there are readers of poetry, his work will live on.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Writing Causal Argument Essay on Introduction to Gender Studies

Writing Causal Argument Essay on Introduction to Gender Studies There are many ways for a student to get his or her point across and through writing. One of the best methods happens to be through the use of a causal argumentative essay. While we believe most students know the basics for creation of an argumentative essay, some of you may just be hearing about it for the first time. A causal argumentative essay is simply an essay where the use of compelling arguments to pass your opinions across is allowed. But unlike the argumentative essay, here you are also allowed to write informally to your audience. So here are some tips on writing a compelling causal argumentative essay. Pick a position. When discussing your views on a subject matter through an essay, the first step to take is picking the side of the fence you intend to seat. Once this is done, you can easily start conducting your essay work by choosing a topic. If writing on gender studies, and you believe women studies should take on greater importance than men studies, then choose a topic that clearly states this. A great example is ‘Discussing the Role of Women’s Studies in Driving the Creation of Man Studies as an Academic Discipline.’ Here you are irrevocably stating that advances in women’s studies led to the clamor for a similar course for men. You can find similar examples in our list of 20 introduction to gender studies causal argument essay topics. Plan a winning argument. Note that a causal argument essay has given you the right to argue how you choose. Therefore, making use of salient points and relatable case studies is the best way to drive your point home. To start, you still need to structure the entire paper. Therefore using an introduction that summarises what you intend to accomplish, the essay body has to drive prove your argument and a great conclusion should round it all up. Introduce your argument in style. It is a causal argumentative essay, so take some liberties, surprise your audience and state your beliefs forcefully. An excellent introduction allows you to do all this and more. It also serves as an intro into what you intend to discuss in the preceding paragraphs of your essay. Make a case and state your case. Now you are at the point of writing the body of your essay which forms the most integral part of all your works. Here, you are charged with stating your grievances and challenging the cause of these grievances. In gender studies, coming against patriarchy using the suffrage movement is the way to go. A good conclusion can be a winning argument on its own. So why not attempt to round up your essay with hard-biting truths on what society will become if women are not equally a part of it. This leaves your reader in no position to question where your allegations lie. We have provided even more ammunition for anyone interested in writing a causal argument essay on gender studies in the article 10 facts for causal argument essay on introduction to gender studies.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Does Kant Adequatly Address the Problems Evident in the Controversy Essay

Does Kant Adequatly Address the Problems Evident in the Controversy between Empiricism and Rationalism - Essay Example According to Kant, the difference (dispute) that emerges between rationalism and empiricism is the level in which we are dependent on sense experience in order for us to gain and acquire knowledge. Rationalists claim that, very independent we gain knowledge and ideas (Kenny 45-46). This independent way of gaining concepts as it is own sense experience. Empiricists claim on the other side that sense experience is the final source of all our knowledge and ideals. When empiricists say that we are only able to access appearances, they are not saying that we only have access to illusory representations. To some level denying some confidence in their explanations, in this case, they ought to have been clear on this matter. Nonetheless, for Kant, appearances can, and in fact do, provide us with the ground for knowledge on facts and ideas (Kenny 48). To him the mind is the source of experience and knowledge, Descartes (1988). This is the concept, according to Kant, the concept of pure of cat egories. This is particularly clear in the sense that the mind makes contributions to experiences (Descartes 123). The mind plays a significant role and imposes on experience certain categories that make knowledge possible. In this case when Kant says that we cannot know the thing in itself he does not only mean that reality is inaccessible but also that we cannot experience anything outside in the way human mind operates Ann (1970). And from this explanation it is not a wrong concept, â€Å"but it justifies how human beings acquire knowledge† (Anne 90). Now, we have a look science and advancements in knowledge, it is evident that we have knowledge; Kant would never have denied it. Rationalist, in real sense have developed the argument in two ways. They say that there are circumstances when the content embodied in knowledge outstrips the information that can be provided in the real life experience. Also, they have build in some way, that reason in some form provides informati on and knowledge to the world. Empiricists, in this case provide some additional information of knowledge thought about the world (Kenny 50). Empiricists provide a sum up of lines and levels of thought. In that case they establish on accounts of how learning and experience provides on the information that rationalist provide, which according to Kant we have so far. According to Kant Empiricists will in most cases opt for skepticism as a lope to rationalism, Ann (1970). The say that if then experience cannot provide concepts or knowledge the rationalist cite, they then in that case do not have. In that case according to Kant, â€Å"empiricists attack the rationalists on accounts of how reason is a source of concepts and knowledge†. According to Kant, rationalist focus on what they call necessary truth. By this they articulate that some things are necessary true. Kant points that the simplest form of truth is the self-evident truth. In that regard, Kant says, that you even do n ot have to think. He illustrates that for instance as a simple calculation; one plus one, the answer is two Descartes (1988). This to him you do not have through the world to necessarily count this in order to prove it. Kant says that this is something you ought to believe that one plus one, the answer is two (Descartes 124). One of the criticisms that empiricists would set-forward is that, one plus one is two, is a mere trivial. It is tautological, suggesting it is true, certain, but not because it is not self

Friday, November 1, 2019

Social Work Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Work Program - Essay Example My dad saw me and waved, that I didn’t â€Å"see† either. My dad was, however, quite enthusiastic and cool about the whole thing, though he never actually discussed it with me, since he could see I was ashamed of what he did. The turning point came the day when he left his court, it was freezing and mum decided to drive to him and, I agreed to accompany her. I was disappointed in a way, I expected to find hordes of desperate uneducated and hopeless people at the shelter, a few appeared that way, but several of those I talked to seemed reasonable and sane enough for me to wonder what they were doing in shelters. A young man, who told me of his dream to join college, was shattered by addiction to drugs, and he left home because he could not face his parents. He still hoped to pull himself out of the situation; that night I plucked the courage and asked dad to tell me about what he did. By the time he was done, my perspective had undergone a paradigm shift, and when I aske d him why, he told me a story about his past, which I was not familiar with. For three years in his youth he had struggled with drugs and ended up in a shelter where he spent 6 months. Someone helped him get back on his feet again, but he had decided he would always show his appreciation for as long as he could. Therefore, my dad, a hotshot banker, once depended on a shelter from sustenance, now I was ashamed, not of his past, but my closed-mindedness. From that point on, I tried to learn as much as I could about social work from my dad and my teachers. Now I can say that my dad’s example influenced me a lot and I appreciate the chance to have helped me find my true vocation. My key values in live are honesty, fairness and compassion for everyone, I believe everyone deserves a second chance, and nobody should be judged because of their current situation, since it is important we try to find out how someone has got there. I also avoid judging or criticizing people because I be lieve until you know all about someone’s problems and the background circumstances, you are ill-equipped to decide if he/she is willing to change his/her life or not. Everyone should be listened to, supported and given the benefit to doubt his or her social status (Arwen, 2012). The main strength that may enable me to become a good social worker is that I have a compassionate nature. Besides, I am an adept at compartmentalizing my issues; that is to say, if someone makes me angry at some point I will not project it on the next person I meet, since I deal with issues independently. I believe this is particularly crucial, since many of the people social workers need to face are not easy to deal with and require infinite amount of patience. I may not have it in infinite quantities, but I have enough to deal with most of the challenges a social worker is expected to deal with. Communication skills are vital for any social worker, and I have excellent communication skills, I am a good listener who can easily assume the other person’s perspective, hence, understand their situation better. Social work requires emotional maturity and experience; in the past, I have spent many hours volunteering and, as such, I consider myself modestly experienced. I hope to join the