Sonia and Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment Essays - Literature

Sonia and Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment Sonia and Raskolnikov are two characters who connect with each other in the novel Crime and Punishment. They interact on multiple levels, sharing many likenesses. Both of these characters are at-times self-sacrificing, both are struggling for meaning in a dreary existence, and both are generally unhappy people, but brighten and seem to enjoy each other's presence--even when Raskolnikov is rebuking her religion. What is self-sacrifice, for which these characters and so many people around the world engage in? It is a desire to help those around us more than we wish to help merely ourselves. This desire is not normal human state, although it can be brought about easily by social pressures, and sometimes even political societies can compel this attitude. Sonia practices a form of benevolence for her family however. She takes her body off to the moral downfall by sacrificing it to others for money - money that will go to her starving, poor family. Though not his dominating state of mind or action, Raskolnikov does have temporal tendencies towards self-sacrifice. It seems that part of his state of mind when considering the murder of the pawnbroker is that he will be helping society as a whole - definitely a motive that comes from outside the self. Sonia and Raskolnikov share many characteristics that make them an interesting find for each other. A tendency to self-sacrifice for one, and a life of it for another, provides for an alloy of psychological likenesses which help the characters relate. Due in part to their self-sacrificing lives, both characters are also trying to search for meaning in the bleak reality which they are subjected to. Sonia finds this meaning in the Bible, in a belief in God. Raskolnikov writes his theory. He finds solace in thinking that he himself is a god-like creature; he believes he is extraordinary. A belief in being a subject of the Divine and thinking that there are two divisions of men is extremely close. Both of these characters also have their meaning attacked. Porfiry Petrovich attacks the theory of Raskolnikov. Perhaps as a reaction to this, Raskolnikov attacks the support for meaning in Sonia's life - God, the Bible, and her faith. The final glues that continually attract these two characters are the fact that all of their grim similarities bring them together so that they actually enjoy each other's presence. Although Raskolnikov berates her religion mercilessly, there have been at least two other major instances in which Raskolnikov has shown great charity and love toward Sonia and her family. Raskolnikov lives life according to his theory in his mind, and unfortunately he is not able to realize behaviors that connected with his moral code. Therefore by his own code, not even ours or society's, he is morally bankrupt. Yet Sonia and Raskolnikov enjoy each other's presence and time - misery loves company.

This is about how Oedipus symbolized mankind

This is about how Oedipus symbolized mankind "Home is where the horror is." The word "home" holds a different feeling for everyone. Some people embrace the security and warmth they feel at home. While others loathe the notion. In "Oedipus the King", Oedipus finds terror that occur in his own home and family. A prophet told Laius and Jocasta, Oedipus' parents, that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. So they have a messenger send him to put him on a mountain to kill him. However, he gives Oedipus to the king and queen to Creon. When he grows up, he hears the prophecy that his birth parents heard and left Creon. While rraveling to Thebes, he killed his father not knowing he was the King of Thebes. When he arrives to Thebes, he solves the riddle of the Sphinx and becomes king. He met Jocasta and married shortly after and had children.Oedipus slaying the sphinx. Attic red-figured leky...Oedipus finds out the mystery that he is the murderer of his father and married his mother. As a result, Jocasta kills herself an d Oedipus stabs his eyes out. Through the play, Oedipus' life was determined by destiny, Oedipus displayed great thinker, and gained wisdom through suffering. As a result, Oedipus in Sophocles' play Oedipus the King is a symbolic figure for all mankind.In the play Oedipus showed that he is a great thinker. For example, Oedipus solved the riddle of the Spinx. He showed that he is a quick thinker from solving the riddle and defeating the monster that was a burden on Thebes. The priest says to Oedipus:You came to us once and liberated our city, you freed us from the tribute which we paid that cruel singer, the Sphinx. You did this with no extra knowledge you got from us, you had...

Best Character Analysis Jordan Baker - The Great Gatsby

Best Character Analysis Jordan Baker - The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You know that friend of yours who loves to gossip yet always downplays any drama they get into themselves? Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby is like that friend. A close friend of Daisy Buchanan’s, Jordandates Nick Carraway during the novel and plays a crucial role in reuniting Daisy with the titular Jay Gatsby. A couple of years younger than Daisy, Jordan is single and a professional golfer, which sets her apart from her married friend. In fact, Jordan is Daisy’s opposite in many ways, as we will explore in this guide! Read in for a complete guide to Jordan’s appearance, plot points, major quotes, and character analysis! Article Roadmap To help you easily find the information you're looking for, here's how this article is organized and the information it covers. Jordan Baker as a character Physical description Jordan'sbackground Actions in the novel Character Analysis Quotes about and byJordan Common discussion topics and essay ideas FAQ answering often-asked questionsaboutJordan Bonus: Want to improve your SAT/ACT section scores? Check out our top guides for every single section of the SAT and ACT. SAT 800 Score Guides: SAT Reading | SAT Writing | SAT Math | SAT Essay ACT 36 Score Guides: ACT English | ACT Math | ACT Reading | ACT Science | ACT Essay These are the very best guides available on boosting your SAT/ACT scores, section by section. They're written by Harvard grads and perfect SAT/ACT scorers. Don't disappoint yourself - read these guides and improve your score today. Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Physical Description of Jordan The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it- indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. (1.28) I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face. It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before. (1.57) Tom and Miss Baker sat at either end of the long couch and she read aloud to him from the "Saturday Evening Post"- the words, murmurous and uninflected, running together in a soothing tune. The lamp-light, bright on his boots and dull on the autumn-leaf yellow of her hair, glinted along the paper as she turned a page with a flutter of slender muscles in her arms. (1.121) The first thing Nick notices about Jordan is her placement and posture. Only after that does he notice her appearance, which he finds attractive. Nick tells us a lot about Jordan’s appearance, in fact more than he does about Daisy’s – with Daisy he often focuses on immaterial qualities like her voice. But we clearly see Jordan’s gray eyes, her wan, charming face, the autumn-leaf yellow of her hair, her small breasts, the slender muscles in her arms. Clearly Nick spends a lot of time looking at Jordan! It’s also worth noting Jordan and Daisy have contrasting appearances. Jordan is blond andvery athletic, physical, tan, and angular, while Daisy is dark-haired and pale with a musical voice and more delicate figure. Interestingly enough most film adaptations feature a dark-haired Jordan and a blonde Daisy! Jordan's Background Jordan Baker, who is two years younger than Daisy, grew up with the other womanin Louisville. Daisy refers to this as their shared â€Å"white girlhoods† (1.100). Jordan witnesses both Daisy’s initial relationship with Gatsby and how she almost didn’t marry Tom after getting a letter from Gatsby but pulled herself together in time for the wedding. Jordan doesn’t have any major surviving relatives other than an old aunt who controls her money, so it’s implied she’s the heiress to a significant amount of money but, during the novel at least, she doesn’t have full access to it. Instead of marrying, Jordan plays golf professionally and dates around, to the point Tom comments that her family â€Å"shouldn’t let her run around the country in this way† (1.134). To see how Jordan's biography lines up with the lives of theother characters, check out our timeline. A Summary of Jordan's Actions in the Novel In Chapter 1, Jordan meets Nick through Tom and Daisy, who she is staying with. She tells Nick that Tom has â€Å"some woman in New York† and shushes him so she can listen to Tom and Daisy’s argument, revealing herself as a gossip (1.100). In Chapter 3, she runs into Nick again at Gatsby’s party. She is also called to speak with Gatsby, and he tells her about his past with Daisy and how he hopes to meet her again through Nick, Daisy’s cousin. In Chapter 4, Jordan tells Nick about Daisy and Gatsby’s history and gets him to help arrange their meeting, igniting Daisy and Gatsby’s affair. In Chapter 7, Jordan is invited to the lunch party along with Nick, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy, when Gatsby hopes to have Daisy to confront Tom. The group ends up going to New York City. Jordan rides up with Tom and Nick in Gatsby’s yellow car. They stop at the Wilson’s garage, and Myrtle sees the trio and takes Jordan to be Tom’s wife. Later that night, Jordan drives back with Nick and Tom, but this time in Tom’s blue coupe. They come across the scene of Myrtle’s death: she has been run over by the yellow car. Despite witnessing this awful scene, she seems surprised Nick doesn’t want to come into the Buchanans’ afterward for tea. The next day, she calls Nick at work, telling him she’s moved out of the Buchanans’ house and wants to see him, but they end up arguing over the phone and breaking up. Finally, in Chapter 9, Nick seeks her out to more formally break things off, and she tells him she’s engaged. Nick doesn't appear to have liked it enough to put a ring on it. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more? We've put our best advice into a single guide. These are the 5 strategies you MUST be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download this free SAT guide now: Key Jordan Baker Quotes â€Å"And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." (3.29) This is an early example of Jordan’s unexpectedly clever observations – throughout the novel she reveals a quick wit and keen eye for detail in social situations. This comment also sets the stage for the novel’s chief affair between Daisy and Gatsby, and how at the small party in Chapter 7 their secrets come out to disastrous effect. Compare Jordan’s comment to Daisy's general attitude of being too sucked into her own life to notice what’s going on around her. "You're a rotten driver," I protested. "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all." "I am careful." "No, you're not." "Well, other people are," she said lightly. "What's that got to do with it?" "They'll keep out of my way," she insisted. "It takes two to make an accident." "Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself." "I hope I never will," she answered. "I hate careless people. That's why I like you." (3.162-169) Here we get a sense of what draws Jordan and Nick together – he’s attracted to her carefree, entitled attitude while she sees his cautiousness as a plus. After all, if it really does take two to make an accident, as long as she’s with a careful person, Jordan can do whatever she wants! We also see Jordan as someone who carefully calculates risks – both in driving and in relationships. This is why she brings up her car accident analogy again at the end of the book when she and Nick break up – Nick was, in fact, a â€Å"bad driver† as well, and she was surprised that she read him wrong. â€Å"It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people.† (4.144) Another example of Jordan’s observant wit, this quote (about Daisy) is Jordan’s way of suggesting that perhaps Daisy’s reputation is not so squeaky-clean as everyone else believes. After all, if Daisy were the only sober one in a crowd of partiers, it would be easy for her to hide less-than-flattering aspects about herself. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. (4.164) In this moment, Nick reveals what he finds attractive about Jordan – not just her appearance (though again, he describes her as pleasingly â€Å"jaunty† and â€Å"hard† here), but her attitude. She’s skeptical without being fully cynical, and remains upbeat and witty despite her slightly pessimistic outlook. At this point in the story, Midwestern Nick probably still finds this exciting and attractive, though of course by the end he realizes that her attitude makes it hard for her to truly empathize with others, like Myrtle. "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." (7.75) In contrast to Daisy (who says just before this, rather despairingly, â€Å"What will we do today, and then tomorrow, and for the next thirty years?† (7.74)), Jordan is open to and excited about the possibilities still available to her in her life. As we’ll discuss later, perhaps since she’s still unmarried her life still has a freedom Daisy’s does not, as well as the possibility to start over. While she’s not exactly a starry-eyed optimist, Jordan does show resilience and an ability to start things over and move on. This allows her to escape the tragedy at the end relatively unscathed. It also fits how Jordan doesn’t seem to let herself get too attached to people or places, which is why she’s surprised by how much she felt for Nick. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." (9.130) Jordan doesn’t frequently showcase her emotions or show much vulnerability, so this moment is striking because we see that she did really care for Nick to at least some extent. Notice that she couches her confession with a pretty sassy remark (â€Å"I don’t give a damn about you now†) which feels hollow when you realize that being â€Å"thrown over† by Nick made her feel dizzy – sad, surprised, shaken – for a while. Common Essay Topics/Areas of Discussion About Jordan Jordan, like Tom, is usually roped into essay topics to be compared with Daisy (the way Tom is often contrasted with Gatsby or sometimes George), or to make a larger argument about the role of women more generally. Since Jordan isn’t as major of a character as Daisy, Gatsby, or even Tom, it’s rare to get a standalone essay just about Jordan. To read some excellentdetailed analysis of how to compare Jordan to Myrtle or Daisy, check out our article on comparing and contrasting the novel's characters. Make sure to move beyond the obvious when writing about Jordan – yes, she has a job while Daisy and Myrtle are both married, but what else makes her stand out? Pay special attention to how Jordan is described versus Daisy, Jordan’s dialogue, and Jordan’s focus – it’s clear that Jordan is often focused outward, observing other characters and their interactions, while Daisy tends to be turned inward, with her own emotions. Discuss how Jordan and Daisy illustrate changing women’s roles in the 1920s. Despite the progress in women’s rights made in the early twentieth century, including the right to vote (won in 1919), most women, especially wealthy women, were expected to marry, have children, and stay at home. Daisy sticks to this prescribed societal role by marrying and having a child. But Jordan plays golf professionally, â€Å"runs around the country† and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to marry (1.134). In short, on the surface, it appears that Daisy is a traditionalist while Jordan is expanding the possibilities of a woman’s life. However, Daisy and Jordan aren’t exactly a straightforward housewife and career woman duo. First of all, Daisy is quite removed from her role as a mother, since her daughter Pammy is mostly raised by a maid. She also seriously contemplates leaving Tom during the novel. Meanwhile, Jordan tells Nick at the end of the novel she’s engaged. Whether or not this is true, it suggests that Jordan will certainly get married one day, and that her current golf career is just a temporary diversion, not a permanent independent lifestyle. Indeed, both Daisy and Jordan are also both at the mercy of their families: Daisy derives all of her wealth and power from Tom, while Jordan is beholden to her old aunt for money. They don’t actually have much control over their own wealth and would lose everything if they went too far out of line. So while Daisy and Jordan both typify a very showy lifestyle that looks liberated – being â€Å"flappers,† having sex, drinking in public (which before the 1920s was seen as a highly indecent thing for a woman to do), playing golf professionally in Jordan’s case – they in fact are still thoroughly constrained by the limited options women had in the 1920s in terms of making their own lives. Jordan briefly narrates in Chapter 4. How is Jordan’s narration different fromNick’s? Why rely on her narration at all? What would the novel be like from her point of view? Jordan’s narration is definitely distinct from Nick’s. Her diction is a bit sharper and she has more blatantly judgmental asides, calling Daisy â€Å"drunk as a monkey† (4.136). She also uses more vivid imagery: the red, white, and blue banners on the houses flapping â€Å"tut-tut-tut-tut† in a â€Å"disapproving way† (4.129), Gatsby’s letter to Daisy coming apart â€Å"like snow† in the bath (4.141), etc. Her choice of words is a pretty good insight into her character and how sharply observant she is! So why is there a section narrated by Jordan at all? Perhaps Nick leans on Jordan because he feels unqualified to talk about Daisy’s past. After all, aside from their conversation in Chapter 1, Nick doesn’t have close conversations with Daisy. But since Nick gets to know Gatsby through several close conversations, he feels comfortable telling about Gatsby’s past. You also get the sense he’s washing hishands of whatever Jordan reveals about Daisy. He doesn’t fully trust in the details or really care about Daisy’s story,using it only asa means ofunderstanding Gatsby. It’s also notable that Nick uses Michealis’s point of view to talk about the aftermath of Myrtle’s death, which in a similar manner suggests he feels less connected to the Wilsons than he does to Gatsby. The novel from Jordan’s point of view would likely be much less sentimental when it comes to Gatsby. Nick obviously idealizes him by the end while Jordan doesn’t seem to see him as anything more than a source of fun and intrigue. We would also likely get a much better sense of Daisy’s motivations and thought process throughout the novel, something we barely get access to with Nick’s narration. Daisy's motto: if you don't have anything nice to say, come and sit by me. Extra Advice: Want to get into the best college you can? Read our famous guide on how to get into Harvard, the Ivy League, and your top choice college. In this guide, you'll learn: What colleges are looking for in your application How to impress your top choice colleges Why you're probably wasting your time on activities that don't matter Even if you're not actually interested in Ivy League schools, you'll still learn something fundamental about how to apply to college. Read our top college admissions guide today. Jordan Baker FAQ These are questions that many students have about Jordan after reading Gatsby for the first time. These are points that don’t come up as often in essay topics or study guides, so give them a look if you’re still wondering about Jordan’s feelings and motivations! #1: Does Jordan Actually Like Nick? Daisy professes her feelings to not one but two men in Chapter 7, and Myrtle makes her attraction to Tom Buchanan clear. Jordan, in contrast, is not one to make her feelings so plainly known, so it’s not surprising that many students wonder if she even likes Nick at all. Like Gatsby, Jordan seems drawn to Nick because he presents himself as a stable, honest, and grounded personality in the midst of many larger-than-life, overbearing types.She even says that she’s drawn to him because he’s cautious. There's also a part in the book where Nick says that Jordan tends to prefer being with people she can dominate or pull one over on, and Nick does seem to rely on her for emotional strength at some points (for example in the car when he's thinking about turning 30). Nick and Jordan break up right at the moment when she can't control his actions - can't make him go into the house, can't make him apologize for ignoring her.) By the end of the book, Jordan does admit that she was rather thrown by the break-up, suggesting she came to have somewhat deeper feelings for him. In fact, their break-up scene is worth looking at in full to really answer this question: "Nevertheless you did throw me over," said Jordan suddenly. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." We shook hands. "Oh, and do you remember- " she added, "- - a conversation we had once about driving a car?" "Why- not exactly." "You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride." "I'm thirty," I said. "I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor." She didn't answer. Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away. (9.130-136) â€Å"Feeling dizzy for a while† is the closest we’ve seen the proudly unflappable Jordan come to admitting an actual, personal, emotional response to a situation. She also criticizes Nick for mischaracterizing himself as honest and straightforward when he dispatched her pretty coldly over the phone. In short, we can tell she has definitely been thinking their short relationship over and was shocked and hurt by how abruptly things ended. #2: Why Does Jordan Help Gatsby Reunite With Daisy? In Chapter 3, Jordan attends one of Gatsby’s parties and is called upstairs to speak with him. We can infer that Gatsby has heard she is staying with Daisy Buchanan, and calls her up so he can find out more about Daisy. In that conversation, Gatsby confesses to Jordan that he’s in love with Daisy and wants to try and see her again. Gatsby’s motivations are clear. But why does Jordan help? Well, for one thing, Jordan’s nosy, and likes to be in the middle of things. She tells Nick about Tom’s affair in Chapter 1 and also tells him all about Daisy’s past in Chapter 4, and seems to love being a source of information and gossip. Arranging a Daisy/Gatsby reunion certainly puts her close to some drama! However, you could also argue that, as someone with knowledge of Gatsby and Daisy’s original relationship, Jordan knows how devastated Daisy was when she got a letter from Gatsby, feels compelled to help the pair reunite. Finally, Jordan might also see it as an opportunity to expose Daisy as much less virtuous as she comes off. Jordan is consistently the only character who recognizes Daisy as less-than-perfect, as evidenced in her remarks about Daisy in Chapter 4 (â€Å"Daisy was popular in Chicago, as you know. They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely spotlessreputation. Perhaps because she doesn't drink. It's a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people. You can hold your tongue and, moreover, you can time any little irregularity of your own so that everybody else is so blind that they don't see or care.† (4.144)). Nudging Daisy into an affair with Gatsby could be Jordan’s way of working to expose Daisy to the scrutiny that everyone else in their circles seems to face for similar behavior. #3: What’s Jordan’s Purpose in the Story? Is She a Necessary Character? Jordan, similar to Nick, is adjacent to much of the main action and not directly involved, so many students wonder what exactly she’s doing in the book. Especially since Nick does have a crucial role as narrator, Jordan can seem a bit superfluous at times. So why include her? Well, for one thing, she does have an important role to play in the story. Purely from a plot perspective, she helps connect Nick to Gatsby in Chapter 3, and she also helps connect Gatsby and Daisy. She helps sets the wheels of the affair in motion, and, of course, the affair drives the main action of the novel. Without Jordan, Gatsby would have relied entirely on Nick to reach Daisy, which would have taken some of the suspense out of Gatsby’s motivations (even though Jordan learns Gatsby’s secret in Chapter 3, we don’t learn it until Chapter 4). But Jordan is also important in how she allows us to understand other characters. She helps us understand Daisy by being such a contrast to her, and of course offers some crucial insights about Daisy herself during her brief stint as the narrator in Chapter 4. Furthermore, Jordan also gives us some insights about Nick since we can see his reactions to her and their relationship. In fact, Jordan’s relationship with Nick is one of our main inroads into understanding Nick’s personal life and feelings. So while Jordan is not directly involved in the main drama, she is a crucial lynchpin both for the plot and our understanding of the other major characters. #4: Why Doesn’t Jordan Go to Gatsby’s Funeral? Nick attends Gatsby’s funeral along with Gatsby’s father and Owl Eyes. Tom and Daisy have skipped town due to Daisy’s role in Myrtle’s death, Meyer Wolfshiem also wants to keep his distance since he is painted as cautious and disloyal, and Myrtle and George are dead. So out of the book’s major characters, Jordan is the only one unaccounted for at Gatsby’s funeral. Some readers wonder why she doesn’t show up, given her relationship with Nick and the fact that she at least knew Gatsby, and even helped him reunite with Daisy. First of all, Nick doesn’t try to invite Jordan to the funeral (that we know of), especially since it seems their conversation late in Chapter 9 is the first they have spoken since Nick â€Å"threw her over† on the telephone the morning after Myrtle’s death. Perhaps Jordan hears about Gatsby’s death but avoids his funeral because she assumes Nick will be there. If Nick invited her would she have considered attending? Likely not. Jordan, like the other characters, is very conscious about appearances and, furthermore, she is a character who likes being involved in gossip and intrigue but manages to mostly remain out of serious trouble or scandal herself. So even were she invited, going to Gatsby’s funeral might be seen as more risky than it’s worth, especially since she wasn’t that close to Gatsby. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. What’s Next? Nick and Jordan’s relationship is unique in the novel – they’re not having an affair, unlike Tom/Myrtle and Daisy/Gatsby, and they’re not married, unlike Myrtle/George and Daisy/Tom. So what does Nick and Jordan's relationship add to the story? Why include it at all? Read more about love, desire, and relationships in Gatsbyto find out. Jordan is a key figure in the first half of the novel as Gatsby moves to reunite with Daisy. Read summaries of Chapter 3and Chapter 4to get some in-depth takes of her most important scenes. We mention here that Jordan is relatively independent in that she has her own career as a golfer. This connects her to one of the novel's more interesting motifs: sports. How does her golf career compare to Tom's football days? Read our article on motifs in The Great Gatsby for some insights. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Animal Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Animal Rights - Essay Example While, because of its many practical and historical considerations, it is difficult to take â€Å"sides† in this argument. As a matter of ethical stance the argument of Regan and Singer presents a clearer more definitive philosophical/ethical case, while Baxter’s hyper-utilitarian defense rings arrogant, unethical, and morally bankrupt. Both Baxter, and Regan and Singer rely heavily on the Utilitarian theory to support and dispute respectively the notion of ethics as applied to animal rights. As a theory of Mill and Bentham, Utilitarianism says the morality of an action is determined by its utility in providing happiness or pleasure to sentient beings. An action, as it were, is judged by its outcome. Baxter states this case word for word through criteria developed from this theory to support his view that when it comes to that which benefits the majority of people, â€Å"Damage to penguins, or sugar pines, or geo ­logical marvels is... simply irrelevant† (Baxter 523). He neglects to discuss animals as feeling creatures. Anyone familiar with animals could never dispute this. It can hardly be leave out of any conversation, pro or con, when it comes to animal rights. The basis of many of Baxter’s justifications is often expressed in dollars and cents, in the highly and often unethical human spheres of money, profit and even politics. â€Å"Penquins don’t vote† (Baxter 524), a sarcastic statement relating to the Utilitarian notion that decisions are made in the collective [by humans], and that animals, as not a part of that collective, have no say and deserve little consideration other than which man chooses to give them. Baxter stoops to the argument that while some say they want to protect animals from harm in all circumstances they still allow them to be slaughtered for food. It is an old argument. Regan and Singer can not be accused of

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present Term Paper - 5

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present - Term Paper Example ef that many individuals have that animals cannot be considered as sentient beings; therefore, extending any form of rights or the expectation thereof, is tantamount to extending rights to an unconscious object. Ultimately, the debate is somewhat circular due to the fact that neither animal rights activists nor their counterparts who advocate a reduction in animal rights rules and practice can definitively prove that consciousness exists within animals and therefore is worthy of a level of respect. With respect to this brief analysis, the author will propose an opposing viewpoint with regards to the inherent belief that animals should engender further rights and protections under law. Whereas it should not be noted that this analysis will take a contrary in view of the fact that animals are important, should be respected, and preserved for future generations, it will be the express intent of this author to engage the reader with an understanding for the fact that many of the fundamen tal arguments that animal rights activists put forward as evidence for why further animal rights should be manifested within the current world are fundamentally flawed. Firstly, it must be understood that humans are most certainly the most evolved creatures that exist on earth. By means of the process of evolution, humans have a degree of power and control with regards to their environment. For many years, individuals of a religious persuasion believed that God had given mankind â€Å"dominion† over the earth. However, whether or not one believes in evolution or whether or not one believes in intelligent design is not the issue; rather, the issue is the fact that the overall intellects and functional capacity of humans necessarily places them in a situation that they are able to make a discerning judgments and determine value based upon the needs and rights of the environment around them. Said one author, â€Å"There are a lot of people in the animal rights movement who can be very

The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer :: Wealth Poverty

"The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer" Living in the United States of America allows for many freedoms and opportunities to its citizens. Growing up, children learn that in the United States means that everyone is treated equally, and fairly. In addition, one is made to believe that a prejudiced outlook on minorities is a problem of the past. Jeffrey Reiman's article, "The Rich get Richer and the Poor get poorer," displays the truth of how the real world is. The article shows a clearer picture as to how destitute and African American people are treated extremely different then Caucasians do. The idea of underprivileged citizens having a greater chance of being arrested, more likely to be sentenced, and punished for a longer amount of time is not how one would think the criminal justice system works. Nobody wants to acknowledge the fact that hate does still exist in the United States. Most still wants to believe that all people will be treated equally, no matter who they are. Not always what people think is happening in this society is correct. Also, there is a huge difference in poor people being arrested compared to upper and middle-class. Does this mean that poor people cannot slip out of punishment, but rich people can? Some believe this clearly shows that impoverished people are looked down upon in society. Although it is a hard concept to believe, statistics show that it is true. In 1978, fifty three percent African Americans jail inmates had pre-arrest incomes below three thousand dollars compared with forty four percent of Caucasian inmates. In 1983 the median pre-arrest income of African Americans was four thousand sixty-seven dollars and that of Caucasian inmates was six thousand three hundred and twelve dollars. These statistics provide evidence that both African-American and poor people are more likely to be in jail. (Reiman, 97) There is a better financial outlook though; the poverty rate for African Americans in 2000, is the lowest measured since 1959-the earliest year for which poverty data are available. The 2000 rate was down from twenty-three percent in 1999. About half-million fewer African Americans were poor in 2000 than in 1999, seven million compared to eight million. In 1998 African American men were making more money then Caucasian women. Now African American women are catching up in the higher pay roll. In 1998 African American women were only one thousand dollars behind Caucasian women.

Deception Point Page 27

The gaping hole in the ice now looked like a small swimming pool in the middle of the habisphere. The surface of the two-hundred-foot-deep pool of melted water sloshed for a while against the icy walls of the shaft and then finally grew calm. The waterline in the shaft was a good four feet beneath the glacier's surface, the discrepancy caused by both the removal of the meteorite's mass and ice's property of shrinking as it melts. Norah Mangor immediately set up SHABA pylons all around the hole. Although the hole was clearly visible, any curious soul who ventured too close and accidentally slipped in would be in dire jeopardy. The walls of the shaft were solid ice, with no footholds, and climbing out unassisted would be impossible. Lawrence Ekstrom came padding across the ice toward them. He moved directly to Norah Mangor and shook her hand firmly. â€Å"Well done, Dr. Mangor.† â€Å"I'll expect lots of praise in print,† Norah replied. â€Å"You'll get it.† The administrator turned now to Rachel. He looked happier, relieved. â€Å"So, Ms. Sexton, is the professional skeptic convinced?† Rachel couldn't help but smile. â€Å"Stunned is more like it.† â€Å"Good. Then follow me.† Rachel followed the administrator across the habisphere to a large metal box that resembled an industrial shipping container. The box was painted with military camouflage patterns and stenciled letters: P-S-C. â€Å"You'll call the President from in here,† Ekstrom said. Portable Secure Comm, Rachel thought. These mobile communications booths were standard battlefield installations, although Rachel had never expected to see one used as part of a peacetime NASA mission. Then again, Administrator Ekstrom's background was the Pentagon, so he certainly had access to toys like this. From the stern faces on the two armed guards watching over the PSC, Rachel got the distinct impression that contact with the outside world was made only with express consent from Administrator Ekstrom. Looks like I'm not the only one who is off-the-grid. Ekstrom spoke briefly with one of the guards outside the trailer and then returned to Rachel. â€Å"Good luck,† he said. Then he left. A guard rapped on the trailer door, and it opened from within. A technician emerged and motioned for Rachel to enter. She followed him in. The inside of the PSC was dark and stuffy. In the bluish glow of the lone computer monitor, Rachel could make out racks of telephone gear, radios, and satellite telecommunications devices. She already felt claustrophobic. The air inside was bitter, like a basement in winter. â€Å"Sit here, please, Ms. Sexton.† The technician produced a rolling stool and positioned Rachel in front of a flat-screen monitor. He arranged a microphone in front of her and placed a bulky pair of AKG headphones on her head. Checking a logbook of encryption passwords, the technician typed a long series of keys on a nearby device. A timer materialized on the screen in front of Rachel. 00:60 SECONDS The technician gave a satisfied nod as the timer began to count down. â€Å"One minute until connection.† He turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Rachel could hear the bolt lock outside. Great. As she waited in the dark, watching the sixty-second clock slowly count down, she realized that this was the first moment of privacy she'd had since early that morning. She'd woken up today without the slightest inkling of what lay ahead. Extraterrestrial life. As of today, the most popular modern myth of all time was no longer a myth. Rachel was just now starting to sense how truly devastating this meteorite would be to her father's campaign. Although NASA funding had no business being on a political par with abortion rights, welfare, and health care, her father had made it an issue. Now it was going to blow up in his face. Within hours, Americans would feel the thrill of a NASA triumph all over again. There would be teary-eyed dreamers. Slack-jawed scientists. Children's imaginations running free. Issues of dollars and cents would fade away as petty, overshadowed by this monumental moment. The President would emerge like a phoenix, transforming himself into a hero, while in the midst of the celebration, the businesslike senator would suddenly appear small-minded, a penny-pinching Scrooge with no American sense of adventure. The computer beeped, and Rachel glanced up. 00:05 SECONDS The screen in front of her flickered suddenly, and a blurry image of the White House seal materialized on-screen. After a moment, the image dissolved into the face of President Herney. â€Å"Hello, Rachel,† he said, a mischievous glint in his eye. â€Å"I trust you've had an interesting afternoon?† 29 The office of Senator Sedgewick Sexton was located in the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building on C Street to the northeast of the Capitol. The building was a neo-modern grid of white rectangles that critics claimed looked more like a prison than an office building. Many who worked there felt the same. On the third floor, Gabrielle Ashe's long legs paced briskly back and forth in front of her computer terminal. On the screen was a new e-mail message. She was not sure what to make of it. The first two lines read: SEDGEWICK WAS IMPRESSIVE ON CNN. I HAVE MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU. Gabrielle had been receiving messages like this for the last couple of weeks. The return address was bogus, although she'd been able to track it to a â€Å"whitehouse.gov† domain. It seemed her mysterious informant was a White House insider, and whoever it was had become Gabrielle's source for all kinds of valuable political information recently, including the news of a covert meeting between the NASA administrator and the President. Gabrielle had been leery of the e-mails at first, but when she checked out the tips, she was amazed to find the information consistently accurate and helpful-classified information on NASA overexpenditures, costly upcoming missions, data showing that NASA's search for extraterrestrial life was grossly overfunded and pathetically unproductive, even internal opinion polls warning that NASA was the issue turning voters away from the President. To enhance her perceived value to the senator, Gabrielle had not informed him she was receiving unsolicited e-mail help from inside the White House. Instead, she simply passed the information to him as coming from â€Å"one of her sources.† Sexton was always appreciative and seemed to know better than to ask who her source was. She could tell he suspected Gabrielle was doing sexual favors. Troublingly, it didn't seem to bother him in the least. Gabrielle stopped pacing and looked again at the newly arrived message. The connotations of all the e-mails were clear: Someone inside the White House wanted Senator Sexton to win this election and was helping him do it by aiding his attack against NASA. But who? And why? A rat from a sinking ship, Gabrielle decided. In Washington it was not at all uncommon for a White House employee, fearing his President was about to be ousted from office, to offer quiet favors to the apparent successor in hopes of securing power or another position after the changeover. It seemed someone smelled Sexton victory and was buying stock early. The message currently on Gabrielle's screen made her nervous. It was like none other she had ever received. The first two lines didn't bother her so much. It was the last two: EAST APPOINTMENT GATE, 4:30 P.M. COME ALONE. Her informant had never before asked to meet in person. Even so, Gabrielle would have expected a more subtle location for a face-to-face meeting. East Appointment Gate? Only one East Appointment Gate existed in Washington, as far as she knew. Outside the White House? Is this some kind of joke? Gabrielle knew she could not respond via e-mail; her messages were always bounced back as undeliverable. Her correspondent's account was anonymous. Not surprising.