A Guide in Analyzing Movies Essay Example for Free

A Guide in Analyzing Movies Essay Watching movies is one of the best ways to relax, enjoy, and learn. Some people watch movies for recreational purposes, while others do this to learn new ideas or things. However, as a movie progresses into its climax, one would notice that he or she is getting involved in the movie by thinking how the conflict will be resolved. After watching the movie, a reaction or feedback is drawn as one tries to communicate or narrate the story to someone who has not watched the film. Reactions are mostly about the content of the movies and little on its technical aspect. This is true especially if the movie is based on a real life story, romance, or a story of nationalistic concern. If the theme of a movie is scientific or an adaptation of a fictional novel, most audience critics the film based on the technical aspect of the production. Whether the audience is reacting positively or negatively on the content of the movie or whether the audience is critiquing the film’s technical production, he or she is already in the process of analyzing the film. There are different approaches from which to analyze a movie, and these approaches may depend on the genre of the film one had watched and wanted to analyze. Yet, in order for one to write a movie analysis, he or she must first know the different components of a film which include the theme, story, plot, characters or actors, acting, cinematography, and technical aspect such as lightning, music and sound effects, camera shots, and editing. Feedback about the film depends on the mixture of these components; such mixing is done by the film director. He or she acts as if he or she is cooking a delicacy that will be judged by his or her customer. This essay discusses the basic guideline on how to analyze a film and how meaning in the film should be interpreted. Again, this guideline may vary depending on the type of the movie one is trying to analyze. A cine-magazine, for example, contains different topics; thus, there is little unity on the scenes. Uniformity of style and treatment are not given too much consideration because cine-magazine contains different stories. The scenes in an educational film, on the other hand, have greater unity because it is normally devoted to a single subject, such as the evolution of man or the process of respiratory system. A documentary film, in contrast, goes further. It has a single subject that presents or advances an argument. Having these in mind, the critical consideration when analyzing a movie lies on the theme (message or relevance of the film), story (which include the plot, storylines and dialogues, characters, and other symbolic elements such as costume and set up), cinematography and screenplay, and technical components like music, lights, camera shots, and transitions due to editing. Analyzing the Content of a Movie In analyzing the content of a film, critics must look deeply into the movie’s theme, story, plot and storyline and dialogues. Moreover, he or she must also consider the characters and their relationship with the story and other actors, the setting where the shots took place, and the sequence of scenes. The Theme The theme is important, for this shows the relevance of the film in the current time. This also represents the purpose of the director or the goal that the film is trying to communicate to the audience. Boggs and Petrie (2008) identified some goals the movies try to convey. This includes entertaining the viewer, providing a character sketch of a renowned personality, or increasing the audiences awareness on a certain issue of nationalistic or personal concern. Meanwhile, if the movie is in abstract terms wherein the movie tends to create confusion on its theme, one may just describe or narrate the movie to someone who has not watched it, and the theme will come out. As Boggs and Petrie (2008) put it, when an audience narrates a story they have just read or watched, the tendency is that they will describe first the events that made the strongest effect or impression to them. Aside from the major theme, some movies have minor themes which are not substantive enough to be regarded as a full theme. Movie critics call this motif. Motifs are ideas or symbols which are repeated throughout the movie but are not identified as a major theme. Examples of motifs are personalized advertising, identity recognition, technology validation, and symbols which embody all-seeing beings. These are mostly evident in a company or organization-sponsored movies. In the movie â€Å"Knowing† which stars Nicholas Cage as John the Cosmology professor, the major theme is about knowing or predicting events (usually accident or tragedy) that will occur in the near future. Events are predicted through the use of a number arranged in a pattern on a written paper. After decoding this pattern, John tasked himself to solve the mystery, warn the public, and stop the predicted tragedy from taking place. Motifs seen in the film are the repeated appearance of unusual beings (aliens who look like human) and the appearance of black stones. The repetitive appearance of these two could not be regarded as a major theme such as alien invasion; instead, they serve as a clue for John to solve the mystery (Blumenthal, Tisch, Black Proyas, 2009). The Story After identifying the theme of the movie, the critic can now proceed to dissecting the story that the film is trying to narrate to the audience. A film story is composed of the plot, the characters, and the symbolic element. In analyzing a movie story, one must carefully and critically look at the storyline and dialogues that were used in the movie. Moreover, to analyze a story is to look whether the plot flows easily from one scene to another, thus making the film realistic or believable. According to Boggs and Petrie (2008), in analyzing a plot, one should explore the time element used in the movie (linear, nonlinear) and the relationship of the scenes portrayed in the climax and in the ending of the film. Are the use of time element and the scenes believable? Does the plot convey a universal truth about the world or human nature, or is it just a fantastic adaptation of truth? One should also take into account if the actors are being realistic on their actions, facial expressions, delivery of dialogue, and manner of wearing their costume. Are the characters credible in making the audience believe that they are part of the whole reality? This is important because even if the movie has a fascinating and catchy cinematography, the movie will result in a catastrophe if the dialogues are not appealing or interesting and the dialogue delivery by the actors is poor and not convincing. In the film â€Å"Knowing,† the plot was presented in a linear (time) manner in which the scenes developed from less complicated to more complex portrayal. The film was able to explain how the conflict arrived (this was narrated in the first part of the movie), and the solution to the conflict, as expected, was presented in the denouement. However, the incorporation of the alien beings in the story makes it unbelievable, and the given solution to the problem was not viable. In the film, aliens were portrayed as the savior of mankind. They are the ones predicting the occurrence of the tragedy or accident and communicating it to human beings with the use of numbers. They were also the ones to decide who will die and who will be saved to continue the race of the living (Blumenthal, Tisch, Black Proyas, 2009). On the other hand, the characters in the movie are presented effectively such that their actions and dialogues depict the theme and the story of the movie that the filmmakers are trying to relate to the audience. John is a cosmology professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His son is Caleb, a seven-year old boy with a hearing defect so he is using hearing aid. John’s wife died in a fire tragedy, which made him believe that in the randomness of the occurrence of events, meaning that there are no specific relationships of events; everything that happens is purely coincidence. He lived with this belief until the day Caleb received the letter written by Lucinda Emerly (a gifted girl who was used by aliens to predict the future) from the time capsule buried in Caleb’s school 50 years ago. This letter was composed of numbers arranged in a pattern. As John was trying to decode the numbers, he found out that the numbers represent the dates, specific locations, and number of people who died in different tragedies, but there were events that are yet to happen. This urged him to solve the mystery. In the process of unraveling the mystery behind the numbers, John sought Diana, the daughter of Lucinda. Incidentally, Abby, daughter of Diana, also happened to inherit her grandmother’s gift, and like Caleb, she can also hear the voice of the aliens who seemed to be whispering into their heads. Thus, in the movie, the portrayal of the characters was in accordance to what is needed by the prophecy. John is an intelligent professor of science and Caleb is a gifted boy, while Diana and Abby are both related to Lucinda, the one who wrote the numbers. The story of Knowing revolves around these characters each of who play a part in solving the mystery. The two men have the intelligence or information that could be helpful in solving the problem while the two ladies have the history of Lucinda (Blumenthal, Tisch, Black Proyas, 2009). The setting or background used in the film is also important to analyze. A film with a fascinating story, good characters, appealing dialogues, and uniform scenes but was shot in a location not adequate to its portrayal is a disaster. Thus, film directors are careful in choosing shot locations which would enhance not only the cinematography of the film but also the story as a whole. Scientific films mostly have research laboratories as setting; environmental films are set in forest and seas; and horror films are shot in a scary location such as a haunted house. Familiar locations could made films appear realistic and could also establish relationship with the audience. To analyze the setting, one must look at the storyline and the portrayals of actions. Lastly, symbolisms are used in the film to add depth to the story or reinforce the film’s theme. According to Boggs and Petrie (2008), symbols are repeated to emphasize the theme of the film. They could be metaphoric in nature, for their value in the story surpasses the value they normally signify. In films, actors can give specific value of an object to increase its significance to the audience. Critical reception of symbolism in movies depends on whether the symbol is novel or a cliche. In the movie â€Å"Knowing,† numbers are symbols of components (date, location, number of victims) of events that need to be interpreted by actors and the audience. Moreover, the black stones are signs where the solution for the given problem could be found. The hearing aid of Caleb malfunctions when the aliens are near him and when they are trying to communicate something. The Genre To find out whether one is doing the right thing in analyzing the film, one should take into consideration the genre of the film. Genre classification of film could be science fiction, action, comedy, horror, drama, romance, character sketch of a renowned personality, and social or political representation of an issue, among others. The recognition of a film’s genre can help the film critic to distinguish the truths presented in the movie. For film critics, a movie which has lots of symbols and metaphors, is not novel (same old stories), has no originality, and relies too much on cliches is merely a junk. It is also important to note that there are films which cannot be categorized into one particular genre. The movie â€Å"Knowing† falls under the genres science fiction, drama, and action (Blumenthal, Tisch, Black Proyas, 2009).

The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China Essay Example for Free

The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China Essay The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China were very similar in many different aspects. Their governments and their geography were extremely alike and the religions of the two civilizations had only tiny differences. The early Egyptians also had the same concept of writing as the Chinese people who lived across the continent from them. Suprisingly, these two ancient civilizations that existed very far away from each other show a enormous amount of similarities in almost every area. The government of Ancient Egypt was headed by a king (in the New kingdom, the king assumed the name pharaoh) with absolute power. Different dynasties, or a line of rulers from the same family, would rule Egypt. Each ruler was considered to be a god whose orders were undisputable. However, the government was not only a monarchy; it was a theocracy. The king would perform religious rituals to help the harvest because this would ensure prosperity in Egypt. Likewise, the Chinese government also consisted of an emperor that would belong to a dynasty. Like in Egypt, a dynasty could rule until it would be eventually overthrown. The Chinese kings would also perform religious duties; they prayed, sacrificed, gave offerings and used oracle bones to call upon their ancestors. Both the Chinese and the Egyptian governments had similar structure and duties. If one took a look at China and Egypts geography, one would notice that they are quite similar. The natural barriers of the two civilizations are akin to each other. China has the Pacific Ocean and the Bay of Bengal to protect it from an attack on land. Equally, Egypt has the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea as an effective natural barrier against non-naval attacks. Also, deserts protect the two civilizations. While Egypt has the Libyan and Nubian Deserts, China is equipped with the Gobi Desert. Both China and Egypt have huge rivers located in them. While Egypts pride, the Nile River, is a huge producer of food and life, China has three major rivers, the Huang He, the Chang Jiang, and the Xi Jiang. The ancient Chinese and the ancient Egyptians were both polytheistic, which caused them to be very similar. The Egyptians believed that the gods were usually part human and part animal each gods each played a different role.  There were a few main gods that everybody worshipped and there were also local gods for different regions of Egypt. Egyptians also believed in a happy afterlife for everybody, in which you could only take along things you were buried with to your afterlife. The early Chinese peoples also believed in many deities and they thought that if they made sacrifices and offerings to their gods, then they would be rewarded. There were gods for everything, like in the Egyptian religion; each god would represent something. The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China were very similar. The government in both places was similarly set up and the geography of China was very much alike to the geography of Egypt. Religion was also a common trait of these two civilizations. Strangely, considering these two cultures developed isolated from each other, they share a lot of common traits.

Cytochrome P450 and Breast Cancer

Cytochrome P450 and Breast Cancer Cytochrome P450 The cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are a superfamily of haem-containing mono-oxygenases involved in the oxidative metabolism of a wide range of xenobiotics and endogenous compounds including steroids in the body.(40, 41) These membrane-bound enzymes are found primarily in the liver, sited in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) of hepatocytes.(42) CYPs are also found, to a lower extent, in extra-hepatic tissues such as the small intestine, kidney and lung where they carry out enzymatic biotransformation of foreign chemicals.(43) In human liver, three main CYP families (CYP1, CYP2 and CYP3) are heavily involved in drug metabolism.(44) Phase 1 metabolism reactions such as oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis of substrates introduce functional groups into drug molecules. The intermediate metabolites then enter Phase 2 reaction which involves conjugation to produce inactive polar metabolites for elimination from the body.(30) Most P450 metabolisms deactivate substrates to form inactive intermediates for elimination; paradoxically, CYPs can convert substrates into active intermediates which contribute to cellular toxicity or carcinogenicity.(30, 43) + Figure 11: The microsomal monooxygenase P450 system. Cytochrome P450 incorporates one atom of oxygen to the substrate (RH), forming a hydroxylated product (ROH); and incorporates another atom of oxygen to form a water molecule. NADPH serves as a coenzyme in the system. The hydroxylated product can then undergo Phase 2 reactions to produce conjugates which are catalysed by a variety of enzymes such as gluthathione transferases.(43) Cytochrome P450 and Breast Cancer CYPs are involved in the metabolism of a wide range of substrates including carcinogens and anticancer drugs.(43) CYPs can convert anticancer drugs into inactive metabolites; or activate mitogenic compounds such as the oestradiol metabolite 4-hydroxyestradiol.(45) It was established that metabolism of the carcinogen benzopyrene by CYPs may generate products which can cause specific mutation in the p53 gene and initiate cancer.(46) The microsomal monooxygenase P450 system (MMO) generates ROS which, at high levels, can induce cellular oxidative stress which affects cancer cell proliferation.(47, 48) Expression of individual CYPs were observed in different types of human cancers including breast cancer.(43) However the knowledge on the role of CYPs in cancer cells is limited. This has attracted increasing interest of experimentalists in the investigation of the effect of CYP-mediated metabolism in cancer cells. Over the years, overexpression of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 are the most profound findings in the field of pharmaco-oncology.(44) CYP1A1 catalyses the metabolism of oestradiol to inactive 2-hydroxyestradiol for excretion from the body.(41, 49) In contrast, CYP1B1 mediates conversion of oestradiol to 4-hydroxyestradiol which is capable of producing ROS and contributes to breast carcinogenesis.(41, 49) Previous study has reported that oestradiol can regulate CYP1B1 expression in MCF-7 cells through ER-mediated pathway.(41) Another study treated MCF-7 cells with aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist which induces P450 enzymes to catalyse 4-hydroxylation of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol.(50) Higher CYP1B1 mRNA levels and increased hydroxylation activity of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol were observed in breast tumours. (50) This correlates with another study which had shown that CYP1B1 protein was absent in normal breast tissue.(51) Murray et al. had identified the presence of CYP1A and CYP3A in 40% and 22% of the breast tumours respectively.(52) Another P450 subfamily CYP2C was also reported to be present in both normal and breast tumour tissues at similar levels.(53) These evidences further support the hypothesis that expression of individual CYPs in breast cancer cells might play a role in breast tumourigenesis. If the hypothesis is confirmed to be true, the levels of individual CYPs in breast tumour can become a good marker in providing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in breast cancer treatment. CYP2C8 Figure 12: The structure of CYP2C8, a haemoprotein from the cytochrome P450 superfamily. Figure adapted from reference (54). CYP2C8 is a member of the CYP2C subfamily which accounts for 7% of the total microsomal CYP content.(55) CYP2C8 mediates Phase 1 oxidative metabolism of about 5% of drugs in the liver.(55) Sited mainly in the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes, CYP2C8 mRNA was also detected in extra-hepatic sites such as the kidney, brain, uterus and mammary gland.(56) In a study, 10 breast cancer tissue samples were analysed using specific primers for RT- PCR for the expression of CYP2C8.(57) Interestingly, CYP2C8 mRNA was detected in all the samples analysed.(57) Another study has detected CYP2C8 mRNA in breast cancer cells and CYP2C8 knockdown suppressed the growth of breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, T47D and MDA-MB-231.(58) Anti-cancer drug Paclitaxel and carcinogen benzopyrene are the main substrates of CYP2C8 in enzymatic metabolisms.(43) CYP2C8 primarily catalyses 6ÃŽ ±-hydroxylation of Paclitaxel, a mitotic inhibitor used in malignant tumour, into inactive metabolite for elimination.(59, 60) Results from several studies had shown that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP2C8 gene, especially the CYP2C8*3 variant allele which is more common in Caucasians, results in alteration in CYP2C8 enzymatic activity.(61, 62) Dai et al. had reported that subjects homozygous for CYP2C8*3 had decreased 6ÃŽ ±-hydroxylation Paclitaxel metabolism compared to subjects with wild-type CYP2C8 gene.(62) As a result, although more likely to achieve therapeutic response from Paclitaxel treatment, breast cancer patients who are CYP2C8*3 carriers have a significant increased risk of neuropathy due to the narrow therapeutic window of Paclitaxel.(60, 61, 63) Besides, it was also reported that CYP2C8*3 variant caused defective metabolism of an endogenous CYP2C8 substrate, arachidonic acid, into epoxyeicosatrienoic acids which promote invasion in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo.(62, 64) In mice, overexpression of CYP epoxygenase in the metabolism of arachidonic acid had resulted in metastasis of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells to the lungs associated with angiogenesis.(65) In another study involving 652 breast cancer patients in Southern Sweden, CYP2C8 polymorphism was studied against early breast cancer-related events to investigate the impact of polymorphism on breast cancer-free survival after diagnosis. (64)The result had shown that CYP2C8*3 variant resulted in shorter disease free survival in 297 ER-positive patients with invasive tumours treated with Tamoxifen, probably due to the role of CYP2C8 in drug metabolism.(64) In addition, researchers also found out that CYP2C8*3 carriers with breast tumour larger than 20mm had more than twofold higher risk of lymph node involvement.(64) Despite studies had detected the expression of CYP2C8 in breast cancer cells, its role in breast cancer is still not widely known. It has been hypothesised that overexpression of CYP2C8 may influence proliferation of breast cancer cells due to its role to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a by-product of the process of breast cancer drugs’ metabolism. Furthermore, CYP2C8 polymorphism might result in inter-individual variation in tumour progression and therapeutic response to anticancer treatments. The expression levels of CYP2C8 in breast tumours might therefore be a good target in designing new anticancer drugs. Quercetin: The CYP2C8 Inhibitor Figure 13: The chemical structure of the CYP2C8 inhibitor Quercetin and its derivatives. Figure adapted from (66). Quercetin is a flavonoid found in a variety of polyphenols such as fruits, vegetables and plants.(67) As a competitive inhibitor of CYP2C8, Quercetin inhibits the 6ÃŽ ±-hydroxylation of taxol catalysed by CYP2C8.(68) Quercetin was reported to inhibit cell proliferation of several human cancers such as leukaemia, gastric carcinoma and breast carcinoma.(68) Currently Quercetin is under Phase 1 clinical trial for anticancer treatment. (68) Quercetin showed a dose-dependent inhibition on cell growth of ER-positive MCF-7 breast carcinoma which could be reversed by removal of Quercetin from culture medium or by addition of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol to the cells treated with Quercetin.(69) In another recent study, researchers had shown that Quercetin induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a time and concentration-dependent manner in cell line MCF-7 (refer Figure 15).(67) The results had suggested that Quercetin might be a promising anticancer drug although its exact mechanism on inhibiting cell proliferation is not fully understood. Quercetin’s effect on CYP2C8 activity and ROS production might explain its role in inhibiting carcinogenesis. Table 1: The effect of Quercetin on the cell cycle and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells shown in a study carried out by Deng et al. Quercetin inhibition on cell growth activity was dose-dependent. The concentration of Quercetin was also found to be positively correlated with apoptosis rate of the cells.(67) Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Reactive oxygen species are the by-products of normal respiration process in the mitochondria.(70, 71) Apart from mitochondria, ROS is also produced from biochemical reactions that use oxygen molecules, such as the P450 monooxygenase system (MMO) in the endoplasmic reticulum.(70) Free radical ROS are highly reactive oxygen molecules which carrying an unpaired electron in their outer shell and seek for another electron in order to become stable.(72) Some examples of ROS include superoxides, peroxides and hydroxyl radicals.(72) A recent study had demonstrated increased intracellular ROS levels in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells following overexpression with CYP2E1.(48) This suggests that an alteration in the levels of the P450 enzymes might play a role in the production of intracellular ROS hence proliferation of cancer cells. Figure 14: The monooxygenase P450 cycle. Binding of substrate (RH) leads to conformational change which favours the reduction of ferric iron (Fe3+) in P450. An addition of single electron from NADPH to P450 via NADPH-P450 reductase converts Fe3+ to ferrous iron (Fe2+). An oxygen molecule binds to the Fe2+RH to form the Fe2+O2.RH complex. Addition of a second electron from either the NADPH-P450 reductase or the cytochrome b5 and a proton form a Fe2+OOH.RH peroxide complex. The complex then accepts a second proton which leads to cleavage of the Fe2+OOH.RH complex into ferric oxene substrate complex, (FeO) 3+.RH and a water molecule. The ferric oxene extracts a hydrogen atom from the substrate to yield a pair of radicals Rà ¢-  and Fe2+OHà ¢- . The last step involves binding of Rà ¢-  with the hydroxyl radical OHà ¢-  to generate the hydroxylated drug (ROH) to be realised from the complex. The P450 is then regenerated in its initial state.(73) Diagram adapted from refere nce (74). At low levels, ROS maintains normal physiological functions such as modulation of signal transduction pathways and cell proliferation.(75) However high levels of ROS can cause cellular toxicity, lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, cell proliferation arrest and apoptosis.(76-78). The antioxidant defence systems in cells comprise of a group of antioxidant compounds such as Vitamin E, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase which function to cope with the high intracellular ROS levels. However, an excessive production of ROS or a lack of antioxidants can disrupt the balance and result in oxidative stress. (72) Intracellular oxidative stress can cause DNA damage, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis.(77, 79) Oxidative stress caused by elevated levels of ROS is implicated in cancer as it is associated with alteration in DNA sequence which leads to activation of proto-oncogenes or inactivation of tumour suppression genes.(77) Such mutations may initiate cancer and provide malignant cells with advantageous characteristics as described in Figure 1 ‘Hallmarks of cancer’ to facilitate growth and metastasis.(25, 77, 80) Increased DNA base damage resulted from hydroxyl radical attack has been reported in inflammatory breast cancer.(81) Figure 15: High levels of ROS in cell results in DNA damage, misfolded proteins, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. The antioxidant defence systems counteract with the excessive production of ROS. An imbalance between ROS generation and antioxidant action can result in oxidative stress and threaten cell survival. Diagram adapted from reference(82).        

The Power of Sixteen Words Exposed in The Red Wheelbarrow Essay

The Power of Sixteen Words Exposed in The Red Wheelbarrow William Carlos Williams's poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" is extraordinary for what it accomplishes within its eight short lines. It is exactly one sentence long, sixteen words. Numbers like that wouldn't normally be important in the consideration of a poem's merit, but "The Red Wheelbarrow" begs to be noticed for its length (or, rather, its lack of length) and for the arrangement of its sixteen words on the page. In fact, an interesting experiment would be to give a group of people the words that Williams uses and ask them to arrange the words into the structure of a poem. How many people would do as Williams does and end up with four almost perfectly congruent stanzas, each one with three words in the first line and one word in the second line? The syllable count in Williams's arrangement is not perfectly congruent, but it is harmoniously different: the two longer stanzas (by only one syllable apiece) sandwich the two shorter stanzas. A sentence which would otherwise sprawl across the page, nearly without structure (it has no punctuation or end-mark), so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. is poured into a form of mathematical precision: Instead of flying through the sentence, as one would do if it were simply written in a linear way across the page, the reader tends to stop at each line-break and at every stanza break to contemplate how each stanza is different. And there is a difference. The first stanza is abstract, calling upon the reader to agree to the notion that something depends on... ...ores (involving the red wheelbarrow, perhaps)? In the back room, looking out the window? In any case, the scene we look at is framed and self-contained by the structure of the poem, and all the sensory information of the objects we look at comes through that frame, opens up through that frame. Perhaps the real "dependency" in this poem is not that the speaker of the poem depends on the wheelbarrow as a farmer depends on his tools, although that is certainly part of it. Perhaps the real "so much depends / upon" is that the speaker, the beholder through the frame (and, by extension, the reader of the poem) knows that he or she is alive, that his or her senses are responding to the things of this world, and that, in a sense, the world -- in all its variety and beauty and variegation, even in the most mundane things -- responds to the person who has eyes to see.

Guy de Maupassant was born in 1849 and died at the tragically young :: English Literature Essays

Guy de Maupassant was born in 1849 and died at the tragically young age of 43 in 1892. Guy de Maupassant was born in 1849 and died at the tragically young age of 43 in 1892. He was a prolific writer and had written over 300 short stories in his time. Maupassant was considered to be the best author of his time, and probably one of the greatest French authors ever. Not only was he famous but he was very popular with the French audience. Some of Maupassant's stories were based on poverty. This was useful to aid him in his stories as he had a poverty stricken background. People could relate to the themes of his stories as they dealt with everyday situations and this is why it drew in a wide audience. His stories ranged in genre, and because of this many people enjoyed them. They also provided education for some people. His stories were first published in magazines such as "the Strand" and this helped the short story genre become more popular in the 19th century. He based many of his stories in Paris. He may have done this as he knew the area well and this could help him with description. Guy de Maupassant's stories have inspires many other authors and they still do today. "The Necklace" is set in Paris, France. The title of this story is simply and straight to the point so you automatically know what the story is about. It is about a woman born into a lower-middle class family but she feels that she deserves better in life. The general themes in this story are remorse, friendship, love, greed (money), envy, pride and joy. The overall structure of this story is basically telling us that you don't need money to make your life good as long as you have good friends. The story begins with a very descriptive opening of Madame Loisel and the surrounding area "dressed simply", "pretty and charming girls". Its shows how her husband would do anything for her in that her gave up the money he was saving up to buy a hunting gun just to buy her a dress for the ball. Later on she borrowed an exquisite diamond necklace from her rich friend. She realized when she had got home she had lost the necklace this also proved her husbands love as "her husband returned at about seven o'clock in the morning". They bought a new necklace to replace the lost one but it took the losiels' "10 long years" to pay off the necklace. When Madame Losiel met up with her

The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Sacagawea Essay -- Clark and Lewis ex

â€Å"Everything I do is for my people† (Quotes From Sacagawea). This fun loving naturalist that liked to help others was way more of a hero then she appears to be. Sacagawea, or also referred to as Sacagawea with a â€Å"g† or Sacakawea with a â€Å"k†, is known for her history in the Lewis and Clark expedition.(Sacajawea) She was born in Lemhi Mountains, which is now called Idaho, in 1788. She was the daughter of the Chief of the Indian Tribe, Shoshone. When she was 12 years old in 1800, she was kidnapped by the Hidasta Indian Tribe and taken to North Dakota. The Hidasta Indians also took several others along with her, and raided her Tribe from their stuff, killing a few people. A year after her arrival she was bought or gambled by a French-Canadian fur trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau, he made her his wife along with all his other â€Å"wives†. When she was 16, in 1804, she had gotten pregnant. By that time Lewis and Clark were setting up camp for the winter in Fort Mandan and had hired her husband as a translator. They later learned that Sacagawea spoke Shoshone and Hidasta, so they then asked her to join them, and she gla dly accepted. â€Å"The soil as you leave the heights of the mountains becomes gradually more fertile. the land through which we passed this evening is of an excellent quality tho very broken, it is a dark grey soil† (quotes Lewis as he travels through Idaho Country.) Sacagawea had her first born child, a boy, name Jean Baptiste Charbonneau in February 1805, who accompanied her on her journeys. Clark was fond of her new baby boy so he nicknamed him â€Å"Pomp† or â€Å"Pompey†, meaning â€Å"First Born†. (Sacagawea Lesson) In the spring of 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition decides to take off. But on there way a sudden storm approaches and n... ...rson of Cameahwait she recognized her brother: She instantly jumped up, and ran and embraced him, throwing over him her blanket and weeping profusely: The chief was himself moved, though not in the same degree. After some conversation between them she resumed her seat, and attempted to interpret for us, but her new situation seemed to overpower her, and she was frequently interrupted by her tears (Lewis and Clark)." Works Cited http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/sacagawea/timeline.html http://www.sacagawea.com http://www.mathcs.bethel.edu/~gossett/DiscreteMathWithProof/sacagawea/quotes.html http://wikianswers.com/Q/Quotes_from_sacajawea http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/FEATURE/lewisandclark/quotes.html http://www.elcivics.com/sacajawea.html http://www/lewis-and-clark-expedition.com/Sacagawea.aspx http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/sacajawea/section1.rhtml

From Man to Boy

Lemons. The author makes his first stand at the very opening of the work with this hard peeled, soft-fleshed visual. The sour fruit, which is cut into by the narrator at the beginning of John R. Coleman’s, essay From Man to Boy, stands as a metaphor for the life circumstances in which he continues to find himself and others. The choice allows for a much shorter opening to the essay by utilizing the well-known allegory of the lemon as an acerbic, broken object or happenstance from which the owner has no means of escape. In the beginning lines Coleman produces the appearance of a setting in which the weight of an entire world the reader does not have to see to believe in, is resting on the shoulders of the narrator. He does this by coupling the lemon with a position of employment that is both low on the wage scale, and limited in skill requirements. Even the waitress, a position most readers will equate with being lesser in station, looks down on the work, therefore the worth, of the narrator. This immediately sets up the main character as a victim of his surroundings and appeals to the reader for compassionate understanding and perhaps even pity. This appeal is sustained by the dialogue between the co-workers when Dana tells Jack â€Å"It’s no use†(LaRocco, 128) trying to change the attitude and belief of the waitress who called him a boy. The writer tells the audience, in the same paragraph, that Dana was working this job even as he, the narrator, was reading the billboards’ insidious warnings. In doing so, the narrator is offering up tangible evidence for the argument of an irredeemable quality of ignorance in the world. The argument of ignorance is juxtaposed against the theme of education. The billboards, a metaphor for society’s spoken standards versus their actual behaviors,  promise the worthy and dedicated student a life free of discrimination, bias, and general condemnation. What the writer declares to be the truth of the matter however, is that reality falls far short of the pledge. Life is a lemon. Education does not prevent the action from happening; the waitress still calls him a boy. What education provided him with was a means to recognize the insult and therefore be injured by it. This injury is noted in the sad look on Dana’s face. The exposure of the treatment of the housekeepers by the students at the college serves to call further attention to the wide spread plight of the working class. At the same time, it presents an argument that educated people are as likely to fall into the pattern of abuse, yet more likely to change their behavior once it is questioned. The narrator seems to convince the students to cease the use of the term â€Å"wombats (128),† however he also makes clear that it does not erase the ramifications of the actions for those who were abused by them. Naming them as â€Å"the cleaning women (129)† continues a convention from the beginning that says much about society by not saying anything at all. Coleman maintains Dana and himself as the only individuals worthy of names, therefore individual identities, in the short piece. Doing this preserves the notion of a singular hero with only nominal support attacking the great beast of society without actually coming forward and declaring himself a hero. Rather than failing to define himself as the hero of the episode, Coleman comes closer to refusing it. This leaves him on the same playing field as his audience, which acts in tandem with his stylistic choices in the text. By using the quick, almost darting  motions of his statements, and the clipped pacing of short paragraphs and a barely over one page essay, he keeps the reader not only involved but in step with the narrative voice. In order to make points with the intended audience of blue collar working class America, Coleman does all he can to avoid triggering the alienation he is so adamantly set out to battle. Simplicity is the key to the peace. Coleman gets in, makes his point in clear, concise terms, and gets out. This appeal to the working class reader for whom this particular piece is written is continued with a lack of satire in the essay. The simple vocabulary, short sentence construction, and lack of word play beyond the lemon all feed into the assembly of a connection between the writer and blue collar America. He never feels the need to address the existence of those high paying white collar positions directly, while they are inferred by the PhD, the collegiate tack of the students, and the billboards with their empty promises. Reference to the Quaker tradition further exposes the intention of the author to connect with a wholesome and righteous way of life. This is the assumed role many hard working laborers aspire to. The association of Godliness with the Quaker traditions works on another metaphorical level with the housekeepers when the saying is considered; Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Throughout the entire essay, Coleman does his best to solidify his roots in this working class in order to achieve a single goal. The final remark returns to the scene of the first crime in the work, a seemingly flippant remark about being a boy who cuts lemons. By returning to this line the narrator takes a stand for all of the young men who  have had to defend their honor as men simply because they were not making money in the right tax bracket. Coleman combines this with an appeal to the student from working class family to be aware of the results of their choices in treating others before the damage is done. Overall, he produces a very effective essay that is driven on the backs of metaphors and unspoken pieces of the puzzle, which are alluded to behind sweeping statements designed to stir the primal instinct of honor and self preservation in the face of societal imposed duress. Work Cited LaRocco, C (Ed.). (1995). The Art Of Work : An Anthology of Workplace Literature. McGraw- Hill.