Lord of the Flies by William Goldings: Keywords Essay

Lord of the Flies was written in 1954 as William Goldings debut novel. It was written and set around the time of the Second World War. The keywords in the essay title are ‘order’ and ‘deteriorates, therefore in this essay I intend to look at first how order is established and will then show how order deteriorates. I will do this by looking at the individual episodes and themes throughout the book that I believe show law and order. Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys aged between five and twelve, who survived a plane crash during their evacuation from England. They crash on a small tropical island. The story begins with Ralph and Piggy getting to know each other. The topic of class then becomes apparent, Piggy is very ‘working class’ and has a strong cockney accent, and whereas Ralph is middle class and uses more sophisticated language but they are both of similar intelligence. Ralph begins to think of what may lie ahead of them and says, ‘No grown ups!’ (P12), this is the boy’s first realisation that they are alone and have complete freedom, however what will happen now that there are no adults? After a while a large group is formed, off all the boys from the plane, the choir all in black capes led by Jack come across the beach all marching together. This symbolises order, they are all wearing the same outfit of the same colour and mimicking each other and there is an obvious and strong leader whom they are following and obeying. The choir could also represent a presence of danger on the island as they have a sinister uniform and the contrast o f the black uniforms against the white sands is strong. Ralph finds a conch, which to the group means whoever has the conch may speak this shows that leaders and order are trying to be created. Ralph uses the conch to assemble the boys for a meeting to decide who will be leader. Jack, the head boy, feels he should be chief as he is older and has a position of responsibility within the choir, ‘I’m chapter chorister and head boy, I can sing a C sharp’ (pg 29) jack seems arrogant and immediately assumes he will be leader. There is a democratic vote and Ralph is made leader. Ralph however realises he needs to work together with Jack not against him and says, ‘Jacks in charge of the choir, they can be†¦what do you want them to be?’ (Pg 31), jack decides they will be hunters. The whole process is very democratic and mature, and with the absence of parents the boys are trying to bring in order and discipline and by choosing a leader they are creating a parental figure that they can look up to. The conch has by this point become a symbol of order and to speak at a meeting one must hold the conch. Ralph then selects jack to go and explore the island with him, this is an attempt at sharing the role of leader and is a friendly gesture to try and remove any bad feelings for each other. Ralph also chooses Simon to take with him, Simon is a member of the choir and earlier in the novel fainted, Ralph chooses Simon to show he is fair and sympathetic. Ralph leaves Piggy to collect the names of the other boys. As the bots explore the island there are many subtle references to the outside world, ‘Like a bomb!’ (Pg 37) this is an ironic reference to the real atomic bomb, which occurred in 1945. They also give a hint of religion or god, ‘The coral was scribbled into the sea as though a giant had bent down†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Pg 38) this is like god being the creator of nature and moulding the land it also poses the question, how long will this paradise last after the arrival of the boys. It was mentioned earlier that Jack chose to make the choir the hunters, the hunting brings the boys together in a positive and constructive way, it relieves boredom and it is a focus for the boys. It also brings a stable food supply to the boys, and makes everyone feel they have a role to play on the island. But why are they hunting? There are plenty of berries to keep everyone happy and healthy, it may possibly be due to freedom from parents and rules that makes them want to hunt for the pigs or maybe because its what they have read in books or heard stories of and hunting is what they believe they should do. The next theme that represents order on the island is the fire on the mountain. The group assemble at the end of the day, ‘the choir, noticeably less of a group had discarded their cloaks’ (pg 42) this represents the group working together and order being present now within the whole group and them becoming equals. Ralph starts to develop their plans for rescue and takes on well his role of leader, he also boasts about his father, ‘My fathers in the navy. He said there aren’t any unknown islands left†¦and sooner or later a ship will put in here. It might even be daddy’s ship,’ (pg 49), he is showing off to the other boys that are mostly younger than him, he is trying to earn their respect and be seen by them as a good and strong leader. He is obviously quite intelligent as he decides they need to build a fire on the mountain so that passing ships will see the smoke. The boys were really keen, there was riot and noise, the novelty and rules with the conch had been forgotten and now the idea of building the fire. They worked as a team to collect leaves and logs and completed the fire. I am now going to talk about how order first starts to deteriorate, and what first starts the breakdown of order on the island. After the fire has been made, it was figured out then that they could use Piggy’s glasses to light the it, they wrestled him for them, ‘Here let me go! His voice rose to a shriek of terror’ (pg 53) this incident shows possibly a mob nature emerging, they have become so obsessed with the fire now that they have lost all sense of order. Ralph holds the conch and says, ‘ We need special people for looking after the fire,’ (pg 55), and this shows that there is a hierarchy or ‘pecking order’ beginning to develop on the island; Ralph is taking control by deciding who is special and who is not. The fire rages out of control, it spreads and sets light to the trees and creepers on the island, ‘Beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame’ (pg 57). One of the small boys dies, Golding never named him he is only ever referred to as ‘the boy with the birthmark’ the boys reflect on the boys death, ‘The crowd was as silent as death,’ (pg 60) this is using strong irony because of course there had actually been a death. I think the boy is never named so that he isn’t seen as a real person and therefore is almost seen as a symbol, a symbol of control and order he dies, therefore control is seen to die with him. The fire also symbolises control, and it raging out of control represents the feeling of order on the island raging out of control. Its almost as if the fire and order on the island mirror each other throughout the book, order is built up, the fire is built, order begins to lose control, the fire rages out of control; the fire is an extended metaphor. The beast is discussed at a meeting at it unsettles a lot of the boys and is the, the beast is seen as something beyond their control and therefore Jack and Ralph really don’t want to believe its real. The boys reassure each other that it’s not real, but inside every one of them there is doubt. Following this meeting and the fire incident shelters are built on the beach, I think they symbolise the boys protecting themselves from the fire and the beast. It also shows them trying to create a civilisation, and trying to create home. Jack becomes obsessed with hunting; he desperately wants to catch a pig so that he can be seen as fulfilling and being successful in his role on the island as leader of the hunters. He also wants to succeed in hunting to show Ralph that he is a success and earn respect from the boys and possibly even take their attention from Ralph and make them see him as being the natural leader. Jack fails to catch a pig for the second time he is not used to dealing with animals and definitely not used to killing them. Him and Ralph argue as they both have different priorities on the island Jack’s is hunting and meat, ‘We Want Meat’ (pg 65), and Jacks priorities are the shelters and keeping the fire alight, ‘We need shelters’, (pg 65). Ralph’s ultimate goal is rescue and to do this they need the fire so Ralph’s idea is definitely the better one. The argument they have over this shows that there is fierce competition between the boys, and while they are busy fighting and competing for control, order and control is actually being lost. Jack takes all of the choir or the hunters as they are now known off on a hunt; he is determined to catch a pig. Therefore while they are hunting there is no one tending the fire. Ralph checked the fire from the beach, its almost as if he was checking up on Jack, and he realises it is producing almost no smoke. He tells Jack but he is distracted by his plans for catching a pig Ralph gets annoyed, ‘I was talking about the smoke! Don’t you want to be rescued? All you can talk about is pig, pig, pig!’ (Pg 68). Hunting gives the boys power over life and death, and as their lives are out of their hands it gives them back a feeling of control. Jack introduces camouflage to his team of hunters, they paint their faces with mud, charcoal and clay they go off to hunt with Jack’s plan. Painting their faces represents them going feral and going back to nature, ‘For hunting like in the war – like things trying to look like something else’ (pg 79). It creates the feeling of a gang or tribe, all working together and it makes them quite aggressive. The paint hides their faces but it also hides their individuality and identity and gives them an excuse to kill, they mould into one great gang. A while later they return from the hunt and it was a success they killed a pig, ‘We hit the pig – I fell on top, there were lashings of blood,’ (pg 87). Jack is so proud of the result and boasts to Ralph and the boys expecting a positive response, Ralph is angry and really doesn’t want to talk about the hunt all he wants to talk about is the fire going out. A ship had sailed past without stopping on the island, due to the fire going out Jack had taken all of the boys on the hunt, ‘We had to have them for the hunt, or there wouldn’t have been enough for the ring,’ (pg 87). The boys see it as that was their only chance for rescue and all hope is lost. Piggy is really frustrated and angry with Jack, ‘You didn’t ought to have let that fire go out, You said you would keep the smoke going,’ (pg 89), Jack got angry and lifted Piggys glasses ff his face and threw them on the rocks. Piggy has been the main source of intelligence on the island and is the one staying very controlled and organised, but without his glasses he cannot use his intelligence. The group is slowly splitting into two the hunters, which are Jack and the choir, and the others which still go by the rules of the conch, which are Piggy, Ralph and the younger boys who build the shelters and try and manage the fire. Ralph calls for a meeting, he outlined all the concerns he has been having, he doesn’t really want to direct this at the whole group I think he is just trying to get his point across to Jack and by holding a meeting he is showing that he is the leader and he makes the decisions. His five issues he brings up at the meeting are, fresh water, shelter, lavatory area, fire to burn constantly and to deal with the beast. Ralph tells the group that the fire is the key to being rescued, ‘How can we ever be except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?’ (Pg 101) throughout his time on the island he has remained focused and not got carried away by hunting or another pointless craze, he is intelligent and knows the fire is their only chance, ‘You’ve got to make fire up there or die,’ (pg 101). He then moves on talk about the beast at which point Jack joins in, Jack believes that the beast is just in peoples minds and that they’ve created it. Maybe with absence of secure homes and adult figures to look after the children they fear that they are not protected and so they create scenarios in their heads. Ralph is unsure about the beast but he cannot let the group be scared he tries to convince them that there is no beast on the island, ‘Course there isn’t a beast in the forest. How could there be?’ (Pg 104). The beast is still on the minds of everyone and when the twins Sam and Eric are tending the fire, they catch sight of what they believe is the beast. ‘They became motionless gripped in each others arms, four unwinking eyes aimed and two mouths open,’ (pg 122). Everyone is thinking about the beast and their minds are probably playing tricks on them and with the heat, lack of water and pure insanity of the situation its no surprise that they aren’t going to be thinking straight or logically. The twins alert the group and Ralph calls an assembly immediately and it is decided that Jack is going to hunt the beast, ‘This’ll be a real hunt, who’ll come?’ (Pg 125). Jack, Ralph and the hunters went to search for the beast, they don’t find it, but while searching the island Jack finds a spot which he thinks would be great for a for fort. Him and the hunters move away from the rest of the group and live on the other side of the island; this is where order is absolutely destroyed. The two natural leaders are now enemies; one is focused on rescue the other turning savage. Jacks and his group of hunters form into a tribe and tempted by hunting and feasting and not having to work many of Ralph’s group join Jack’s. Ralph’s group are still aiming towards rescue and stand for order and fairness but being the smaller less powerful group they are at a huge disadvantage. Its becoming war between two armies and Jack is still trying to prove that he is leader, and trying to take the control and power. The newly formed tribe spend the evening doing a ritualistic tribal dance, they paint their faces and its like a re-enactment of the time when they succeeded in killing the pig, and its also like a build up to the war between the two sides and a build up to the killing of the beast. Ralph approached Jack and his tribe and asked him to hunt for the beast with him, ‘I’m going up the mountain to look for the beast, coming?’ (Pg 148). This is a huge test and Ralph’s desperately trying to keep the group together because he knows that he cant make any changes or achieve any of his goals on his own, such as keeping the fire alight and building shelters. Jack agrees to go with Ralph, Roger went with them too as they walked through the forest they were picking up on every sound and every thing they saw, which shows they were on edge and frightened. They crawled on there hands and knees towards a figure, ‘there was confusion in the darkness and the creature lifted its head, holding towards them a ruin of a face,’ (pg 153), throughout the hunt Jack and Ralph are competing for power and control, courage and leadership, ‘if you don’t want to go on,† said the voice sarcastically â€Å"I’ll go on my own’ (pg 149) this is what Jack said to Ralph, neither of them wanted to make fools out of themselves or give the other any clue of how scared they were. They call what they found a beast and it was actually the pilot from the plane that crashed on the island, he was wearing a parachute and when the wind blew it pulled the figure making it seem like it was moving. They were terrified and fled from the figure almost immediately. War is now declared between Jack and Ralph after an argument they had after they found the ‘beast’, ‘I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too,’ (pg 158). After this the divide is definite and there is no going back. Along with the hunters Roger and Bill go onto Jack’s side, Ralph’s group concentrated on the fire and didn’t notice Simon wandering off into the vegetation. Simon is seen as a Christ like image in this part he has gone into the quiet and tried to get away and reflect on the situation. I really don’t think he wants to take anyone’s side and doesn’t want all the violence and bitterness. Jack’s side concentrate mostly on hunting but they do make a fire, only their fire is purely for dancing around and showing their tribal nature whereas Ralph’s fire is for purely practical and even life saving reasons. Jack plans to kill a pig and leave some for the beast to eat so that it won’t bother them; this is a very primitive and pagan ritual. Jack puts the head of the pig on a stick; it is elevated and treated as a god like creature. ‘They listened and the loudest noise was the buzzing of flies over the spilled guts,’ (pg 169) this is why the book is named ‘Lord of the Flies’ the lord is the pig. To the boys the lord of the Flies represents their whole reasons and achievements on the island, which is the hunting. The use of the animal a pig is to mirror Piggy, they are both exploited for the groups own needs and the group see both the animal and the boy as dirty, common and coarse. Golding also uses pigs because they are mammals and therefore are similar to humans and hunting pigs is linked and similar to killing humans. Simon is still alone in the forest and he comes across the ‘Lord of the Flies’ he hallucinates it may possibly have been an epileptic fit or maybe a spiritual awakening. In Simon’s hallucination the ‘lord of the Flies’ talks to him, ‘There isn’t anyone to help you, only me, and I’m the beast,’ (pg177), the links between the beast and the pig is, they have both distracted the boys and therefore affected the rescue attempt with the fire and they are both hunted by the boys and when Simon becomes conscious he finds the parachutist they both are covered in flies. Simon realises it’s the dead pilot and realises there is nothing to fear. Simon walks towards where Jack’s camp is; he wants to tell them that the beast isn’t real. Jack and his tribe had painted their bodies and were re-enacting the murder of ‘Lord of the Flies’ they were shouting, acting dancing and were really carried away, ‘Do our dance! Come on! Dance!’ (Pg 88). They had made a chant which they bellowed as they danced, ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’ (Pg 188). Jack spotted Simon and the whole grouped moved in on him thinking he was the beast they crowded round him with sticks and spears and stones, ‘the beast was on its knees in the centre, its arms folded over its face’ (pg 188) it wasn’t the beast it was Simon they continued to beat the ‘beast’ until there was no movement. The hunters killed Simon, they were so carried away with the tribal or mob nature they let it take over them and made them murderers. In the book Simon was always neutral he ne ver took sides and was the only person who didn’t get swept away with all the conflict, he was like the small bit of purity on the island, and this made him the Christ like character. Now on Ralph’s side there is just Piggy, Sam and Eric, Piggy and Ralph speak about the occurrences of the night before, Piggy says, ‘there was that – that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain we was scared,’ (pg 193). Only Piggy recognises what really happened and that was murder. Jack and his hunters attack Ralph and Piggy in there own shelter, it was all quite violent but it ended quite quickly, but Piggy’s glasses were broken and taken by Jack. I think Jack does regret what happened but he’s not going to give up the war between him and Ralph, he wants to keep control and he’s not going to back down. Ralph and Piggy sum up all the crimes that Jack has committed, ‘at night and in darkness, and stole our fire, they stole it,’ (pg 209). He has also killed pigs unnecessarily, killed Simon and stolen Piggy’s glasses. Ralph and Piggy decide to go to Jack’s side of the island with Sam and Eric too, when they reached Jack’s area Ralph called for an assembly obviously with no results because Jack is their leader they don’t take orders from Ralph any more. Roger begins the attack he throws stones from above Ralph’s group, but aims to miss. ‘I’ve come to see about the fire and about Piggy’s specs Ralph said,’ (pg 216) all he received was laughter. Ralph confronted Jack and left Piggy below near the bottom of the cliff. Ralph and Jacks argument gets quite physical but Ralph defends himself well, he is trying to be strong but he is now the minority and although he carries the name of leader he really isn’t any more. Piggy tried to speak but he was being aimed at with stones, ‘which is better law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up’ (pg222) I think this statement sums up the book, Piggy is really quite intelligent and even with all the panic, excitement and hysteria he can see through that and spot the underlying point. This statement enrages Roger and he levers a huge boulder off of the top of the cliff and it hits Piggy, he was killed. By this point Jack is used to seeing death he has no reaction to this, his compassion for people has gone consumed by his tribal nature and devoted to hunting. With Piggy the conch was also smashed and so have Piggy’s glasses been broken, the conch represented purity, control and order and now that Piggy has gone those things have gone too. Now that Piggy is dead, Ralph hasn’t got his intelligent partner and the glasses represented his intelligence and they have been smashed too, will Sam and Eric stand by him or will he be on his own? Both the deaths of Piggy and all of the pigs have been pointless and the victims have all been helpless this shows strong irony. Sam and Eric do join the savages because they know that is their only chance of survival if they stayed with Ralph they would be hunted down and killed too, Ralph is now alone. All that awaits him is to be hunted like one of the pigs, hunted down and killed like an animal. It would be another pointless murder of an innocent and helpless victim. He is no threat to Jack now; he is alone so Jack is only hunting him to show that he is leader now and that he holds all the power and control. He goes to try and talk to Sam and Eric he finds them and they tell him to hide, get away and hide because they are going to hunt him down tomorrow. He goes to Castle Rock where Jacks tribe are the next day, they hurl a boulder off the cliff at him in an attempt to kill him, and they try again with another stone it misses again but only by inches. Jack and the hunters made a fire now in an attempt to smoke him out, the metaphor of the fire is used again, and the fire gets out of control just like the order on the island has. The fire rages out of control, Ralph escapes and runs as fast as he can to the beach where he stumbles upon a naval officer. Ralph is a strong person and he survived being hunted, his only goal all the way through was rescue and close to his last minutes of life his wish comes true. In conclusion, in the beginning of the story the boys try to mimic the order the experienced at home with parents and school, partly because of their immaturity and inexperience and partly due to Jack and Ralph’s fight for control order is not kept and this is symbolised by the conch and the fire. Jack becomes the dominant force on the island purely due to his brutality and violence, in the end they are even prepared to kill jack, the only remaining sign of order on the island.

Islam Worksheet Essay

When studying Islam, it is important to understand the essential elements of the faith, how they are practiced, and the distinctions among the three branches: Shiite Islam, Sunni Islam, and Sufism. Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following directives and note where there are differences among the three branches of Islam. 1. Explain the meaning of the name, Islam. The literal translation of the word Islam is surrender or submission. The name Islam implies a complete surrender to Allah, and those who practice Islam are referred to as Muslims. The word Islam is derived from the Arabic word salam, which means peace or safety. Muslims believe that the reason for human existence is to surrender to the One True God, Allah (Molloy, 2010). 2. Explain the basic concepts of Islam. Islam teaches it followers (Muslims) that the Holy Quran is the literal word of God is an all-encompassing book and includes everything about Islam. One of the most fundamental concepts of Islam is the belief that only one God exists. Islam teaches many aspects about God that are similar to the teachings of Judaism and Christianity. Islam teaches that God has always existed, cannot be destroyed, knows everything, created the universe. Another basic concept of Islam is that God never had a son (Jesus); however, Islam does teach that Jesus was a prophet as was Muhammad, but Muhammad is believed to be the last of a number of profits, and he was sent to Earth by God to confirm the word of God to the world. The most fundamental beliefs or concepts of Islam are: †¢ There is only one True God †¢ No other being or thing is worth of worship, only the True God †¢ Muhammad is God’s messenger and the last prophet †¢ Every human who has ever existed will face God on Judgment day to account for his or her deeds and at this time, God will grant or deny admittance into Heaven. 3. Describe the practices of Islam. The main practices of Islam are concentrated in what are known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam, as outlined in the Quran are thought to be mandatory practices that each Muslim must practice. The Five Pillars of Islam are: 1) Shahada (Profession of Faith) – Muslims must verbally acknowledge the existence of only one God and Muhammad is God’s messenger. The creed, â€Å"There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger,† is spoken daily in prayer, and inscribed on and in Mosques (Molloy, 2010). 2) Prayer – Muslims are required to pray five times every day of the week; the prayers are required every day before dawn, at midday, at midafternoon, at sunset, and at nighttime. Muslims typically undergo a ritualistic cleansing of the hands, arms, face, and neck before prayer, and face toward Mecca when praying (Molloy, 2010). 3) Zakat (Charity to the Poor) – Muslims are required to give a percentage of the total of everything they own to the poor each year. In addition to giving to the poor, Muslims are expected to be generous and charitable toward the poor when they encounter an opportunity in their daily lives (Molloy, 2010). 4) Sawm (Fasting during Ramadan) – Ramadan is the ninth month of the year according to the Muslim calendar and the month during which it is believed that Muhammad began receiving revelations from God. As with various other religions, fasting is thought to bring spiritual growth; for Muslims the month-long fast help to form a bond and unite Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, liquids, tobacco, and sexual activity from dawn until dusk. Ramadan ends with a feast to celebrate the Revelations given to Muhammad (Molloy, 2010). 5) Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) – Every Muslim is required to visit Mecca (Hajj) at least once in their lifetime. A pilgrimage, as with other religions, is believed to bring about new understanding and personal transformations based on the spiritual goals of the religion. Only Muslims are permitted to enter the city of Mecca (Molloy, 2010). 4. Describe the goals of Islam. The goals of Islam are similar to the goals of other religions in that the religion is believed to be a moral and ethical authority in a world that is in a constant struggle between good and evil. Framing the world as in constants peril and painting itself as the moral and ethical authority, Islam (like other religions) seeks to regulate human life through rules, rituals, and other dogma (Molloy, 2010). Staying in the realm of regulating human life, Islam attempts to provide guidelines to enable Muslims to life a life as close to perfection (God) as possible. Islam also has developed controls and bans on specific activities, things, actions, etc. as a means of creating and maintaining social order and increase the happiness of Muslims (Molloy, 2010). 5. Describe the view of authority in Islam. The Islamic view of authority began with Muhammad; Muhammad combined political (civil) authority with spiritual authority, which is essentially a theocracy. However, modern Islam has split into two main branches that differ on their view of authority. Sunni’s, which accounts for the largest percentage of the world’s Muslim population, recognize a real difference between religious and civil authority. The Shiite Muslims; however, maintain the belief that both religious and civil authority should be centralized. Shiite Muslims place give all spiritual and religious authority to one person (Flesher, n.d.). The Qur’an serves as the primary source of information and authority for Muslims, much as the Bible does for Christians. With this in mind, evaluate Islam’s historical influences on law, philosophy, and the arts in the Muslim world. Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following questions. Provide examples to illustrate your thinking. 1. What is the legal ideal in Islamic law? How does the Qur’an inform and guide Muslims in attaining this ideal? The legal ideal of Islamic law, which is known as Sharia, are laws that continually bring day-to-day life into closer coherence with the rules set forth in the Quran. The Quran provides numerous rules and rituals that must be followed by Muslims and lays the groundwork for Sharia. Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal word of God; they also believe that God cannot be separated from any aspect of human life. Therefore, traditional Islam is theocratic and seeks to impose the laws and rules of God upon everyone to help ensure human spiritual fulfillment (Molloy, 2010). 2. What is the relationship between philosophy and theology within Islam? Is it acceptable for Muslims to hold separate philosophical and theological beliefs? The relationship of philosophy and theology within Islam is as complicated as it is old. Many of the early philosophic questions had to be answered to ensure a uniform understanding of the Quran and its laws. However, these early philosophical questions were not truly philosophical because the question mixed religious revelations with human logic and reasoning. Aside from the philosophical questions that were asked during the emergence of Islam, most of the philosophical and theological questions that have emerged have been the result of the expansion of Islam and its contact with other religions (Molloy, 2010). There is no clear answer to the question of whether or not it is acceptable for Muslims to hold separate philosophical and theological beliefs, because throughout the history of Islam the discussion if philosophy and theology changes from a liberal to a conservative approach, and back again. Generally speaking, Islam has two philosophical schools; a liberal view that values human reasoning and sees it as a gift from God, and a conservative view that believes reason is false pride and favors intellectual submission. Although Islam does have a somewhat liberal faction that values reason and logic, for the vast majority of Muslims it is not acceptable to hold different philosophical and theological views. The majority of Muslims reject rationalism and promotes complete submission to God, which includes intellectual submission (Molly, 2010). 3. What artistic themes are regularly expressed in Islamic art and architecture? How are these themes explored? How has the Qur’an influenced the development of art in the Islamic world? Several themes are apparent in both Islamic art and architecture, such as the serious and simplistic style and the use of negative space to direct an individual’s attention to a specific area. Mosques can be large or small, grandiose or modest, bur regardless of the specific mosque or building, Islamic architects place a high value on space. The shaping of a building and the space symbolizes God, who is invisible but everywhere (Molly, 2010). Islam prohibits images of humans or animals, but despite that restriction, Islam has a vibrant artistic past. As with architecture, negative space is also used in art, but the theme that is most apparent in Islamic art is paradise. Most Muslim art includes some aspect of paradise as it is described in the Quran. One can find images or symbols of paradise on prayer rugs, paintings, and building architecture (Molloy, 2010). References Flesher, P. (n.d.). Exploring Religions. Islam Religious and Political Organization. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/islam/iorg.htm Molloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the world’s religions: Tradition, challenge, and change (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Commercial law case analyse Essay

Commercial Law Term Paper (Case Analysis) Pro-Gordon C. Johnson June 18, 2013 9th Edition Chapter 5-Case 5 Summary: Marie-Claude operated a bowling alley in a commercial area that was adjacent to a residential area. Many small children used the parking lot near the bowling alley as a playground, and Marie-Claude was constantly tell these children leave the parking area maybe they will get injured. However, one six years old boy climb onto the flat roof of the bowling alley and while he is running, tripped and fell to the ground. But Marie-Claude continued to order the child off the roof by several times when he was on the roof. Analysis: this situation can apply on Trespassers of Occupier Liability and Negligence of the concept of Foreseeability through the Supreme Court of Canada. For plaintiff: the occupier of the building warns the child of any dangers that exist on the property. Meanwhile, according to the concept of Foreseeability part, a very small child of tender years would not be held liable in tort, but children in their early teens, depending upon the extent of their maturity and level of understanding, nay very well is held responsible for their actions. This case belongs to unintentional acts of a person caused injury to others. For defendant: Owners of buildings, construction sites or those who construct dangerous structures on their premises in neighborhoods where small children live have a special duty to protect the children from harm or injury. On the other hands, the outcome for this situation maybe is Compensatory damages or Nominal damages. For compensatory: the loss suffered by a person in a negligence case in the loss of or damage to property. For nominal: when a person trespasses on the land of another without inflicting physical damage to the property. Chapter 7-Case 3 Summary: Armstrong Aggregates Co. wrote a letter to Bishop on May 2nd offering to sell him 200 tons of scrap mica at $180 per ton. Bishop received the letter on May 3rd. A few weeks later, Bishop checked the price of mica which is $185. On May 22nd, Bishop wrote to this company that is accepting this offer. But this company did not receive this letter until May 30th. And Armstrong refused to sell mica to Bishop at $187 instead of $180 because the price was increasing. Analysis: This situation should belong to Offer and Acceptance Section. An offer is not valid until it is received by the offered, and the offeror is not limited by the offer until such time as it is accepted according to Communication of an Offer. So in this case, Bishop received the letter on May 3rd, before May 3rd, it is not bounded. On may 22nd, Bishop wrote to this company and accepted this offer. According to Acceptance of an Offer, the acceptance must take the form if certain words or acts in accordance with the offer that will indicate to the offeror that the offeree has accepted the offer. In addition, the acceptance of the offer takes place when the letter of acceptance, properly addressed and the postage paid, is placed in the postbox or post office. So for Bishop (defendant), it obeys the rules of an offer and acceptance. For Armstrong Aggregates Company (plaintiff), they cannot change their offer by increasing the offer because Bishop had already accepted the offer and sent to this company on May 22nd. Meanwhile, the company did not communicate with Bishop about change the price. Therefore, this action is not valid and this company should still accept this offer at $180. Chapter 10-Case 2 Summary: Habitation Apartments Ltd. borrowed $500,000 from their Good Times bank and secured the loan by way of a three-year mortgage on its apartment building. And the president of the corporation personally guaranteed repayment of the loan. Several years later, as a result of dispute between shareholders and a new president and Board of Directors were selected by the shareholders. As part of organization, they rearrange its mortgage loan with  the bank. The bank agreed to extend the loan for a further three-year term but at a higher interest rate. A year later, as a result of tenant problems and a high vacancy rate, the corporation was unable to meet its mortgage payments and the mortgage went into default. Analysis: This case should address in the Guarantee of Assumed Liability section. The guarantee always involves at least three parties: a principal debtor, a creditor, and the guarantor. The guarantor’s role in a guarantee agreement is to provide a promise of payment in the form of a contingent liability. In this case, Habitation Apartment Ltd and the bank are only two parties and they do not have formal writing document. Because of the unique relationship between the parties, the guarantee must be in writing to be enforceable. For plaintiff: the Habitation Apartment Ltd should mortgage on its apartment building, because the president of the corporation guaranteed repayment of the loan and they should obey their contract. For defendant: before the contract come into effect, the leader of the bank should consider these problems, for example, the interest rate will be go up. They should tell the corporation this situation will happen and a condition that must be satisfied. In addition, they should as their original contract to conduct their liabilities no matter they rearrange the financing or increase their interest rate. The corporation of the apartment should return repayment as the original interest rate. Chapter 13-Case 4 Summary: Hansen admired a sports car that Sports Motor Sales Ltd. wished to sell. Hansen informed the company salesman that he would buy the automobile if he could obtain a loan from the bank to cover part of the 17000 asking price. The salesman agreed to hold the car until Hansen could check with his bank. And Hansen discussed a loan with his bank manager and he said he would be prepared to make a 5000 loan through approval from the regional office. As a result, Hansen then entered into a written agreement with Sports Motor Sales Ltd. Then both parties signed the agreement. A few days later, the bank manager said he had problem with the loan approval. As a result, he could lend 4000 instead of 5000. Analysis: According to Condition Precedent, when a condition precedent is agreed upon, the agreement is prepared and signed; only the performance is postponed pending the fulfillment of the condition. Once fulfilled, performance is necessary to affect discharge. If the condition is not met, it then has the effect of discharging both parties from performance. Because the loan approval has some problems, both parties did not fulfill the condition of the approval, so the Moto Sales Ltd. should charge for this mistakes. At the same time, a Material Alteration of the terms of existing agreement has the effect of discharging the agreement and replacing it with a new one containing the material alternation. The alternation of the terms of the existing agreement must be of a significant nature before the contract will be discharged by the change. If the loan approval has some problems, so the bank can agree Hansen to discharge it and replace it with a new agreement. So the bank does not need to give himself 1000 short. In addition, according to Novation, the parties may also discharge an existing agreement by mutually agreeing to a change in the terms of the agreement or to a change in the parties to the agreement, so at least one party should agree to substitute or replace it.

Whistle-blowers. Reasons, Outcomes and Company Loyalty Research Paper

Whistle-blowers. Reasons, Outcomes and Company Loyalty - Research Paper Example Whistle blowers generally inform the world about the unethical practices going on inside the organisation which would seek the interest of public. According to the professional ethics, an employee is expected to give more importance to the collegial loyalty; however, the code of ethics often consider the loyalty towards the public and society to be more important and emphasises more on the professionals’ moral responsibilities. The United States Code of ethics for the government employees directs them to â€Å"expose corruption wherever uncovered† and to â€Å"put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party, or government† (Bok, S. â€Å"Whistle-blowing and Professional Responsibility†: 70) The objective of this project is to explain the corporate ethics along with the importance and responsibilities related with whistle blowing taking the Enron case into consideration. A few recommendations will also be suggested in this project about the responsibilities of a whistle blower and what can be the outcomes of whistle blowing. Whistleblower A whistle blower is the employee who reveals the malpractices going on in his/her organisation by disclosing the organisational secrets to the public. Notably, this kind of disclosers can be made by employees of a particular organisation not necessarily to the public, but also to the higher authorities and the concerned governmental institutions as well. Any kind of leakage of secret information generally harms an organisation and may possibly result in the termination of the employee (Bok, S. â€Å"Whistle Blowing and Professional Responsibility†). Current practices have revealed various such instances of whistle blowing among which Enron’s case has been one of the milestones in corporate history. Enron is a large-sized Houston-based company which deals in energy commodities. This company employed around 21,000 of individuals and was amongst t he world’s leading companies of natural gas, electricity, paper and pulp and communications, which was known to claim revenues of $111 billion in the year 2000 (Scribd Inc, â€Å"Business Ethics Case†). However, the company became insolvent by 2001 and intended to save billions which it owed to its investors, though by unethical means. In such situation, Sherron Watkins, the ex-vice president of the company uncovered the miserable situation in front of public after her strategies to consult with the higher authorities concerning the matter failed. In the case of Enron, Sherron Watkins understood her responsibilities towards the innocent investors who trusted the company and found her moral ethics to be more important than the corporate ethics (The Buffalo News, â€Å"Enron Whistle-Blower Says Case Shows Need for Better Safeguards†). Reasons for Whistle Blowing Organisations, in the modern day context are often witnessed to conduct malpractices which in turn are quite likely to hamper the community welfare or the interests of its stakeholders to a large extent. Knowing the malpractices of the management, when an employee perceives his/her moral responsibilities toward the society as more important than his/her company loyalty, the individual decides to blow the whistle.

History of Power Generation in Niagara Falls Essay

History of Power Generation in Niagara Falls - Essay Example Today both United States as well as Canada is able to enjoy this huge supply of energy due to the efforts of several individuals and companies who recognized the ability of Niagara Falls to supply energy and continued to make efforts to assist mankind. The ability of Niagara Falls to provide unexpected amount of energy was first realized by Daniel Joncaire who started by developing a small sized canal just over the falls to obtain energy for his sawmill (Kurilovitch, 2003, p.3). Later it was realized that the falls had much more to offer and the area was then bought by Augusts as well as Peter Porter during the era of 1805 from the state level government of the New York. Right after the purchase, the owners increased the size of the canal to obtain huge amounts of power for tannery and gristmill. After a period of nearly 50 years a company named Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Mining Company came into existence which was involved in the construction of canals that were later utilized for energy generation. After a period of 28 years the first ever hydro power generating station came into existence under the leadership of Jacob Schoelkorpf. The further expansion of hydro power generation could not take place until the period of 1893 even though efforts were made under the leaderships of Edward Dean Adams and William Thomson during the period of 1890 (Smith, 2011)p.. During the era of 1893 a company named Westinghouse Electric was called upon to design and expand the current power generation and the company ended up developing an AC power system during the period of 1896 and this system was found to be one of the largest electricity generating system of its time. By the period of 1956 several small scaled power plants that were producing Hydro electricity were operational. But during the period of 1956 a disaster made its way hurting the progress and smaller power

The Historical Evolution of the European Union from Its Earliest Research Paper

The Historical Evolution of the European Union from Its Earliest Post-War Beginnings under the Schuman Plan and the European Coal & Steel Community - Research Paper Example Introduction European integration was initiated in 1950 through the Schumann Plan, which established The European Coal and Steel Community (EASC). The aim was to confront fears that the dominance of Germany’s coal and steel industries could be detrimental to European post war reconstruction efforts or be harnessed to build a war machine (Lipgens and Loth, 1988). At a personal level, the plan’s chief architect, jean Monnet, hoped that the project would shore up French reconstruction plans and capacity by Europeanizing the technical planning process. Most proponents of the project hoped that ECSC would pave way for integration beyond coal and steel, and induce a more profound relationship (Sloan, 2005). The Robert Schuman Speech Robert Schuman, the French foreign minister acting on advice from his adviser jean Monnet, made a historical speech on 9th may 1950. The speech addressed pertinent issues affecting Europe such as the just ended World War Two, economic situation in European states, the unfolding cold war between Soviet Union and the US, the plague coup that facilitated the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia, the Berlin blockade, the first soviet atomic bomb, and forces in the USA advocating for a German rearmament (Lipgens and Loth, 1988). ... A high authority, later named as European Coal and Steel Community, was to overlook the Franco-German coal and steel industry. The perceived fusion of economic interests would raise standards of living and inspire the formation of a European community. Decisions of the proposed High Authority were to be binding on member states while the high authority was to be independent and have equal representation. The founding partners had to invent a unique law and avoid the principle of unanimity. As a result, the law designed was neither national nor international, but transnational or supranational as such; the EU law was in violation of some national laws and required a high social competence to practice (Gerber, 1998). Initially, the EASC had six founding members who consisted of Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The 1957 Treaty of Rome created the European Common Community (ECC) or Common Market. The founding nations of the European Union sacrificed some of t heir sovereignty in favor of economic integration, supranational governance, and collective peace. The motive was to rise above nationalistic heroism that had dominated the early decades of the twentieth century, precipitating two world wars, loss of life, and economic destruction (Sloan, 2005). European political leaders wanted to end international strife, promote economic well being, foster social harmony, and build a better world free of rivalries and hatred. Therefore, the initial functions of the EU were to foster peace and prosperity (Sloan, 2005). There were two ideological approaches to European integration; the federalist approach advocated for local, national and regional authorities to cooperate and complement each other while the functionalist

Analysis of The Quote by Ellie Wiesel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of The Quote by Ellie Wiesel - Essay Example It is not only about violence, murder, and terror. All these negative causes are not so numerous in our lives. On the other side, people are more inclined to be lazy, greedy and, finally, indifferent to each other, in particular, and to the environment, on the whole. Needless to say, indifferent people are helpless in loving somebody. It is impossible for them, as they feel free to neglect the virtues of the moral and right attitude toward each other. Hence, indifference gives birth to a host of negative feelings where hatred and cruelty are at the core. Among the rest of the quotes by Ellie Wiesel, the aforementioned highlights the roots of the human tragedy today as it was in the past. In other words, seeing indifference in one’s actions and attitudes toward a person or the mankind, there is no way other than the redemption. Redemption from everything one dreamed about and thought of in a sweet memory. Day by day, this feeling would likely grow up until one loses the temper and does harm to the environment where he/she lives. The consequences may simply overgrow into a collapse of living in mutual understanding of peace. What is more, Wiesel is right when she strikes out the concept of â€Å"hate† as lower in the meaning compared to the concept of â€Å"indifference.† It is natural to anyone to get rid of any haunting prejudices about the negative meaning of indifference just because it is an ability to make a change. No one is likely to pinpoint the threat of indifference able to ruin lives of people in need. An abrupt halt of passion and desire to help and to keep up with those in need is like a heart failure for a serious patient, so to speak. Thus, indifference is a hidden trick of the devil on his way toward total destruction of morale and humane as the pivotal virtues of the societal life.   

British Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

British Airways - Essay Example However, this report has the limitation of reliance on not so recent data as retrieved from the British Airways official website. Introduction Founded in 1974, British Airways Plc, commonly abbreviated as BA has been recognised as the largest scheduled airline in the UK (Civil Aviation Authority 2013). Apart from scheduled airline, the organisation also operates both domestic and international carriage of mail and freight and associated services (Brownsell 2010). BA flies to over 300 destinations carrying over 33 million passengers in its 238 aircrafts (British Airways 2013, Table 1). From the time of its privatisation in the year 1987, the company has performed better than its competitors and grown worldwide. The entry of its former Chief Executive, Willie Walsh in 2005 saw BA complete Terminal 5 at Heathrow in addition to various other accomplishments. In spite of suffering from the global economic challenges, the airline looks forward to being the most responsible airline globally . As such, the firm commits to the development of strategic plans that would enable it to achieve its objectives, especially in the efforts aimed at developing and sustaining effective marketing. The Marketing Environment With the ever changing marketing environment (Haberberg & Rieple 2007), there arises the need for continuous detailed and structured analysis of important dimensions. With the increase in complexity and frequency of terrorist attacks such as the September 11 New York attacks and the July 2005 London attack, there has been emerging events leading to political instability. As such, firms like BA need systems that enhance quick decisions. The open skies agreement has significantly changed the associated regulations. On legal factors, BA suffers actions by Trade Unions such as the strike actions in 2004 and 2005. Therefore, the firm has to consider various legislations on employee rights, environmental concerns and customer rights. Economically, with demand for air tra vel being highly dependent on income patterns, global economy and air travel demand exhibits a positive relationship. The rising cost of oil due to the political climate in Iraq caused an increase in cost of travel which reduced BA’s business volumes. Finally, the different socio-cultural factors affect BA’s marketing strategy including cultural and demographic factors which determine the needs of customers and the size of prospective markets (Shaw 2007). Pricing as BA’s Marketing Strategy British Airways has priced its products so as to allow its customers to choose the level of service that they want. The airline has set its price to a premium level so as to compete with its rivals such as American and Virgin airlines (Balmer, Stuart & Greyser 2009). Its high pricing has been used as a strategy to reflect high quality. Nonetheless, with the economic turmoil and entry of low cost carriers in the market, BA has been forced to provide low cost solutions so as to remain competitive. But even in these low cost services, the airline still retains its quality image together with good customer service unlike in the low cost rivals where ancillary services have been used as the major source of income, charging extra for priority boarding, food and drinks (Haberberg & Rieple 2007). The introduction of the Executive Club aimed at encouraging loyalty among its customers by rewarding

Financila reporting for Summer bodysuit Ltd (SBL) startup company Essay

Financila reporting for Summer bodysuit Ltd (SBL) startup company - Essay Example This problem is so serious that the bank has requested the company to reduce its overdraft for the next six months, hence worsening its already ailing cash slow. As a member of Drake Management Consultants, who have been mandated to advise the company regarding financial issues, I have undertaken to write this report, citing the key problems and offering some recommendations regarding the problems that the company is undergoing. Analysis of the company’s financial statements Return on capital employed (ROCE) The ROCE for Summer Bodysuit Ltd (SBL) has increased from 15.9% to 23.8%, which is a favorable trend. This shows that the business has efficiently invested its resources to create profits. However, the management should be careful to ensure that this rate is maintained at a higher rate than that of borrowing; otherwise its benefit may not be realised (Baker and Wurgler 30). Year before last Last year Profit before Tax 1,668 3,706 Capital Employed 10,474 15,600 ROCE = ((Pro fit before Tax) / (Capital Employed)) * 100. 15.9% 23.8% Return on Equity (ROE) It is remarkable that ROE has increased from 0.38 to 0.54, because this shows that the company’s profitability is on an upward trend, hence an assurance to the shareholders that their capital is being used efficiently to make profits. This trend should be maintained by continuing to invest in profitable opportunities, though the management should be very careful not to engage in investment decisions that can slow down this positive trend in the future. Net Income 1,248 2,926 Shareholder's Equity 3,274 5,400 ROE = Net Income/Shareholder's Equity 0.38 0.54 Gross Profit Margin The company’s gross profit margin has increased slightly, from 46% to 48%. Although, a slight increase in this ratio is a positive indication of financial health, the management should work hard to ensure the cost of sales is reduced at a more increasing rate so that the company’s growth can be speeded up. Inciden tally, as the company work out on strategies that can increase the firm’s revenue, it should not be forgotten that reducing marginal cost of sales is also very essential. Furthermore, what is left after netting cost of sales from the revenue is used for paying for additional expenses as well as for future savings (Barry 256). Year before last Last Year Revenue 14,006 22,410 COGS 7,496 11,618 0.46 0.48 Net Profit Margin The Net profit Margin has increased from 8.9% to 13%, which is financially very healthy; if this trend continues in the future, the company is likely to grow in leaps and bounds. The management should be on the lookout for the costs that could be increasing at a greater rate than the revenues and control them because this could cause the growth in the net profit margin to decelerate in the future (O’Connor 758). Year before last Last year Net income 1,248 2,926 Revenue 14,006 22,410 Net profit margin = (net income/ revenue)*100 8.9% 13% Inventory Turnove r Ratio The company’s inventory turnover ratio has declined from 5.79 times to 3.85 times. This declined trend can cause alarm if it is as a result of any goods selling slowly. However, if it is caused by a company’s new strategy that has led to increased inventory, and which will lead to overall growth, then this should not be a cause of alarm. However, the management sh

Rendell Case Essay Example for Free

Rendell Case Essay 1. What is the organizational philosophy of Martex with respect to the controller function? What do you think of it? Should Rendell adopt this philosophy? From the position descriptions of Martex stated in the case we can conclude that the organizational philosophy of Martex with respect to the controller function, especially in the modern business, has gone through a huge change. For organizational function, it emphasized the importance of directly reporting to the corporate controller in lieu of responsibility to the division manager, and for this position, it largely concerned with administrative function of an important managerial position as it relates to the control of costs and the profitable operation of the business as a whole. The Martex’s controller vertical structure appear to be relatively independent without being intervened by the division manager so that they can greatly contribute to improvements on controlling corporate cost and preparing divisional budget from the company-level management perspective. In my point of view, it is beneficial to corporate operation as a whole. But these is a point which should not be neglected that is sometimes the interest inconformity between division and corporate. Like what stated in the case, there is always a fat in the division budget, but if execute the Martex’s methods, the direct consequence of â€Å"unbiased source of information† will really show up? I doubt it. Given the intervention of the division manager from their own purpose, the accuracy of either data sources or analysis reports could not be guaranteed anymore. So in my position, I would be more in favor of rejecting this organizational philosophy in Rendell Company. 2. To whom should the divisional controllers report in the Rendell Company? Why? The divisional controller should report to the divisional manager for now. The reason is that the control system structure should take corporate structure into account. If merely imitating the methods of Martex, it may fail. It is not completely suitable for a different corporate structure using the same management control system. The reason of success in the Martex is primarily because the line-staff relationships underlie the  implement of assigning general staff to the division instead of the divisional staff. In addition, the division controller’s office is often located with the division colleagues not the division manager, and therefore make the intervention least possible. In contrast to the Martex, Rendell did not meet the same requirement as the Martex had had. Once took the job, the Rendell division controller was told his function was to help general manager. So every decision and analysis he made would be from divisional interest instead of corporate as a whole. On the other hand, as a member of the divison, if the controllers were treaded as the front spy looking into the division status, they will also be questioned for the reporting and isolated from the rest of the division. No mention the job could be taken over unofficially. The reason of this phenomenon is that the division controllers are not created as an independent position in the Rendell Company, which is, more or less, under the pressure of the division management. 3. What should be the relationship between the corporate controller and the divisional controllers? What steps would you take to establish this relationship on a sound footing? The best relationship between the corporate controller and the divisional controllers is kept direct relationship. From the perspective of operation and development of the corporate, only if the president and corporate controller (as we all know, mostly, the corporate controller would reported directly to the president) gather the accurate information of various divisions, they can make better decisions for future plan. To avoid the unnecessary difficulties for gathering data and reporting to upper management, the vertical organizational structure should be shortened as possible. There are several indispensible steps to establish this relationship. And all of the purposes are from two principles: first, shorten vertical structure and avoid intervention of affected parties; second, strengthen accounting system control. First of all, it is important to intently cultivate the awareness of managers and controllers as they simultaneously grew up in the  division. The company should establish the so positive image of controllers within the entire company that make every staff clear the necessity of the controller organization for the development. Secondly, take a strong hold with the accounting system, only this is an objective and powerful tool for the entire management even if the management cannot make sure the accuracy of the other information. Additionally, with an uniform accounting system the company would not step into the chaos status. Thirdly, align the divisional and corporate controller in the same direction. Only with the same objective, such as growth in dollar sales, assigned rate of profit etc., they can coordinate and cooperate more efficiently from the same interest. Setting up a proportion of allocating profit between managers and controllers so as to introduce a competitive and cooperative mechanism is not a bad idea. 4. Would you recommend any major changes in the basic responsibilities of either the corporate controller or the divisional controller? The controllers now take on the responsibility of establishing the standard practice regulations and the coordination of systems. To guarantee the rightness and unbiased standpoint, the corporate controller should supervise the argument process. Because there is no counterpart in the division to offset the potential personal mistake. So for this part, in a certain extent, corporate should suppress the individual impact of controller for the standard establishment. The controller, whatever in corporate level or division level, should have supervision over the cash, cash equivalent and credits. In case of the uncontrollable expense on the divisional budgets. From such process, on the other hand, it can resolve the partial problem of false financial statements and bloated budgets. The divisional controllers should have the partial authority over the disbursements of any kind of expense, whose signature on checks at the same time should also be authorized and double-checked by corporate controller. Through authority sharing between administrative staff and control organization, it would be more beneficial for the corporate cost control.

Clean Food Health

Clean Food Health The issues surrounding the laws of clean and unclean food have been heavily debated within the Judea/Christian circles for a long period of time. ‘Why should God be concerned about what we eat? The purpose of my research is to attempt to understand why these laws were set within the Old Testament and to compare and contrast different scholarly approaches to this very interesting topic. Many have reviewed the dietary laws within Leviticus and Deuteronomy, questioning whether they were relevant to a certain nations? For example, Israel, tending to lean to an opinion that the laws were set within the Old Testament, and were obsolete at the point of the New Testament? Some argue that these laws are still applicable today whilst others oppose and question there relevance in todays society. My aim and methodology is to review the primary sources available within this area found in the Old Testament and review the evidence that supports the rationale behind these dietary laws. I will attempt to analyse and compare the evidence taken by selected scholars from various backgrounds, such as, anthropologists, ministers and professors, all who have credible background to share on this topic. I have grouped their views into the following three categories; Health/Hygiene, Symbolic/Holiness and Ritual Purification. The word unclean is defined as ‘dirty, immoral, unchaste to be clean would imply the opposite definition. When we look closely and analyse the term clean and unclean within the Old Testament Bible, scholars have varied meanings and approaches to this law. Health/Hygiene Health ‘is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity When we apply good health our bodies are naturally in good shape. Health and Hygiene are closely linked and go hand in hand together. ‘Hygiene is the maintenance of health and healthy living. Covering many areas such as diet, personal, domestic, public and mental cleanliness. The following scholars support the view that health and hygiene has a significant role within the dietary laws, Jacob Milgrom, RK Harrison, and John Brunt. All have commented in particular to the Pig, with a view that this animal carries a disease known as Trichinosis. Trichinosis is a parasite worm that lives in the flesh of pig meat, and is passed on when pig flesh is under cooked, and can grow into a considerable size within the intestine. The Hare carries tularaemia which is an acute infection resembling the plague, but not as severe. Scavenger birds, known as Carrion birds also carry disease, and fish with out scales and fins attract disease because they search for food in the mud. Milgrom argues that a camel is a forbidden animal to eat according to the dietary laws ‘yet there is no evidence to support that this animal poses a threat to health or is unhygienic. He also argues why just animals have been prohibited, as there are poisonous plants that are unhygienic and can be very harmful to the health of a human if eaten. This point highlights a weakness in the dietary laws. Harrison argues that ‘the separation of clean from unclean meats should not be taken to imply that the true ruminants are completely free from parasitic organisms. Harrison also uses further examples with regard to the Ox, which is a clean animal, but is also prone to transmit parasites. Brunt argues that ‘we accept aspects of the teachings concerning what to eat, but do not follow through, for example when we touch an unclean insect we should wash our clothes. Symbolic/Holiness Symbolism ‘is the systematic or creative use of arbitrary symbols as abstracted representations of concepts or objects and the distinct relationships in between, as they define both context and the narrower definition of terms. Holiness is ‘the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of God or gods. It is most usually ascribed to people, but can be and often is ascribed to objects, times, or places. The following scholars support the view that symbolic and holiness has a significant role within the dietary laws, Jacob Milgrom, G J Wenham, Gerald F Hasel and Lester L Grabbe. The observance of the dietary laws could be seen as symbolic. Gods people have been set aside from the other nations to be an example, by observing dietary laws. This would mean that here would be a clear distinction between the Israelites and the other nations. Milgrom states that ‘the diet laws have been implied by the concept of holiness. Wenham makes it very clear that ‘the diet laws were given in a specific situation to a specific situation to a specific period, they are part of the blueprint for making the people of Israel holyHasel refers to the observance of dietary laws ‘it is a holy people that continues to make a distinction between the clean animal and unclean. Grabbe states that ‘the dietary regulations had both a practical and symbolic function, symbolically they stood for the fact that Israel was to keep itself free from intercourse with non- Israelites. Ritual Purification This is that ‘the aim of these rituals is to remove uncleanliness, which may be real or symbolic. Most of these rituals were created long before the germ theory of disease. Some religions have special treatment of particular body fluids such as semen and menses which are viewed as particularly unclean. Ritual purity during this period was an essential part of life to the people of Israel. This prepared each individual to ensure that they were clean before they entered into the sanctuary to worship God. The following scholars support the view that ritual purification has a significant role within the dietary laws, Mary Douglas, John E Hartley, and John Brunt Douglass states that ‘the impurity of an animal kind is part of the technical meaning of ritual purity. Douglass also adds ‘ritual impurity imposes Gods order on his creation Hartley states that ‘the main purpose for the purity instructions was to keep the Israelites separate from the neighbouring nations in order to promote Gods call for Israel to be a holy nation.Brunt states that ‘the New Testament rejects the distinction between clean and unclean, it is not speaking to the issue of health, it is rather addressing problems that were live issues in the 1st century, problems of ritualism and exclusivism. Brunt argues that ‘for the Christian, all things are clean, true spirituality is a matter of the heart, not of ritualistic externals. Conclusion The dietary laws debate will continue for many more years. However I have found this research very refreshing to review approaches of this topic from scholars who are not Seventh Day Adventists, from various backgrounds. We can see from the categories where some scholars hold or share the same view and differ from each others in different areas. The most common theme that came out within the dietary laws and findings in most of the scholars approaches was the point regarding the eating of pork. Most appear to agree on the fact that this animal is prone to parasites, and depending on the way the meat is prepared it will be good for consumption. This point came across very strongly among many of the arguments, arguing that even if the meat is heated well, it still does not rid the parasites and others oppose. In November 2005, The National Geographic produced a documentary on longevity and featured an island in Okinawa, with the longest living people in the world, who accredited this to a soup dish made of pork skin which was boiled at a high temperature in preparation. Based on this finding, we can see that if meat is prepared well it can aid our health, although there may be additional factors that aid to their long life. The dietary laws in the Old Testament would appear to specifically be relating to Israel Gods chosen people, whether they are still relevant to modern day is a matter worth deeper research. The New Testament appears to have abolished the laws of ritual purity, Jesus reached out to all nations, Jews and Gentiles removing all barriers, and we find instances of this throughout the whole of the New Testament. This is something that I would like to research more in the future.

The War Poems of Wilfred Owen - Contradicting the Classical Ideas of He

Contradicting the Classical Ideas of Heroism and Romanticism in Dulce et Decorum est, The Send Off, But I Was Looking At The Permanent Stars, The Deadbeat soldier, Counter Attack, Metal Cases and other War Poems by Wilfred Owen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Owen displays the reality of war, atypically shown in 20th century literature. By divulging the secrecies and terrors of brutal warfare, he exposes the superficiality of valor and false heroism; through his vivid writing, he opens the eyelids of his readers and discloses, â€Å"the old lie (Owen, Dulce et Decorum est, 25). Owen breaks idealism, replacing it with illness, physical injuries, exhaustion, fatigue and personal hells. Contrasting the Hemingway code hero, Owen displays the reality of war, which diverges from the epic and heroic displays of war displayed through classic characters like the code hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The dead beat soldier symbolizes classic 20th century anti-war sentiments. Flesh torn and maggot eaten, skin writhing, crack and molested from heat; the dead beat soldier is presumably one of the most wretched people, and one with the most deathlike traits. Death written in his eyes, he walks fruitlessly with no aim; for one who walks with no purpose is the living dead. Both mind and spirit have been broken, the pieces of body that seem to drop off fall in line with what is already lost; this is the result of war. The soldier can be looked at as the living dead because although he is alive, he is dead in mind and spirit and heart. â€Å"He dropped,- more sullenly that wearily, lay stupid like a cod, heavy like meat (Owen, The Deadbeat soldier, 1-2).† â€Å"Just blinker at my revolver, blearily; didn’t appear to know a war was on (3-4).† The deadbeat soldier reverts to a fetal like mental state, incapable of noticing or responding to the world around them. This state is not so much a rupture in brutish nature, but a reversion back to nothingness and unknowingness for protection; rather both mind and body shut down from weariness. The dead beat soldier no longer responds to their environment; it’s as if their reality no longer exists. They are not worn from war, but rather circumstance and loss of hope, lives and chance. â€Å"It’s Blighty, ‘praps, he sees; his pluck’s all gone, dreaming of all the valiant, they aren’t dead: Bold uncles, smiling ministerially (10-12).† â€Å"Maybe his brave young wife, getting her fun. In some new home, ... ...and the Young, 7-11).† Isaac is betrayed by his father and murderers that he may have more glory symbolizing the government and soldiers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reasons why the men chose to go into war are shown as foolish and not self-controlled. â€Å"It was after football, when he’d drank a peg, He thought he’d better join- He wonders why (Disabled 23-24).† â€Å"Smiling they wrote his lie: age 19 years. Germans he scarcely thought of; all their guilt, And Austria’s, did not move him. And no fears of Fear came yet. He thought of jeweled hilts For daggers in plaid socks; of smart solutes; And care of Arms; and leave; and pay arrears. This was the â€Å"old lie (28),† imbedded in the young men. â€Å"There was no glory, little or no honor; Some cheered him home, but not as a crowd cheers a goal (Disabled, 37-39).† Owen tries to discard the â€Å"old lie (28),† through his war poems and through smart prose creates a plausible contradiction to classical ideas of heroism and romanticism. Works Cited Owen, Wilfred. Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters. Ed. Harold Owen and John Bell. London: Oxford UP, 1967. -----. Wilfred Owen: The Complete Poems and Fragments. Ed. John Stallworthy. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 1984. The War Poems of Wilfred Owen - Contradicting the Classical Ideas of He Contradicting the Classical Ideas of Heroism and Romanticism in Dulce et Decorum est, The Send Off, But I Was Looking At The Permanent Stars, The Deadbeat soldier, Counter Attack, Metal Cases and other War Poems by Wilfred Owen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Owen displays the reality of war, atypically shown in 20th century literature. By divulging the secrecies and terrors of brutal warfare, he exposes the superficiality of valor and false heroism; through his vivid writing, he opens the eyelids of his readers and discloses, â€Å"the old lie (Owen, Dulce et Decorum est, 25). Owen breaks idealism, replacing it with illness, physical injuries, exhaustion, fatigue and personal hells. Contrasting the Hemingway code hero, Owen displays the reality of war, which diverges from the epic and heroic displays of war displayed through classic characters like the code hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The dead beat soldier symbolizes classic 20th century anti-war sentiments. Flesh torn and maggot eaten, skin writhing, crack and molested from heat; the dead beat soldier is presumably one of the most wretched people, and one with the most deathlike traits. Death written in his eyes, he walks fruitlessly with no aim; for one who walks with no purpose is the living dead. Both mind and spirit have been broken, the pieces of body that seem to drop off fall in line with what is already lost; this is the result of war. The soldier can be looked at as the living dead because although he is alive, he is dead in mind and spirit and heart. â€Å"He dropped,- more sullenly that wearily, lay stupid like a cod, heavy like meat (Owen, The Deadbeat soldier, 1-2).† â€Å"Just blinker at my revolver, blearily; didn’t appear to know a war was on (3-4).† The deadbeat soldier reverts to a fetal like mental state, incapable of noticing or responding to the world around them. This state is not so much a rupture in brutish nature, but a reversion back to nothingness and unknowingness for protection; rather both mind and body shut down from weariness. The dead beat soldier no longer responds to their environment; it’s as if their reality no longer exists. They are not worn from war, but rather circumstance and loss of hope, lives and chance. â€Å"It’s Blighty, ‘praps, he sees; his pluck’s all gone, dreaming of all the valiant, they aren’t dead: Bold uncles, smiling ministerially (10-12).† â€Å"Maybe his brave young wife, getting her fun. In some new home, ... ...and the Young, 7-11).† Isaac is betrayed by his father and murderers that he may have more glory symbolizing the government and soldiers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reasons why the men chose to go into war are shown as foolish and not self-controlled. â€Å"It was after football, when he’d drank a peg, He thought he’d better join- He wonders why (Disabled 23-24).† â€Å"Smiling they wrote his lie: age 19 years. Germans he scarcely thought of; all their guilt, And Austria’s, did not move him. And no fears of Fear came yet. He thought of jeweled hilts For daggers in plaid socks; of smart solutes; And care of Arms; and leave; and pay arrears. This was the â€Å"old lie (28),† imbedded in the young men. â€Å"There was no glory, little or no honor; Some cheered him home, but not as a crowd cheers a goal (Disabled, 37-39).† Owen tries to discard the â€Å"old lie (28),† through his war poems and through smart prose creates a plausible contradiction to classical ideas of heroism and romanticism. Works Cited Owen, Wilfred. Wilfred Owen: Collected Letters. Ed. Harold Owen and John Bell. London: Oxford UP, 1967. -----. Wilfred Owen: The Complete Poems and Fragments. Ed. John Stallworthy. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 1984.

Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf and Its Formulas -- Epic Beowulf essay

Beowulf   and Its Formulas    The making of Beowulf involved the choosing of formulas mostly, from a common body of narrative, rather than individual words, and largely on the basis of alliterative needs.    In his esay, â€Å"The Pessimism of Many Germanic Stories,† A. Kent Hieatt says:    The Germanic peoples seem to have inherited a common body of narrative, which is a key to understanding the often incomplete and puzzling allusions and interpolated stories forming a large part of Beowulf† (45).    In his essay â€Å"The Point of View and Design for Terror,† Alan Renoir states: â€Å"The theory that Old English poetry was formulaic and composed orally at the time of recitation is all but generally accepted today† (154). About 20% of the half-lines are repeated at least elsewhere in the poem. An essential part of 50% of the half-lines are likewise repeated. A large percentage of these essential parts, or formulas, have a resemblance to others in the poem, suggesting that the poet was guided by the sense of the poem, and perhaps by other factors like its sound or rhythm. â€Å"The diction of Beowulf is schematized to an extraordinary degree† (Creed 141).    The concept of â€Å"formula† needs defining perhaps. A formula can be a half-line, a whole line, a line-and-a-half sometimes, or as small as a single-syllable word as long as it is a significant part of the scop’s rhythm. If not a phrase or a clause, a formula should be an article and its noun, a noun/pronoun and its verb, a verb and its object, a preposition and its noun, etc. For example the verb-adverb pair hwearf pa is proven to be a formula because it is repeated at the beginning of lines 1188 (hwearf pa bi bence), 1210 (gehwearf pa in Francna faepm), and 1573 (hw... ...er to Egbert. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.    Creed, Robert P.. â€Å"The Making of an Anglo-Saxon Poem.† In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Hieatt, A. Kent. â€Å"The Pessimism of Many Germanic Stories.† In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.    Magoun, Frances P. â€Å"Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry.†Ã‚   In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Renoir, Alan. â€Å"The Point of View and Design for Terror.† In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000   

Essay --

Tricked by Inferno (A critique on how Dante’s Inferno can make you do the morally correct thing) As the great Francois de La Rochefoucauld, â€Å"The intellect is always fooled by the heart.† When it comes to doing the morally correct thing, Dante’s Inferno is the text that scares people to do what they are supposed to do. By saying what will happen if a person were to go to hell, this will scare people into doing the right thing. As Tim Keller said, â€Å"Sin removes us from that aspect of his power that sustains and supports us. It is to us as water is to a fish-away from it our life slowly ebbs away.† In Dante’s Inferno he uses many tools to scare people into acting as they morally should, three of these critiqued tools include: pain, suffering, and misery. To begin, pain is an ideal threat that Dante provides in the idea of hell. When the thought of hell arises, one of the very first things that comes to mind is pain. The pain of realization that you are going to spend the rest of eternity in purgatory is very excruciating. â€Å"May you weep and wail for all of eternity.† (pg.81) This quote from Dante’s Inferno states just what kind of pain there will be if a person went to hell. Weeping knowing that for the rest of eternity there will be only pain, and heartache. â€Å"Heartbreak is like one big emotional pain but it also seems to spark off hundreds of other emotions. We hate the feeling of heartbreak, and yet we find ourselves compelled to go over and over memories, ideas or fantasies which make the feeling worse. â€Å" As Dr. Edward E. Smith states, heartache is one of the worst feelings that a person can face. After realizing the kind of heartache and pain that going to hell can cause, people will be more tempted to act morally correct. Hell has... ...for no reason, but to bring themselves up they deserve to be punished. Hurting people is no way to make you feel better. Therefore they should get a taste of their own medicine. The people in this circle will be stomped on by a giant, over, and over, for all of eternity. They will be â€Å"be-littled† literally, after lifting the egos of all of the people that they were mean to during the time that they were alive. Circle 6 (Rapists and Murders) This is the worst crime that person could ever commit. These people will be shot over and over for the rest of eternity. They did the worst thing humanly possible. Raping someone and or murdering them is the worst thing a person can do. Taking everything that person has is the worst thing that someone could do. By being shot repeatedly they will be able to feel the pain that they have caused other people while they were alive.

Charge of the Light Brigade Analysis Essay

Charge of the Light Brigade Mini-analysis The poem, Charge of the Light Brigade, has quite a complex rhyming scheme which can make the poem difficult to understand at first. I think that he may have designed it this way to instil a feeling of victory and valour at the end of the poem. I would argue that this, along with other literary techniques, shows that Tennyson was successful in glorifying the Charge of the Light Brigade in his poem. As I mentioned before, the rhyming scheme is an integral part of the poem. The rhyming varies for each stanza, which at first seems like a large fault of the poem. The length of each stanza lengthens as the poem goes on, perhaps trying to simulate how the battle escalated. This pattern continues on until the last stanza where the number of lines is significantly reduced. This indicates the resolution of the poem. For the first verse, Tennyson utilizes an ABA pattern for the first half. â€Å"Half a league, half a league, half a league onward. †A large part of the poem is the repetition. This repetition of certain phrases creates a rhythm not unlike the galloping of horse’s hooves on the ground. This creates a feeling of verisimilitude and provides an authentic experience for the reader. The repeated phrase, â€Å"Cannon to the right of them/Cannon to the left of them/Cannon in front of them. † suggests that they were surrounded by enemies on all sides. The sentence also suggests the large imbalance of numbers on the British side compared to the Russians. This emphasises the victory at the end of the poem. While Tennyson tried hard to glorify the Charge of the Light Brigade, he also attempted to express the large amount of casualties as well. Tennyson utilized metaphor and allusion to acknowledge the amount of death on the field without being overly graphic in his description. He used the phrase, â€Å"Into the jaws of Death/Into the mouth of Hell† repeatedly to further his point. In my opinion, Tennyson accurately portrayed and glorified the Charge of the Light Brigade in his poem, using a variety of literary techniques.

Sense and Sensuality in Indian Religious Literature

A particular poem, Nurse 1126†³ taken from Sanskrit Poetry From Fiduciary's â€Å"Treasury', emphasizes the lustful emotions and romantic experiences that accompany the south winds as well as the significance of a reticular sense object that holds an extremely valuable place in Indian religious culture – sandalwood. The strange inclusion of the sense of smell and the sense object of sandalwood in this poem, which deals nearly exclusively with the sense of touch, raises a variety of questions pertaining to the significance of this inclusion and the relationship between the senses of touch and smell as well as the senses in general.Meanwhile, upon examination of the Kamala sutra the sense of smell and the scents of objects comes into play in a context of Indian literature associated not with esthetics poetry but with a much more technical and instructive guidebook. In this case, the sense of smell is used to convey not simply emotion but allows the reader to make a wide ra nge of inferences about characters, the text, and the values of the time period.Ultimately, despite stemming from the same sense of smell, the usage of this sense can differ widely between different genres of texts and even within a single genre conveying a multitude of emotions, facts that, though seemingly follow a trend, are in fact unique to the text. The aforementioned poem from Sanskrit Poetry From Fiduciary's â€Å"Treasury' expresses romantic and mysterious undertones through metaphors and the establishment of a particular mood or Rasa. This entire poem uses a complex and extended metaphor that draws upon the movement and qualities of the south winds to represent a seemingly mysterious and well-traveled lover.The winds are personified as having associated with and wooed a variety of women from regions such as Andorra, Tamil, Ceylon, and Kraal. This metaphor capitalizes upon the ethereal, fast-moving, gentle, caressing, and aromatic nature of air and the south breeze and app lies it to the poem's apparent description of a ascribable lover. This poem furthermore utilizes two specific moods or Rasa, which are emotional flavors that one tastes or feels upon experiencing the words of the writer. The two Rasa used in the poem are peacefulness and romance.The poem establishes a peaceful mood both by using a repetitive sentence structure which has a seemingly calming effect on the reader as well as by using light and airy words such as â€Å"tousled†, â€Å"kissed†, and â€Å"perfumed† that give the poem a quaint and dainty feel. The poem also gives of a feeling of erotic excitement by the description of the erotic actions of the breeze and its apparent metaphor for a desired lover. The breeze has apparently touched the breasts, hairnets, mouths, and cheeks of women from a variety of regions in India indicating the attractiveness of this lover and the great deal of experience and ability he has with women.The two Rasa, peacefulness and rom antic excitement, appear to complement each other and bring about a unique experience within the reader. Rather than feeling solely lustfulness that would usually be felt in poems that utilize only erotic excitement, the element of peacefulness evokes feelings of love in contrast with lust. Because of the peaceful Rasa, the reader perceives the well-traveled lover not as a womanlier but as a gentleman who truly loves and brings happiness to the women he meets. Upon reading the poem, one inevitably comes to the question of â€Å"why is that last line included in this poem? At first glance, it certainly appears that the line â€Å"gently the south winds blow, perfumed with sandalwood† does not fit with the rest of the poem that emphasizes the breeze's touch upon the breasts, hair, and bodies of women. Furthermore, what exactly is the importance and significance of the particular sense abject sandalwood that its scent was noted in the poem? Ultimately the inclusion of the sense of smell and the specific sense object, sandalwood, in the poem gives additional depth to the two Rasa expressed within the poem. Smell is often used in Indian literature to express erotic desire and passionate lust.For example, the lingering and distinctive scent of a long-gone lover brings about both lustful and mournful emotion as one realizes that he or she has lost their love. Smelling that scent would undoubtedly bring about happy and painful memories of that lost love. The inclusion of sandalwood then similarly affects the peaceful Rasa evoked by the gentle and repetitive nature of this poem. Sandalwood is conventionally used in Indian literature as a valuable scent known for its cooling, relaxing, and calming properties as well as for its relationship to love.Conventional Sanskrit poetry and literature often indicates that sandalwood grows in Southern India and is carried by south breezes northward, bringing love as it travels toward its northern mistress. Thus the aroma of the south breeze plays a pivotal role in both characterizing the advertorial lost-lover and establishing the two central Rasa used within the poem. Though not the central sense used within the poem, that honor obviously goes to touch, by including the sense of smell in the last line of the poem, the writer adds a great deal of depth in the poem that could not have been created solely through a description of touch.One could not have touched the bodies of the women that the south breeze has touched but one could have smelled the scent of the sandalwood that accompanies the breeze and felt the emotions brought about by it. Ultimately he sense of smell drives the poem drives poem forward by promoting the mysterious, lustful, and peaceful mood of the poem and by applying emotions that are associated with the smell of a lover to the metaphorical lover described within the poem. The Kamala Sutra, however, is a type of text that contrasts starkly with the flowing, soothing aesthetics of I ndian poetry.Gone are the descriptions of soft scented winds slowly caressing the bodies of young, beautiful lovers; in their place are descriptions of scented oils belonging to â€Å"women of the harem†, the scent of lust ND erotic desire and act, the proper scent of desirable men and women, and the scent of man's â€Å"worn-out† clothing. In this text, good or desirable scents and the corresponding sense object may correspond to wealth and power as the harem girls are said to have been given gifts of scented oils from kings and men of wealthy descent in return for bodily pleasures and favors.These gifts are described as â€Å"leftovers of a deity' indicating the importance and value placed upon scents due to the powerful emotional attachment and memory stimulation that can be drawn from this sense. Looking at the nature of the text, one can glean other characteristics of this sense – the Kamala Sutra is a guide-like manual on navigating the world of eroticism , sex, and romance. The sense of smell is present on nearly every page during descriptions of the smell of various objects, sexual and nonsexual. Thus, smell is quite clearly related to erotic sexual desire, even in sacred books of instruction.When reading through the Kamala Sutra it is seemingly impossible to come across an account of a sexual encounter without some description of one's scent or the scent of scarred clothing, sexual tension, and erotic desire, and one's breathing; sex and smell practically go hand in hand in this text. Ultimately this text reflects the Indian culture's view on the sense of smell – it has the gentle caress to stir love and romance, it has the sudden spark to kindle hot, erotic, sexual desire, and it has the power to create perceptions of grandeur, wealth, and power.While the two cited texts, poetry from Sanskrit Poetry From Fiduciary's â€Å"Treasury' and the instructive Kamala Sutra, may seem to use the sense of smell in a very similar mann er, their ascriptions and usage of the sense is in fact quite unique. The referenced Indian poem uses the sweet and desirable scent of sandalwood to convey emotions of romance and desire in order to add depth and aestheticism to the poem.Meanwhile, the Kamala Sutra uses the sense not to draw out emotion in the reader, as the text is more of sacred and instructive manual, but to give the reader the ability to infer characteristics of the their own lives or the lives of others, whether it be romance, erotic desire, or wealth and power. The difference lies in the desired outcome in the deader after using the sense of smell as a tool to convey information or emotion. The ability of this sense to convey a multitude of outcomes in readers represents the multifaceted nature of smell.Unlike other senses which are relatively concrete – the sense of touch is constant based on the object one is touching, the sense of sight is constant based on the object one is viewing – the sens e of smell is much more fluid and up to the interpretation of the subject. Because of this unique characteristic of the sense of smell, it allowed writers of Indian literature the ability to use the sense f smell to relate multiple emotions and inferences to the reader, with each being unique to the reader and unique in and of itself.While in contemporary American culture and literature, the sense of smell takes a back seat to the more concrete and reliable senses such as sight and touch, this is not so in Indian culture. Smell is used in all texts – poetry, instructive manuals, sacred texts – liberally due to its unique ability to convey multiple emotions and facts. Based on the two referenced works, smell occupies a sacred place in Indian literature and could seemingly be considered he foundation of love, sexual desire, and wealth and power as seen in the role it plays in this culture's literature.

Blue Like Jazz Conversion Stories

In the book Blue like Jazz there is a couple of conversion stories I would like to talk about. The first one comes from Chapter 4. It is the conversion of Millers friend Penny. Penny was a person who did not like Christians and Christianity based on the stereotypes that she had seen and the world has given to them. In the chapter it says that Penny wanted nothing to do with Christianity until she met a friend from her school. She went to college at the same place as miller, which is reed college, and after her freshman year she decided to study at a school in france. While there she was introduced to another student from Reed who she was very fond of and her name is Nadine. Nadine was a very nice person to Penny and listened to Penny’s childhood problems intently and with care. One night Nadine told Penny that she was a christian and Penny was very upset by it. She did not want to believe that this person that was so nice, kind and listened to her so well was a Christian because from her perspective of Christianity these were not traits of a Christian. Then when Penny started to think about it she found out that maybe Christianity has something to offer her. This was the beginning process of her conversion. She may not have changed her ways immediately but this way of thinking and meeting Nadine really opened up her mind to Christianity. Later in the book it goes to talk about how she converts after hearing the voice of God while she was high on drugs. This may or may not be true but personally I believe that it is. I think that God will come to people when they are most vulnerable and tell them straight up what they need to here. A couple of days later after hearing Gods voice she prayed and asked for forgiveness of her sins and that is the day that she converted. All that was left was a public display of conversion, also known as baptism.