Things They Carried Reactions free essay sample

The Things They Carried Close Reading p. 1-26 Pages 3 and 4: So many items being carried†¦ what is the purpose? Quote(s): â€Å"Kiowa also carried his grandmothers distrust for the white man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg. 3) â€Å"†¦The poncho weighed almost 2 pounds, but it was worth every ounce† (pg. 3) Meaningful words/ phrases: pounds, weighed, grunts, Kodacolor, Bonnie and Clyde Overall meaning/ author’s purpose: The soldiers do not only carry material goods, they also carry emotions. Such is Kiowa’s distrust for the white man, as well as fear, anxiety, resentment and hope. The author is trying to show that the men carry more than just material goods. Personal reaction/ insight: I thought the list of items was extensive, like reading an intense shopping list. Carrying all that gear must be overwhelming on long treks into the jungle. -Pages 6 and 7, 11-13 Ted Lavenders death Quote(s): â€Å"It was like watching a big rock fall, or a big sandbag or something- just boom, then down† (pg. We will write a custom essay sample on Things They Carried Reactions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 6) â€Å"Kiowa kept explaining how you had to be there, how fast it was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg. 13) Meaningful words/phrases: superstition, boom-down, moral, thumb, tunnel Overall meaning/ author’s purpose: Kiowa is in shock of Ted’s death, he’s not used to seeing someone dying in real life. He is curious at how it’s so fast and anticlimactic. The author shows here how these kids are alien to a world where their friends drop over dead like sand bags. Personal reaction/ insight: I have a feeling Kiowa is going to be very dramatized later in the story, although appearing fine in this passage. Page 13 and top of 14: conversation between Mitchell Sanders and Henry Dobbins Quote(s): â€Å"You want my opinion, Mitchell Sanders said, there’s a definite moral here. † (Pg. 13) â€Å"I don’t see no moral† (pg. 4) Meaningful words/ phrases: moral, pebble, blood, Paladin, gift, superstition Overall meaning/ author’s purpose: Mitchell Sanders bizarrely tries to teach a lesson in morals by using the example of a dead Vietnamese boy. Henry Dobbins is confused/frustrated at what moral Mitchell Sanders is trying to teach. The authors purpose is to show the bizarreness and frustration of the war. Personal reaction/ insight: I thought the cutting of the boys thumb was a bit gory/ unnecessary. I feel the same way as Henry Dobbins does, I’m confused at what point Mitchell Sanders is trying to make. Pages 19-23 stage presence, odd behavior, etc. Quote(s): â€Å"For the most part they carry themselves with poise, a kind of dignity† (p. 19) â€Å"They would repair the leaks in their eyes† (p. 19) Meaningful words/ phrases: dignity, sobbed, awkwardly, shame, hard vocabulary, zapped while zip-ping. Overall meaning/ author’s purpose: The author shows how the boys in Vietnam were putting on a show for each other. While trying to appear tough on the outside they were really terrified for their lives on the inside. They were not accustomed to such a harsh dangerous environment. So they would use humor, and hard vocabulary to lighten up harsh situations. Personal reaction/ insight: I can relate to this passage a lot. I often use humor to deflect many serious situations. However I find it hard to imagine being put into an environment like Vietnam without losing your cool, and defecating your pants. -Pages 23-26: the new Lt. Jimmy Cross Quote(s): â€Å"Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters† (p. 23) â€Å"It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. † (p. 25) Meaningful words/ phrases: letters burn the blame, duties, laxity, daydreams Overall meaning/ author’s purpose: Jimmy feels personally responsible for Lavenders death. He feels like if he wasn’t daydreaming about Martha he could’ve saved his life. He Burns Martha’s photographs, but cannot burn the blame he feels about Lavenders death. The author shows the fish out of water-ness of Jimmy, how he is not meant to be in a war, instead he should be back in NJ doing teenager things instead of playing army guy. Personal reaction/ insight: I feel for Jimmy, however I do not believe that it was his fault at all. I can understand how he feels guilty.

The Gift of Love †Creative Writing Essay

The Gift of Love – Creative Writing Essay Free Online Research Papers The Gift of Love Creative Writing Essay The feeling has been known since the beginning of time, and the warning signs have most likely never evolved. They include the heart rising to the throat, inability to catch one’s breath, blood rushing to the cheeks, and the sudden loss of any linguistic capabilities. Yet these are fleeting symptoms, so they cannot really indicate if one is experiencing a visit from that mysterious and elusive character named romantic love. As powerful as the physical onslaught of lust appears, true love is a phenomena that requires the use of one’s time, thought and energy. To love is to unselfishly be faithful to one’s own feelings for another individual. Loving is not seeking personal gain, but hoping to better the life of the other person by becoming a part of it. Love is severely complex because it requires those who seek it to give up a part of themselves to another, without regard to the personal risks that they are taking through this action. It is this type of dangerous but true love that is exhibited in Camus’ Black Orpheus (1958), which is based on the famous myth of two lovers. In this film, a true and profound love is demonstrated by Orpheus and Eurydice because of these characters’ unselfish motives and commitment to their emotions. From the beginning of the movie, Orpheus’ history of love proves him to be a philanderer who has never been serious about a woman, and who does not know how to love truly. He has recently become engaged to Mira, the biggest flirt in town, and this is not a poor match. Orpheus himself is a flatterer and a flirt who constructs enchanting phrases when he composes his famous music. His tendency to charm comes across in the scene where he first encounters Eurydice at the trolley station. He playfully inquires where she is off to and flatters her appearance. Because Orpheus has had such experience with women and relationships, one would not expect him to be able to settle down and have a woman suppress his philandering manner. Evidently, Orpheus’ fiancà © has not tamed him, as he tries to flirt with Eurydice when he meets her. The way Orpheus reacts to love can be interpreted as selfish. His meddles with women for the sake of his own amusement, not because he has a de ep appreciation of them. His generosity towards Mira does not surpass a display of mild passions for her. There is no evidence of his ability to give more to a woman than his poetic but empty words. When Eurydice rejects the charming words of Orpheus, she demonstrates her ability to see through his external act and appreciate his true identity. Orpheus and Eurydice meet again, and this time they are alone. Orpheus tries once more to charm her, and she claims that it is not his words that she noticed about him, but his tune. She knows that his words are delightful but deceptive, and she is able to see the man who is behind the words. Eurydice perceives Orpheus not as a charmer with a captivating and quick tongue, but as a man whose beautiful music extends from a brilliant soul. Eurydice proves to be both an open minded and unselfish lover when she refuses to let Orpheus use his charms on her. In the quote previously mentioned, Eurydice reveals both her ability to see Orpheus for who he really is, and also her unwillingness to receive anything less than the real man. Accepting Orpheus’ flattery would be to relinquish hopes of truly understanding who he was, because it would mean that she didn’t believe that there was anything under the words. It would also show selfishness. Accepting his empty compliments would demonstrate a desire for him to affirm her pleasant qualities. Eurydice rejects flattery because she knows her love to be deeper. She is true to the emotions which do not allow her to be a self seeker, but force her to be willing to risk giving in to her strong feelings. The generosity that Orpheus displays once he realizes the intensity of his feelings demonstrates the truth of his and Eurydice’s love. It is her straight forward attitude and ability to see through him that makes him recognize her uniqueness. He quickly becomes aware of his love for her after he sees that she is serious about him, and now he can think of nothing but her protection. He brings her to his house at night because he wants to be assured of her safety, and he does not make even the slightest sexual advances. This is where his willingness to give of himself for her is demonstrated. His constant concern shifts from his own desires to those of Eurydice. No longer does he try to extract what he wants from the relationship, because his thoughts are more pure. Orpheus and Eurydice are true lovers because there is no force that can interrupt their commitment. A physical illustration of how deeply Orpheus has loved Eurydice is shown at the end of the film, when Orpheus transports Eurydice’s dead body from the morgue back up the hillside. Eurydice is dead and can no longer give her love to Orpheus, yet even death cannot stop him from caring for her. He watches over the lifeless body and guards it vigilantly, and soon he dies with it in his arms. It is clear that this love is unconditional, because death cannot restrain it. The truest love cannot have boundaries, because that would mean that the lovers have abandoned their emotions. Orpheus is emotionally committed to Eurydice until his death. Both Orpheus and Eurydice show a willingness to change their lives so that they can fully support one another. There love was based on profound mutual care and sincere generosity, the same characteristics that define true love. Love is valid when it is not based on self interest, but the well being and happiness of the individuals involved. The commitment to giving is the beautiful ideal that is achieved by Orpheus and Eurydice in Black Orpheus. Research Papers on "The Gift of Love" - Creative Writing EssayHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionWhere Wild and West MeetAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyMind TravelThree Concepts of PsychodynamicHip-Hop is ArtThe Hockey Game

Research proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Proposal Example Increased sales is one of the potential benefits of customer relationship managent and results from identification and utilization of customers’ needs. Market expansion and higher profit margins are other benefits that organizations may reap from implementing customer relationship management. In addition, developing an understanding of customers’ needs ensures utility among the customers, a factor that also ensures customer retention and even marketing through customers’ testimonies. Customer relationship management also has an ultimate effect of decreasing an organization’s sales and other marketing expenses (Chaturvedi 2009, p. 5). Different approaches and techniques, however, exist that determine banks’ application of customer relationship management and may be a factor to the current trend in application of the management approach in the financing sector and establish a difference in application of customer relationship management by different t ypes of players in the sector (Rai and Singh 2012, n.p.). The study focuses on the current trend among banks and micro-finance institutions in the United Kingdom. Customer relationship management offers numerous advantages towards competitive advantage, should an organization implement it. This study seeks to investigate the use of the management towards these benefits with the aim of identifying possible inefficient application and creating awareness among the target organizations towars higher competitiveness and customer utility. Identifying trend in application of the managent and comparing this with trends in applicable technologies for customer relationship management will help inform the target population of necessary changes in the applications. In addition, understanding applications of customer relationship management, as applied by banks and other micro-finance organizations, will help in integrating techniques in the management branch, and

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 36

Paraphrasing - Essay Example The version of the poem that was created first was heavily worded and very emotional, the second version expressed emotions in limited number of words. In the first version the poet quite clearly defines his mother and her piano and then talks about the singing female. On the other hand, in the second version, the poet only talks about the female singing and reduces the mentioning of his mother. The difference between the two versions is that in the first version the poet explicitly talks of both his mother and the singing women and in the second version he only focuses on the singing lady which talks about his mother in a metaphorical manner (L, 1). The second version is better than the first one because it allows the reader to explore and identify that the poet is referring to his mother. The second version lacks unnecessary details about the mother and a simple line used by the poet in which he states that a mother is smiling at her child while she is singing is enough to identify that the author is talking about his own mother (L, 4). Another issue with the second version is the amount of unnecessary descriptive words used by t he author such as winning and living (L, 9). The first version is full of sentimental words that the author uses to depict his feelings and association with his mother. The second version lacks these unnecessary details and the second version comprises of few descriptions that allow the reader to explore. For example the poet talks about spending time at home during evening time on a Sunday (L, 7). This allows the readers to connect their own Sunday evenings with the evenings of the poet. Similar style of writing has been used by the poet to conclude the second version of the poem. For example the author states that he cries when he thinks of the past (L, 12). This again allows the readers to connect with the feelings of the poet as they even feel

Paraphrase Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paraphrase - Coursework Example Comment. The word internet starts with capital â€Å"I†, in addition it is not grammatically correct to say â€Å"internet has assured people†. This is because internet is not a living thing. The APA in text citation is correct. Response. People, who actually believe that the Internet can really take them anywhere, are actually just deceiving themselves. As the maximum the internet can take someone is only within the virtual world, instead of the real world. Consequently, people are growing apart from one another due to the Internet which has deceived them. This is a great job. I like your response; this is because some people waste so much time on the internet without doing any meaningful work. Your APA in text citation is also great. However, your paraphrase seems not to relate to the author’s idea. This is because the author wanted to show that internet exposes people to a lot of opportunities. However, not everyone ends up making a good living from the internet. The grammar is good. There is a logical flow of ideas. There is subject- predicate agreement and proper linking devices. The paper has proper punctuation. The format used in the paper is in accordance with the APA format sixth edition. This type of format ascertains that, there must be a comma between the surname of the author and the year. For example (Leili,

How Music Effects Emotions On People Psychology Essay

How Music Effects Emotions On People Psychology Essay I made a decision to pick up music on the day that I found out how amazing music was. I sat into a band practice where they played a piece called Fire Dance. Ironically, when the band started playing, I had a brief scene of a calm ocean, with ripples of waves coming towards me. As the band continued, and as the music got louder, faster and more intense, I experienced fierce and powerful ocean waves crashing down on each other. This is possibly due to the clashing of cymbals that always happen right after the band reaches the peak of its crescendo. I use the term experienced because I not only had an image of it, but I also became engulfed by emotions that had so suddenly sprung out from nowhere. The most expressive words that I can use for the emotions I had felt from the music and image are grace, power and majesty. I was so overwhelmed by the majesty of the music that I cried a few tears and I had slight breathing difficulties because my chest had felt tight. This was all new to me . I had no prior music training and neither did the music trigger any past memories. I had finally understood why people become musicians. I glanced around after the band finished playing, and realised that I was the only one who was affected by the music. I was somewhat embarrassed by my reaction. So far, this is my most vivid and interesting experience brought to me by music. There are two positions on how music effects emotions on us. One is the cognitivist view which supports music as appearing to evoke emotions, the brain acknowledges the emotions in the music, but the listener does not experience any actual emotions (Thompson,2009). The other is the emotivist view which supports the idea of emotions being induced by music, and these emotions are felt, which is observed by physiological arousals (Storr, 1992). Music presents emotions through the characteristics of music (such as musical contour, tempo and modality). These characteristics mould the type of emotions experienced by the listener (Kivy,1980,Thompson). One theory suggests music as a language, where various emotions are brought across by different types of musical intervals. For example, an augmented fourth expresses distress, while a major third can express happiness (Cooke, 1959)/(Thompson, 2009). Upon hearing the sounds, the brain interprets it as music, and evaluates or appraises the music to create physiological responses (Zajonc, 1980, Thompson). The arousal of the autonomic nervous system is the response of an animal to an environmental stimulus. This includes changes in breathing rate, heart rate and blood pressure. Since this similar response may also be observed after an exercise, they do not necessarily represent an emotional response. Therefore, cognitive processing is required to link arousal with music, in order to form an emotional experience (Mandler, 1984, Thompson). It is to be noted that this point of view incorporates cognitive reasoning into the emotivist position, but do not support the cognitivist position. Humans have an innate arousal response to unexpected occurrence of events. According to Mandler, composers have the ability to generate increases in arousal by manipulating the expectancy of the listeners, and this ability differentiates music from other stimuli (Mandler, in Thompson, 2009). The expectancy theory explains that deviation of music from the expectations of the listener creates tension/arousal, which is, as discussed above, emotion. Music preference is related to the degree of arousal. It is found that a balanced/moderate degree of incongruity is most preferred, as high incongruity makes the music confusing and unpleasant, and no incongruity makes the music predictable and boring. In other words, deviation from expectancy is directly correlated to degree of arousal, and music of moderate levels of incongruity is considered most pleasant (Berlyne, in Thompson, 2009). These perceived sound patterns (music characteristics/incongruity) of music are experienced by emotions (M eyer, 1956). Experiments have proven emotions are induced by music. Sloboda (1991) conducted a survey on music and physical responses. The results show that many people experience emotions when they listen to music, and some of the emotions experienced include shivers, laughter, tears, racing heart, sweating (Thompson, 2009). A blind experiment was conducted by Rickard, Nikki (2004) to investigate the presence of a difference in physiological arousal between more and less emotionally powerful music (EPM). 21 healthy participants (12 males, 9 females) with varying ages (mean of 25.5years, standard deviation of 8.48) were given music treatments of 3 experimenter-chosen music treatments, and 1 EPM of the individuals choice. The individuals EPM was open to any music genre, but was standardised to a limited duration of 5 to 10 minutes. The other 3 fixed music treatments were: relaxing music, arousing music and a non-musical film scene that will induce intense emotions. Each individuals gender, personality and level of musical experience was noted, but was found that none of these factors produced any significant contribution that can change the level of physiological arousal (Rickard, 2004). Tests were done before and after administering each music treatment, by using saliva sampling, questionnaires, event recorder and sensor electrodes attached to the body to measure various physiological responses. This was to test for hormone (cortisol) production levels, skin temperature and conductance, heart rate, chills and muscle tension (Rickard, 2004). The results taken from the skin conductance and number of chills per minute displayed a very significant increase in arousal for the EPM. It also shows that EPM produces very high levels of physiological arousal, and less EPM produced less arousal. No meaningful conclusions could be found from the other recorded data due to the presence of high variability of results (Rickard, 2004). Studies of Music on Heart Rate Other studies have also found that heart rate, breathing rate, skin conductance are all affected by musical stimulus. Heart rate increases when people are exposed to music with fast tempos and rhythm, loud volume, or any other type of music that stimulates the auditory nerves; and slow tempos and rhythm, smooth melodic harmonies, depressing, sedative and relaxing music will decrease heart rate (Bartlett,1996). Studies of Music on Skin Conductance Producing similar results to Rickards experiment, 4 studies on skin conductance have produced a positive relationship between the change of skin conductivity, and enjoyment (liking) of the music (Bartlett, 1996). However, one experiment found no change in skin conductivity when the subject was indifferent to the type of musical stimulus administered (Davis, 1934). Studies of Music on Respiration Rate One study found an increase in breathing depth/amplitude when there is a greater liking for the music as well as an increase of the music volume (Ries, 1969). Another study tested on pre-mature infants showed an increase in respiration rate with stimulative music, and decrease with sedative music (Lorch et al, 1994). The majority of these studies shows support for the emotivist position. Rickards experiment should be showing positive relationships in all tested areas. A larger group of subjects should be tested on in order to reduce the variability of results. In relation to Rickards experiment and my experience, my EPM would be the Fire Dance piece, and i stand to support the emotivist position as i had exhibited high levels of physiological arousals. Although Rickards experiment was unable to conclude the results of respiratory rate, other studies of respiratory rate (by Ries and Lorch et al) have shown a positive correlation with stimulative music. Although tears were not one of the arousal tested in Rickards experiment, Slobodas survey explains that it is also a type of physiological arousal from EPM. Rickards 4th treatment of administering the subjects own EPM, the study on respiration rate (Ries) and studies on skin conductance all show positive influence of subjective music on the extent of physiological arousal. A common example of the subjectivity of music preference is an event where one individual is highly aroused by a piece of music, but another who had listened to the same music is unaffected (Addis, 1999). However, the skin conductance test (by Davis, 1934) done with subjects who had no particular liking or dislike for the music that was played to them (not stimulating enough), did not produce any significant changes in physiological arousal (related to expectancy theory). This can help explain the reason i found myself the only one affected in the band room that day. To extend our understanding of why in my experience, the music was able to induce beyond emotions, we can first investigate on how common/rare that this kind of experience takes place by conducting surveys on the public. Some interesting survey questions would be: Have you ever experience images coming into your mind when you listen to music?, Are these images related to your past experiences or do they have no relation at all?, one would think that it would be more common and easier for music to access into our episodic memory and draw out a past experience, but what if random images that come purely from the music itself are actually more common? Is one even more common than another? Another idea would be to conduct an experiment that has 2 aims. The first is to observe any relationship between the extent of how emotionally powerful the music is, and images that are brought to them by the music (if any). The second aim is to investigate if music training actually conforms the types of images seen because of the characteristics of music, and this is done by comparing if those with no musical training would experience images that are not related to what the composer is trying to create, more often than their musically trained counterparts . I suggest that this experiment to be done on two separate groups of participants, the musically trained and those with no musical training. The experiment could be done by choosing subjects who have the same character (e.g. introvert or extrovert) so that the music played to them would be emotionally powerful. It has been found that people of similar character like similar music. Subjects chosen should also come from a range of ages (e.g. from 20-60 years old) so that any relationship found would not be limited to one type of generation. Since we have already chosen the subjects according to a certain character, the music that we chose should have different complexities, to cater to different individual EPM (between each individual, and also for those with musical training background) according to Berlynes inverted U shaped preference-complexity graph (Thompson, 2009). In order for us to find out which music played is the most emotionally powerful to each individual, we can test for the extent of physiological arousal (similar to Rickards experiment). The more emotionally powerful the music is, the greater the physiological arousal. For example, the experiment is done on subjects who are introverts whose favourite genre is classical music. The treatment would be a range of classical music from different composers, and with different complexities. The first treatment given should be the least complex and progresses as the next music is played. The experiment conducted must be a blind experiment, i.e. subjects do not have prior knowledge to the aim of the experiment. After presenting each music, subjects would have to answer questions such as How much do you like the music (selecting from a range of 0-10)?, How did you feel when you listen to the music? and Did any images come to your mind? What images did you see? . We can declare the experiment successful, if the results are able to show a pattern where the more emotionally powerful the music, the higher chances of seeing images. Or if we discover that music training do limit musicians ability to experience a variety of images (or even emotions) created as a res ult of certain characteristics of music that had been taught to create a certain scene. This experiment would probably need to be done on a great number of subjects since it is not common for music to produce images in our minds. In a nutshell, music is interpreted in the brain, and the evaluation and appraisal creates emotions by physiological arousals. Different emotions are induced by the discernment of varying sound patterns. The emotivist position is being supported by results from the various research as well as my experience. However, my experience went beyond mere emotions into images produced by music. Future research could be done to better understand how this is caused.

Philosophy and Contemporary Science :: Philosophical Essays

Philosophy and Contemporary Science ABSTRACT: This paper is concerned with some of the differences between philosophy and contemporary science, and with the significance of these differences for the question of the nature of philosophy. Differences of particular interest here are ones that tend to be concealed and ignored through the influence of the professionalist attitudes of contemporary science, an influence that manifests itself in the prevailing normative attitude to the vocabularies and linguistic practices of professional philosophy. It is argued that this normative attitude is questionable in the light of a feature that we take to be essential to philosophy: always being open to the question of its own nature and task. A traditional, and still common, view of the difference between philosophy and the 'special' sciences is based upon the dichotomies universal/particular or general/special. It is said that philosophy deals with the general issues concerning some subject matter while the special sciences take care of the more specific issues. Chemistry concerns itself with properties of various chemical compounds and physics with forces and the motion of bodies, while philosophy deals with the general nature of matter, general questions of causality, determinism, etc. Linguistics deals with special, empirical questions about the nature of language, while philosophy is supposed to discover the general principles that govern all language. The ontological question about 'what there is' in the world, is, in Quine's words, "a shared concern of philosophy and most other non-fiction genres." (1) It is the use of more general or broader categories, such as, for instance, physical objects or classes, that distinguishes the ontological philosopher's interest in what there is from the scientist's. This 'synoptic view' of philosophy, as Moritz Schlick called it, usually also involves the view of philosophy as a science. (2) As physics studies the specific structure of matter, so philosophy studies its general nature. Quine says, for instance, that "Philosophy ... as an effort to get clearer on things, is not to be distinguished in essential points of purpose and method from good or bad science." (3) Like the special sciences, philosophy is also a science, only one of a more general character. But Quine's philosophy represents only one, naturalistic, version of this synoptic view of the nature of philosophy. There are others, both within and outside the analytic tradition. And there is a great deal to be said about the difference between these philosophies, for instance, that the ones in the Kantian tradition are more oriented towards discovering the general conditions of human knowledge and experience, and have less to say about the general nature of reality.