1980 MGM Fire and Fire Codes Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

1980 MGM Fire and Fire Codes - Case Study Example Fig.1 shows the site plan of the hotel. It had 26 floors designed luxuriously. Ground floor had the Casino, restaurants, showrooms and a convention center and upper level of the jai alai fronton. The below grade level had the lower level of the jai alai fronton, a movie theatre, several shops and boutiques, service areas, and underground parking. There were 2076 guest rooms and another 780 guest rooms under construction on the west side of the building. Hotel structure had fire-resistive, protected non-combustible and unprotected non-combustible segments. Both combustible and non-combustible materials were used for interior finish. Fire sprinklers were installed only in some major portions and every area was not protected for fire. Part of the 26th floor, the arcade level, convention areas, showrooms and some restaurants on the casino level were protected while the casino and tower were not protected with fire sprinklers. A manual fire alarm system was present in the hotel. The guest room floors had manual pull stations. The alarm system had bells and public address capability. There was no automatic detection system installed in the building (National Fire Protection Association, 1980).... Security tried to put off the fire but it was so huge that the Clark County fire department had to be contacted at around 7.15 a.m. (National Fire Protection Association, 1980). Fig.2 and Fig. 3 shows the fire magnitude at MGM Grand. Fig. 2 ("MGM", 2008) The MGM Grand - view from the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo Rd Fig 3 ("MGM", 2008) The MGM Grand Fire - looking toward North-East from I-15 According to the fire department fire broke out due to an electrical problem in a combustible covered space next to a pie case in the restaurant. Presence of combustible interior finish and other material like plywood, plastic, paper, wooden decorative members and foam plastic padding of chairs and booths in the Deli helped fire spread very quickly and reach an uncontrollable magnitude. There was no protection in the path for the fire to spread to the Casino. Combustible interior finish, furnishings, other wooden and plastic materials like foam padding and moldings present in the Casino put in more fuel in the fire. Flow of air was also enough for the fire to inflate (National Fire Protection Association, 1980). Within 15 minutes of its detection fire had swallowed up a huge area including the Deli, the Casino and porte cocher on the west end of the building. Heat and smoke rising to the upper floors notified guests of the problem on the ground floors. Helicopters, fire fighters, construction workers and passersby were able to save many people. People who tried their way out through roofs and other exits were rescued while others waited in their rooms for help. Hotel was evacuated completely in 4 hours. 84 people died in the tragic incident. 14 people died on the Casino level, 29 in rooms, 21 in

The future of intrusion prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The future of intrusion prevention - Essay Example The reasons for conducting a risk assessment are (Neumann, 1995; Smith, 1993; Reid and Floyd, 2001; Katzke, 1988; Hancock, 1998; Brewer, 2000): new threats, new technology, new laws and new available safeguards. The issue taken for the risk analysis and threat assessment was the students' violent behaviour at school. The aim of the assessment was to identify the next rebel by developing the profile of a typical rebel. To achieve this, a four spiked model of assessment was designed. This model provides a framework for evaluating a student in order to determine if he or she has the motivation, means, and intent to carry out a proclaimed threat. The assessment is based on the sum of the circumstances known about the student in four major areas. Spike 1 (Personality of the student): Evidence to a student's personality can come from observing behavior when the student expresses characteristics like, managing with conflicts, disappointments, failures, insults, or other stresses encountered in everyday life, anger, frustration, disappointment, humiliation, sadness, or similar feelings. Spike 1 (Personality of student): There may be involuntary signs shown by the student about his inclination to violence in his behavior, thoughts or attitudes. The student might often show out frustration and tries to alienate. There is a collection of acts of "injustice" done against him registered in his mind. The student often shows signs of depression such as lethargy, physical fatigue or lack of interest towards any activity performed. He exhibits selfishness and has self-centred thoughts with great inclination towards entertainment filled with violence. He behaves inhumane and has low tolerance levels. Spike 2 (Family Background): The student might have a damaged relationship with parents. He might have easy access to weapons at home, unlimited non-monitored access to the media and internet. Spike 3 (Academic History): The student might have a low tolerance for punishments and bullying at school. He might be with a school having fixed culture with unsupervised computer access. There might little trust with the teachers. Spike 4 (Social History): The student might have companions who have great inclination to violent activities. He might have unlimited access to internet, computer and media. The knowledge of a student and his attitude towards the use of drugs and alcohol too play a vital role. The Intervention Process An effective intervention process by the school would be to manage the threat effectively by taking the following measures: 1. Inform the students and parents of the school policies 2. Appoint a Co-Ordinator for threat assessment 3. Enforcement of law in three levels - low, medium and high - while the intervention at low level would involve interview with the student and parents; the intervention

Frito Lay Essay Example for Free

Frito Lay Essay For many years computer scientists have developed systems which have complete intelligence. However, not all of these programs are actually intelligent although virtually all of them have inputs which correspond to senses, choices of actions according to response rules, as well as the capability of acting either as graphics or as text outputs. Majority of the artificial intelligent systems have the potential of memorizing experiences as well as the ability to learn. This paper therefore examines decision support systems and the artificial support systems in the way they were made use of in Frito Lay. The paper compares and contrasts the various types of decision support systems and artificial intelligence systems in relation to the ones which were implemented by Frito Lay. Tale of Contents Introduction 4 Decision Support Systems (DSS) 4 Types of Decision Support Systems 6 Artificial Intelligence Systems 8 Types of Artificial Intelligence 9 Conclusion 10 Reference 11 Introduction Many organizations such as Frito Lay would want to have unlimited access to more information which would help them in determining the way they operate and manage their organizations. They would like access to real time and updated information which they can use to run their organizations more effectively. This information helps them compare organizational inputs, processes as well as outcomes during a particular period of time. Still, organizations like Frito Lay need longitudinal information which permits them to anticipate their future organizational needs. The implication here is that organizations need to undertake data-driven decision making; a feat which can be achieved by the use of decision support systems (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). Decision Support Systems (DSS) Organizations have realized that the only guaranteed way to get the right data within the reach of those charged with decision making is to invest in a decision support system as a solution to their needs pertaining to information management. To venture into decision support systems is likely to be more beneficial compared to the cost of such an investment (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). The implication here is that purchasing a decision support system would imply heavy financial and operational commitments since it would involve hardware and software costs (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Decision support systems are very complicated with regards to the way they manage data as well as their technology architecture. This complexity is sometimes aggravated by conflicting information from the field of technology. Still some ambiguity may result from description as well as the inability to clearly differentiate concepts which are related in a particular way like data mart and data warehouses. At times, this confusion could arise from the vendors who may not be willing to differentiate the products they are dealing in with other prevailing systems in the market. This implies that possibly there are various types of decision support systems (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). One of the systems which were embraced by Michael Jordan, the new CEO who took over Frito-Lay on the brink of collapse was the state whereby control of decision making on issues like promotions and product mix were concentrated at the headquarters. This implies that the systems Frito-Lay instituted were those of tightly controlling strategy execution. The system included among others the position of accounts manager while the sales force was segmented. Still the company had a system where handheld computers (HHC) were used as an information system tool in supporting managerial decision making. In other words Frito Lay implemented a system of micromarketing (Harvard Business School, 2001). The other system which was implemented by Frito Lay involved the subdivision of domestic operations into several geographic areas known as the Frito-Lay Market Areas (FLMAs). In this system, the company developed profit and loss accounts which provided approximated costs, revenues and contribution margins before taxes for all the areas (Harvard Business School, 2001). In this regard and in the data generated by these analyses, the company embarked on a process of organization wide quality improvement in which case emphasis was laid on identifying the 10 non-performing FMLAs to be improved. The final system embraced by Frito Lay was the system building information infrastructure. In this case, the company implemented a chain of IT projects under the name Pipeline Project in support of operation process redesign within across the functional units. In line with this system, the company equally implemented a system aimed at redesigning managerial processes; the structures and decisions which directed the way the company operated (Harvard Business School, 2001). A decision support system is not merely a system capable of manipulating data and supporting decision making. For instance, an enhanced user interface which allows querying and analysis of a unit database cannot be considered a decision support system (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Still, a spreadsheet application having advanced ‘if/then’ characteristics does also not qualify to be called a decision support system. At the same time, a database management system (DBMS) which allows a user to select and analyze information within one database for the purposes of reporting and analysis equally does not qualify to be called a decision support system for the simple reason that it does not integrate many databases (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). Types of Decision Support Systems Data warehouse and data mart are the two terms which have always been confused with decision support systems. However, these terms are different although they could be similar in terms of terminology and concept. A data warehouse is a central repository where all information or a proportion of the information collected by an enterprise is collected (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 12). What is emphasized by data warehousing is the storage of data from various sources though it does not in general concern itself with the intended user the way a decision support would. This implies that data warehousing plays the role of querying and reporting large combinations of data as opposed to querying and analyzing data. (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). In addition, the core purpose of data warehouse is to permit access to historical or transactional data in their fundamental format such as tables as opposed to distilling data into some format which allows for in-depth analysis. A data mart is more or less similar to a data warehouse in the sense that it acts as a repository for data, although such data could be limited in scope depending on the subject, function or even user group (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 12). One component of a decision support system is data quality. In fact data can is said to be the foundation of any decision support system meaning that high quality data is useful for decision-making as seen in the case of Frito Lay. Besides the data should be valid reliable and timely (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). It is important to note that as is applicable to any data-based system, the quality of information generated by the decision support system is influenced by the quality of data which originally went into the system. Thus, probably the single most important way of ensuring that high quality managerial data is collected and maintained is to consistently apply standard terms and business guidelines all over the organization (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 16). The other type pf decision support system is the hardware, software and the data management procedures. As seen in Frito Lay, a decision support system is not a unitary piece of technology like a database or even a network (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 17). Instead, it is a system that incorporates and integrates disparate data sources with the intention of permitting decision-makers to have access to and store data in a way useful to them. Therefore, the technology associated with a DSS would be influenced by the preexisting technology and data architecture of the organization. Artificial Intelligence Systems As earlier stated, artificial intelligence systems in most cases have the capacity of storing experiences along with the ability of learning. Occasionally, the brain fails to do the action instantly though it makes use of the imagination it has. The brain identifies a response criterion and establishes what situation arises from the action (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). It then identifies again an action pertaining to this new situation and established the most likely outcome (Robot, 2007). Therefore it can choose not only a response criterion but also a complete plan of action. This calls for the programmer to design various functions of the intelligent system as program functions which are also known as sub programs. A robot as an example of an intelligent system operates in an interesting way. The robot senses transmit information to the brain where the brain verifies if it has concept for the information it has received (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Otherwise, it creates a composite concept having the different sense information as partitions. What follows is the brain building up the prevailing situation from these concepts. A different domain of the brain checks in the memory to find out any response criterion for this condition before selecting the appropriate response rule and sending the action to the limbs for action (Robot, 2007). During the beginning of the ‘life’ of the robot, its memory is void of concepts and responses. However, each time the robot experiences something; it stores a new response criterion having the present situation (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). This implies that when the brain is not active, that is when it is ‘asleep’ it evaluates those response criteria while making generalizations implying that it is now equipped with response criteria which can be applied to a variety of situations. Questions have been asked pertaining to the possibility of using artificial neural nets to achieve the functioning of the brain (Robot, 2007). However, for a computer, concepts and response criterion achieves more efficiency than neural nets. Just writing a computer program which is an intelligent system and running within a computer with an output on a screen is not sufficient. It is important to build complete systems capable of acting in the natural environment of the human being. Apparently, to be of use such a program would need to have an intelligence similar in a way to that of man. This would signify the need for limbs and senses in order to enable it have same experiences and develop concepts for action similar in a way to that of man (Robot, 2007). Types of Artificial Intelligence Artificial or machine intelligence is the kind of ‘knowledge’ exhibited by any gadget manufactured by man. In most cases, it is hypothetically used to imply computers meant for general purposes though it could equally refer to scientific investigation. It could also refer to the intelligence of an artificial device (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). What need to be noted however are the various types of artificial intelligence that are available. Strong artificial intelligence is concerned with creating some kind of intelligence capable of reasoning. Reasoning in this case being the ability to evaluate and derive a conclusion a certain premise (EconomicExpert, 2009). The other is the weak artificial intelligence which is concerned with creating computer based intelligence capable of reasoning and solving problems on a limited basis. Such a device would at times operate as if it was intelligence but it wouldn’t have true intelligence (EconomicExpert, 2009). Testing such a device would require a turing test; an idea of testing the capability of a machine to undertake a conversation like man. Artificial intelligence has several fields; one of which is natural languages. Natural languages are used to draw a distinction between the languages spoken by man and the languages used in computer programming (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Conclusion From this analysis it is evident that decision support systems are increasingly becoming important in modern day organizations such as Frito Lay. Depending on the configurations they have, decision support systems are powerful tools which organizations can embrace to address variety of questions about organizational performance, management, operations and policy-making (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 14). For instance Frito Lay should embrace an appropriate IT infrastructure changes as a shift from the traditional management reporting procedures the company has long been undertaking. This implies that the company implemented an IT strategy aimed at delivering more focused and timely information which was informed by an improved understanding of the business processes. Reference EconomicExpert. (2009). Artificial Intelligence Retrieved January 13 2009 from http://www. economicexpert. com/a/Artificial:intelligence. htm Gregor, S. , and Benbasat, I. (1999). Explanations from intelligent systems: Theoretical foundations and implications for practice, Mis Quarterly 23 (4) pp. 497-530. Harvard Business School. (2001). Frito-Lay, Inc. : a Strategic Transition, 1987-1992 (Abridged). The McGraw-Hill Companies National Forum on Education Statistics. (2006). Forum Guide to Decision. Support Systems: A Resource for Educators. U. S. Department of Education, Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics, pp. 1-34. Retrieved January 13, 2009 from http://nces. ed. gov/pubs2006/2006807. pdf. Robot, A. H. (2007). Artificial Intelligence Systems. New Horizons Press. Retrieved January 13, 2009 from http://www. intelligent-systems. com. ar/intsyst/artis. htm

Atonement By Ian McEwan | Summary

Atonement By Ian McEwan | Summary The fourth novel that I chose was Atonement by Ian McEwan. In the introduction, a young girl name Briony is producing a play to put on for her brother. Brionys mother, sister, and three cousins are introduced as well as a family friend and employee Robbie Turner. Throughout the day Brionys attempts to put the play together fail, and she eventually gives up on the endeavor. She witnesses an interesting encounter between Robbie and her sister Cecelia that complicates the adults relationship and moves the plot forward. 2. Rising Action After the relationship between Robbie and Cecelia, and the curious and scheming nature of Briony, is established, chaos ensues. Briony intercepts an intimate letter from Robbie to Cecelia, and from then on thinks that he is crazy and wants to hurt her sister. To make matters worse, she witnesses them in a position that to her, looks like he attacked Cecelia. On a hunt for two of the cousins that ran away, someone rapes the eldest cousin. Briony finds the victim first and immediately assigns the blame to Robbie. Robbie and Cecelia are thus torn apart through the rest of the book, while Robbie gets sent to prison for a crime he didnt commit and then off to war. The book follows the two lovers and their letters to each other. It describes their brief meetings and their estrangement to Cecelias family following the betrayal. 3. Climax The climax of this book is when Briony goes to see her sister after the many years of conflict. Briony goes to see Cecelia without knowing whether Robbie is dead or alive, or if they have seen each other since he went to war. During their meeting the reader finds out that Robbie and Cecelia are living in her apartment and are finally together again. 4. Falling Action After the dramatic moments of Briony and Robbies meeting, the book slows down. Robbie and Cecelia make their demands of Briony and the rest of the family to make atonement. The rapist from the beginning is revealed, and their lives at that time are resolved. 5. Resolution In the resolution, Briony goes back to her familys estate many years later for her birthday. Some young relatives put on her old play for her at the birthday party. In the last chapter of the book, you find out that the previous chapters are the pages of Brionys book, her final atonement, and that the ending where Robbie and Cecelia end up together isnt what really happened. Robbie and Cecelia both died in the war in the same year, and Briony never confronted them. Reader Response Journal #6 Describe your reading of The Wifes Tale. Was this story confusing? Were you surprised by how it ended? What phrases or sentences did the author use as clues to help you understand the story and its plot twists? Was this a good story? Why or why not? At first, I thought that this story was confusing. I assumed at the beginning that they were already human, so when the husband started getting bigger the fear in the other characters didnt make sense. Then the wife described all of the hair coming off as he grew and that didnt make sense either, unless he was a very hairy man. The wife used various clues though to help me understand what was happening. She specified that he stood up on two legs, which would be insignificant if he were human before, and then she started howling, which kind of gave her away, as well as the snapping at the branch. Also before that the story said that the change only happens in the dark of the moon, which is significant of a type of curse or werewolf. She also talked about her sisters mane, and described her community as a pack. I had a feeling that the husband eventually died just from the context at the beginning, but it seemed a little sad when I read the ending that he died. I thought this was a goo d story because of the twist and because it made me reread to figure out what was going on. It definitely keeps your attention, but the ending is sad and kind of gross and typically I dont like endings like that. Reader Response Journal #7 Describe one or two of the themes in The Growin of Paul Bunyan. Use examples from the story to show how the author presented these themes. One of the themes that I got out of the story is the need for people to sympathize with each other. When overcoming differences or conflicts in life, trying to view things from the other persons standpoint is invaluable. In the story, Paul Bunyan assumes several things about Johnny Appleseed; one of them being that Johnny had challenged him. The author showed that by assuming, he did more harm than good. The affect that Paul Bunyans actions had on Johnny is expressed when Johnny said, All the rest o my dreams is so much kindlin wood, so why dont you take this an see if its so easy to make it grow. Only when Johnny challenged Paul Bunyan to grow a tree did he finally value the hard work and effort that Johnny had put into growing all of the other trees that he cut down. The author shows this when Paul Bunyans tree dies and you see how much it affected him; he yelled, Johnny! Johnny! Why didnt you tell me how much it could hurt? Now that Paul Bunyan had experienced what Johnny went thr ough, when he saw that Johnny had turned his axe into a giant tree, he appreciated the creation and he never cut down another tree again. If we put ourselves in the other persons shoes when trying to solve a problem, overcoming it becomes easier and many potential trials are avoided in the process. I think that is one of the themes in the story. The Growin of Paul Bunyan The Growin of Paul Bunyan obviously has some very powerful themes. This assignment will help you work through the story, its characters, and its messages. In the Venn diagram below, describe the differences and similarities between Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Put the differences in the areas of the circles that dont overlap and the similarities in the area where they do overlap. Work hard Good at what they do. Like Trees Likes a Challenge Is Impulsive Likes to cut down trees Thinks Ahead Is Non-confrontational Likes to grow trees In the chart below, describe the physical characteristics of both Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. (You must include at least five things about each character.) EMBED Word.Picture.8 When Paul thinks hes won the contest with Johnny, why is he so disappointed with Johnnys reaction? Paul gets upset because he wants Johnny to admit that he won the challenge and that hes stronger than Johnny. He thinks that growing them is as easy as cutting them down, thus he won the contest. Describe four things Paul does to help this little seed grow. a. Paul runs back and forth 200 miles to carry water in his hands for the tree. b. He moves the rabbits away from the tree and carries many of them to the stream with him so they wont get the seed. c. He protects it from the cold by covering it with his hands and breathing on it. d. He shields it from the sun during the day. What happens to Pauls ax? Johnny turns it into a giant evergreen tree. What do you think is the meaning of the title, The Growin of Paul Bunyan? I think that the title is symbolic of Paul Bunyans dynamic change that he makes in the story. It is used not only in the sense that Paul Bunyan grows something, but that he grows himself. He becomes a better person after he learns a lesson from Johnny Appleseed. Do you think that this title gives the readers clues about the themes of the story? If so, how? The title of the story allows the reader to make inferences about what the theme of the story is. The fact that Paul Bunyan is already huge and couldnt grow much bigger physically implies that it is a different kind of growth. You could infer that the play on words suggests that the theme is that physical strength or size is not what is important, but it is the size of the inner person. How do you think a person who relies on the lumber industry for a living would respond to The Growin of Paul Bunyan? Why? I think that there are certain parts of the story that theyd agree with, and certain parts that would seem unreasonable to them. Its easy to agree with Paul Bunyan when he said that without logging people wouldnt have houses and many other materials that people use every day. But there is a reality to what Johnny Appleseed said about eventually not having any more trees to cut down. I dont think that the story was so much against logging as it was against cutting trees down for fun or to prove something. What do you think is the main theme of this story? I think that the main theme of the story is that it isnt physical strength that makes someone better than another, but that the most important thing is a persons inner qualities and their ability to grown and improve. What clues in the story helped you determine this theme? The last sentence in the story helped me to determine the theme. It explained what Paul Bunyan learned from the whole experience: A little man who chops somethin down is still just a little man, but theres nobody bigger than a man who learns to grow. Johnny showed that growing on the inside counts for more than physical strength by saying, Its always easier to chop somethin down than to make it grow. 11. Are there any minor themes that you noticed in the story? I noticed several minor themes throughout the story, such as: Having a talent doesnt make you a hard worker or a good person. To solve problems you have to see things from other peoples perspective. Sometimes we take things for granted until theyre gone. Theme Paper #1 By Kelsey Davis One of the six novels that I read was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It is 229 pages and takes place in the late 1800s in London. One of the major themes in this book is: the pursuit of pleasures and beauty does not result in a successful and happy life. This novel is about a beautiful young man, Dorian Gray, who becomes friends with two men: Basil Hallward, an artist, and Lord Henry Wotton. Basil becomes infatuated with Dorian upon seeing him for the first time, feeling that Dorian Gray will forever change his art and become his muse. Dorian has a similar effect on Lord Henry, who immediately claims Dorian as a lifelong friend. Lord Henry and his opinions and philosophies on living life fascinate Dorian; and when Basil paints a portrait of him, he, like Narcissus, falls in love with his own beauty. Under the leadership of Lord Henry, and the giving of his soul for eternal youth and beauty, he lives a selfish and debauched life, creating the theme for this story. Throughout this novel, there is much dialogue between Lord Henry and Dorian. The discussions that they have and how these affect Dorian establish a consistent theme throughout the book. Lord Henry continually gives Dorian the twisted advice to pursue the fulfillment of ones senses and to satisfy every whim. During their first meeting, Lord Henry says such things as: Youth is the one thing worth having. Be always searching for new sensations. But we never get back our youth . . . we degenerate into hideous puppets haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to. In response to this guidance, Dorian becomes less and less sensitive to others and more and more self-concerned and evil. He retains his beauty and youth while Basils portrait ages and becomes corrupt, bearing the sins of his soul. During the next twenty years, Dorians reputation gets worse, and his relations with others become scandal. Basil confronts Dorian about the things hes done and encourages him to change. After revealing the dreadful secret of his youthfulness, Dorian murders Basil. The sequence of events after Basils death reveal Dorians unhappiness and his dissatisfaction with the way his life has turned out. He tries to convince himself that he can change, but realizes, with the help of Lord Henry, that he cant and that his attempts would be out of vanity. He thus arrives at one conclusion: destroy the painting that had destroyed him and be rid of his last piece of conscience. As he does so the ugliness and age of the portrait go to where they belonged all along: to the living Dorian. Corrupt, ugly, and alone, Dorian kills himself. In this Hedonistic novel, Oscar Wilde shows how relying on superficial qualities leads to unhappiness. Dorians regrets are clear when he says, There is no one with whom I would not change places, . . . The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am. From personal experience, trying to pursue every sensation to the full may create a temporary happiness, but it is void of true fulfillment and satisfaction. Even in small actions, seeking self-gratification repels others and spoils good qualities. Theme Paper #2 By Kelsey Davis The fourth book that I read was Atonement by Ian McEwan, which is 351 pages. A major theme that I think the author was trying to get across is the gravity and significance of our actions. Atonement is about the consequences that came from a little girls accusation. One of the main characters, Briony, blames her sisters boyfriend for a terrible crime. Though she was a young girl and was relatively sincere in her accusation, she made a decision that affected the future of her family, and most importantly the accused. The novel follows the lives of three characters, Briony, Robbie (the accused), and her sister Cecelia. After Robbie gets accused of raping Brionys cousin, he gets sent to prison and then to war. Through the years, the love and relationship between Cecelia and Robbie is strained from their separation. Their intense pain and alienation from their family is described in the book vividly. The misery that Robbie goes through starts in chapter fifteen, which begins, There were horrors enough, but it was the unexpected detail that threw him and afterward would not let him go. Robbie later recalls the events before prison, before the war, before the sight of a corpse became a banality, and dreams of a future when he and Cecelia would no longer be isolated. In the book, Cecelia and Robbie are both killed in the war before they are able to fully reunite. In the last chapter, Briony is an old woman. She has written a book about her story, about Robbie and Cecelia, and offers it as her final atonement. In her book, she rewrites the ending of the lovers tale, so that they end up together and she is able to make her peace with them. Obviously from the way she wrote her book, she was never able to confront Robbie or Cecelia and thus somewhat absolve her guilt. She calls herself a coward for being unable to confront her sister after Robbies death. Her regrets are expressed at the end of the novel when she explains that in her lifetime she hasnt traveled very far. She says, Or rather, Ive made a huge digression and doubled back to my starting place. In the end, Briony can never be forgiven, and she takes her guilt with her to the grave. Her actions, even as a child, were very costly. She had to live with the fact that what happened to Robbie and Cecelia was because of her childish assumptions and her lies. I think this is the strongest theme of the book: that that we are all responsible for our actions, and, if our actions are bad, no one can take the blame or absolve the guilt for what we do but us. Anyone who has a healthy conscience knows that the bad things we do, intentional or not, are the hardest to forget. However unnatural and painful that is, it is the truth. Ian McEwan reminds his readers that our past and our decisions make us who we are. Theme Paper #3 By Kelsey Davis The book that I chose for my sixth reading was A Farewell to Arms, a 332-page book by Earnest Hemingway. This novel is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of an American ambulance driver in the Italian army during WWI, Lieutenant Henry. This story contains a lot of dialogue, so a prominent theme can be hard to interpret. However, the philosophy of life that Henry has throughout the story develops into its own theme. Through his beliefs and actions, Lieutenant Henry establishes a philosophy: life has no order, and no ultimate purpose. You have to make the most of it using your own personal values and find your own meaning. This is a major theme of the book. Henrys approach to life can be seen in his interactions with his friends and lovers. Also in his opinions of the war and of religion you can see evidence of his philosophy. Several times in the beginning chapters Henry shows his tendency towards instant gratification. When he takes his leave in chapter three, instead of taking a healthy vacation, he spends his days and nights drunk and in the company of prostitutes. In the beginning of his relationship with a nurse he states, I did not care what I was getting into . . .. I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards . . .. Nobody had mentioned what the stakes were. It was all right with me. Henry didnt have a total lack of integrity or morality in the book; this is shown by his loyalty to Catherine and his care for the priest, Rinaldi, and the soldiers beneath him. In many instances though, he showed that he didnt care about or c onsider outcomes. His drinking, for example, eventually resulted in jaundice but he didnt decrease his habit much. Henry didnt believe in a God, in an established order, or in ensured justice. The tragic events in Henrys life reaffirm his convictions of the hostility of life and strengthen endurance when under trial. He establishes his own order by sticking to courage and love. When he faces death from his own army, he escapes and flees to Switzerland with Catherine where they find happiness within each other. In the book, the war and Catherines death help to shape Henrys attitude towards life, and thus, the theme. Parts of Henrys philosophy I agree with. I admire his endurance, and his value of life, especially in light of the fact that he felt no higher meaning or purpose. I like that when he fell in love with Catherine, though he still cared for his responsibilities, he always did what made them both happy. I pity Henry though. Catherine was the only thing that made him truly happy; he couldnt be happy and find purpose on his own. Once she died he was alone, left with the same unordered universe he had before. All the meaning he found in life was in things that could be taken away from him. In the end, what sense of hope does that leave?

Fight Club - When Does Life Have No Purpose? :: essays research papers

David Fincher’s Fight Club is a narrated movie that explains the journey of the narrator’s mid-life crisis; the movie begins with the ending scene, a microscopic view of a gun inside of the narrator’s mouth. All of the particles and germs are very visible to give the viewer an idea of what to expect. This scene suggests a dirty, winding, and emotional journey that the narrator will take. The narrator at first finds himself with insomnia. At the same time he is obsessed with consumer goods–he buys complete sets of everything. He works for a major automobile company as an agent who decides whether the cost of a recall is cheap enough to make profit. His job significantly sets up his depressed life. Day after day he travels to examine cars in accidents with remains of human dead burned to the seats. It is his job by which he feels so burdened, and he seems to try to get away from it by buying furniture. The story revolves around these three examples. The gun is full of bacteria; furniture is bought by money, a dirty obsession, and his job deals with car accidents. The Narrator has surrounded himself with consumer goods to occupy and satisfy himself, but when they can no longer satisfy him he breaks down emotionally. Although David Fincher put significance on soap as being a major part of the movie, it doesn’t relate to every instance that it should. In this movie, soap is used to cleanse the body of luxury goods. Fight Club is all about eliminating things that aren’t necessary. Soap cleanses, and several times soap is not used. When they are fighting in the fight club, blood is a dominant image. It is a sign of being able to let go of all your material goods, if you can let go of your physical health. Here soap has no significance; The Narrator, however, uses soap in what could be his possible financial future. By selling this highly profitable soap he can make an easy living, but it would change nothing in his life. The significance of soap with fighting, therefore, is not easily visible. This is what makes visible the fact that fighting releases anger. If blood is noteworthy and is not to be cleaned off, then it is accepted. The narrator soon finds himself with a severe case of insomnia. He describes it: â€Å"with insomnia, nothing is real.

Failure of Democracy Essay -- American History

Failure of Democracy According to David Herbert Donald in the article Why They Impeached Andrew Johnson, â€Å"Rarely has democratic government so completely failed as during the Reconstruction decade.† As voiced by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, the nation is a â€Å"government of the people, by the people, and for the people.† However, during the period of reconstruction, the government was far from this philosophy. Public opinion was all but ignored, and all matters were decided by either President or Congress. Southern voice in government policy was essentially nonexistent, and the former states were compelled by military rule to accept northern laws. Lincoln understood that in a democratic nation, the will of the public was very important, and he strove to act in accordance with their opinions. However, with the death of Lincoln, came a temporary end to these democratic principles. Andrew Johnson’s fundamental flaw was his inability to associate with the public and make decisions that were countenanced by a majority of the population. He was overly concerned with a swift integration of the former Confederacy into the Union. He acted spontaneously and irrationally without regard for other’s beliefs. â€Å"Johnson placed his own judgment over that of the overwhelming majority of northern voters, and this was a great error morally and tactically† (Garraty 421). Another mistake of Johnson was his alienation of the Republicans, the dominant party at the time. He consistently failed to cooperate with party leaders and agree on mutual resolutions to urgent problems that necessitated action. Johnsonian Reconstruction avoided the most controversial topic at the time – black rights. Nearly all Republicans, ranging from moder... ...uction era, democracy in the United States was completely unsuccessful, and most of the reason for this failure can be attributed to Andrew Johnson. A democratic government is meant to be indirectly run by the people, thus it is essential for their views to be considered. However, Johnson completely disregarded their opinions, and strove in vain to accomplish his own objectives. By doing this he alienated potential allies and his entire plan for reconstruction was disastrous. â€Å"Andrew John’s greatest weakness was his insensitivity to public opinion. In contrast to Lincoln, who said, ‘Public opinion in this country is everything,’ Johnson made a career of battling the popular will† (Donald 4). Johnson’s lack of political sagacity, his inability to cooperate with others, and his indifference to the will of the majority ultimately led to the downfall of democracy.

A Trip To A Water Park Essay

?Everybody probably feels the need to set aside all the stress and just be free. Sozo Water Park is a place I go to once in a while when I feel this way. Sozo Water Park, or as I call it, â€Å"adventure world†, is a place filled with a lot of fun and excitement. It is somewhere that gives me memories of good times with my family and friends. Although this place might be an ordinary amusement park for some people, it is one of my favorite places of all time. We got off our car and climbed up the big set of steps. After a while, we arrived at the ticket booths and saw people waiting in never-ending line. My family joined the line and soon, it was finally our turn. We got a ticket each for my mom, my dad, my brother, and me. I held the ticket tightly in my hands and went through the security check. It took a while for all my family members — cousins, uncles, and aunts included — to get through. Finally, we all entered. I saw terrifying roller coasters, entertaining games, and huge souvenir shops all around me. The place was very busy since it was crowed with people. I knew it would be an exciting day. All my cousins were big fans of roller coaster rides. I never rode a real roller coaster before, so I just watched others get on. Even though I wasn’t riding, I still got the butterflies in my stomach. Then, as everyone came off the ride, I asked if we could go to the Hurricane Harbor, which was the water park. However, my cousins weren’t done. They said they had to ride the Twister with me. So they forced me into the ride. It seemed endless, but it came to a stop. I got off and everything was spinning. Although the ride made me a little dizzy, I really enjoyed it. Soon, I was able to ride most of the smaller rides there. Finally, it was time for the water park, the part that I was waiting for the most. We went through the long tunnel and reached the Hurricane Harbor. I saw that the whole place was filled with water slides and pools. My cousins and I changed into our bathing suits and rushed into the wave pool. The water was cool and the weather was great. We all jumped when the wave came at us. After a while, we came out and went to the big water slides at the far corner. We carried a big tube up the stairs and waited in line. A few minutes later, it was our turn. We put the tube down and sat on it. At the count of three, our tube started to move down the slide. It was dark in there and we moved fast. We screamed as loud as we could. After a few moments, we came to a drop and fell into the pool of water. We all laughed as we got off the tube†¦.