Australian Conscription in Vietnam War Essay Example for Free

Australian Conscription in Vietnam War Essay The conscription issue during the second Indo – China war in the 1960’s tore apart the fabric of Australian society and resulted in divisions in all sections of the community. There were many reasons for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, including the allegiance commitments of South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The introduction of conscription illustrates the main purpose of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The conscription issues and the war itself caused social division in reaction to the Vietnam War. In 1964 compulsory National Service was introduced under the National Service Act. The Defence Act was amended in May 1965 to provide that National Servicemen could be obliged to serve overseas, a provision that had been applied only once before – during World War Two. Paragraph one The Australian government supported the USA involvement in the Vietnam War, and Australia felt it was imperative that the North Vietnam have a proper defensive treaty, as a number of other countries felt the same way, so SEATO was created to deal with this situation. SEATO was a much stronger agreement to support Australia’s security needs in the Pacific. It also helped to highlight the growing division between Australia and Britain and the new dependence on the United States (US). † (N/A, The ANZUS Treaty and SEATO Alliance, 2013, Skwirk. com. au Interactive Schooling) Australia joined the SEATO because it could support Australia in the Pacific. As America joined in the Vietnam War, A ustralia supported them to join the war as well. The Australian government feared the idea of communism overtaking their nation, this fear lead to the decision of forcing their young men to be conscripted to join the war in South Vietnam. Conscription was a tremendous issue for the families of the young men who fought in the war because many males were being conscripted sent into the Vietnam War without any choice or opinion. As a result of the fear of communism, Australia decided to support the US to join the Vietnam War and fight for the South Vietnam. SEATO was one of the reasons that Australia joined the war, because it was a much stronger agreement to support Australian security of the needs in the Pacific, Australia joined the SEATO to against the North Vietnam. As Australia got involved the war, the conscription has leaded to the depressions and social divisions in the Australian society. Paragraph two The purpose of the second Indo-China war of conscription was to avoid communism spreading to Australia. This caused Australian men and women to become infuriated and create groups against conscription. Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) was keen to get more supporters of his actions in Vietnam, to give them legitimacy. This was during the Cold War, both North and South Vietnam tried to gain the moral upper hand over the other in a way that does not happen today. â€Å"You have in us [the Australian Liberal delegation] not merely an understanding friend but one staunch in the belief of the need for your presence in Vietnam. We are not here because of our friendship, we are here because, like you, we believe it is right to be there and, like you, we believe American forces should stay there as long as it seems necessary to achieve the purpose of the South Vietnamese Government and the purpose that we join in formulating and progressing together. And so, sir, in the lonelier and perhaps even more disheartening moments which come to any national leader, I hope there will be a corner of your mind and heart which takes cheer from the fact that you have an admiring friend, a staunch friend that will be all the way with LBJ. ( Wikipedia, A Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In History That Never Occurred Today, 2004, Today In Alternate History) From this speech -‘All The Way with LBJ’, to show that LBJ tried to convince other Australia to join the war with them together, and America knew that Australia would support them, and Australia had training teams in Vietnam before 1965, just as the Am erica did. The main reason that Australia was afraid of the communism was the domino theory, the countries of South-East Asia was like dominoes. If one ‘fell’ to communism, this would lead to the fall of another, and so on until all were ruled by communists. It is evidenced that Australia was very fearful of communism and of growing Asian power, by offering Australia’s full unquestioning support of the United States (US). Australia’s foreign policy is basically to secure protection by cuddling up to a more powerful friend; since World War Two America has been Australia’s powerful friend. Australia supported America by helping them in conflicts such as joining the Vietnam War was one of the prices that Australia paid for the protection. Paragraph three Conscription led to people combining together and creating groups to revolt against the conscription and Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The social divisions appeared in all sections of the Australian community. Conscription started as choosing 20-year-old males in Australia in 1964, but then it turned into conscripting teenagers. In 1964 compulsory National Service for 20-year-old males was introduced under the National Service Act. The selection of conscripts was made by a sortation or lottery draw based on date of birth, and conscripts were reduced to give two years’ continuous full-time service, followed by a further three years on the active reserve list. Young men who were subject to the conscription lottery also formed their own anti-conscription organization, the Youth Campaign Against Conscription. Like Save Our Sons, it spread to other states – New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. (Wikipedia, 11 March 2013, Conscription in Australia) In 1965 a group of concerned Australian women who had ‘lost’ their husbands and sons joined together and created the Save Our Sons (S. O. S) which was established in Sydney with other branches later formed in Wollongong, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle and Adelaide. In the same year, young men who were subject to the conscription lottery also created their own organization the Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC). One of the social divisions would be conscription affect people’s daily routine, and people were being anti-war and anti-conscription. Overall, the governments’ fear of communism spreading into Australia was why they chose to continue supporting the America. This is most likely because the war and conscription were mostly fused into one without taking account of a nuanced position that addresses the two issues separately. The importance of keeping the two issues separate is that the Government would have been more credible if it had simply pursued the war and not sent conscript. Conclusion In conclusion, conscription issue during the Vietnam War in the 1960’s put Australian society into the social divisions in all parts of Australian community, especially in 1966 people started to stand out and combined into organizations to against it. The reason that they supported and followed the United States (US) to join the Vietnam War would be Australian Government was afraid of the spreading of the communism. Australia supported the defence of the people in South Vietnam and intellectual consistency to accept the use of conscription in a war that was supposed to be fought in defence of freedom; instead the war got extended.

Literature on natural disasters and climate change

Literature on natural disasters and climate change Natural disasters and global climate change Introduction The research topic is natural disasters and global climate change. Changes in climate not only affect average temperatures, but also extreme temperatures, increasing the likelihood of weather-related natural disasters. If global climate change causes the global average temperature to rise, there will be less cold weather, and a greater probability of hot and record hot weather. An increase in temperature variability will extend the extremes of temperature, both cold and hot. It is a globalization problem happened in all over the world. The global climate change and natural disasters have impacts on natural resources and the environment. The following three articles will give a more detail understanding of the natural disasters and global climate change. Article One Article: Climate change and natural disasters – integrating science and practice to protect health Authors: Rainer Sauerborn and Kristie Ebi Search Engine: Library resource Search Terms: Climate change natural disasters Reference: Sauerborn, R., Ebi, K. (2012, December 17). Climate change and natural disasters: integrating science and practice to protect health. Glob Health Action, p. Vol 5 Objectives of the authors: this article focuses on the hydro-meteorological disasters, and takes the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a start point to explore on ‘Health and Health Systems Impact of Natural Disasters’. Based on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disaster to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) and developing research to answer questions: if there are some types of extreme events become more frequent, severe, and longer in the past decades; the relative contribution of climate change to the various types of extreme events; how can the health community coordinate and cooperate with the climate and development communities to protect health during and after natural disasters (Sauerborn Ebi, 2012). And examine, to which extent climate change increase their frequency and intensity. Methods Theory: Based on the IPCC report, and review of IPCC-projections of climate-change related extreme weather events and related literature on health effects. The authors present the result that climate change is likely to increase the frequency, intensity, duration, and spatial distribution of a range of extreme weather events in the next decades. Summary of the article: In the article, authors start by clarify ‘natural disaster’ and lay out the conceptual framework. Sauerborn and Ebi state that human activities influence the frequency, intensity, duration, and spatial extent of some extreme weather and climate events, only the geophysical disasters have not been influenced by human action (Sauerborn Ebi, 2012). Authors look into the contribution of climate change to hydro-meteorological and climatological disasters and the health impacts of these events, and explore the reduction of climate change on both shorter and longer time scale. Sauerborn and Ebi also found the impacts of similar strength events in different regions have different consequences (Sauerborn Ebi, 2012). After answer the three questions above, the authors made a conclusion that there is a need for strengthened collaboration between climate scientists, the health researchers and policy-makers as well as the disaster community to jointly develo p adaptation strategies to protect human. Overall reaction: This article has a clear focus on the contribution of climate change to hydro-meteorological disaster, and gives concise information by answer some key point questions. Based on many reliable resources to explore the special volume, explain with clear tables, make the theory easily understand. Article Two Article: Climate-related natural disasters, economic growth, and armed civil conflict Authors: Drago Bergholt and PÃ ¤ivi Lujala Search Engine: list of references Search Terms: climate-related natural disasters Reference: Bergholt D, Lujala P. (2012). Climate-related natural disasters, economic growth, and armed civil conflict. Journal of Peace Research. 49 (1), 147-162. Objectives of the authors: In this article, authors highlight the climate change may be the most serious challenge we need faced in the future and explore the consequences of climate-induced natural disasters on economic growth with the econometric methods, authors also study on the impact of these disasters related to the onset of armed civil on economic growth by analysis the climate-related disasters affect economic growth and armed civil conflicts during the period 1980–2007(Bergholt Lujala, 2012). Methods Theory: The article begins by showing some example of natural disasters had happened, and these impacts for people and countries development. And the authors also state ‘global warming is expected to lead to an increase in both the severity and the frequency of climate-related disasters’ (Bergholt Lujala, 2012). The authors discuss the effect of climate-related disasters at the economic aspect with recent research. Then the authors present their hypotheses-‘H1: Climate-related disasters have a negative effect on economic growth; H2: negative income growth shocks caused by climate-related disasters increase the likelihood of armed civil conflict onset’ (Bergholt Lujala, 2012). Using Econometric methods with data help analysis the hypotheses, and with consideration on the variables, such as economic growth and armed civil conflict, only use the data during the period 1980-2007. The authors assess the results and found that ‘climate-related natura l disasters have a negative effect on growth and that the impact is considerable’ (Bergholt Lujala, 2012). This has two important implications: ‘if climate change increases the frequency or makes weather-related natural disasters more severe, it is an economic concern for countries susceptible to these types of hazards’ (Bergholt Lujala, 2012). Summary of the article: The article looks at climate change and natural disaster from the economic perspective, the main objective of this study is to investigate social impacts caused by different climate-related natural disasters. Discover the effects of hydro meteorological, climatological and geophysical events on economic growth in the short run. Article provides quantitative evidence of a negative causal effect on short-run economic growth form the number of people affected by climatic disasters. And prove the climate-related disasters change important factors for production and income, and reduce overall economic performance. Moreover, different from the studies of Collier Hoeffler (2004) and Miguel, Satyanath Sergenti (2004), authors found when the economic growth impact by the climatic factors, it does not systematically relate to armed civil conflict onset. Overallreaction: This article provides many data about the climate disasters and economic growth, and proves the climate-related disasters impact for the economic performance. However, after all the data collected, there is no evidence to prove the climate-related disasters lead to more armed conflicts. Article Three Chapter: Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: Key challenges and ways forward Book: Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: An Asian Perspective Editors: Juan M. Pulhin, Rajib Shaw and Joy Jacqueline Pereira Search Engine: database Search Terms: Climate change global natural disasters Reference: http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.lincoln.ac.nz/lib/lincoln/docDetail.action?docID=10445342 Objectives of the authors: This book introduces the climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in an Asian perspective. It focuses on community-based risk management, urban environmental management, human security, water community, risk communication, climate change adaptation, climate disaster resilience and community-based practices. The book connects academic research to the real examples, strengthen the relations between the environment, disaster and the community. It also provides specific guides to the demanding academic analysis with community practices and evidences. This chapter focuses on the key challenges and ways forward of the climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Methods Theory: This chapter claims that ‘Climate change is one of the major challenges confronting human society in the 21st century’ (Ericksen O’Brein, 2007; Adger, Lorenzoni, O’Brien, 2009). And with mounting evidence, without effective address, he regions sustainable development and poverty-reduction efforts would be seriously frustrate by climate change. Summary of the chapter: Climate change is one of the major challenges confronting human society in the 21st century (Ericksen O’Brein, 2007; Adger, Lorenzoni, O’Brien, 2009). Due to the climate change, many parts of Asia have been through serious natural disasters. It is also alter water shortages in many areas, which block the agricultural production, and threatening food security and energy supply from hydroelectric source. A number of issues and challenges have been identified and categorized into three general types: 1) differences in functional, spatial, and temporal scale; 2) mismatched regarding norms such as legislative, cultural, and behavioral norms; 3) knowledge mismatches. There are eight major strategies included to address the different issues and challenges: 1) integration of CCA and DRR concerns at various levels from national to local; 2) strong governance system at different levels; 3) improve information system and knowledge management; 4) apply int egrated assessment methods and tools; 5) ensure natural resources sustainability and resource rights; 6) build local resilience and reduce vulnerability; 7) advance innovative education and research and development initiatives; 8) secure adequate funding support. Overallreaction:authors analysis the key challenges and ways forward in the Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction. Explain and example every single point, detail but not intricacies. Conclusion Climate change is happening, it is one of the biggest challenges to development. The human actives influence the climate change, the climate change causes natural disasters. The most common one is global warming, people always link climate change with global warming, however, global warming is not the only consequence of the climate change. From the selected articles, we can find that climate change will also increase the frequency of extreme weather events occur. From the long-term trend, it will have a local climate change in each region. Indeed, many of the world’s extreme weather happened in these years, some astronomy, as well as El Nino, ocean circulation weather these have occurred. There are also many events in New Zealand, like the strong breeze, heavy snowfall. For the climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, we should prepare the most fundamental preparation, reduce the damage made by human activities. Moreover, when there are some special natural disa ster that cannot reduce or block by human behavior, we need to understand how to response the emergency.

Advantages Of Women Entrepreneurs Business Essay

Advantages Of Women Entrepreneurs Business Essay In India women entrepreneurs play a very pivotal role. They are not only educated, talented, confident, ambitious and career oriented but they also know their minds. This helps them to juggle the tasks, manage all the chores and strike a fine balance between the professional and personal lives. They have a good foresight, patience, negotiating and budgeting skills. Today, women have demonstrated their multitasking ability. Women entrepreneurs can certainly initiate, organize, plan and operate their small and medium venture efficiently. Affirming this notion, Ms. Husain Chairperson and Managing Director of Shanaz Husain Group of companies elaborate, the women who is creative finds greater freedom to translate her creativity and ideas when she has her own enterprise. For those women without high professional qualifications and those who are from a lower economic sector, entrepreneurship is a means of earning money and contributing to the family income. However, the challenge for the larger sections of women in India lies in crossing the threshold, overcoming barriers and discovering their own potential and identity. The climate is more conducive today and the time is right. C:UsershclDesktopwomen-business.jpg ADVANTAGES OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS Advantages of women entrepreneurs are as follows: 1. Emotional Intelligence Women are more emotionally intelligent than man and possess good interpersonal skills which are vital for framing strategies and building support. 2. Multitask Orientation Women have the ability of handling many tasks at the same time like talking on the phone, reading their mails, scheduling what else needs to be finished for the rest of the day and giving excellent results. They balance their families and career simultaneously effectively. Men are known to have been more troublesome with multitasking tending to focus on one or two things, thus wasting opportunities. 3. Self-Branding Attitude Woman entrepreneurs are extremely passionate by nature and enthusiastic about their choices, talking about them and sharing their thoughts. They emphasize the benefits of their services to their potential clients and are aware of how to highlight the positive features. 4. Patience Women entrepreneurs are very patience by nature and have great vision. Visionary entrepreneurs giving up on their dreams after only some months as a consequence of becoming impatient with the process only proves that the vision is not enough. The ability to wait and see is a key attribute in order to receive positive outcomes and women have it naturally. 5. Motivation Women entrepreneurs have a great passion for the work and a commitment to society. If they have the drive to pursue entrepreneurship, it means they are not afraid of taking any risks and will also make monetary gains. They possess the inner strength to continue and searches all possible means to share their business ideas with others. The increasing number of women entrepreneurs can promote economic and social equity which facilitates self-fulfillment for individuals, and improve the use of valuable human capital. Feminine traits and talents can be seen as sources of power with great advantages for entrepreneurship. In the near future women may be closing the venture capital gender gap. DISADVANTAGES OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS Family Considerations In the United States, women are more likely to shoulder a greater share of child-rearing duties. Children may demand their mothers undivided attention, which can be a challenge for female entrepreneurs to deal with. Building and running a new business requires a great deal of time, which may conflict with ones family obligations. Women in this situation must balance their family life with their duties as entrepreneurs. For example, parents can communicate about the need to devote some time during the day solely on business, while other times can be devoted to family matters. Confidence Although both men and women can face issues of self-doubt, or lack confidence to compete in the business market, men do not suffer from the same degree of prejudgment as do women entrepreneurs. For example, male business leaders may not believe that their female counterparts can compete or innovate to the degree that men can. The basis of these views are stereotypes about women. Having female mentors and confidants can help instill self confidence in your abilities as a female entrepreneur. Financial Barrier The foremost disadvantage of female entrepreneurship is the capital financing barrier. When starting a business, entrepreneurs need to line up capital to get the business off of the ground. Female entrepreneurs often get their initial funding from family loans, savings and credit cards. However, women can obtain capital from government startup programs, self-funding and venture capitalists. When women have promising business ideas, it is less difficult for them to obtain startup capital. Therefore, having solid business plan helps in reducing the finance barrier for women. Lack of Networks Female entrepreneurs are more likely to encounter difficulty because they are less likely to be associated with networks of people who can help them in launching and sustaining businesses. Networks include people who provide mentorship, help and valuable information to entrepreneurs. Men tend to dominate the highest levels of corporate leadership. Therefore, there are fewer women available to provide valuable advice to female entrepreneurs. Women also face customer/supplier discrimination, which occurs when customers or suppliers discriminate against women-owned firms. In response, women business leaders can create their own networks to cultivate the success of female entrepreneurs. Female Entrepreneurs Versus Male Entrepreneurs Do men have an advantage over women when it comes to starting a business? Historically, research has seemed to show that men have an advantage over women when it comes to starting a business. More recent research indicates that the perceived disparity between male and female entrepreneurs doesnt actually exist and gender is not a determining factor in the success or failure of a new business venture. But even though gender itself doesnt put female entrepreneurs at a disadvantage, the statistics point to several other factors that can impact the performance of women-owned business startups: Experience Expectations Statistically, men benefit from more business experience and higher expectations prior to opening a business. This may give men a confidence advantage when they launch a business, but according to the numbers women are more likely to report positive revenues. So whats the lesson? If you are a female entrepreneur, you shouldnt be intimidated by male counterparts even if they seem to enjoy more experience, higher expectations, and greater confidence. Risk Tolerance According to the numbers, female owners are more likely to prefer low risk/low return businesses. Male entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are more likely to start technologically intensive businesses, businesses that lose their competitive advantage more quickly, and businesses that have a less geographically localized customer base. In other words, men tend to embrace more risk than women in a new business venture. Risk is sometimes unavoidable as a business owner. But for the most part, female entrepreneurs should take steps to maintain a healthy balance between risk and reward in their companies. Education, Business Size, Hours Worked   As it turns out many of the differences that have been thought to exist between male and female business owners are more myth than reality. When all other variables are taken into account, male and female entrepreneurs have the same education levels, start businesses of similar sizes, and work roughly the same amount of hours. Since the notion that female entrepreneurs are less educated with smaller companies and less time to devote to their business is false, female small business owners should feel relieved of much of the pressure to prove themselves to their peers and more free to enjoy the fruits of their entrepreneurial endeavors. CONCLUSION Women are known for their multitasking ability; they have lot of responsibilities to fulfill such as household duties, office duties and in case of mothers, it becomes too difficult for them to step out of the house, for specific time and work in their area of interest. Because of this most of women dont get chance to go for jobs although it is their passion.   A woman, having flexible working hours and a choice of job will show miracles in the market. Starting business at home is a great opportunity for any women to start their journey in a corporate world.   It is proven that woman who runs her own business is happier than a woman who works for others. Advanced technology has given a chance to start and manage their business from home and to pursue their dream of becoming an entrepreneur. This will help them to make money for themselves while relaxing at home. They can work wherever and whenever they want. Because of this they can maintain a balance between their personal and professional life.

B E C: The New Phase Of Matter :: essays research papers

B E C: The New Phase of Matter A new phase of matter has been discovered seventy years after Albert Einstein predicted it's existence. In this new state of matter, atoms do not move around like they would in an ordinary gas condensate. The atoms move in lock step with one another and have identical quantum properties. This will make it easier for physicists to research the mysterious properties of quantum mechanics. It was named "Molecule of the Year" because it was such a major discovery, but it is not a molecule at all. The phase, called the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) follows the laws of quantum physics. In early 1995, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado were the first to uncover the BEC. They magnetically trapped rubidium atoms and then supercooled the atoms to almost absolute zero. The graphic on the cover shows the Bose-Einstien condensation, where the atom's velocities peak at close to zero velocity, and the atoms slowly emerge from the condensate. The atoms were slowed to the low velocity by using laser beams. The hardware needed to create the BEC is a bargain at $50,000 to $1000,000 which makes it accessible to physics labs around the world. The next step is to test the new phase of matter. We do not know yet if it absorbs, reflects,or refracts light. BEC is related to superconductivity and may unlock some mysteries of why some minerals are able to conduct electricity without resistance. The asymmetrical pattern of BEC is is thought by some astrophysicists to explain the bumpy distribution of matter in the early universe, a distribution that eventually led to the formation of galaxies. Physicists are working on creating an atom laser, using new technology derived from the BEC. The new lasers would be able to create etchings finer than those that etch silicon chips today.

First Impressions Essay example -- essays research papers

First impressions are very important to your every day life. They are the basis of how relationships start and how you are seen by other people. People, based on first impressions, form opinions. The opinions could begin many things and lead towards success or these opinions could be ones that are misleading and have a negative impact on how people relate to you. First impression are very important on people’s social life, in your education and in employment. In your social life, first impressions come from your friends, family, and even new people who come into your life. First impressions for your education consists of your teachers or classmates when you are taking a class. First impressions on employment go from your current co-workers, boss, and former employers. The are very significant in job interviews. First impressions are important, but are not always the final word. First impressions from the social perspective is the issue at hand, when viewing the importance of first impressions, and then taking in account the environment that one is in, then lastly viewing the important role that first impressions play throughout the course of a relationship such a friendship. The importance of first impressions is essential to the development of relationships be it for a friendship or just merely business acquaintances, the role of first impressions is resounded throughout the course of that relationships. How you are perceived has a very basic bearing as to how you are treated. Your outward appearance plays a pivotal role in the compiling of a first impression, when you are viewed by others, a snap decision is made about you that people will hold in their minds whether subconsciously, or conscientiously that first moment that they laid eyes on you. Also the way that you portray yourself comes into play at this point, your social skills are the main focus of the first impression after the mental image of you is implanted in the person’s mind. Your social skills would reflect how you wish to present yourself to the people that you are meeting, if you wish to get along then you take a route that would help you get along in your company of the people that you are meeting. How you present yourself in this situation has a direct reflection to the type of environment that you are in. Depending on the environment that you are in, this will reflect your actions, i... ... and that could all be because of the initial impression we may have left with the interviewer. There have been studies of what types of people have what types of jobs in this country. Educational first impressions are very important also. These first impressions are the ones that you make on your teachers and other classmates. For example, when you start a new class at a school, you want to have a good first impression on your teacher so that they respect you and give you the attention and value that you need. With you classmates, you want to make a lasting first impression on them. The first impressions is important because you can develop relationships from this. If you come in to class late on the first day and look messy and have an attitude, peoples first impression on you would be negative and treat you differently then you deserve to be treated. Finally, as you can see, first impressions do have a great affect on people who meet you. They are the base of all relationships. First impressions are very important socially, educationally, and employment wise. Impressions on people usually last forever. Although people have second impressions, the first ones are very important.

Should the Reader Forgive Humbert? Essay -- Essays Papers

Should the Reader Forgive Humbert? Lolita, by Vladamir Nabokov is a controversial book that elaborately represents and forces the reader to deal with a pedophiles obsession with his 12-year-old stepdaughter. As the reader finishes reading Lolita, he must establish a meaning for the novel which hinges heavily upon whether or not he should forgive Humbert for his rape of Lolita and for stealing her childhood away from her. This rape is legally referred to as a statutory rape because Humbert is having sex with Lolita who is under the age of consent. Humbert also figuratively rapes Lolita of her childhood and a normal teenage life. This decision to forgive Humbert will rely upon Humbert's words as he realizes what he has done to Lolita. In order for the reader to be able to forgive Humbert he must determine if Humbert is truly sorry for his actions. One must overlook the fact that Vladimir Nabokov has written, Lolita has no moral in tow. (314). Nabokov has obviously anticipated the reader's response to his novel and so he discloses that he sees no moral value in the book. This is obviously a false statement that is used to complicate the book and make the reader think. Lolita is full of moral choices and situations that learned readers will recognize and make judgments on. Most readers have a conscience and thus look for the moral contained in the story. This argument thoughtfully represents Nabokov's Lolita with real world morals. An ethical or moral reading of Lolita would lead the reader to the question of forgiveness of Humbert for his actions toward Lolita. To fully understand all that is involved in this question it is necessary to examine the word forgiveness. The word "forgiveness" has been used extensively throughout... ... to see that Humbert is sorry for his sexual rape of Lolita and is regretful for taking her childhood away. Given that he is genuinely sorry for his actions there is a greater chance that the close reader will forgive Humbert for his molestation of Lolita. Bibliography Couturier, Maurice "Poerotic mode 'Lolita' and 'Ada'" "Novel and Censorship, or Eros' Bad Faith." http://www.libraries.psu.edu/iasweb/nabokov/coutur2.htm (3/12/67) Nabokov, Vladimir, The Annoteted Lolita, notes Alfred Appel Jr., (New York: First Vintage Books. 1991) Neufeldt, Victoria, Webster's New World Dictionary (New York: Simon, 1990), p. 380 Oxford English Dictionary, 1996 http://www.oed.com, query=forgivenes Unger, Merrill F., Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1970), p. 377 Vladimir Nabokov, rev. of Lolita, by Charles Rolo, The Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 1958 Should the Reader Forgive Humbert? Essay -- Essays Papers Should the Reader Forgive Humbert? Lolita, by Vladamir Nabokov is a controversial book that elaborately represents and forces the reader to deal with a pedophiles obsession with his 12-year-old stepdaughter. As the reader finishes reading Lolita, he must establish a meaning for the novel which hinges heavily upon whether or not he should forgive Humbert for his rape of Lolita and for stealing her childhood away from her. This rape is legally referred to as a statutory rape because Humbert is having sex with Lolita who is under the age of consent. Humbert also figuratively rapes Lolita of her childhood and a normal teenage life. This decision to forgive Humbert will rely upon Humbert's words as he realizes what he has done to Lolita. In order for the reader to be able to forgive Humbert he must determine if Humbert is truly sorry for his actions. One must overlook the fact that Vladimir Nabokov has written, Lolita has no moral in tow. (314). Nabokov has obviously anticipated the reader's response to his novel and so he discloses that he sees no moral value in the book. This is obviously a false statement that is used to complicate the book and make the reader think. Lolita is full of moral choices and situations that learned readers will recognize and make judgments on. Most readers have a conscience and thus look for the moral contained in the story. This argument thoughtfully represents Nabokov's Lolita with real world morals. An ethical or moral reading of Lolita would lead the reader to the question of forgiveness of Humbert for his actions toward Lolita. To fully understand all that is involved in this question it is necessary to examine the word forgiveness. The word "forgiveness" has been used extensively throughout... ... to see that Humbert is sorry for his sexual rape of Lolita and is regretful for taking her childhood away. Given that he is genuinely sorry for his actions there is a greater chance that the close reader will forgive Humbert for his molestation of Lolita. Bibliography Couturier, Maurice "Poerotic mode 'Lolita' and 'Ada'" "Novel and Censorship, or Eros' Bad Faith." http://www.libraries.psu.edu/iasweb/nabokov/coutur2.htm (3/12/67) Nabokov, Vladimir, The Annoteted Lolita, notes Alfred Appel Jr., (New York: First Vintage Books. 1991) Neufeldt, Victoria, Webster's New World Dictionary (New York: Simon, 1990), p. 380 Oxford English Dictionary, 1996 http://www.oed.com, query=forgivenes Unger, Merrill F., Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1970), p. 377 Vladimir Nabokov, rev. of Lolita, by Charles Rolo, The Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 1958

Power of Literature

How the Power of Literature Has Affected My Life – Value of Literature Alex Sidorov English 101 Alex Sidorov Thompson English 101 May 27, 2009 How the Power of Literature Has Affected My Life – Value of Literature If you asked me how much I valued literature a few months ago, I would have probably laughed it off and proclaimed it has no value because it does not affect me. What kind of value could literature possibly have? It is just books. Random characters dealing with their random problems. What could that possibly offer me except giving me something to kill time? It was not until I began researching about the value of literature that I realized its vital contributions to my life and the lives of everyone around me. I found out no matter how often (or not so often) that you read, literature can and will still affect you in a way nothing else can. The value of literature to me can not only be found in what I have learned from reading, but how it has influenced my life. In this essay, I am going to talk about how literature has affected me, and in a small way determined who I am today, and how it has affected my views on certain subjects. Various types of literature have taught me many interesting things about the world, cultures, and most importantly, myself. In addition, I will describe my history as a reader and my plan for reading in the future. Literature has somewhat sculpted me into the person I am today. I believe that children are very easily influenced, and as a child, I was exposed to literature almost every night. I began to read Goosebumps books when I was only five years old. I think that habit has affected my personality because literature is about connecting with the characters on a more-than-personal level, and I feel like I can do that now to my friends better than most people can. I have a great sense of empathy that keeps me from doing anything to anyone that I would not like do to myself. An English teacher named Tim Gillespie, who has studied the value of literature and written many articles about it, concludes: By its truthful portrayal of life's complex moral choices, literature draws us in, submerges us into a story, and summons our imaginative power to identify with characters. Literature thus might be one antidote to the disease of disconnection that afflicts us. Assaulting someone, tagging a wall with spray paint, sexually harassing another, or yelling a racial slur all show incapacity to empathize, to imagine another's deepest responses, to consider the real consequences of actions on others. In the fractious world we inhabit, empathy is a much-needed skill, and literature is a form in which we can practice this skill (Gillespie 61). Assuming this is true, I attribute my empathy to my childhood reading. And who knows what other characteristics and changes to my personality reading has brought me. This is an aspect of reading I think is extremely under rated, and I think it should be more publicly known. When I think about it, there must be a link between empathy and reading at a young age, as my friends who seem to completely lack empathy don't read at all and don't have the strong family values that would support reading, especially at a young age. Empathy is one of the most valuable things literature can offer its readers. Bill Clinton once said that children could not be expected to live a life they cannot imagine. Moreover, there is no better way to expand one's imagination than with reading. The books I enjoy reading involve the protagonist embarking on a long and unlikely journey, which would be impossible for me to experience for myself in real life. However, I feel like by reading about this adventure, in a sense I am experiencing it for myself. There's something about reading that makes it so involving, unlike movies or television where I can become distracted and miss parts of it. Reading requires all of my senses to be focused on the literature, which I believe helps expand my imagination. An article in the magazine World & I states: â€Å"The study of great literature nurtures the learner's imaginative power†¦ and this imaginative power restores us to our real selves†¦ and enriches an inner self. Great literature helps revive what is most precious in our souls† (â€Å"The Enduring Value†). Literature is the key for a healthy imagination. Although literature has, some â€Å"hidden† powers like expanding your imagination and promoting empathy, it serves another obvious purpose, to teach. Literature, fiction or non-fiction, usually has something to offer. A great example of this is A Complicated Kindness. Before reading this novel, I believed the typical stereotype of Mennonites: boring, religious people who shun themselves from the outside world because for some reason, they think their way of life is better than ours. This book taught me how wrong I was. I learned that many of the Mennonite teenagers go through the same troubles and experiences many average Canadian teens go through. I discovered the author grew up as a Mennonite in Manitoba, and although it is by no means a factual memoir, I am still confident, much of the information about the culture and the people's behavior is accurate. Reading the book was much more enjoyable than I had anticipated because I was learning about a new culture and I could in some ways, relate to Nomi, at least much more than I thought I would. Literature was able to teach me about the behind-the-scenes Mennonite lifestyle that I don't think I could learn about anywhere else. In an essay by Cynthia Ozick, she states that â€Å"the pulse and purpose of literature is to reject the blur of the â€Å"universal†; to distinguish one life from another; to illumine diversity; to light up the least grain of being, to show how it is concretely individual, in particularized from any other; to tell, in all the marvel of its singularity, the separate holiness of the least grain. Literature is the recognition of the particular† (Ozick 248). This is saying that literature can help you learn by showing you the hardships and experiences of one person: usually the protagonist. This is especially true with Nomi. Instead of seeing a news special about Mennonite villages helping out by building houses for one another and then living happily ever after, we â€Å"reject the blur of the universal† and â€Å"light up the least grain of being†: Nomi. It was not until grade four or five that I found out how much you can learn from a piece of fiction. I read a book called Under a War Torn, which was the by far the longest book I had read up to that point. It was about a oldier named Henry Forester who found himself behind enemy lines in the World War II. Henry travels through France on a journey to return home, and through the process, I was exposed to all sorts of information about the war. Blitzkriegs, battles, attitudes, and tragedies were some of the important things I learned about which still stick with me today. Even during history class in tenth grade, many of the facts that were taught from the textbook I had already learned through literature . Only this is a special kind of literature called â€Å"historical literature. Patricia Crawford, a professor in the Instruction and Learning department of the University of Pittsburgh, writes about how â€Å"Scholars and practitioners in the field recognize the importance of learning history in ways that actively engage students in their learning. The inclusion of high-quality literature in general and historical fiction in particular, within the social studies curriculum provides a powerful means of facilitating this type of engagement â€Å"(Crawford). I can personally say through my own experiences that historical fiction is an extremely valuable tool that should be included in history curriculums. I do not enjoy reading fact-heavy textbooks, and would much rather read a story that incorporates the information into the plot. This way I will be more absorbed by the writing, and it is more likely I will retain the information. That is why historical literature is so valuable to me. A few years ago, I read a book called The Secret. It had been featured on Oprah and claimed to posses an ancient secret. The secret is that if you wish for something†¦ anything, you will somehow get it. To prove this it uses testimonies and interprets the Laws of Attraction. It went as far as to say â€Å"What you think and what you feel and what actually manifests is ALWAYS a match – no exception† (Byrne 23). If you wish for a shiny new red bicycle, you will be rewarded with one. After hearing about so many people having success with this â€Å"secret†, even though it made no sense scientifically, I decided to read it. In addition, the strange thing is, the more I read into it, the more believable it was. I began trying it out, and sure enough, sometimes it did seem to work. However, deep down I knew it had to be a coincidence. Therefore, I researched it on the internet and realized how completely bogus it was. I realized that only literature has the power to make you believe the impossible. In addition, in a sense, it made the impossible true. I have seen countless interviews with people who swear by it with real stories about how it worked, yet, it is impossible, and I think deep down everybody knows that. This just goes to show the power of literature. I consider myself to have a very high level of common sense, so the fact that I even googled it baffles me. There are many other texts out there that have influenced me along with millions of others, one being The Da Vinci Code. That work of fiction brought down a wave of suspicion based on the Christian religion just because it was written as if it was a true story, and it used real locations and real historical evidence. This just goes to show that literature can influence people's beliefs beyond what should be possible. I feel that literature can help improve my life because it makes me a better learner. Reading and literature force you to make connections and relate things to and to always be thinking, which are skills that allow me to learn things easier. Author Bruce Meyer wrote in one of his books The Golden Thread: A Reader's Through the Great Books: â€Å"Here's the simple truth: nothing prepares us better for reading than reading. Reading is a process not just of assimilating ideas but of learning the skills, the fundamental structures, and the repeated story line that make further reading a richer, more enjoyable and much more powerful experience† (Meyer 4). I feel like the more I read, the easier it is to read and the more inclined I am to read more. During high school, I will admit I fell into a reading slump. I barely read. I was far too busy with football, wrestling, homework, work, and other distractions to be bothered to pick up a book. For the most part, the only books I have read have been in the four English classes I have taken. This may even be what turned me off reading†¦ many of the books I have read in high school are more geared towards girls. The main character is usually a girl, and the conflicts and problems in the book usually do not interest me. However, no matter how busy I am, I think I will always be able to make time for reading. So what is the value of literature to me? I do not think I can put a value on something that helped shape me into the good person I am today. Something that expands my imagination and helps me learn. Something that teaches me about different cultures, and times then those that I'm already familiar with. Something that can influence and persuade me to do great things. Literature is far too powerful to put any value on. And that's why I'll continue to read throughout my life; so I can continue to benefit from all of literature's power. Works Cited Byrne, Rhonda. The Secret. New York: Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2006. Crawford, Patricia A. , and Vicky Zygouris-Coe. â€Å"Those were the days: learning about history through literature. † Childhood Education 84. 4 (Summer 2008): 197(7). Academic OneFile. Gale. Guelph Public Library. 8 Nov. 2008 â€Å"The Enduring Value of Literature. † World & I 11. 5 (May 1996): 282 Gillespie, Tim. â€Å"Why literature matters. † Education Digest 61. 1 (Sep. 1995): 61. Meyer, Bruce. The Golden Thread: A Reader's Through the Great Books. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2000. Ozick, Cynthia. Art & Arder. New York: Random House, 1983.