...Commencement Address at Stanford University talks about his view on death after a near death experience he says “Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make for the new,” (Paragraph 6). I would certainly agree with this statement, people will all die it is a part of the human experience and why life should be so greatly valued. Death is something that follows us wherever we go; it cautions us to the dangers of the world until each of our times on earth come to an end. People either fear death or embrace it, which effects how people value life. Life is a gift that I believe no person should take for granted. People die every second of the day without a choice or say in the matter. When a person dies it effects the people who loved them the most, for example from the article “What Is a Life Worth?” by Amanda...
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...Have you ever been faced with adversity and believed that you could not overcome it? In Gwen Bristow’s Celia Garth, Luke Asnell never looked at any arduous situation pessimistically. During his service for the rebels during the revolutionary war, he was faced with life or death situations every day, but always looked at the bright side. In addition, Luke never let his feelings or what others said influence his actions; he did what he thought was preeminent. Throughout the famous novel, Luke stays optimistic even when he has no reason to and does not let feelings or words influence his actions keeping his mind focused on the war. Every day Luke is faced with robbers and British men that want him dead because of his service for the rebels, but...
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...whole novel is of nature, both beautiful and powerful. Nature’s temperament gradually shifts from an innocent ideal into a destructive force in synchronization with Janie’s life. Janie’s wish is to be in a loving marriage, represented by the pear tree and blossoms; however, once she finally achieves this desire, the hopeful nature she had once longed for gradates into a damaging monster that ultimately kills Tea Cake and consequently, her dream. Though Kubitschek believes that her quest for the pear tree is obtained through her marriage to Tea Cake, the violent hurricane reveals Janie’s ultimate failure in attaining the one thing she wanted the most. The change in nature that occurs once Janie believes that she has achieved her fantasy of a blossoming marriage represents an epiphany, a coming of age moment in which Janie’s childhood dreams are realized as unrealistic and naïve, as the true, destructive disposition of nature is unleashed. The most driving force in Janie’s early teenage years is the need for attainment of the ideal marriage filled with love and equality, which she was introduced to by a pear tree in full blossom filled with sexual images such as “dust-bearing bees sink[ing] into the sanctum of a bloom” (Hurston 11). She became obsessed with the spring and “attempts to harmonize her daily life with her ideal image derived from the pear tree” (Kubitschek 22). The first step in her search was her marriage to Logan Killicks, which happened after Nanny persuaded her that...
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...odors, as presented in the book The Jungle. The Jungle is a novel written by Upton Sinclair that displayed the severe working and living conditions that immigrants were forced to deal with. Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tensions and historical processes in hand in the late 19th, early 20th century showing us factory conditions, housing conditions, and political corruption through the eyes of an immigrant family. Writing the novel through the eyes of the family allows readers to feel sympathetic towards the family, and is why this book was so effective in bringing attention to the circumstances that the lower class was put in. The Jungle is about an immigrant family from Lithuania who came to the United States being promised a better life, however as soon as...
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...family, and physical” (Harrington, 2012, p. 28). Overcoming an Obstacle, Based on the article “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way” (Harrington, 2012). The way I would overcome an obstacle would be to understand resilience. By recognizing its importance through psychological studies of persons in adverse conditions (Harrington, 2012). Once I understand resilience I would use the five keys elements. The elements include; “physical, emotional, social, family, and spiritual” (Harrington, 2012, p. 28). The first element is emotional. You can keep your emotions in check by being optimistic and positive. You are able to remain calm and make the correct decisions (Harrington, 2012). By using your experiences, you can be successful and will maintain a positive attitude....
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...Many poets throughout time have described life in the image of a perfect circle - starting with birth and completing with death to start the cycle again. They express that the circle of life is the best model to completely understand how life works. In the poem, “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman, he describes his distinct interpretation of the classic symbol of the circle to represent the meaning of life that differs from most poets. Whitman believes that the circle of life can be found within the grass on the ground. Whitman sees grass as a vehicle for people to find comfort with death and learn how life works. Through the extended metaphor of grass, Whitman taught us not to be fearful of death and that all people are connected together. First of all, Whitman used the metaphor of grass to help explain to people how they should not be afraid of dying, rather to...
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...Katie Zachgo ELA hour 3 Hatchet, Dynamic Character Churchman 11/4/16 Brian Robeson is considered to be a dynamic character in Hatchet. A dynamic character is someone who changes throughout the course of the story. Brian’s character has changed through his optimism, respect for animals, and his instincts used to survive. Brain changes through his personality qualities, especially optimism. A large quantity of who you are as a person is your personality qualities. “he had been run over by a moose and a tornado, had lost everything and was back to square one. Just like that. A flip of some giant coin and he was the loser” (Paulsen 157). This proves that Brian has developed optimism because he worked so hard, lost everything, yet he still...
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...Although the poets Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were alive around the same time, they had different interpretations of death in their poems. Both of the poems, “I heard a fly buzz- when I died” from Emily Dickins and “Song of Myself” from Walt Whitman, express their disparate perspective about the theme of death. In the two poems, the poets also have diverse approaches of conveying their conception of death. Which is either optimistically or depressingly. Consequently, it accentuates the differences of the mood in both poem and style of the authors. Emily Dickinson is most famous for her gloomy poems that illustrate the concept of death. For example, her poem “I heard a fly buzz- when I died” and “After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes”....
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...So here I am , back with a hiatus of sorts, riding on the ever-running tide of life. Times change, perceptions grow , we just look at the same reality with a different outlook , a better understanding of the past gone by.. epic realizations of the silly notions we used to harbor. We don't have a guide or a mentor who can teach us the finer nuances of life, we realize that the real treasure of what makes us happy and satisfied lies within us. For those finer reasons best known to us that make us content, we try bonding with the ones who make our living even more delightful and worth it. I have experienced a flurry of emotions in the times gone by and chose to experience them deeper to know what makes me, even if it meant living on my own terms - disconnected on many levels , trying to get a hold of 'myself' , only to realize this is going to take me a lifetime! The little findings that i have done till now have been utterly astonishing to say the least. Not only you realize what makes you content, the drive to achieve it becomes all the more enhanced. You stop listening to the turmoil outside and suddenly start respecting the once stifling inner voice that never got it's due recognition! And lo! you are set on the path to fulfill yourself on those many levels. You would say that it is a vicious cycle of desire but if you carefully run your thread of thoughts through that tiny needle of life , most of the desires wouldn't make it through the hole . This would mean, the things...
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...war, become a career athlete. Instead, he became one of the most outstanding and inspirational stories of resilience in American history. Louis Zamperini’s persistence shines throughout his entire life; from his childhood throughout the rest of his life. As a teenager and young man, Louis’ persistence and fearlessness was channeled from delinquency to competitive track. As a preteen and teenager, Louis spends most of his time running from the law, and is absolutely ungovernable. He’s fast, smart, and fearless, and although he often gets caught and his family has to pay recompense for all of the damage he caused. In high school, Louis’ older brother Pete convinces the rebellious teen to channel all of that energy into track, at which...
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...Petrowski and Cameron’s tone towards the Montreal Massacre is very sad and somber. Throughout the essay, Petrowski has pity for Marc. After Marc’s death, Petrowski tries to search for an answer: “For a week I’ve been talking with these experts, hoping to understand. For a week all I’ve seen is that there is no one answer, there are a thousand. For a week I’ve dealt with the official and professional voices who keep their files under key, who keep repeating that there’s no use wanting to know more, that Marc Lepine is dead, that he can no longer be healed or saved, that it’s too late to do anything at all.” Petrowski characterizes Marc as the victim in her essay. She is frustrated that no one cares for Marc and that no one will ever want to...
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...Dying in a Hospital Setting Elizabeth Allegro Aspen University Abstract Acute hospitals play a significant role in end of life care, it is the place where most people die. Evidence suggests that end of life care in hospitals needs improvement. The purpose of this paper was to investigate patient and family experiences of hospital death, the weaknesses within the hospital setting and possible solutions to improve. A literature search identified common themes, these included: * Hospitals are seen as a place of treatment and cure; death may be viewed as a failure. * Good communication between physician and patient is vital for a patient to make an informed choice regarding their care. * Patients may not receive palliative care if end of life is diagnosed too late. * A lack of resources such as short staffing contributes to suboptimal end of life care. Dying in a Hospital Setting Most Americans die in hospitals; many suffer unnecessarily due to the lack of knowledge about end of life care. Some patients receive aggressive treatments up until the time of death. Patients often suffer in vain attempts to prolong life instead of receiving compassionate, comfort care. Death is part of life, sooner or later everyone will face death. It would be easier if one was prepared for it. Communication is important to prepare for death. There is often an expectation of a cure when a patient is hospitalized;...
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...shoulders and carrying me around our house for hours. I remember our trips to the zoo and to the puppet festival in Lahore every summer. When I was a little older, he would talk to me about the importance of honesty and integrity. He talked of his mother, a single parent, struggling to keep both her children in school anddrew on her life experiences to instill in me the importance of both empathy and perseverance. His death came as a shock to us all. He was seventeen and full of life – optimistic and giving. The very hospital where he had volunteered every weekend for two years was the hospital he died in. Negligence at the hands of doctors and staff whowere supposed to do everything possible to save his life in fact cost him his - and changed mine forever. While the rest of the family accepted his death as the will of God, I struggled to accept this loss as a misfortune and started questioning the society we lived in and the basic systems (or lack thereof) we had in place to protect us from such injustices. It was not long before realization set in that we live in a country where poverty is rampant, custom is unconditionally law, and one’s own position in life, whether ideal or intolerable, is understood to be the way it’s ‘meant to be.’ I also realized that I had, until now, accepted “reality” as it existed. My cousin’s death changed that for me. I have learnedthat the problems inherent in our society will not end here. I have also learned that change is certain and, in fact, required...
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...13. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. Ketteler states that “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” it is “highly readable” carpe diem poem. Ketteler points out that it also contains underlying messages such as “uplift”, “waste no time”, and “live your life to the fullest”. Despite the optimistic view, Ketteler also shows a more serious side to the poem that talks about death and decay, very much like “cycle of life.” She talks about the blend of idea of Christianity and Paganism ritual. Ketteler mentioned that life is paradoxical and full of dilemmas, that one thing connects/leads to another. Overall, there is no one perspective of the poem, whether is encouraging virgins to lose their virginity, living life to the fullest, use time wisely, or follow dreams. To Ketteler there are no specific way to put it. Ketteler brought up a good point that there is no one way to interpret “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” Just the title itself, it can be looked at in various ways, such as virgins should not waste time and should go explore sexual counterparts, or value the time as virgins because it wont last forever (until marriage). In the article, life and death are at constant conflict, as time passes, death is near but yet it says to cherish the present. Overall, much of “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” revolves around time as the main theme of the...
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...The speech “This is Water” was given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College as a commencement speech for the class of 2005. This short summary will discuss the rhetoric Wallace introduces in his speech and whether or not it is successful. Although the traditional rhetoric style of commencements speeches is optimistic in their nature and hopeful in their message, Wallace explores the harsh and mundane realities of everyday life through symbolic narratives and metaphoric stories about fishes, suicide and your daily grocery store run. Wallace´s tendency to use narratives to illustrate his message builds up his pathos and credibility as a “wise old man”, which he contradicts with a laid back and informal language to encourage the younger audience...
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