A Brothers Love Essay Example for Free

A Brothers Love Essay When you compare Louis Erdrichs story The Red Convertible and James Baldwins story Sonnys Blues, they seem like completely different stories. The Red Convertible is about two brothers, Lyman and Henry, who grow up on a Native American reservation in North Dakota. The two brothers share a strong bond that is personified through their love for a certain red car that they share. They go through an amazing Journey and discover a lot about each other. On the other hand, Sonnys Blues is also about two brothers, however their Journey goes a completely different oute than Lyman and Henrys. In Sonnys Blues, the narrator and his little brother, Sonny, start out as distant and forgotten family members. Through Sonnys love for music, and his older brothers gradual acceptance, the two grow a stronger bond than ever before. Although the two are indeed about different topics, there are some parallels to recognize as well. The Red Convertible and Sonnys Blues are alike for many reasons, but the most prominent similarity is the theme of brotherhood. For instance, in Sonnys Blues, the dynamic between the two brothers changes from eing completely distant to finally understanding each other, despite their differences. The growth of a relationship is an important factor in true brotherhood. An example of the two brothers taking a step in the right direction is when they meet after Sonny is let out of prison. It has been a while since they have spoken last, and the older brother narrates, miet, when he smiled, when we shook hands, the baby brother Id never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light. (Baldwin, 312) The other brother is realizing that e has never really known his baby brother because his true self was always buried beneath the mask of his drug addiction. We can see here that the other brother is seeing that Sonny is trying to let himself into the light, or trying to finally get himself to a better place in life. The turning point in the story where Sonnys love for music gets truly understood by his brother, is at the end of the story when he is playing his gig. The older brother states, For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isnt any other tale to tell, its the only light weve got in all this darkness. (Baldwin, 324) This statement by Sonnys older brother shows that he has finally opened up his heart to accept that his little brother is getting better and expressing himself through music. Like in Sonnys Blues, Henry and Lyman go through a similar Journey in The Red Convertible, where they discover their own Journey through brotherhood. Unlike Sonnys progression of his relationship with his brother, Henry and Lymans relationship starts out ver y strong but dies out in the end. Although the two stories have different outcomes, the core theme of brotherhood is the same. In The Red Convertible, Henry and Lyman are best friends, and spend every moment hanging out with each other. They are inseparable, until Henrys decision to Join the army for three years tears them apart. When Henry returns, Lyman is concerned as he remembers the times wed sat still for the whole afternoon, Henry always had a Joke, then, too, and now you couldnt get him to laugh (Erdrich, 74). Lyman is realizing that his brother nas changed and is disassociated wit n his tormer selt. Lyman is pain stricken because the strength of their brotherhood was slipping through his fingers. Overall, both stories express the motivation and strength that a brotherhood can give. Despite their similarities in overall theme, the two stories are different regarding the symbols that connect the brothers. In Sonnys Blues, the factor that allowed Sonny and his brother to break the barrier between them was his music. Living in Harlem, there isnt many ways to express yourself or let yourself be heard, so music was an escape. Through Sonnys infatuation with music, his brother was able o see beyond his drug addiction and begin to start the re-birth of their relationship. At the end of the story, Sonnys brother was watching him play, But Just before they started playing again, Sonny sipped from it and looked toward me, and nodded (Baldwin, 326). At this point, it is as if Sonnys brother accepted him through the music and finally feels that connection that only brothers can share. Music is a central symbol in Sonnys Blues and creates a stepping stone for the two brothers relationship to grow. On the other hand, we have The Red Convertible, which has a uch different object that directs the story. In The Red Convertible, Henry and Lymans relationship is driven by their love for their red car they had bought together. The red flashy car resembles the boys resilient and carefree view on life, and the strength of the bond they shared in the beginning of the story. However, after Henry returns from Vietnam, he is a changed man and according to Lyman, The change was no good. (Erdrich, 72) Lyman hopes that the car might bring the old Henry back somehow (Erdrich, 75), but is let down when Henry shows no interest in he car. Ironically, Henry ends up destroying the car which, symbolically, destroys the relationship between the two brothers as well. Like the music in Sonnys Blues, the red car in The Red Convertible was a symbol for the change in the brothers relationship. The relationship between two brothers can be transitive, whether it starts distant and grow close like in Sonnys Blues, or the other way around as we saw in The Red Convertible. While each story may have different symbols and storylines, we still see the theme of both the true nature of brotherhood.

Drilling for Oil, the Environment, and Ethics Essay -- Pollution Prese

For more than a decade, debate over drilling for oil on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [ANWR] has continued unabated. The proposal to drill for oil in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is heavily urged by the oil companies and supported by most Alaskan government officials, has drawn full scale opposition from powerful private environmental organizations representing millions of members throughout the United States. Congress established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1980, over the strenuous objections of oil companies like Exxon and British Petroleum. As a compromise with the oil companies, lawmakers designated the refuge's coastal plain as a â€Å"study area,† leaving it in limbo until future lawmakers ruled whether to protect it or not. For the last 20 years, Arctic advocates, including the Gwich’in and religious and conservation groups, have urged Congress to protect the integrity of the refuge by designating the coastal plain as â€Å"wilderness.[i]† With several bills languishing, Arctic advocates are now appealing to the President — who can preserve the area by designating the coastal plain a National Monument. BP Amoco, Exxon-Mobil, Philips Petroleum and Chevron — some of the largest corporations on the planet — are aggressively lobbying Congress to open the refuge to drilling. With high-priced lobbying and public relations firms working for them, these oil companies are impossible to ignore. In 1997 alone, the oil and gas industry spent $51.7 million on lobbyists and purchasing meals, travel and other favors for decision-makers and their staff, according to a study by the Associated Press. Oil companies that want to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have also worked to wi... ...e rights of future generations to its resources. Upon weighing both sides of the issue, and considering the severity of ethical implications we can easily see that environment is a priceless asset to our future generations and us. Natural systems possess a value in them that makes them worth preserving, even at the cost of our needs. [i] Stepping up efforts to stop oil drilling http://www.house.gov/capps/isoil.html [ii] CNN.com - Nature - Offshore oil drilling could flood coastal http://www.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/01/cara.bill/ [iii] ALASKA OIL DRILLING http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/alaska.htm [iv] Stepping up efforts to stop oil drilling http://www.house.gov/capps/isoil.html [v] Greenpeace Arctic Action http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/arctic/ [vi] Greenpeace Arctic Action http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/arctic/

Science fair project: sun light vs artificial sun light

Sun light vs articical light One of the main benefits of artificial light is that you can control how many hours of light per day your plants receive. This way, those living in northern or southern latitudes can provide their plants with light for growth and development even when the sun sets early, in essence tricking the plants into believing that it is summertime and that they should continue to grow rather than become dormant or, in the case of annuals, die. In addition, your plants will receive constant direct light for as long as you leave the lights turned on.Read more: http://www. ehow. om/about_6720270_sunlight-artificial-light-plant- growth. html#ixzz2isDOMJQa Incandescent Light Although affordable, incandescent lights provide little of the blue-spectrum light essential to plant growth. They are less efficient than other artificial lights as they produce less illumination while utilizing more energy. To draw the most benefit from an incandescent light, you would have to pla ce it close to your plants, and because incandescent lights produce more heat than other types of bulbs, this would likely result in burning your plants.Incandescent bulbs also have very short lives. High- Intensity Discharge Light High-intensity discharge lights produce far more illumination while using much less electricity than incandescent bulbs. In addition, while they produce a considerable amount of heat, you can hang them twice as far away from your plants as you would an incandescent bulb, so burning of the plants is less likely. High-pressure sodium lamps emit much red-spectrum light and little in the blue spectrum, making them ideal for greenhouse flowers to supplement natural sunlight and encourage blooming.Metal halide bulbs emit more blue-spectrum light, making them perfect or indoor growing operations for plants that will not flower, such as decorative plants and herbs. HPS bulbs last 12 times longer than incandescent bulbs, and MH bulbs can last five times as long. F luorescent Light Fluorescent lights produce less luminosity than high-intensity discharge lights, though far more than do incandescent bulbs. Fluorescents also produce very little heat and can hang very close to your plants.Bulbs rated in the higher Kelvin temperature range (5,000 to 6,500) emit more blue-spectrum light and those in the lower range (2,700 to 3,000) emit more red-spectrum light, although both also provide ull-spectrum light in lower intensities. Compact fluorescent lights will last five times as long as incandescent bulbs, and the straight T-5 full-spectrum fluorescents will last 10 times as long. Read more. nttp://www . enow. com/aoou growth. html#ixzz2isEHgmnp In general, sunlight is better for plant growth as it is intense and contains the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation required for optimal plant growth.Artificial light, if it is an ordinary room light, will only support low-light tolerant plants. Most artificial light sources (fluorescent and incandes cent) do not provide the full isible light spectrum that is required by plants for optimal growth, this results in plants that are tall and spindly (etiolated) and sometimes discolored. However, there are special lights with a spectrum that is tailored for growing plants. They have to be on for longer hours than sunlight, but as long as a plant is getting enough light-energy to manufacture its food, it will grow well.It doesn't matter whether that light is coming from the sun or from grow lights. The downside to extended exposure to light is the plants metabolic functions operate twice as hard for the same amount of output. Recent studies have also highlighted ome of the negative aspects of extended photosynthetic periods (extended light reactive period and shortened dark reaction period). There are times when artificial light has an advantage. Hydroponic gardening with artificial light makes it possible to grow plants in unreliable climates that are lacking in sunshine – thi nk of the long â€Å"night† periods of areas of the northern hemisphere.In some places in Canada forage for animals is produced indoors during the winter months in artificial conditions. Supplemental lighting is used in horticulture to produce plants in flower outside of their normal flowering period. For instance Christmas cactus, poinsettias, tulips, narcissus, chrysanthemums, etc. Many houseplants grow better under artificial lamps, not because of the lights, but because it keeps them away from drafty windowsills! Plants will grow better under sunlight; artificial light lacks the complete spectrum of light provided by the sun. But a photon is a photon – and light is light – wnetner It comes Trom tne sun or a Tlasnllgnt vastly more energy comes Trom tne sun than from any artificial light. But the light from the sun is different from a street lamp another way: most artificial light doesn't emit as much energy in the red and blue region of the light spectrum as sunlight does. In other words, different ratios of reds, yellows and blues all combine together to make up white sunlight.Researchers can successfully grow plants using only artificial light in growth chambers. But sunlight is best for most plants. It's generally more intense than artificial light, and it's pretty equally distributed among the different wavelengths that earthly plants have evolved to like best. And there's another difference between lamps – even â€Å"grow lamps† – and sunlight. Grow lamps need energy to light up. Sunlight is unlimited and free. http://earthsky. org/human-world/artificial-light-plant- growth

Department of Employment Essay

An increase in part time employment has been in the Retail and tertiary sectors. A survey carried out by the   suggested that 77% of workers in nightclubs, bars and public houses were part time workers, 65% of food retail workers were part time employees and 57% of restaurant workers were part time employees. The split between new full time jobs and part time jobs in the UK was 50.1% part time jobs and 49.9% full-time.  2(a) Identify the indicators normally used to distinguish between developing and developed countries and analyse their usefulness. In the world there are developed countries and developing countries and in order to distinguish the two indicators are used. Indicators such as GDP per head, life expectancy and birth rate are used to distinguish between the two types of countries.  GDP (Gross domestic product) per head shows the average income person and can be calculated quite easily. This can be used to compare the GDP per head of two countries; a developed country will have a higher GDP per head than a developing country. It used to indicate how goods and services they can consume and thus gives a gives a standard of living. GDP per head alone does not give a clear indication of the amount of goods and services an average person can consume. Therefore it can be adjusted to GDP per person in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and this accounts for the cost of living. The PPP method takes the same amounts of goods and services in two countries and then calculates how much it would cost to buy these goods and services, i.e. a $100 in Ethiopia can buy more goods and services than a $100 in the United States, and without adjusting to PPP using GDP per head on its own to compare two countries would be unfair. GDP per head in PPP is a useful indicator of comparing two countries and especially in comparing a developed country to a developing country because it measures the average income per person and it is adjusted to its purchasing power, so if a person in country A gets $4 per hour and a person in country B gets $1 per however it does not necessarily mean that the person in country A can buy 4 times as much goods as the person in country B (given that they both work the same amount of hours). There are also weaknesses however in the GDP per head even when it is adjusted to PPP, it does not take in account the hidden economy. The hidden economy includes illegal activity, subsistence farming, and DIY etc. this would be particularly important in LEDC’s where there is a large rural economy and a great deal of corruption. For example it is thought if the hidden economy of Nigeria is brought forward in calculating its GDP then the GDP would increase by 70%. Another weakness is that although the GDP per head may be high it may mask a very wide distribution of wealth. In Saudi Arabia for example there are a very rich few the raise the GDP per head whereas the rest of the country are is not as economically well of as the GDP would suggest. Knowledge is also an indicator used to distinguish between developed and developing countries. Along with resources knowledge is need to make good use of the resources. Therefore education is a good indicator, this would include literacy rate and percentage of people going to higher education. In developed countries it is compulsory for children under the age of 16 to attend school, in developing countries however a percentage of the children start work before the age 16, as they need to help out with the family income. Children are seen as a source of income in poorer community of the LEDC’s and therefore are sent to work at an early age rather than attending school. This is particularly true in the rural areas of an LEDC. In developed countries there is no need for the children to work at such an early age as the parents usually work and can pay for their expenses or they can claim benefits from the government. The number of people that go on to university can be measured and in developed countries there are a greater number of people going to university than in developing countries. The graph (on the following page) compares the United Sates to Uzbekistan. It is quite clear that there are a greater number of university students in the United Sates than there are in Uzbekistan. Literacy rate is commonly used to compare to countries and does give a set of good results when comparing a developed country to a developing country. The number university student is not used as indicator but it is another example of how developed countries have more people going on to further education. Life expectancy and infant mortality are two important indicators between developed and developing countries. Life expectancy and infant mortality both show the state of the country’s health care. In developed countries the health care is quite good and people with an illness are likely to get a cure for their illness quickly and survive, but in developing countries there are poor health care systems and patients do not get treated as well or as quickly and as result there are deaths that could be prevented. A low infant mortality is the result of a good health care system and good health care systems are found in developed countries. For example in Bangladesh infant mortality is 69.98 per 1000 where as in Switzerland it is 4.87 per 1000. Life expectancy and infant mortality can be used to good effect to distinguish between developed and developing countries. The two indicators show the how much a government or the people of the country are willing to pay for their health care, the wealthier the country the better the health care, and wealthy countries are the developed countries. Life expectancy can, however, be very low, in Rwanda the life expectancy is 22, and this can give the impression that the country is the lowest of the developing countries. The low age of life expectancy is because of war and young men who are soldiers are the most likely to die and thus bring down the life expectancy. If there were no wars then life expectancy would be much higher and the country may not be seen as the â€Å"worst† of the developing countries.

Great Depression Essays - Systemic Risk, Financial Crises

Great Depression Essays - Systemic Risk, Financial Crises Great Depression The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stockmarket speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The lack of distribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed in equally between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The stock market was kept artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the lack of distribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize. The roaring twenties was an era when our country prospered tremendously. The nation's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929. However, the rewards of the Coolidge Prosperity of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. In 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all. Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford is one example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million in the same year that the average persons income was $750. By present day standards Mr. Ford would be earning over $345 million a year! This lack of distribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920's. A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working-class people was the increased manufacturing output throughout the 1920s. From 1923-1929 the average output per worker increased 32%. During that same period of time average wages for manufacturing jobs increased only 8%. As production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained constant, the bulk benefit of the increased productivity went into corporate profits. The federal government also contributed to the growing gap between the rich and middle-class. Calvin Coolidge's administration favored business. An example of legislation to this purpose is the Revenue Act of 1926, which greatly reduced federal income and inheritance taxes. Andrew Mellon was the main force behind these and other tax cuts throughout the 1920's. Because of these tax cuts a man with a million-dollar annual income had his federal taxes reduced from $600,000 to $200,000. Even the Supreme Court played a role in expanding the gap between the socioeconomic classes. In the1923 case Adkins v. Children's Hospital, the Supreme Court ruled minimum-wage legislation unconstitutional. The large and growing difference of wealth between the well-to-do and the middle-income citizens made the U.S. economy unstable. For an economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. Essentially what happened in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the surplus products were not wanted, but rather that those who needed the products could not afford more, while the wealthy were satisfied by spending only a small portion of their income. Three quarters of the U.S. population would spend essentially all of their yearly incomes to purchase goods such as food, clothes, radios, and cars. These were the poor and middle class. Families with incomes around, or usually less than, $2,500 a year. While the wealthy too purchased consumer goods, a family earning $100,000 could not be expected to eat 40 times more than a family that only earned $2,500 a year. Through the imbalance the U.S. came to rely upon two things in order for the economy to remain on an even level: credit sales, or investment from the rich. One obvious solution to the problem of the vast majority of the population not having enough money to satisfy all their needs was to let those who wanted goods buy products on credit. The concept of buying now and paying later caught on quickly. By the end of the 1920's 60% of cars and 80% of radios were bought on installment credit. Between 1925 and 1929 the total amount of outstanding installment credit more than doubled. This strategy created a non realistic demand for products which people could not usually afford. People could no longer use their regular wages to

Why the Water in a Nuclear Reactor Glows Blue

Why the Water in a Nuclear Reactor Glows Blue In science fiction movies, nuclear reactors and nuclear materials always glow. While movies use special effects, the glow is based on scientific fact. For example, the water surrounding nuclear reactors actually does glow bright blue! How does it work? Its due to the phenomenon called Cherenkov Radiation. Cherenkov Radiation Definition What is Cherenkov radiation? Essentially, its like a sonic boom, except with light instead of sound. Cherenkov radiation is defined as the electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle moves through a dielectric medium faster than the velocity of light in the medium. The effect is also called Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation or Cerenkov radiation. Its named after Soviet physicist Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics, together with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm, for experimental confirmation of the effect. Cherenkov had first noticed the effect in 1934, when a bottle of water exposed to radiation glowed with blue light. Although not observed until the 20th century and not explained until Einstein proposed his theory of special relativity, Cherenkov radiation had been predicted by English polymath Oliver Heaviside as theoretically possible in 1888. How Cherenkov Radiation Works The speed of light in a vacuum in a constant (c), yet the speed at which light travels through a medium is less than c, so its possible for particles to travel through the medium faster than light, yet still slower than the speed of light. Usually, the particle in question is an electron. When an energetic electron passes through a dielectric medium, the electromagnetic field is disrupted and electrically polarized. The medium can only react so quickly, though, so there is a disturbance or coherent shockwave left in the wake of the particle. One interesting feature of Cherenkov radiation is that its mostly in the ultraviolet spectrum, not bright blue, yet it forms a continuous spectrum (unlike emission spectra, which have spectral peaks). Why Water in a Nuclear Reactor Is Blue As Cherenkov radiation passes through the water, the charged particles travel faster than light can through that medium. So, the light you see has a higher frequency (or shorter wavelength) than the usual wavelength. Because there is more light with a short wavelength, the light appears blue. But, why is there any light at all? Its because the fast-moving charged particle excites the electrons of the water molecules. These electrons absorb energy and release it as photons (light) as they return to equilibrium. Ordinarily, some of these photons would cancel each other out (destructive interference), so you wouldnt see a glow. But, when the particle travels faster than light can travel through the water, the shock wave produces constructive interference that you see as a glow. Use of Cherenkov Radiation Cherenkov radiation is good for more than just making your water glow blue in a nuclear lab. In a pool-type reactor, the amount of blue glow can be used to gauge the radioactivity of spent fuel rods. The radiation is used in particle physics experiments to help identify the nature of the particles being examined. It is used in medical imaging and to label and trace biological molecules to better understand chemical pathways. Cherenkov radiation is produced when cosmic rays and charged particles interact with the Earths atmosphere, so detectors are used to measure these phenomena, to detect neutrinos, and to study gamma-ray-emitting astronomical objects, such as supernova remnants. Fun Facts About Cherenkov Radiation Cherenkov radiation can occur in a vacuum, not just in a medium like water. In a vacuum, the phase velocity of a wave decreases, yet the charged particle velocity remains closer to (yet less than) the speed of light. This has a practical application, as it is used to produce high power microwaves.If relativistic charged particles strike the vitreous humor of the human eye, flashes of Cherenkov radiation may be seen. This can occur from exposure to cosmic rays or in a nuclear criticality accident.

Topical Analysis on Japan's Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Topical Analysis on Japan's Revolution - Essay Example In order to understand the nature of the Meiji restoration, there is the need to look at the relationship between the merchants and the lower samurais. Both parties were anti-Tokugawa forces who were determined to annihilate the Tokugawa regime, with the lower samurais being vested with the leadership that would yield desired societal changes. The lower Samurais had superseded the ranks of the Samurai in order to become the spokesmen in this society. The Meiji restoration was a shift of the Japanese government to the upper samurai to lower samurai. In achieving this political control, the lower samurais supplied the ablest individuals such as Ito Hirobumi, Saigo Takamori, Inoue Kaoru and Omura Masujiro. The lower samurai achieved this through the financial help of the merchants. Merchants such as Konoike, Iwasaki, Shimada and Ono made immense contributions through financial donations. Hence, it is apparent that the Meiji restoration was achieved through a coalition between the lower samurai and merchant class. Moreover, the Feudal-merchant coalition was a cornerstone in the Japanese revolution. Unlike the class struggle that existed in western countries such as a France and England, the scenario in Japan was different. Marxists argue that capitalist bourgeoisie rise against feudal aristocrats in a bid to seize political power from them. The case in Japan was characterized by a collaboration between the aristocracy and the merchant classes. Hence, the Samurai and the merchant class had a symbiotic relation and they needed each other. In the Tokugawa system, the merchants were largely dependent on the daimyo and their treasurers. They saw... Japan’s revolution, dubbed ‘Meiji restoration’, took place following numerous reforms instituted by the Japanese government late in the 19th century. The subsequent events constituted the most dramatic events to ever happen in the modern history of Japan. It was in the Japanese revolution when universal education system was established. Moreover, during this revolution the navy and the army were established as well as the establishment of an effective administrative bureaucracy both locally and nationally. The Japanese revolution was multifaceted and culminated in Japan becoming a modern state. There are numerous shortcomings in the book by Norman (2000) as there lacks a detailed explanation of the nature of the Japanese revolution.The account of the Japanese revolution was scantily presented in the article with some facts being left out. The events that contributed to the revolution emanated from within the country and brought significant changes crucial to the d evelopment of a modern Japan. The multifaceted revolution saw a universal system of education being introduced in Japan as well as the establishment of the army and the navy. It is important to note that social disparities that existed during the Tokugawa regime were primary responsible for fuelling animosity that led to the revolution. The fact that the new regime under Meiji turned to the western countries for progress reveals that the Tokugawa regime was not toppled due to its move to seek assistance from these countries but rather due to domestic squabbles. The revolution revealed that there was animosity within the ranks of Tokugawa regime as there is no justification of having turned to the west for progress.