The Year of the Flood Essay Example for Free

The Year of the Flood Essay â€Å"The Year of the Flood† is an epic, sprawling novel that moves back and forth between past, present and future effortlessly. Though it is told from Ren and Toby’s point of view, the novel is really about the story of three women (Ren, Toby, and Amanda) and their will to survive in a cruel and harsh world. It is a story of hope, despite all odds and a story of the power of love. Fatefulness about the survival of the species is not new. Religious thinking has end-time built in, and most of our sentient life on the planet humankind has been predominantly religious. That has changed in Westernized countries, but only relatively recently, and alongside advances in scientific knowledge. Our new pessimism no longer depends on a deity to wipe out this wicked world. Since the Manhattan Project, we have learned to do these ourselves. That end is also the end of â€Å"The Year of the Flood. † Here Atwood has brilliantly re-told her own tale, through other mouths and focusing on different details, showing us how the kids Jimmy and Glenn become the Snowman and Crake, (from â€Å"Oryx and Crake†) and how an end or the End can happen in the name of new beginning. The Waterless Flood has long been predicted by God’s Gardeners, a back-to-nature cult founded by Adam One. Its members live simply and organically, sing terrible hymns, have no dress sense and peddle a bolted-together theology, difficult to think about if you think at all. With values diametrically opposed to those of the ruling CorpSEcorps, the Gardeners aren’t â€Å"the answer,† but at least they’ve asked enough questions to avoid a life of endless shopping and face-lifts. The Gardeners sometimes do evangelical work in the mean streets, known as the pleeblands, or picket at fast-food joints like SecretBurgers because it’s wrong to eat anything with a face. At SecretBurgers they have rescued a young woman named Toby from the murderous clutches of her sex-crazed boss, Blanco the Bloat, and it’s Toby who is one of the central characters in the post-plague part of the story. As a Gardener, Toby rises to the position of Eve Six, in charge of the bees, herbs and potions, but Blanco never stops pursuing her, and to save herself, and the group, she receives a new identity in the health spa AnooYoo. Recovering from plastic surgery, she avoids the deathly wipeout germ of plague. Less cosmetically, but just as effectively, Ren, a pole dancer at a local sex joint called Scales and Tails, is in an isolation room after a bloody attack by a punter, so she too misses the bio-bug. The women’s past and present stories alternate and intertwine, bringing to life the world they must survive in- a world where pigs have human tissues and sheep are bred with human hair in different colors, silver and purple being the hot hits for whole-head implants, providing you don’t mind smelling of lamb chops when it rains. The sensitive CorpSEcorps elite boy Glenn, who becomes Crake, starts out as a teenage sympathizer for the Gardeners but is too seduced by his own brain power to trust nature. Like his friend Jimmy, Glenn doesn’t know to love, and the awkward devotion he feels for the girl he calls Oryx isn’t returned. Atwood is really good at showing, without judging, what happens when human beings cannot love. In the worst of them, like Blanco, brutality and sadism take over. In the better of them, Crake designs out love and romance because he wants to design out the pain and confusion of emotion. In this strangely lonely book, where neither love or romance changes the narrative, friendship of a real and lasting and risk-taking kind stands against the emotional emptiness of the money/sex/power/consumer world of CorpSEcorps, and as the proper antidote to the plague—mongering of Crake and Jimmy, for whom humankind holds so little promise. As ever with Atwood, it is friendship between women that is noted and celebrated—friendship not without its jealousies but friendship that survives rivalry and disappointment, and has a generosity that at the end of the novel allows for hope. Atwood believes in human kind, and she likes women. It is Toby and Ren who take the novel forward from the last page, not the genetically engineered new humans. Atwood is funny and clever, such a good writer and real thinker that there’s hardly any point saying that not everything in this novel works. Why should it? A high level of creativity has to let in some chaos; just as nobody would want the world as engineered by Crake; nobody needs a factory-finished novel. The flaws in â€Å"The Year of the Flood† are part of the pleasure, as they are with human beings, that species so threatened by its own impending suicide and help up here for us to look at, mourn over, laugh at and hope for. Atwood knows how to show us ourselves, but the mirror she holds up to life does more than reflect- it’s like one of those mirrors made with mercury that gives us both a deepening and distorting effect, allowing both the depths of human nature and its potential mutations. We don’t know how we will evolve, or if we will evolve at all. â€Å"The Year of the Flood† isn’t a prophecy, but is eerily possible.

Is There Difference Between True And False Philosophy Essay

Is There Difference Between True And False Philosophy Essay The distinction between truth and false is often perceived as an easy distinction to make, like a yes or no question. If you lie about something for example, then what you are saying is false, if you tell the truth then it is true. This is one of many misconceptions in life; the complexity behind the absolute distinction between truths and falsities is immense. How can an idea be judged to be true or false? One might say that a correct fact is true and an incorrect statement is false though the answer varies depending on the area of knowledge from which the statement is perceived. However, in order for there to be an absolute distinction there must be an absolute truth. In this essay I will question the existence of an absolute truth in order to determine whether or not there is an absolute distinction between what is true and what is false. In order to answer the topic question one must first seek to define certain terms/parts of the question the first of which is true. What is truth? Different sources attempt to answer this question in different ways. The big dictionary in Ms. Thorntons room defines it as anything that is public and independent of anyones belief; Merriam Websters English dictionary as something eternal that is in accordance with fact or reality; Dicitonary.com believes it is a judgment or proposition; Michael Woolman, in his book Ways of Knowing, believes it is something that is logically necessary. The struggle to accurately define truth is partially due to the fact that we are unable to determine whether or not truth is relative. The second term we must define is false. Merriam Webster believes that something that is false is nor genuine, nor faithful, nor loyal and is also lacking in naturalness and sincerity. Dictionary.com defines a falsity as a declaration of what is untrue and perhaps treacherou s. Lastly, we must define absolute which is perhaps a more concrete word than the preceding two; however it is significant to this paper to define it. Absolute refers to having no exception, restriction or qualification. In order for there to be an absolute truth, there must be proof. In order to prove an absolute truth, one must have a system of proof with which one can deduce the truths validity in every single situation and under every singly condition in eternity. An absolute truth must be true for all eternity. It must also remain unchanged forever and since we cannot determine whether this is true, and therefore any claim of absolute truth is ridiculous. Some might argue however that by making this statement, I am making an absolute claim. This is however false because there is a possible circumstance under which this claim could not have existed before people could reason. According to hubpages.com The propositional statement: There are no absolutes, is definitely not syntactically absolute, and not absolute in any real cognitive sense. It is a fact, that truth is not an object and does not exist without a mind, and hence impossible to be eternal. It is a fact, that truth is bound within the d omain of concepts, and hence impossible to be eternal. It is a fact, that anything claimed as eternal, cannot be proven to be the case, because eternity does not exist in order to be used in the construction of any logically deductive proof. It is a fact, that no claim of truth for anything absolute, can be proven to be true by any stretch of the imagination. In math however we have a set of rules that can define an absolute truth. According to Adam Richards, who holds a degree in philosophy from Oxford, in mathematics we can define an absolute truth or falsity because we precisely define the rules of mathematics. In reality, we need to measure what we want to know, and since these measurements can never be exact enough, an absolute truth cannot exist. How true or false something is depends on how accurate our measurements were but in the purely deductive world of mathematics, we can define exactly true/false statements. I do not fully agree with Richards because I dont believe that everything in life is a mere calculation however I second his reason for the presence of absolute truths in mathematics. Outside of math any claim of an absolute truth is one that is either based on religious beliefs or is related to religion in one way or another. This is because they are claimed to be given by god. It is safe to say that everyone will agree with the fact that an absolute truth mandates a god due to the fact that it must be eternally true. Without a god there would be no absolute truth because there would be no eternity in the claim. To discredit theses claims, even though most of the words of god we know today have not been changed, we cannot prove that they will remain unchanged eternally. All bibles and scriptures have undergone changes and revisions by humans who have tailored them to suit their tastes. Humans are not absolute, and have no system for preventing change to anything that is supposedly absolute (hubpages.com). In conclusion, there is no absolute truth due to our inability to prove a claim eternally, and therefore no absolute distinction between what is true and what is false. Something that is not true is automatically false because there is no third option. If it is partially true or partially false than one can say that it has a true claim and a false claim however it is still classified as either true or false.

The Yellow Wallpaper Symbolism

The Yellow Wallpaper Symbolism The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892 is a collection of journal entries written by a woman who suffers from the mental disorder, namely temporary nervous depression. All of the entries constitute an account of the woman who is taken by her physician husband to the country in order to regain mental stability. More importantly, it portrays the protagonists preoccupation with the ugly wallpaper in her sickroom. The work is filled up with plenty of symbols, but the most important and prevailing one is the mentioned above wallpaper. The protagonist is engrossed in it and feels an uncanny connection to it. This seemingly irrelevant and ordinary element of decoration represents many arguable issues in the story, making the interpretation of the text more complex and meaningful at the same time. The yellow wallpaper stands for state of mind, restrictions placed on women as well as for the racial problems in the late 19th century particularly in the United States o f America. Firstly, let me have a look on the wallpaper as a symbol of the protagonists state of mind. The very colour of it is yellow. The most universal connotations with it are bodily fluids, sickness or uncleanness. In the case of The Yellow Wallpaper it would mirror a mental illness and the process of the downfall of the human mind. Moreover, the pattern of the wallpaper is illogical and chaotic just as the narrators shaken sanity. As her disease confuses her mind and contradicts logic, the paper parallels her psychological state at this point. She is confused and unstable just as the decoration. At first, the wallpaper is a source of an immense irritation to Jane as she cannot find any, even the smallest sign of consistency in it. I never saw a worse paper in my life (Gilman 4). However, she becomes gradually obsessed with deciphering its meaning. As her mental disorder progresses, she starts suffering from hallucinations and finally concludes that actually there is a logic in the papers pattern. I have finally found out. () The front pattern does move and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! (Gilman 16). The wallpaper portrays a woman who is ambushed in this illogical system. It is only her who can see the woman, and therefore, the womans only chance to set her free. Jane slowly looses the contact with reality, retreats into her obsessive fantasy. As the time passes by, she becomes the woman within the paper who simultaneously loses her identity. She disconnects herself from Jane and assumes new personality as well as perception of herself. The subsequent deterioration of the protagonists mental state reaches the climax when she locks herself in the room to finally tear all of the wallpaper in order to set the woman free from imprisonment. When John finds her, with all the decoration torn to pieces, the woman vigorously shouts out: Ive got out at last () in spite of you and Jane. And Ive pulled off most of the paper, so you cant put me back! (Gilman 21). The nar rator is finally free and there is no power which would imprison her again. She got rid of all chains, societal norms and constraints by total descent into insanity which surprisingly, turned out to be her only salvation. Secondly, the wallpaper may be a metaphorical equivalent for all restrictions imposed on women in the 1800s. In those times, women were condemned from intellectual work, forced to conform to the dependence of males and all rules of decent woman behaviour. It goes without saying that as a result women were helpless and oppressed. The title wallpaper is a confusing and complicated pattern in which the fictional woman appears. This may represents womens feeling of being lost in the oppressive and strongly hierarchical society and living in the world which does not appeal to them. The historically shaped division of the roles within family and marriage leaves its unbearable mark on womens lives. As the time passes by, our protagonist starts to identify herself with the imaginary woman. At this point, all the narrators fears and inner emotions are projected on the wallpaper. Societal constraints and norms overwhelm her and deprive of any chance to live her life to the full. The only way t o know peace is a complete fall into insanity. The last and probably the most outrageous interpretation of the wallpaper is the one proposed by Susan Lanser. She set the story in the political and ideological context of racial anxiety and nativism. Her immensely provocative thesis that the yellow wallpaper is a reflection on Yellow Peril questioned the common perception of it and triggered out a wave of surprise and consternation. The main symbol of the story with its colour which stands for dirt, urine, inferiority and uncleanness, seems to signify the racial otherness. The racism is in a way encoded in the wallpaper. In the late 19th century Western countries, especially the United States of America, faced with a massive immigration of East Asians. This process evoked the conviction that new comers would be a threat for the Whites job market and may change standards of living (Frost). Due to that Americans were so obsessive and hostile towards the representatives of the yellow race. On the basis of this information, we may inte rpret the protagonists tearing of the wallpaper from the wall as an act of getting rid of all unwelcome immigrants as well as an expression of hostility and racism. Moreover, to prove this thesis more reliable and feasible there is evidence that the author was personally an active supporter of racial uniformity. She belonged for a time to eugenics and nationalist organizations; opposed open immigration; and inscribed racism, nationalism, and classism into her proposal for social change (Lanser 429). Therefore, according to Horvitz, we may state that the narrators descent into nervous depression is in metaphorical terms a kind of escape to an utopian word in which there is no yellow, stained and smelly wallpaper, and in consequence no presence of other race. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a perfect example of the symbolism in the literature. It plays a soul part of The Yellow Wallpaper. The main ideas, points are presented across it making the text more complex, intricate and interesting. The story is overfilled with various symbols such as the window, nursery and obviously the most influential one the wallpaper. It may be a clear reflection of the protagonists state of mind, indication of societal suppression and its principles or as Susan Lanser pointed out, the metaphor of racial discrimination. In my paper I presented only three of the possible interpretations of this particular symbol, but it goes without saying that one may come up with as many ideas and conclusions as possible.

Beauty Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder† I agree that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder because beauty comes from within your soul. People have different ideas and tastes, so ideas on what is beautiful vary from person to person. This is proven when you look around in the world which we all share. There are countless ways in which beauty is shown to us all. It could be in nature, like the waterfalls or the sunset or even a hurricane; some people may think that it’s exotic to see the skies fierce and dark. It all depends on who you are and what you believe in. For example, imagine a girl and a guy sitting on a dock by the sea, their hands entwined with each other but they are both looking in different directions. The girl is staring straight ahead watching the sunset. In her eyes it’s one of the most beautiful moments in the world. The guy, however, is looking at the girls’ face while she is in awe by the sight before her eyes. Her skin is as soft as silk, her lips full and tender and her vibrant red hair is dancing gently with the wind. In his eyes she is the most beautiful sight in the world. Beauty could also be found in everyday objects. It could be the car one owns, or the pool in ones backyard, or even the quilts in a bedroom. For example imagine a husband and wife cleaning their attic. They go through all their old stuff to decide what to keep and what should be thrown away. The wife stumbles upon an antique plate; it’s full of cracks and the colors have faded ...

Why We Baptize in Jesus Name :: essays research papers

Why We Baptize in Jesus' Name Introduction The subject of water baptism has long been called a great issue and no doubt has been made such by many church leaders of the past and present. In our study of it, let us first consider its importance, or the necessity of being baptized. The Importance of Water Baptism Christian water baptism is an ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ. If it is not important in the plan of God, why did Jesus command it in Matthew 28:19? And why did Peter follow up by saying, "Be baptized every one of you," and by commanding the Gentiles to be baptized (Acts 2:38; 10:48)? We must remember two points about the importance of water baptism. First, whatever Christ definitely established and ordained cannot be unimportant, whether we understand its significance or not. Second, Christ and the apostles showed the importance of this ordinance by observing it. Jesus walked many miles to be baptized, though He was without sin, saying, "For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness" (See Matthew 3:13-16.) It is true that water itself does not contain any saving virtue, but God has chosen to include it in His plan of salvation. Peter explained, "Baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 3:21). According to Luke 7:30, "the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized." The Mode of Baptism According to the Scriptures, the proper mode of baptism is immersion. "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water" (Matthew 3:16). "And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him" (Acts 8:38). "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death" (Romans 6:4). A corpse is not buried by placing it on top of the ground and sprinkling a little soil on it, but by covering it completely. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, "At first all baptism was by complete immersion" (vol. 1, p.651). And the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "In the early centuries, all were baptized by immersion in streams, pools, and baptisteries" (vol. 2, p.263). Immersion was not convenient after the Catholic church instituted infant baptism; thus the mode was changed to sprinkling. (See Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed.

Uniform Essay

Uniform Essay Although many people may not agree with me or perhaps call me a loser and a nerd I do believe that uniforms should be made mandatory in school and this is of course for plenty of well supported reasons. First off even if you don’t notice it right away uniforms will help you prepare for the future. Also much money is saved and finally much time is saved and much hassle is avoided. First, one of the main reasons I support uniforms is because they are a greatly underappreciated form of success. Have you ever noticed that most stores that you go to the employees are in uniform? This of course is mandatory and if they fail to dress out they will not be allowed to work or in worse case scenarios be fired. Many students against uniforms might argue that you should be able to show that you are unique but really what do you think is going to happen if you go to your job dressed up in whatever clothes you want even though there is a dress code? Many students don’t notice or perhaps don’t want to believe that uniforms are helpful in anyway but let’s be honest, they are. As previously stated, money is an issue to many people and even if it is not who does not want to save some? With uniforms being mandatory at schools parents only have to go to the uniform store and buy a couple of pairs for their children while if there is no dress code you have to buy expensive clothing and spend time in multiple stores looking for it. Many will argue and say how is having a uniform pairs of clothing and a going out pairs of clothing saving us money and the answer to that is simple, uniforms are cheap and are created with a great deal of resilience which means they will last a very long time and much money will not be spent them. Also in response to the previous argument wearing non uniform clothing to school requires more and more clothes to be bought when something gets â€Å"out of style† or outdated and that in the long run is defiantly more expensive. Last but not least, if you are a person like me who gets to school right before the late bell rings you don’t need another excuse to take longer getting dressed out. Not having a uniform at your school may seem great and all but have you ever thought about how much time you spend looking for what you are going to wear? Students might argue that no uniforms will give them an incentive to wake up for school but in reality it is giving them an incentive to be late to school. I use to go to a middle school with no uniform policy and it was such a hassle for me and I’m sure t is for many other people too, I would have to wake up earlier look for the clothes I wanted to wear and about 90% of the time get to school late. In conclusion, I do believe uniforms should be made mandatory in school but more than likely that is not going to happen due to all the complaints and arguments about them. It truly is tragic that people don’t see what is good for them until it is too l ate. Uniforms allow money and time to be saved and better yet they prepare you for the future, what else could you ask for from clothing?

Retailing businesses Essay

Different retailing businesses have very different distribution methods based on the types of product that they sell, some arguably more effectively than others. As mentioned in an earlier assignment, there are three main types of distribution channels. The first is the channel that goes from the producer, then to the wholesaler, then to the retailer or sells to the consumer. The second channel starts with the producer who sells straight to the retailer, who then sells to the consumer. The third channel goes directly from the producer to the consumer. Channels one and two are classed as indirect marketing channels, whereas channel three is a direct marketing channel as it goes straight from producer to consumer. All of the distribution channels start with a producer who will create the products, for example the person that milks the cows to get milk. For the first channel, the producer makes the product and then sells it to a wholesaler, such as Costsco who will purchase a huge quantity of products from them. They would do this to make sure that they have enough to sell onto retailers. They would keep a large amount of the product, for example some kind of confectionary, in there warehouse so they’re in a suitable environment to be kept until they’re sold on. Next, the retailer, who could be a small store or a larger store, who would want to purchase a specific amount of products from the wholesalers, not in as bulk form as the wholesaler would have purchased them in. This method would typically be used by used by smaller, more personal stores, that don’t need to buy in such bulk. This channel is effective for confectionary products for example, as Costco can get sweets such as Dairy Milk bars, or Skittles, at an incredibly low price for huge boxes. It is good because it means that the businesses further down the chain will have confidence that they will be able to get the products that they want because the wholesaler gets the items I such bulk and if they sell all of their products, they can replenish easily. For the second channel, the retailer can give their consumers a guarantee that the product is fresher than if they used channel one, as they are getting the product directly from the producer before selling it to the consumer. This is because companies get the products directly from producers so they can guarantee the quality, unlike the first channel where the products go through two separate distributors which could contaminate the product or  raise the risk of it being damaged. An example of this would be the electronics company Sony. Due to the fact that Sony produces their own products and then sells them onto other electronic stores such as Currys/PC World who will then sell the products onto the consumers. The third Channel will typically deal with the consumer directly rather than using a middleman. This means that the customer will get the product or service at that moment on purchase. An example of this could be seen with Gregg’s Bakery. Due to the fact they will have their products made on site and would be able to sell their customers everything they have produced in store without using other stores ford or bringing in any assistance. By doing this it gives Greggs a better look by being able to say that they produce all of their products on site and they can also guarantee that the products are fresh. Different sectors of business will use different techniques when going through the distribution stage differently. This can be from the difference of storing products whilst distributing them and how they actually transport the product to the next person in the channel. For example, how a food retailer and gets their products distributed will be different to how a clothing sto re gets theirs. For a restaurant they use a wide variety of produces such as local farmers and local fishermen, depending on the type of restaurant that they own. They could have very specific producers, for example if they were a halal based restaurant they would have to be very specific about their supplier. Then they will have to either make a deal with the producer/supplier so they can collect produce direct from them. Then they will prepare the food ready to cook it and will store the prepared ingredients safely at the correct temperature. They will then wait for the person at the end of the chain – the consumer – to come to the restaurant to cook it for them. This is good for the producer because money will track back to them through the restaurant gaining the money from selling the meals. The money goes into the restaurant from customers pockets, and then the restaurant will use a portion of this money to re-purchase some supplies from the producer. This is when a good working relationship will develop between them as they will gain more sales and earn more money back. Continuing with a food retailer, Greggs or a restaurant will want to get fresher ingredients than other retailers so that they can make sure they produce all of their products to be as fresh as can be. This  can be done for example by Gregg’s own in-store bakeries having their ingredients delivered in the morning and then they bake them the same morning to make sure they are as fresh as possible. When they order the ingredients from the producers they will have to check that the supplier is storing the produce correctly before purchasing, otherwise they may purchase products that could be unsuitable for them to use and if they did use them, could create problems for them in the future. A good example of this could be seen with restaurants purchasing fish. A lot of the time they would send an employee to get it directly after it has been caught on the boat . They do this so that there are no issues with how the fish is stored, as if it is stored incorrectly whilst distributed it will cause severe food poisoning and could lead to the restaurant getting sued or shut down. A clothing retailer will start the process from the producer then they will involve the their designers and then they would create the products. If the retailer manufactures their own brand clothing for example Primark the producers send the finished garments directly to their warehouses fir distribution into their stores. If it is a clothing retailer that buys garments from fashion houses or via intermediaries then the finished items would go to their wholesalers and then potentially go to retailers depending on what business it is and then finally, they would be bought by the consumers. They would start the process by collecting the cotton from the cotton farmers then they would be shipped off to the factories where weavers and designers will create the fabrics, the fabric factories will then sell them to clothing manufacturing companies who will create something that retailers can sell on to make a profit from the whole process. When they have been created they will choose either to sell them onto a wholesaler or to only sell it in their particular stores. With some businesses having stores in other countries it means they have to have all of their products send to one area then they will have to have those products sent to other stores across to other countries, extending the distribution channels. A retail business such as House of Fraser will be using the second channel. This means that they will get their clothing material/parts sent to them and then thy will create their products, and then send them to their retail stores. Because they have a large area inside their stores to store and display their stock it means they can have a large amount of one clothing item on sale at once. Because  House of Fraser is a bigger company than Greggs they will be using more trucks to get their products to them. Another difference between the two would be that House of Fraser will be able to store their products for a longer period of time due to them selling the non-perishable products unlike Greggs, who make the majority of their products on a daily basis and at the end of the day would have to throw those products away otherwise they would go off. In terms of cost, a restaurant will be willing to spend money in order to get products distributed to them in a safe and hygienic way, as long as they know the full process that the products take. For other businesses, such as Primark, the aim is to get them distributed to them at a very low cost, as long as the products aren’t damaged. This is because the products aren’t perishable and there is no need to store them in any specific way to keep them secure.