Kim Jong-Un free essay sample

Kim Jong-un is the unpredictable new leader of North Korea. Recent events, plus events from the past year, have made him a big target in the eye of the media. Threatening the U. S. and its allies with nuclear and ballistic missiles has made him an influential person on society today. Even with many warnings about North Korea’s weapons testing, they still proceed do as they wish. In recent weeks major countries such as the U. S. , China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea have been planning and preparing just in case a war was to break out in the region. If such a thing were to happen, it would leave the world in chaos, and could ultimately cause what could be another world war. Kim Jong-un was made leader of North Korea after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011. (Kim Jong-un) Nothing is known about his early life or even of his date of birth. We will write a custom essay sample on Kim Jong-Un or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Kim Jong-un) He was supposedly born in North Korea, and rumored to be educated in Switzerland (Kim Jong-un). Before his mother, Ko Young-hee, died in 2004, she was thought to be the one who campaigned for him to be his father’s successor (Kim Jong-un). His father began to prepare him for leadership in 2010, and he was believed to be in his 20’s when he assumed power (Kim Jong-un). In the summer of 2012 it was revealed that he had been married (Kim Jong-un). The exact wedding date is unknown (Kim Jong-un). Once he was in control of the country, he continued the country’s weapons testing program as his father did before him (Kim Jong-un). Although agreeing to stop testing weapons in February 2012, North Korea attempted to launch a rocket to establish a satellite (Kim Jong-un). That attempt failed, but another attempt succeeded in December (Kim Jong-un). He has been more involved with the media than any past North Korean leader (Kim Jong-un). Meeting with NBA player Dennis Rodman, and taking pictures publicly with families of soldiers, are just a few reasons Kim is more involved in the media than past North Korean leaders (Kim Jong-un). He has tried to gain the respect by promising to help the country get out of poverty, and help bring it back to a good condition (Kim Jong-un). North Korea has been been in terrible poverty for many years (Kim Jong-un). A famine in 1990 caused devistating food shortages and had an impact on the entire population up to this day (Kim Jong-un). As a result of the famine, North Korea’s school systems have been greatly affected. Kim has promised to meet the economic and educational needs of North Korea (Kim Jong-un). With the constant threat of nuclear war on the horizon, Kim Jong-un has been in the media spotlight. North Korea has made many recent threats against the U. S. and its allies. Recent intelligence reports suggest that multiple missile launches could be possible due to mobile musadan missile launchers placed on the coast (†Smith†). The musudan is an untested weapon that South Korea says has a range as far as 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles) (†Smith†). South Korean officials say that they are prepared for any missile attacks from the North, and are not worried (†Smith†). Due to the threats and aggressive actions of Kim and his government, they have lost a lot of support from their allies. Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, told the media that even though they are allied with North Korea, they are on the side of the U. S (†Smith†). China has also moved missile defense system around Tokyo in case of an attack (†Smith†). No one can now for sure if North Korea will attack or if they have the meas to back up their threats. Many threats have taken place, but no real act of violence has happened yet. With an unpredictable leader such as Kim Jong-un anything can happen. If he and the government of North Korea don’t back down, could ultimately lead to a World War 3. Only one thing is for certain with Kim Jong-un, and that is that he will stop at nothing until he earns the respect of the North Korean people.

Road Traffic in Egypt versus U.S. Essay

Road Traffic in Egypt versus U.S. Essay Road Traffic in Egypt versus U.S. Essay As a person who has a driving license from Egypt as well as from the U.S. Traffic system, which supposed as an international system, means to me traffic lights, road lanes, signals. In addition, how people deal with it. From my experience, it differs from one country to another. I am going to highlight the differences between U.S and Egypt in terms of driver's behaviors, police reaction and road maintenance. In Egypt, the drivers' behavior differ from U.S in terms of speed limits, road signs' obedience and the dealing with pedestrians. There is neither respect for the speed limits on highways nor in interior Streets. Egyptians are always in a hurry and passing another car from the right side is very normal. They rarely make use of converting signals from lane to another. For example, when the driver wants to move from the right lane to left one, instead of giving a yellow signal he jumps to lane without signaling. I cannot remember seeing a driver stopping his car when there is a sto p sign. Nobody should be surprised when Egyptians drive in the wrong side on the highway speeding! Pedestrians are the main victims. They even suffer when they want to cross the street because they do not have a chance to cross safely. On the other hand, American driver's behavior is more civilized. In general, they show respect for all kinds of traffic signals. For example, they stop when there is a red light and stop signs. When U.S drivers' need to convert their direction from left to right, they give the yellow signal and watch the road until it is clear to move. In addition, what I liked very much is there high attention to bus schools. Moreover, they adhere to speed limits, and they give way to pedestrians. We should not be surprised that the rate of traffic accidents in Egypt is 13.2 deaths per 100.000 population, according to World Health Organization statics while only 11.6 with the U.S.A. In Egypt, when we have a car accident, the first reaction from the drivers is startin g to shout at each other. Each one pretends he is not wrong. In some cases, this shouting extend to a body language when they start slapping, boxing, and even wrestling. Therefore, we can say we will have a free show of boxing and wrestling. Egyptian Police reaction is so slow and late. Rarely, they are at the location of the accident unless it is great one or receiving heavy calls. Cops patrol is not as many as in the United States and indeed, it is not active. When Egyptian drivers break traffic laws, the police is not treating everyone equally. It depends on the relationships between them. If he knows the driver, he will be on his side. In contrast, In U.S I have not seen fighting between two drivers when they have an accident. I think that for several reasons. First, there is a

Quick Facts About Americas Mount Rushmore

Quick Facts About America's Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of Keystone,  South Dakota. The sculpture of four famous presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln - was carved into the granite rock face over many decades. According to the National Park Service, approximately 2.5 million people visit the monument each year.   Fast Facts: Mount Rushmore Location: Near Rapid City, South DakotaArtist: Gutzon Borglum. Died seven months before it was finished; completed by son Lincoln.Size: The presidents faces are 60 feet high.Material: Granite rock faceYear Started: 1927Year Completed: 1941Cost: $989,992.32Notable: The artist was tagged for the project because of his work on the Confederate Memorial Carving at Stone Mountain, Georgia, which he began. His work was removed and another artist finished it, however. Also in the national park is the Avenue of Flags, representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.  In the summertime, the monument is also lit up at night. History of Mount Rushmore National Park   Gutzon Borglums model of Mt. Rushmore memorial, where you see the original plans. Library of Congresss Prints and Photographs Division/Public Domain/Wiki Commons   Mount Rushmore National Park was the brainchild of Doane Robinson, known as the â€Å"Father of Mount Rushmore.† His goal was to create an attraction that would draw people from all over the country to his state. Robinson contacted Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who was working on the monument at Stone Mountain, Georgia. Borglum met with Robinson during 1924 and 1925. He was the one who identified Mount Rushmore as a perfect location for a grand monument. This was due to the cliffs height above the surrounding area; its composition of granite, which would be slow to erode; and the fact that it faced southeast, to take advantage of the rising sun each day. Robinson worked with John Boland, President Calvin Coolidge, Rep. William Williamson, and Sen. Peter Norbeck to gain support in Congress and the funding to proceed. Congress agreed to match up to $250,000 of funding for the project and created the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission. Work began, and by 1933 the Mount Rushmore project became part of the National Park Service. Borglum did not like having the NPS oversee the construction. However, he continued to work on the project until his death in 1941. The monument was deemed complete and ready for dedication on October 31, 1941. It eventually cost nearly $1 million. Why Each of the Four Presidents Was Chosen Tetra Images/Getty Images Borglum made the decision about which presidents to include on the mountain. According to the National Park Service, heres his reasoning: George Washington: He was the first president and represented the foundation of American democracy.Thomas Jefferson: With the Louisiana Purchase, he greatly expanded the nation. He was also the author of the hugely influential Declaration of Independence.  Theodore Roosevelt: He not only represented the industrial development of the nation but was also widely known for conservation efforts.  Abraham Lincoln: As the president during the U.S. Civil War, he represents the preservation of the nation above all costs.   Carving Done With Dynamite The powder monkey is holding dynamite and detonators.   Archive Photos/Getty Images With 450,000 tons of granite that needed to be removed, the sculptor found out early on that jackhammers were not going to take care of the job fast enough. He employed a munitions expert to insert charges of dynamite into drilled holes and blasted the rock off when the workers were off of the mountain. Eventually, 90 percent of the granite removed from the rock face was done with dynamite. Changes to the Design The unfinished hall of records behind Abraham Lincolns head, just as Gutzon Borglum left it. Rachel.Miller727/Creative Commons/Wiki Commons During production, the design went through nine changes. Entablature What appears isnt exactly how the sculpture was conceived by sculptor Borglum, who also had plans for wording to be etched into the rock face, called the Entablature. It was to contain a brief history of the United States, highlighting nine important events between 1776 and 1906, carved into an image of the Louisiana Purchase. Given issues over the wording and funding and the fact that people wouldnt be able to read it from a distance, that idea was scrapped. Hall of Records Another plan was to have a Hall of Records in a room behind Lincolns head that would be accessed by the public via a staircase from the base of the mountain. On display would be important documents in a room decorated with mosaics. It too was discontinued, in 1939, due to lack of funding. Congress told the artist to concentrate on the faces and just get it done. A tunnel is what remains. It does house some porcelain panels giving the background about the building of the monument, the artist, and the presidents, but its inaccessible to visitors due to the lack of a staircase. More Than Heads Mock-ups of the design include the four presidents from the waist up. Funding was ever an issue, and the directive was to just stick with the four faces. Jefferson Moved Over Thomas Jefferson was originally on the other side of George Washington. Carmen Martinez Torron/Getty Images Thomas Jefferson was originally started on George Washingtons right, and carving of Jeffersons face began in 1931. However, the granite there was full of quartz. Workers kept blasting off the quartz, but after 18 months they realized that the location was just not working. His face was dynamited off and carved on the other side. Carving Stone carvers on scaffolding and hoists carve the face of Thomas Jefferson into Mount Rushmore. George Rinhart/Getty Images Workers hung from a 3/8-inch steel cable in bosuns chairs as they worked with jackhammers, drills, and chisels and carried dynamite. To their credit, no one died during Mount Rushmores construction - or the mountains destruction, as the case may be. A crew of four hundred worked on the sculpture. Facts About Borglum American Sculptor Gutzon Borglum. George Rinhart/Getty Images Art Background Gutzon Borglum studied in Paris and became friends with Auguste Rodin, who heavily influenced the young artist.  Borglum was the first American sculptor to have his work purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.   Stone Mountain Although Borglum had begun the sculpture on Stone Mountain, Georgia, he never finished it. He left on bad terms, and his work was cleared away from the mountain face. Another sculptor, Augustus Lukeman, was called in to finish the work.   Tempestuous Boss Borglum  was often away during the sculpting of Mount Rushmore. While it was being completed, he also made a sculpture of Thomas Paine for Paris and Woodrow Wilson for Poland. His son supervised the work on the mountain during his absence.   When he was on site, he was known for his mood swings and was continuously firing and rehiring people. His energy for the project and persistence, through many years of trials and issues with funding, eventually led to the projects completion. Unfortunately, he died seven months before it was done. His son completed it. Origin of the Mountain Name The mountain took its name - incredibly - from a New York attorney there on business who asked the name of the location in 1884 or 1885. A local man with the group looking at the mountain informed him that it didnt have a name but said, We will name it now, and name it Rushmore Peak, according to a letter from Charles Rushmore, the lawyer who was in the area for a client researching a mine.

A Brief Biography of Mark Twain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Brief Biography of Mark Twain - Essay Example From this research, it is clear that despite his apparent success, Mark Twain sought higher standing and increased wealth, especially as it concerned the eastern states. After a brief correspondence and engagement, Twain married Olivia Langdon of New York in 1870. He lived with Olivia in Buffalo from 1869 to 1871, during which time tragedy once again struck Twain, as their first born son Langdon died of diphtheria at two years of age. They would go on to have three daughters, two of which who would also die under tragic circumstances at a relatively young age (before 30). In 1976 Twain published the masterful The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, demonstrating that he had not lost touch with his Missouri roots despite his risen status and wealth. Between this time and the time he published Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Twain appeared his high-browed associated with tales such as The Prince and the Pauper in 1881. Sadly, the last fifteen to twenty years of Twain’s life were extremely troubled. He faced financial ruin from bad investments and a failed publication house (Kirk 29) and suffered from depression from the time of his daughter Susy’s death of meningitis in 1896 until his death in 1910. Twain’s death occurred 6 years after the passing of his wife Olivia while he was lecturing abroad (Cox 10). At the time of his passing Twain was considered a national treasure and he would go on to be credited by throngs of professionals as the father of American literature.

Biology 2 (plant and society) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biology 2 (plant and society) - Essay Example Sago palm flowers after 12-15 years and rarely produces fertile seeds. Vegetative propagation takes a long time and involves a lengthy process. Therefore, it is unreliable in meeting the dietary needs of the worlds growing population. Traditional agriculture is seasonal and ensures that sources of starch are planted and harvested all seasons. In this regard, starch requirement can be met by traditional means of agriculture (Wickens, 2001). This does not make the extraction of starch from sago palm an easier alternative to traditional agriculture. Sago palm flourishes in wet conditions. Fresh water swamps are the natural habitat for the plant. In dry conditions, the plant would not do well. Some of the world’s populations live in arid or semi arid conditions. Therefore, if sago palm was to be their primary source of starch, people would experience starch deficiencies. Traditional sources of starch such as sorghum do well in dry conditions. These plants rich in starch but are no t cultivated in such areas could be produced by irrigation and made available through trade (Elevitch, 2006). It would be difficult to argue that producing starch from sago palm is an easy task. The process of obtaining starch is tasking and challenging. Chopping down the plant is dangerous because the plant has thorns that are almost one inch in length. Starch is obtained from the pith. Scraping the plant is an energy consuming task and starch can only be obtained through the use hand- made tools. This makes the task even harder. It is then soaked to separate the starch from the non-starch part of the pith. The Salient parts are then dried and carried using bags. Men only chop down the tree, whereas women process the plant to produce the end product. This raises the question of gender inequality. It would be unfair to let women do difficult chores, yet they are fending for the same families. Traditional agriculture ensured that both men and women participated in the production proc ess of food. The work done did not favor one gender over the other. The amount of energy employed in producing sago starch is intensive. It could be used in other economic activities. Traditional agriculture ensured an even distribution of energy. This ensured that tasks were lighter and time conscious. This ensured that other economic activities did not stall (Elevitch, 2006). The means of cooking the sago starch prove to be also hectic. The starch powder is mixed with water to make a sticky dough It is pushed into a single section of a green bamboo. When the freshly cut green bamboo is almost full it is covered with green leaves. This means off cooking is not friendly to the environment. Needless to say, it involves cutting down of bamboo plants, which is a form of deforestation. Cooked sago starch has no taste hence its palatability comes into question. Majority of the world population would not enjoy this meal. This would prove it inappropriate as a reliable source of starch. Tr aditional agriculture produced meals that are easy to prepare and are palatable (Brown, 2007). Sago palm starch is almost a pure carbohydrate. It contains little traces of proteins, minerals and vitamins. It would not be an ideal source of nutrients. Other sources of starch also supply human beings with other nutritional value. For example, maize contains proteins, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber. It makes up

Causes of the French Revolution

Causes of the French Revolution Revolutions are not simply actions committed from impulses, rather, they are a set of protests to express disagreements with the current society. This was the case of the French Revolution. Around the 18th century, British colonists in North America accused England for unequal treatments. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, Americans overthrew the British power and created a republic. Driven by the successful American Revolution and the new ideas of liberty and equality, the French were inspired to do the same with the ruling royalty and to establish a new political order. This was mainly because France continued the system of the â€Å"Old Regime†, a type of feudal system where the king held absolute power. Under the Old Regime, there was an unequal distribution of wealth and rights of citizens. In addition, the enormously high prices of life necessities were also critical because many people had barely enough to eat and live. Consequently, the observed of Enlightenment ideas an d witness of American Revolution’s success, disparity in wealth and rights of the citizen, in addition of corruption in the ruling royalty’s power over government inspired the occurrence of the French Revolution. Among one of the factors that had played into the French Revolution was the philosophical view of human right and government structure. At the Age of Reason, many philosophers created new ideas about the government and questioned the basic rights of all humans. Such ideas influenced the French Revolution. There were three major enlightenment thinkers, and they were John Locke, Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Locke was an English philosopher who witnessed political turmoil in England during the 17th century. One of his most influential ideas on French Revolution was the equality of human and the three natural rights, which are life, liberty and property. In France, serfs and peasants didn’t have the same rights as aristocracy because they didn’t enjoy the same freedoms and property that the wealthy population enjoyed. Furthermore, they made up 80 percent of the population (Kreis). Thus, they were unsatisfied with their unequal rights. In addition, the â€Å"bourg eoisie†, or the middle class, could be as rich as the some nobles because the bourgeoisie were the people to get engaged in trades and a variety of businesses that helped them to gain a good amount of wealth and influence the French economy. However, the bourgeoisies were still considered as commoners because their statuses in society were not heritable as nobilities (Kreis). Consequently, the bourgeoisies wished the government to open more positions to base on the individual’s merits. But it was impossible to do this under the Old Regime due to the huge differences in social classes and privileges. Hence, the commoners, including both peasants and bourgeois, were inspired to revolt from the new philosophical ideas that were widely spread and accepted of the individual human rights. In addition, Montesquieu published The Spirit of the Laws in 1783 and claimed the best government was a kind of constitutional monarchy, which was a monarchy that shared its political powers with another governing power. Consequently, Montesquieu suggested that France should model this kind of government in order to achieve the same success as England did. With this form of government Montesquieu suggested the sharing of sovereignty with the aristocracy. Hence, his view didn’t represent the whole population of the country, including the bourgeoisie and peasants. (The French Revolution: Ideas and Ideologies). The king also rejected the sharing of power, so it was considered as an impractical solution. However, Montesquieu had made an essential influence on the French Revolution with this new idea of sovereignty, which was expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The clause three stated that no individual could exercise the power of controlling over others. Another Enlightenment philosopher, Rousseau, however proposed the idea of self-ruling and direct democracy. The idea stated all citizens have the equality to participate in politics (MacAdam). According to an authority of philosophical studies, Jim MacAdam, concluded Rousseau impacted French Revolution by the idea of human equality. This was because the proposal of self-ruling outlined the equality among all citizens to have the rights participating the affairs of the nation. The idea that the general population could participate in politics was also deeply appealing because compared to clergies and nobilities at the time, commoners had no social status, privileges, and rights to manage political affairs. Inspired by the idea of equality in politics from Montesquieu and Rousseau, the commoners were inspired to take actions to fight for their political freedom. Combining the ideas proposed by philosophers and American Revolution, the French was very inspired to create a revolution in the overall societal structure. During the 17th century, America was a colony to the Great Britain. Unfair treatment such as over-taxation and a monarchal government, spurred the American Revolution (Mackey), so that they could fight for freedom, liberty and reasonable taxation (Emerich, Dalberg, Acton). Observing the Americans, the French commoners also wished to have the equal freedom and liberty that they gained. Due to the similar reasons in France and America, it provided a suitable explanation to start a revolution. Moreover, Paris was the origin the enlighten ideas, so it was easy for revolutionary ideas to spread around France and the French people. Hence, the new idea for equality promoted action to commence a revolution in France. In addition, the poor economic condition provided a demonstrated factor to revolt. The poor economic condition in France included accumulated debts and issues of the deregulatory market of grain after a drought in 1788. As a participant of the Seven Years War and American War of Independence, huge debts were accumulated in order to fund armies. The assistance to the American Revolution had built up the debt in France to 13 billion livres (Schiff). Hence, the French government was bankrupted. However, England, also a participant of both wars, was able to manage the financial problems brought by the wars (Karan). The financial problems in France were not as manageable as England due to the lack of advisers and the inefficient tax collecting system (Smith). Since France was still controlled by an absolute monarchy, who believed in absolute control, most decisions, including economical decisions, were only made by the monarchy alone. Without others advisors to suggest practical solutions , the financial problems were hard to improve solely with decisions from the monarchy. In addition, the tax collecting system was also unsuitable, because the monarch gave power to local officials to collect taxes (Smith), which caused some corrupt officials seize the tax money for themselves, rather than turning the money back to the state. Thus this made the financial problems even more difficult to resolve, because there was no taxation money into the state, so the debt was unable to be paid off. Apart from economical issues, the agriculture in France suffered a deadly blow. A devastating drought in 1788 caused peasants to have difficulty maintaining their health mainly due to lack of food caused from the lack of growth of grain. The failure of grain growth resulted the increased pricing on bread, because bread was made from the grain. Bread was a daily staple in France, so peasants couldn’t live without bread (The French Revolution: The causes of the revolution). However, due to the drought in 1788, the prices of bread inflated. The portion of income spent on bread thus increased eighty-eight percent, compared to fifty percent before the drought (Walinger). In addition to the increase in bread prices, the peasants also had to pay taxes, which created unsatisfactory living conditions for many peasants. There was also an unequal societal structure in France at this time, because the Old Regime divided French social structure unequally. The monarch held all power of the state and there was no parliament in France. Around 1770 to 1780, Louis XVI was in charge of the throne. However, he wasn’t prepared to become king, because he was too shy and irresponsible (Louis XVI biography). Also because France was controlled under an absolute monarchy instead of a constitutional monarchy, most decisions were based on the monarch himself. However, the monarch wasn’t fully considerate of the whole nation due to lack of consideration from Louis XVI. For instance, Louis XVI’s construction of the palace of Versailles wasted over seven to ten percent of the national treasury (Smith), which had put more stress on the treasury from the debts created the American Revolution and the Seven Years Wars. To resolve the debt problems in France became a critical issue, so Louis XVI turned toward the â€Å"Third Estate† that generated most of the country’s income. The Old Regime was divided into three Estates. The First was composed of clergy, the Second of the nobility and the Third of the commoners, which comprised of 25 million people. Because this social structure was based on customs and traditions, it created inequalities in law (Keris). For instance, although the Third Estate formed 80 percent of the French population, including the bourgeoisie who owned 25 percent of the land, they only held one vote in the Estate General (a general meeting of the three Estates). (Unit 4: French Revolution Napoleon). Compared to the other two Estates, this was generally not fair. The First Estate owned ten to fifteen percent of land in France and constantly received tithe and did not pay taxes. The Second Estate owned thirty percent of the land and they usually get their wealth fr om rents from the peasants who lived on their land. However, the people of the poor Third Estate used their little income to live and pay taxes to the Church, monarchy and landowners (Keris). Compared to the First and Second Estates, the people of the Third Estate were extremely unsatisfied with unequal privileges, heavy taxes, and inequality on voting rights in the Estate General. The French Revolution was a remarkable event on French history, and it was created mainly from new ideas of Enlightenment philosophers, enormous economic problems, and inequality of rights, which were also observed from the success of the American Revolution. Moreover, the economic problem resulted over taxation and the raised of the daily staple created an unsatisfied living condition for the peasants. In addition, the failure of the ruling monarch, such as the fact that the monarch managed all decisions of the state without putting the population into consideration and unwillingness to adapt to new form of political structure. Works Cited Cranston, Maurice. â€Å"The French Revolution: Ideas and Ideologies.† History Today, HistoryToday Ltd., 5 May 1989. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. Choi, Insun. â€Å"Economic problem that caused French Revolution.† KIS World History. n.p., 26 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 Dec. 2014. Emerich, John. Dalberg, Edward. Acton, Lord. â€Å"Lectures on the French Revolution: The Influence of America†. Google online book. Google, Mar. 30 2006. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. The French Revolution. Go Social Studies Go. n.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. Karan, Priya. â€Å"Economic Causes of The French Revolution: Debt.† Suite.com. n.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. Kerise, Steven. â€Å"Lecture 11: The Origins of the French Revolution.† Historyguide.org. The History Guide, 30 Oct. 2006. Web. 28 Sep. 2014. â€Å"Louis XVI biography.† Bastille-day. n.p., 1 July. 2012, Web. 28 Sep. 2014. MacAdam, Jim. â€Å"Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Revolution.† Montreal Symposium. n.p., 28 May 1989. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. â€Å"Marie Antoinette biography.† Bastille-day. n.p., 1 July. 2012. Web. 28 Sep. 2014. Mackey, Richard. â€Å"American Revolution Influences of the French Revolution†. Google online book. Google, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. Prest, William. â€Å"The French Revolution, Locke and Rousseau. † HubPages. n.p., 31 Jan 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. Smith, Nicole. â€Å"France’s Pre-revolutionary Financial Crisis: The Lead-up to the French Revolution.† Article Pyramid. n.p., 7 Dec. 2011. Web 10 Mar. 2015. Waldinger, Maria. â€Å"Drought and the French Revolution: The Effects of Adverse Weather Conditions on Peasant Revolts in 1789.† Academia.edu, n.p., 7 Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

At Mornington and Father and Child Essay

Gwen Harwood’s poetry explores ideas of the rejuvenating powers of memory, the inexorable nature of time and the adversity of advancing through various stages of human psychological development and the extent of life and death. â€Å"At Mornington† and â€Å"Father and Child† are poems which both demonstrate Harwood’s distinctive voice that transcends the barriers of time and examine universal issues that are pertinent to all. Moreover, the ability for these two poems to provide different interpretations makes them relevant to differing contexts with differing values. This is seen with two variant readings, a psychoanalytical reading and a post-modern reading. ‘At Mornington’ is a reminiscence of the persona’s life, evaluating the extent of life and death through memories, as shown by the first person point of view and past tense. It contains â€Å"memories of early childhood† that are described as â€Å"light in a sea-wet shell†, fragile and fleeting. The persona also continues to explore a collection of other memories and meandering thoughts, which the persona draws strength from in order to cope, understand and make sense of the present and the inevitability of her future death. The idea of memories in turn leads the poems into a psychoanalytical reading, in conjunction with a post-modern interpretation. The poem starts with the persona stating: ‘They told me that when I was taken to the sea’s edge’, implying that her memories are dependant on what ‘they’, her authoritative figures have told her, implying how they are dictated by that of authority. However memories can sometimes be unreliable as there are points of doubt where the persona ‘seem to remember my father fully clothed’. A post-modern view also shows authority losing power and individuals challenging them, as when the persona â€Å"leapt from my father’s arms† after being â€Å"taken to the sea’s edge. † The scene is a metaphor for an individual escaping from the passive grasps of authority, represented in the father, and acting upon their own interests. The fact that the persona was taken to their current position illustrates their lack of control over the situation, however, the persona later asserts control, breaking free of the authoritative figure and is controlling her own life. The inexorable nature of time is contemplated by the persona to make sense of her life. Through language and the lifecycle of the pumpkin as a metaphor of her own life, the persona defines herself in order to gain solace. The ‘pumpkin’ presented an image of the persona’s youth and innocence. She refers to â€Å"fine pumpkins grown on a trellis† at her friend’s house as a â€Å"parable of myself† as she ages, rising â€Å"in airy defiance of nature† towards the sun before returning to earth. The metaphor of the pumpkins striving to reach â€Å"the light† comments on both the physical and metaphysical aspirations of humans, and the confrontation and acceptance of death. It shows that she too has grown above her ‘humble station’ – not necessarily external success but bridging the gap between the conscious and unconscious. However, this metaphor alone is insufficient to make sense of her existence, and it is this gap between reality and the naming of it which is a key element of psychoanalytical theory. The need and desire of human beings to locate a sense of unity of self is also integral to the psychoanalytic theory, and Harwood achieves this through the circular structure of the poem. Emotive words such as ‘peace’, ‘shine’ and ‘forever’ create a serene image of death, while the symbolic ‘light’ and ‘water’ interlink with the first stanza. The use of water as a motif throughout the poem connects the important people and moments in her life such as in her childhood with her father ‘water soaked’ and with her friend in the Brisbane Gardens ‘pitcher of water’ and finally she uses the line ‘waters that bear me away for ever’ to show her acceptance of death. By drawing threads of the poem together, just as the persona draws together her dreams, thoughts and memories are used to establish her sense of unity and wholeness. Harwood creates a serene image of death, allowing the persona to reach a conclusion about its inevitability and the relevance of her experiences and dreams to it. Harwood’s poem ‘Father and Child’ is a parallel to ‘At Mornington’ as it investigates the advancement of human psyche, from the innocence of childhood to the frailty of old age. The poem also observes the human psyche’s attempt to rationalise and resist the inescapable nature of time. Harwood explores the change in human psyche in this poem and suggests that experiences undergone in childhood shape lives and morality in the future. The juxtaposition of settings and syntax is used to convey the evolution of the human psyche and morality. â€Å"Father and Child† is separated into two sections, â€Å"Part I Barn Owl†, which takes place in the persona’s childhood, and â€Å"Part II Nightfall† which is set when the persona has presumably reached middle age, as the father is now 80, blind and dying. The adversity of advancing through various stages of human psychological development is prevalent in ‘Barn Owl’. Harwood has used vivid descriptions to portray the callousness and cruelty of the situation where a little girl attempts to shoot a barn owl but fails and harms it dreadfully, causing the owl having had ‘dribbled through loose straw tangling in bowels’. For the responders this is strong imagery and portrays the unusual situation. The young girl is empowered because the owl is blinded by the light but later there is a role reversal as her father enters and becomes ‘owl-blind in early sun’, like the owl was initially. The killing of the owl demonstrates aspects of a post-modern interpretation where the girl revolts against authority by defying her father, the authoritative figure, and sneaks out with his gun – a representation of the father’s power and authority. The owl is a representation of wisdom or authority, thus, the child is destroying, in her mind, authority. The metaphoric imagery surrounding the death of the owl supports the psychoanalytical view that, dramatic moments such as these impact upon the psyche and have an everlasting effect on the individual. The girl comes to a realization of â€Å"those eyes that†¦ mirror my cruelty† and is now aware of the consequences of her actions, yet it is too late to change the result. The transition has been made and forever she will remain in the world of pain while ironically the bird has escaped it. The role of light is important in this poem as it differentiates between the ideas of life and death. In Part II, Harwood has challenged the responders by portraying light as a metaphor for life by making it set in the latter part of the day, at dusk, when the sun is setting. This shows the transition from life to death. Neither has the power to control the inevitability of death as the ‘sunset exalts its known symbols of transience’, personifying sunset – as the day becomes night the sun has the power because it brings about the process of change and deterioration. By doing this Harwood is exploring the concept of death being associated with darkness. In stanza 6, the atmosphere is saddened as direct speech is used and the poem nears the end. ‘Your night and day are one’ describes how death is a blur of both light and dark because it is a transition between the two. ‘Father and Child’ can also be read from a postmodernist perspective where it draws attention to the number of intertextual connections that are made between the poem and other texts, which focuses on both the extent of life/death and memories. The most apparent allusions are concerned with Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ and the line in Nightfall â€Å"Be your tears wet† creating a link between the child persona and the character of Lear’s daughter Cordelia, which examines the fact that she is confronting the death of her father. It’s as if a string of tenderness was touched by him inside of her which led to the tears. She had learnt a lot of concepts in regards to life from her father and is thanking him for teaching her. However, tears cannot mend the facts of life and death, since everybody has to come to the end of a journey at some stage. She relies on her father’s ‘white stick’ to take her back to her memories of her father and the lessons learnt – showing how memories can overcome tears at this last sorrow. The allusion of her father as ‘King’ is a reference to King Lear, showing her admiration and love for her father and how she still sees him as someone that she can rely on. The use of contrasting tones of the two parts reinforces the ideas of memory and life/death, that after many life experiences, her perspective of her father changes from â€Å"an old No Sayer† when the girl is young, to a â€Å"stick thin comforter†. By valuing texts in different perspectives, responders are able to react to a text on a variety of ways, making them relevant to differing contexts with differing values. â€Å"At Mornington† and â€Å"Father and Child† are texts which transcend the barriers of time and examine universal issues that are applicable to all.