A Different View essays

A Different View essays Terrorism is defined as a systematic use of terror as a means of coercion. To enforce political or common values on the Iraqi citizens, could that be considered terrorism? Who is the culprit, the military or the Iraqi citizens who crowd the streets? I will discuss whether or not the U.S.A is committing crimes of terrorism by enforcing their style of government on the Iraqi citizens. In addition, how the Iraqi citizens have grown weary and begun to form fierce mobs that crowd the streets ending with who are the real victims military or Iraqi citizens On May 13, 2004, our reconnaissance unit was patrolling the Iraqi border, just about five miles outside of the city. The sky is orange from the rays of the sun and the hot desert sand thats covering my jungle boots. The water is as thick as mud as it goes down my throat; explosion and gunfire are becoming to sound like the latest music. We are now approaching the city where crowds of at least three hundred people are forming picking up massive rocks, guns ,and sticks while chanting fiercely go home we dont need any help. Sergeant strong and powerful had a look of fear that shadowed his face; the unit was in a state of shock. A kid no older than thirteen years ran up to me laughing and chanting I asked him why. He told me an answer that, in our country no thirteen year old would care he said Americans try to change us and make us follow their ways, they call us terrorists, but theyre coming in our country, running tanks down the street who are the real terrorists. I was shock stan ding there holding a M-16 in the middle of their town hall. When I caught, a reflection of myself in their clothing store I wanted to immediately drop the rifle. Suddenly, a massive rock is thrown down from the rooftop, hitting my captain directly on top of his helmet, causing him to instantly drop to his knees; luckily, he was wearing a helmet prev ...

The Wright Brothers and the First Flight of an Airplane

The Wright Brothers and the First Flight of an Airplane In 1899, after Wilbur Wright had written a letter of request to the Smithsonian Institution for information about flight experiments, the Wright Brothers designed their first aircraft. It was a small, biplane glider flown as a kite to test their solution for controlling the craft by wing warping. Wing warping is a method of arching the wingtips slightly to control the aircrafts rolling motion and balance. Lessons From Birdwatching The Wright Brothers spent a great deal of time observing birds in flight. They noticed that birds soared into the wind and that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings created lift. Birds change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver. They believed that they could use this technique to obtain roll control by warping or changing the shape, of a portion of the wing. The Gliders Experiments Over the next three years, Wilbur and his brother Orville would design a series of gliders that would be flown in both unmanned (as kites) and piloted flights. They read about the works of Cayley  and Langley and the hang-gliding flights of Otto Lilienthal. They corresponded with Octave Chanute concerning some of their ideas. They recognized that control of the flying aircraft would be the most crucial and hardest problem to solve. So following a successful glider test, the Wrights built and tested a full-size glider. They selected Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as their test site because of its wind, sand, hilly terrain and remote location. In the year 1900, the Wright brothers successfully tested their new 50-pound biplane glider with its 17-foot wingspan and wing-warping mechanism at Kitty Hawk in both unmanned and piloted flights. In fact, it was the first piloted glider. Based on the results, the Wright Brothers planned to refine the controls and landing gear, and build a bigger glider. In 1901, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the Wright Brothers flew the largest glider ever flown. It had  a 22-foot wingspan, a weight of nearly 100 pounds and skids for landing. However, many problems occurred. The wings did not have enough lifting power, the forward elevator was not effective in controlling the pitch and the wing-warping mechanism occasionally caused the airplane to spin out of control. In their disappointment, they predicted that man will probably not fly in their lifetime. In spite of the problems with their last attempts at flight, the Wright brothers  reviewed their test results and determined that the calculations they had used were not reliable. They decided to build a wind tunnel to test a variety of wing shapes and their effect on lift. Based upon these tests, the inventors had a greater understanding of how an airfoil (wing) works and could calculate with greater accuracy how well a particular wing design would fly. They planned to design a new glider with a 32-foot wingspan and a tail to help stabilize it. The Flyer In 1902, the Wright brothers flew numerous test glides using their new glider. Their studies showed that a movable tail would help balance the craft and so they connected a movable tail to the wing-warping wires to coordinate turns. With successful glides to verify their wind tunnel tests, the inventors planned to build a powered aircraft. After months of studying how propellers work, the Wright Brothers designed a motor and a new aircraft sturdy enough to accommodate the motors weight and vibrations. The craft weighed 700 pounds and came to be known as the Flyer. The  First Manned Flight The Wright brothers built a movable track to help launch the Flyer. This downhill track would help the aircraft gain enough airspeed to fly. After two attempts to fly this machine, one of which resulted in a minor crash, Orville Wright took the Flyer for a 12-second, sustained flight on December 17, 1903. This was the first successful powered and piloted flight in history. In 1904, the first flight lasting more than five minutes took place on November 9th. The Flyer II was flown by Wilbur Wright. In 1908, passenger flight took a turn for the worse when the first fatal air crash occurred on September 17. Orville Wright was piloting the plane. Orville Wright survived the crash, but his passenger, Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, did not. The Wright Brothers had been allowing passengers to fly with them since May 14, 1908. In 1909, the U.S. Government bought its first airplane, a Wright Brothers biplane, on July 30. The airplane sold for $25,000 plus a bonus of $5,000 because it exceeded 40 mph. Wright Brothers - Vin Fiz First Armed Airplane On July 18, 1914, an Aviation Section of the Signal Corps (part of the Army) was established. Its flying unit contained airplanes made by the Wright Brothers as well as some made by their chief competitor, Glenn Curtiss. Patent Suit Although Glenn Curtisss invention, ailerons (French for little wing), was far different from the Wrights wing-warping mechanism, the Court determined that use of lateral controls by others was unauthorized by patent law.

Organizational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Organizational Behaviour - Essay Example As a leader, it is essential to be accountable for any occurrences in the school. To fulfill my mission, I need to point the school where I think it should go and try to keep it on the correct path. As an agent of change, I aim to lead improvement and change in management of various critical schooling components through development of collectively held, strong, and clear institutional mission. My philosophy also improves management by being responsible for the school’s overall administration. Finally, I also aim to be a researcher who examines trends, comes up with hypotheses, predicts, and tests the hypotheses to improve administrative capabilities. Then, identify the five* most important leadership skills, competencies or attributes that you think will be required to succeed in your profession/occupation in the future. Oral communication is an important skill in a leader, of which one has to be articulate, able to make clearly oral presentations of ideas and facts, and make a good impression (Kouzes & Posner, 2012: p40). Another central attribute of an effective leader is vision, which is the ability to foresee the future, as well as predict the unknowable. It also allows the leader to come up with the business’ strategic view, as well as the role that effective leadership will play in this strategic viewpoint. Thirdly, Integrity and honesty is another important attribute for a leader. This is important for the employees to buy into the proposals made by the leader, especially because it is representative of the leader’s overall character and establishes their credibility. Fourthly, innovation as a skill is important for school leaders because the institution will only be as innovative as the leader since internal innovation begins with the leader (Kouzes & Posner, 2012: p42). Finally, one should also be self-motivated with a clear vision about the direction the institution is taking, as well as where their professional life is headed. Se lect three of these and describe why an understanding of these are important and/or of practical use to business leaders and/or their companies. It is important to understand the importance of self-motivation because it can be contagious to employees around, while also possessing the ability to draw them aboard the leader’s vision. A self-motivated leader also recognizes the need for employees to work as a team to increase their productivity (Kouzes & Posner, 2012: p51). Self-motivated leaders also push themselves and others to accomplish set goals and are able to gain the trust of employees. The use of innovation by leaders is also of utmost importance today, especially with the global nature of today’s institutions. The ability of the institution to innovate should start with the leader, especially in the tapping of new ideas from employees that create value, as well as that of parents, students, and the community (Kouzes & Posner, 2012: p54). Innovation today is a v ital driver of valuation, performance, and growth and leaders must ensure they are at the forefront. Finally, oral communication is of special importance to a school administrator to translate technical knowledge to staff in a way they can understand. It is also essential in communication of ideas so that the administrator’s idea is not dismissed or misinterpreted by their subordinates (Kouzes & Posner,

The Buffalo Soldier Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Buffalo Soldier - Essay Example It was within this particular cauldron of hostile activity that the 9th and the 10th regiment would prove their mettle. Although there is no clear agreement with regards to where the term â€Å"Buffalo Soldiers† came from, it has been surmised that this was a term bequeathed to these regiments by the flows they so often fought. One particular account states the fact that after an attack by Cheyenne braves, attacked a contingent of hunters that were being protected by two members of the 10th regiment (Renard 707). The attack lasted for well over an hour with over 70 Cheyenne warriors seeking to kill both the hunters and their military escort. However, regardless of how hard they tried, the members from the 10th regiment fought valiantly and refuse to give up even in the face of overwhelming seemingly hopeless odds. Ultimately, one of the soldiers which is been described within the previous story, suffered from a bullet learned to his shoulder and up to 11 lance wins over his en tire body; nonetheless, he fought on with nothing short of a pistol and his saber. It is without question that due to this level of heroism, the renowned to which both enemy and friend alike the stowed upon the African-American soldier within the United States Army was born (Schubert 1219). Moreover, from such a interaction, it is oftentimes said that the Cheyenne warriors, upon returning to their tribe, noted that they had faced a soldier unlike any they had ever faced before; one that fought like a buffalo. However the term was coined, the name stuck in Buffalo soldiers were from then on used as a synonym for African-American soldier serving United States Army specifically black regiments. Perhaps even more importantly from historical and civil rights...From the brief analysis that has thus far been presented, the reader can see and understand why the actions that were undertaken by the 9th and 10th cavalry units earned such a monumental degree of renowned. Ultimately, yonder mere ly fighting for their country and exhibiting extraordinary gallantry and bravery in the face of oftentimes seemingly insurmountable odds, the Buffalo soldiers were able to prove to their military counterparts, as well as many individuals within society, that the African-American citizen was every bit as talented, gallant, intelligent, and determined as his white counterpart. Unfortunately, it would take another nearly 100 years in order to see African-American and white society integrate; however, the Buffalo soldiers and their sacrifices were in importance that healing post-war scar and moving the United States military in a more progressive and realistic direction.

The Auteur Theory Film Studies Essay

The Auteur Theory Film Studies Essay -The auteur theory, if defined as the ultimate foundation for a filmmakers vision, can be a rather unstable remark for one to give. Who in the beginning of film history declared that a director must adhere to a specific genre with a specific style? It seems, like anything else, that the reasoning behind this theory is for a person to find a way to make sense of it all. However, one could argue that a filmmaker has reasoning behind why they have chosen their career path in the first place, or what kind of themes they want to express to the public. No matter what the genre or screenplay, a filmmaker can become a true auteur if they exhibit the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, and the same visual style and tempo (Wollen 73).   In this essay, I will argue that Andrew Sarriss definition of film auteurism, along with Jim Kitses and Peter Wollen redefinition of its traditional and structuralist conceptions, are displayed in M. Night Shyamalans The Happening (along with his other films) as an example of the filmmakers auteurism. Andrew Sarris assesses a filmmakers auteurism under three pieces of criteria: technical competence, personality evident through oeuvre (director as stylist), and beauty of interior meanings of films. Technical competence, as a notion of value, surfaces the idea that a badly directed or undirected film has no importance in a critical scale of values, but one can make interesting conversation about the subject, the script, the acting, the color, the photography, the editing, the music, the costumes, etc (Sarris 69). In an interview with CNN, Shyamalan insists that The Happening is the best B movie you will ever see, thats it. Thats what this is. With this information, Shyamalan lays out the foundation of the films technical competence in relation to his past films. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, and Lady in the Water were assumingly created to the best of Shyamalans artistic abilities. Shyamalan premeditated The Happening with the notion that it would not be displayed as one of his ideal aesthetic pieces of cinema. It has been widely known that Shyamalan has had direct influences from science-fiction shows like The Twilight Zone, therefore audiences should be able to suspend moments of realism because, premeditatedly, bizarre and unexplained scenes are going to occur. Its going to test your patience, imagination, and social pressure, meaning that it almost dares you to laugh at inexplicable moments of dialogue and scenarios, and while it would be easy to write them off as bad filmmaking, if more effort is put into discover whats really happening or whats trying to be displayed (Shyamalans B-movie approach) , the stronger the payoff will be. For example, the scene where Mark Wahlberg is talking to a plastic plant, pretty funny right? Sure, if you look at it from the standpoint that its just Mark Wahlberg talking to a plastic plant. But if you think about it abstractly, the scene is completely appropriate to the films narrative. After evacuating New York City, being dropped off in a random town in Pennsylvania, then running from an attacking environmental force thats never fully explained, isnt it crazy enough to think that after all this, a person might begin to lose a sense of normalcy? Why not talk to the plant? It cant hurt to try new approaches to a specific scenario in order to figure out what could be happening, no matter how crazy it makes you look from an outside perspective. Sarriss film auteur definition extends even further, to the filmmakers personality and its visible evidence throughout oeuvre (director as stylist). A director must exhibit certain recurring characteristics of style which serve as his signature. The way a film looks and moves should have some relationship to the way a director thinks and feels (Sarris 69). With The Happening, there is clear evidence of Shyamalans personality. Since The Sixth Sense, he has been become known as the master of suspense. He never sells himself out to violence. Instead, he uses it as a tool to build towards a much more apocalyptic fear. The Happening is never explored from a large-scale angle like War of the Worlds, but rather the larger event that is taking place simultaneously merely peeks from the corners of the screen. Any filmmaker can physically blow things up so long as they have a decent budget. Instead, Shyamalan blows up our imagination. According to Sarris, the auteur theory must have a director with a specific style. Going along with Sarriss quote, the way Shyamalan uses violence in the film fits his personal and socially known filmmaking vision. For example, the scene where multiple bodies hang from hoses on trees is incredibly and meaningfully staged. As a passing car witnesses this, could you imagine sitting in that car and be thinking: What in the hell happened here that caused people to end up like this? Its so much scarier with scenes like this to leave the actual act of violence to the imagination because the imagination has no limits. Thats what makes this all the more horrifying. Shyamalan could have taken the lazy way out by going all Saw on us, producing over the top gore that has no purpose to the story. Theres a difference between horror and violence, and instead, Shyamalan seems to grasp this concept and use violence to enhance the story. He has shown this in every single one of his movies, even with The Happenings limitless R-rating. Sarriss third and final piece of criteria for assessing a directors auteurism is the beauty of the interior meaning behind a film. Sometimes a great deal of corn must be husked to yield a few kernels of internal meaning (Sarris 71). The post 9/11 atmosphere in our society still looms in the back of everyones mind. Shyamalan, instead of abusing this fear, induces it into interpersonal paranoia. The strangeness of each scene allows multiple scenarios of fear. The vibes coming off each character suggests that the events in The Happening are terrorist attacks. Why? Because its the first thing that enters everyones mind. The media has us so convinced that an act of terrorism is the only possible explanation of an attack on American soil that it has become the epitome of mass cultural fear. The standardization of mass culture (in this case, the media of mass culture) dictates the audiences reactions, telling them how to think and feel. Clement Greenberg, an American art critic of the 20th century argues that the Kitsch (German word meaning mass culture) associated in filmmaking has become extremely easy to notice. For example, a clichà ©d horror scene consists of objects jumping onto the screen after moments of eerie noises or silence (The Prom Night example). Formulaically, its the feeling that someone is going to jump out and scream a standardized horror clichà ©d line like boo! or gotcha! Shyamalan on the other hand, takes this persona and reverses it. Instead of forcing the audience into feeling a specific reaction, he allows them to think for themselves. Jim Kitses and Peter Wollen redefine the traditionalists and structuralist conceptions of auteurism in a simplistic manner that remains to this day, arguably, as an odyssey. Kitses claims that genre is to filmmaker as language is to speaker. The very foundation of meaning for an artist to work with is the roots in which they display the most comfort. Kitses explains that the meanings, characters, stories, and imagery come from the structure of the genre and the present culture in which the filmmaker is working within. Applying this to Shyamalans personal authorship, both Kitses and Wollen express their theories: In my view the term (auteur theory) describes a basic principle and a method, no more and no less (Kitses 89) and exhibit the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, and the same visual style and tempo (Wollen 73). Shyamalan, in almost all of his films tackles big social themes, being mostly end of the world scenarios (Signs, The Happening) and/or socially known fears (The Village, The Sixth Sense). In Signs, Shyamalan takes a basic principle (an alien invasion towards planet earth) and applies his own basic method to it (the event is seen through the eyes of an American family trying to survive it). By adding his own layers of substance to Kitsess basic principle and method, Shyamalan ultimately creates his own personal authorship. Signs has the same basic principle as Steven Spielbergs War of the Worlds, but each director has their own vision towards it. Both Signs and War of the Worlds are about an alien invasion towards planet earth in which an American family tries to survive it, but unlike Spielberg, Shyamalan doesnt physically blow up the world, he enforces the imagination on the viewer and only implies physical destruction. Roger Eberts review of Signs furthers this argument: I will not even say whether aliens appear in the movie, because whether they do or not is beside the point. The purpose of the film is to evoke pure emotion through the use of skilled acting and direction, and particularly through the soundtrack. It is not just what we hear that is frightening. It is the way Shyamalan has us listening intensely when there is nothing to be heard. I cannot think of a movie where silence is scarier, and inaction is more disturbing (Roger Ebert). Kitses and Wollen have very similar opinions in the basic elements of the auteur. Kitses expresses that it involves a basic principle and a method, where Wollen argues that it exhibits the same thematic preoccupations. However, the process of getting the film to a concrete medium is where the two differ. Kitses compares genre to filmmaker as language is to speaker. When a speaker speaks a language, they may say it on their own terms, with different tones, dialects, expressions, emotions, speed, etc. therefore in translation to cinema, a filmmaker may express a genre their own way without the interference of an outside medium. While that it very much the case in many situations, the auteur must also face several realities, most evidently the wants and desires of the films financier (in other words, the studio) and the potential incidents that could destroy a films credibility. The director does not have full control of his work. This explains why the auteur theory involves a kind of decipherment, decryptment. A great many features of films analysed have to be dismissed as indecipherable because of noise from the producer, the cameraman or even the actors (Wollen 77). Audiences and critics can become subconsciously superstitious if one is not careful to consider the fact that films undergo realistic challenges like anything else. Shyamalan has experienced these heartaches just like any other filmmaker. In The Sixth Sense, his favorite scene (an alternate ending with an extended version of Bruce Williss wedding video speech) was cut from the film due to a studio decision. In Signs, Shyamalan was disappointed with his cinematographers (Tak Fujimoto) visual representation of the aliens. Furthermore, one must insist that Kitses wrote his analysis on the auteur theory before the Internet world affected the cinema. For example, the definitive twist in Shyamalans The Village was leaked online before its theatrical release date, ultimately allowing the entire world to access the films signature plot twist. This not only directly contributed to the films box-office disappointment, but also its initial critical failure, which discouraged the meaning of Shyamalans message. One could argue that The Sixth Sense would have suffered the same fate of The Village had the Internet been a primary resource and if the films ending was leaked online before its theatrical release in 1999. The structure of a movie is premeditated by an auteur, but a films outcome may have an end that does not justify the means. In a perfect filmmaking world, Kitsess theory would reign supreme on the idea that genre is to filmmaker as language is to speaker, but Wollen understands that things can happen beyond the control of an auteur. It simply means that it is inaccessible to criticism. We can merely record our momentary and subjective impressions (Wollen 77). Perhaps this is why Shyamalans films are becoming more appreciated as time goes on. One example of this is Unbreakable, which was initially a critical and box-office disappointment (in relation to The Sixth Sense) upon its release date in August of 2000, but over the years a cult following on DVD and VHS has sparked rumors of a potential sequel. Sarris, Kitses, and Wollens theories are visible in todays mainstream discussions. Shyamalans statement in the CNN interview stating, The Happening is the best B-movie ever is filled with Sarriss ideas of technical competence in the criteria for a films auteurism. Wollen is seen in Roger Eberts reviews on both Shyamalans Signs and The Happening. Ebert states in his Signs review that in a time when Hollywood mistakes volume for action, Shyamalan makes quiet films. In a time when incessant action is a style, he persuades us to play close attention to the smallest nuances (Roger Ebert). Every Shyamalan film since The Sixth Sense has had a summer release date. The filmmaker has an off-rhythmic beat in a year of Hollywood releases. M. Night Shyamalans The Happening is a movie that I find oddly touching. It is no doubt too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan finds to tell a story about the possible death of man (Roger Ebert). Personal taste aside, a theatrical release of a Shyamalan movie is always a movie event. In many ways, we know what to expect from his films. First and foremost (in accordance to mainstream logic), his box-office numbers are usually very successful (Lady in the Water is his only film that failed to produce a profit in its theatrical run). A Time Magazine interview has Shyamalan defending his financial success. Except for Pixar, I have made the four most successful original movies in a row of all time (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village). If youre not betting on me, then nobody should get money. Ive made profit a mathematical certainty. Im the safest bet you got. Behind his films financial successes are their other obvious components. The science-fiction genre is a must, his release dates are similar (theyve ranged no further in the summer season than June through August), and his characters all embody the struggles of interpersonal and emotional growth.   Through this mainstream discussion, an auteur (in this case, Shyamalan) exhibits the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, and the same visual style and tempo (Wollen 73). Shyamalan, whether or not many believe he has lost his touch, is still a prime example of film auteurism. When watching one of his films, you always know you are watching a Shyamalan movie. It is clear with his setting (every one of his films is set in Philadelphia,) his vision (large scale events shown through a small-scale,) and his themes (the power of love, the fear of violence, and the importance of the imagination). His technical competence, personal evident throughout oeuvre, and internal meeting are all elements in his personal authorship in American cinema. Like anything else, only time has any real ability to create an understanding, in this case behind the man who was once called The Next Spielberg, the elements of his film auteurism, and the theorists who have timelessly argued the notion of the terms infinitely interpreted foundation.

Prompt: with Growing Age, One’s Loses Essay

We live in a world of war and violence, where every second news item is tragic and disturbing. As children growing up, we are protected from the horror of the real world; shielded by our parents who nurture us with infinite care and love, taking care to ensure that we are safe from the awfulness and pain of the real world we find ourselves in. In an attempt to preserve our innocence as children, our parents throw upon us a veil that conceals us from the horrific truth of the adult world. However, this veil isn’t completely shielding, and slowly, one by one, the truth of the real world is revealed to us. Our childish innocence diminishes until eventually not a single drop is left; the warm sympathy in our hearts is sucked out, replaced by a cold insensitivity to everything that we see. Our reality becomes deformed, twisted into a world of detachment. The first day of prep is a big day in each of our lives; it is the day we first become exposed to the problems of the outside world, beyond the shelter of the veil placed upon us by our parents. We begin to see throughout our schooling career, what our parents had tried so hard to protect us from. As we progress through school, the harsh realities of the real world become apparent to us, yet our innocence as children withholds till the day we see ourselves peering at the end of our schooling career. Up until the last day of year twelve, we are exposed to many of the harsh realities of the world, but we do not encounter fully the pitilessness of the world that we live in; and hence, our innocence and compassion towards others stays with us throughout school. The last day of year twelve is a day of great joy and happiness for all of us; it is the day we think we are leaving behind all the harsh experiences of our schooling careers and diving head first into a friendly, easy-going world. However, this last day of school fizzles out for the rest of our lives; the world we are heading into as we leave school is not the friendly, easy-going world that we had anticipated in our minds during high school. The joy of leaving school is short felt, and disappears within a moment’s time of entering the workforce or university. The adversity of life outside of the nurture and care of our parents’ veil of protection becomes a sudden realization that takes many people by surprise and forces them to harden their hearts. Cold insensitivity seeps into each person, slowly devouring the warmth and compassion within their hearts; eventually leaving behind individuals who see in their reality, the world as a harsh and unforgiving place, deserving no sympathy or compassion. The childish innocence that our parents strived to preserve has been lost, and the joy of the last day of school, long forgotten. Soon we lay on our deathbeds, having become veterans to the true horrors of the world that we were born into. Our cold insensitivity to the harsh reality of the world we live in has completely replaced the innocence and compassion we once had in our hearts as children. The joys of our childhood, when we had a veil placed over us by our parents, are no longer present in our memories. Our reality has been altered so dramatically over the course of our lives that the reality we had as children no longer seems identifiable to us. We die peacefully, but having experienced everything but peace in our adult lives.

Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral - 1648 Words

Cathedral is a capitivating story based on the lives of the narrator, his wife and a blind man. Raymond Carver is the author of this story, and he does an excellent job allowing the reader to delve into the lives of these characters. Through using the thoughts of the narrator, the reader is able to grab our attention because the story is made more realistic. The views expressed by the narrator in many senses exemplify the views of many in society and therefore the reader is able to make an emotional connection through the story. BIO Raymond Carver is a renowned short story writer born in 1938. The New York Times classifies him as â€Å"most influential writer of American short stories in the 2nd half of the 20th century† (King, 2009). His upbringing was in a lower middle class setting in Oregon. Due to his upbringing, many of his stories were influenced as a result of his experience in that socio-economic status. He had the ability to capture the lives of the average Joe through his fictional tales. He was known to use people from all walks of life to depict his agenda in these tales. He successfully wrote many short stories, poems, and essays with various collections. His story, the Cathedral is infamous for pointing out how a blind man or in other words a disabled individual can help someone discover something extraordinary. Raymond Carver loved travelling as a young man, and would often take his family from locale to locale using that as an inspiration for a lotShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Raymon d Carver s Cathedral1696 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom, or trying to bury alive. Cathedral, written by Raymond Carver, takes place in the early 1980’s. Originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981. Carver slightly revised the story and re-released it in 1983. At a time when the blue collar working class lived paycheck to paycheck, working hard for newfound luxuries such as color television, this short story is humorous and eye-opening for the reader. For adults ranging from thirty to forty years old, the 1980’s were possibly a ghostly, hauntingRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1426 Words   |  6 PagesCharacter Analysis in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†: The Narrator Literature has the potential to act as a mirror by presenting people’s lived experiences, expectations, and perceptions through characters. Such is what can be deciphered through the analysis of different characters in Raymond Carver’s story â€Å"Cathedral.† This paper focuses on the narrator of the story portrayed by the author as blind, which is used metaphorically not to imply physical blindness, but the inability to have reasonedRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1006 Words   |  5 Pages Gabrielle Sobolewski English 200 Professor Ruth Jennison 11/12/15 The short story â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver is told from the perspective of a first-person narrator. Throughout the story, the narrator is self-absorbed in his own thoughts and emotions and fails in his willingness to overlook personal insecurities in order to accommodate others’ discomfort, i.e. predominantly his wife and the blind man. In general, the story lacks figurative language and is told in short, directRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 970 Words   |  4 PagesIn Raymond Carver’s short story, â€Å"Cathedral†, we meet the character who is never named, and who is known as the narrator to us. Although the narrator’s character changed towards the end, and we don’t really learn much after the change of his personality, it is still a gradual change that took place. The narrator’s attitude is very important in the story because it revolves around him and the way he views things. This short story is about a m an who is married to a woman, and this woman has been friendsRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1097 Words   |  5 PagesSeptember 2015 Cathedral by Raymond Carver In this short story by Raymond Carver begins with a man whose wife invited a good friend over named Robert and is blind. Before Roberts Arrival, the wife’s husband, whose name is Bub, does not know what to make out of his wife’s good friend Robert coming over to their house. Carver utilizes a story of a blind man who changes Bub’s outlook in life. Through the narrators changing character, theme of loneliness and jealousy, and the cathedral being a symbolRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 943 Words   |  4 PagesIn Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†, the short story is told by a character within the story. The first-person point of view gives us a transparent visual of an important time in the narrators’ life. The narrator, who is â€Å"un-named† in the beginning of the story, uses blunt, flawless and a particular choice of words. This gives us as the reader a deeper connection with the narrator. The narrator begins this story by taking us through the changes he go through with the uneasy feeling of having a blind-manRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s The Cathedral 863 Words   |  4 Pages One of the Raymond Carver story where we can find a lot of religion symbols; it is â€Å"Cathedral.† The story develops an ironic situation in which a blind man teaches a sighted man to truly â€Å"see† for the first time. Near the end of the story, Carver has these two characters work together on a drawing of a cathedral, which serves as the symbolic heart of the story. The cathedral represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The narrator’s drawingRead MoreAn Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1794 Words   |  8 Pages A Cynics Enlightenment Raymond Carver’s short-story Cathedral is outwardly about a pessimistic man, whose wife’s blind visitor named Robert changes the narrators predisposing perception of the world and awakes a new view on life in the process. But inwardly, the story is about the desperate need for connection between these three characters, which isn’t feasible do to the emotional-detachment by the narrator. In the beginning, the narrator is hindered by his prejudices which doesn t allow himRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1524 Words   |  7 PagesAs if someone has unlocked his prison cell to liberate him of his stereotypical point of view. The protagonist of Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† was an individual whose stagnant mind has blind him from truly seeing the aspects and characteristics of people around him. Before meeting his wife’s blind friend whose name is Robert, the protagonist perceives reality with a stereotypical mind-set shaped by m isleading information from movies. Hence, he make judgement about other people without ever settingRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral2364 Words   |  10 Pagesmost. The same could be said about people who are limited by one or more of their six senses and are judged by the majority of the population who are not limited and make preconceived notions about these limitations which can bind them. Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† explores many literary devices that reveal the pre conceived perception towards people with physical limitations without understanding the individual first, which is still a problem today. The protagonist, the narrator is closed minded