Common Theme :: essays research papers

Literary works have life changing messages hidden within their pages that have the power to teach a lesson. During the second half of the school year, we studied a myriad of novels and plays, however, despite their differences in plot and characters- the works had an overall theme in common. Each work discovers and characterizes the global theme of hope differently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In The Lottery, the characters disagree with a deadly ritual but follow it because they are afraid and will be chastised. At first there is some resistance from the family who gets the black ticket but in the end there is no confrontation. The characters never collaborate and join a team to do anything against the tradition but they hope that one day the town elders will understand how ludicrous this act they hold so dearly to their hearts is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Catcher in the Rye, a novel explaining the nadir of an esoteric young man, depicts hope because Holden Caufield is stuck in a world of his own that he wishes to get out of. In the beginning of the novel, Holden tells Mr. Spencer that he feels stuck in his own world and that he wants to break away but can’t bring himself to do it. Holden hides his craving to be a part of the normal world by saying that everyone is phony. He hopes that one day he’ll be accepted and understood by the world for who he is. But Holden takes this theme to one more step; he gets help at the end. Holden sees a psychoanalyst and in turn he courageously looks in the eyes of his problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Death of a Salesman the theme of hope is ascertained through Willy’s strive to achieve the American Dream and to treat his family with valor. Biff demonstrates this theme by hoping that one day his family will cherish each other and be proud of him like they once were. Arthur Miller wants his readers to understand that if they work hard at something it can sincerely come true. If Biff and Willy put aside their differences for just a moment and talked things out- devoid of getting irrational they would have been back to normal. What the father and son pair doesn’t realize is that they both hope to get along with each other but they never speak about it so it doesn’t occur.

Development of English Weapons Essay

Back in history, human beings used hunting by products such as craws, horns and animal teeth as weapon. As human being developed, he started to use axes made of stone as a weapon both for personal protection and for hunting. More development and civilization led to the development of weapons such as the wooden clubs, unshaped stones for throwing at the enemies and spears for both hunting and fighting. By then, human beings used to make wooden spears for hunting and for attacking any possible human enemy. With time the fire hardened spear points were replaced with stone sharp ones which were more effective than they precedents. Further development and civilization saw the development of bows and arrows to hunt and to counter attack an enemy (Davies, 1990, 67). By 400 B. C, evolution of what can be termed as earlier technology had enabled humans to develop a four wheeled ballista which was drawn by armored horses and more effective while it came to making attacks or counter attacking an enemy than the primitive weapons previously used. However, ancient weapons to be used by human being in their activities were qualitative improvement of the primitive weapons. In this context, revolution in military technology arose as a result of improvement in techniques and materials used in creating prehistoric weapons. As technology began to improve, weapons used in wars also started to improve. For example, with the discovery of the spooked wheel chariots drawn by horses became possible and useful for transporting soldiers to and fro the battle field. Around 1300BC, use of spoke wheel chariots had heightened but ceased later in the 4th century BC as humans began breeding horses that supported human weight and as cavalry replaced the military force that was used in fighting from chariots. In western world, the medieval period was highly characterized by knights and rudimentary siege artillery with their purpose inclusive of negating the increased use of castles which proliferated most of Europe and the neighboring East. The knights made use of various weapons such as the knifes, the bow and the sword. First, the knife which came in various designs was used highly by the knights to thrust into the weak sports of an enemy’s armor, to slit their throats when using stealth or to slash those enemies that came to the battle field un-armored. In essence, the knife could be single edged but many of them were usually double edged and unserrated. Today, knifes continue to be a major weapon used by soldiers both for fighting and other purposes. However, as opposed to knifes in the earlier times, most of knifes used by soldiers today are serrated. In particular, a knife forms one of the basic equipments for soldiers during any warfare. Secondly, the knights made use of swords which like knifes were designed either single edged or double edged. They also came in different sizes with some built heavy enough to be carried by only the strong men in the army. They were used in slashing the enemy or even killing them (http://atschool. eduweb. co. uk/sirrobhitch. suffolk/Portland%20State%20University%20Greek%20Civilization%20Home%20Page%20v2/DOCS/10/seanh1. htm. The design with which swords were supplied depended on the way in which they were intended to counter and kill the enemy. Some were long and others short while others were broad enough to accommodate both hands and could penetrate virtually any type of armor. For example, the bastard was a long or broad sword with normal types of blades but with a heavy pommel or ball at the bottom that was helpful for balancing purposes and as a mace for bashing the head of an enemy. Further, the saber was useful for slashing and employed by cavalry to kill the enemy and in this case could penetrate the armor of an enemy while riding a horse at a high speed. Other weapons commonly used by the knights and the cavalry include the pole arms, spears and lances, axe and other blunt objects such as a hammer and a mace. For one, the mace came as a metal or wood stick about twelve inches long and with a leather loop to prevent it from frying of the wrist while being used. The part used in striking the enemy was usually a sphere with spikes or angled blades designed to inflict injury on the enemy. Spears were simple weapons used for piercing the enemy both at close range or long range. They could have metal or wood heads and was useful while aiming at the weaker spots of the armor. It could also penetrate through the shields or mail given its length and sharpness (Boardman, 1998, 45). Further, the handle of the spear was commonly designed to break off once it hit the target to prevent the enemy from throwing it back. Pole arms came in different sizes and designs. They were used in piercing the armor of the enemy besides slicing or chopping through the enemy given its sharp and curved edges. It was useful while in a cavalry battle field due to the fact that it could be used in chopping off the feet of a horse rode by an enemy thus temporary incapacitating him. While many of this weapons such as the mace and the hammer did not see the light of modern usage, they still presented a good and viable starting point for the development of more sophisticated weapons used by armies all over the world. In regard to the armor used during the medieval times, leather formed the first form of armor to be worn and used by human beings in the battle field. As weapons developed and with the discovery of metal, leather started to become obsolete and was replaced by plate and mail. These two were worn on various parts of the body to prevent a soldier from being slashed by the enemy in the battle field (http://www. angelfire. com/wy/svenskildbiter/siege. html). As enlightenment hit the world, armors began to be worn together with undergarments and actually to be tailored like suits so that a knight could be hit but be on his feet within seconds having sustained no injury. Today, the plates and the mails have been discarded paving way for bullet proof armors and other forms of discovery. For example, the tanks used by armies around the world and in Europe in particular are heavily armored vehicles used for transporting weapons and soldiers to the battle field as well as launching missiles from the safety of highly armored walls. Despite this, the same metals used in designing and producing plates and mails are the ones used in producing today’s armored vehicles (U. S. Congress, 1995, 35). The knights developed from the earlier Calvary. On the other hand, siege artillery which were by then been used to breach the walls of the castles led to many revolutionary advances including the use of gun powder and cannon use. It was not until the Renaissance period that the western world and most parts of the rest of the world started to use firearms in warfare. Human powered weapons were finally exiting battle fields and being replaced with more powerful mechanically powered weapons. This is commonly referred to as the age of riffles as riffles begun to be commonly used in the battle fields. Firearms were developed in large numbers and cannons to support them. Motor vehicles replaced the use of horses in the battlefield and escalation technology which involves the use of armed aircrafts and armored vehicles developed. Firearms and cannons were designed to be fitted on these vehicles and aircrafts and were useful in attacking using long range missiles as is the case today. This saw the introduction of guns and rockets for use in the battle field. Guns and rockets were more efficient than their predecessors by the virtue of their design to store energy in a combustible propellant like gun powder as opposed to springs and weight. They increasingly started to be used in 16th century and with progressive ignition mechanisms remain in use to date. Based on these new developments, new technologies have such as machine guns have risen over the years (http://www. angelfire. com/wy/svenskildbiter/siege. html). Later in the 19th century, fossil fuel powered steam engines replaced sail power warship propulsion. In earlier times, bayonets were developed and which were used both as a pole-arm and as a knife but were later discarded with the discovery of rifled artillery which was by then being used in destroying masonry fortress. In essence, this discovery caused a huge revolution in the field of military and continues to affect today’s weaponry development and war strategies (Blair, 1997, 56). Further, the era of World War II marked a major revolution in military technology with more sophisticated weapons been developed in line with the emerging technologies. New concepts and designs of weapons were developed in massive numbers and the existing technology improved to march with the military needs. For example, atomic bomb was developed around this period. In essence, the end of World War II saw the institutionalization of weapons development as institutions and countries competed to develop unique weapons and counter weapons. In the western world, this constant development of weapons still continues to date (Collins, 1997, 87). In conclusion, despite the fact that weapons used during the medieval times have changed increasingly as compared to those used in recent times, these weapons formed the basis for developments of today world. The strategies employed during the medieval times were highly dependent on the kind of weapons in use. For example, the use of anchors to attack the enemy was dependent on the use of bows and arrows. Still, with the discovery of gunpowder, use of cannons became prominent in blasting the walls of castles and in sinking the ships of the enemy. Today’s weapons and strategies have their roots in the weapons and strategies employed during the earlier times with technology improvements and discoveries increasing the effectiveness of weapons being produced.For example, computer guided weaponry and nuclear weapons have developed over recent years though the later is useless for small wars. Work Cited: Blair Claude. European Armor c1066 to c1700. London: Batsford Publishers, 1997, pp. 56 Boardman Andrew. The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses. London: Alan Sutton,1998, pp, 45 Collins McNamee. The Wars of the Bruces: Scotland, England and Irelan. , London: East Linton, 1997, pp. 87 Davies R. Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990, pp. 67 Organized Infantry. Retrieved on 2nd January 2009 from http://atschool. eduweb. co. uk/sirrobhitch. suffolk/Portland%20State%20University%20Greek%20Civilization%20Home%20Page%20v2/DOCS/10/seanh1. htm U. S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Improving the prospects for future international peace operations: workshop proceedings, Washington DC, US Government Printing Office, 1995, pp. 35 Wyley Stephen, Siege Warfare. The Art of Offense and Defense, 1989. Retrieved on 2nd January 2009 from http://www. angelfire. com/wy/svenskildbiter/siege. html

Evolution Of Education How Much Has Education - 1545 Words

Evolution of Education How much has education developed in the past 3,000 years? From the earliest civilizations, to Greece and Rome, to present day education has been around, and evolving. Education started off very basic, learning everyday tasks, all the way to military strategy. Then it blossomed into writing, rhetoric, science, debate, and as if it wasn’t complex enough it developed from there. However, what time period had the most rigorous education, answers to the question may vary, but logic shows that the renaissance period was height of education. The very beginnings of education began in the earliest civilizations. As civilizations began to populate their form of education was to learn simple tasks that would help in the community. Then came along the first form of writing in 3100 BC, along with it, the first schools (Guiespi). As Robert Guiespi says, â€Å"Because firsthand experience in everyday living could not teach such skills as writing and reading a place devoted to learning, the school appeared.† As civilization developed they realized that the best form of education was to be in a school. Assigned to be teachers were scribes and priests, although, a small minority of children attended the schools. Their focus of education was on memorization. Education wasn’t wildly popular, and was only most inforced in the middle east. The beginnings of education have been created, however they are flawed. The forcing of memorization and brutal punishment needed change.Show MoreRelatedThe Balance Between Evolution And Creation1075 Words   |  5 PagesThe Balance Between Evolution and Creation By: Ashton Lyons In America, public schools are allowed to teach any philosophy explaining the existence of all species on Earth. This ranges from christian creationism to scientific evolutionary timelines. 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