Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the Environment Essay

The Deepwater Horizon spill occurred on 20 April 2010 and was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and injured 17 more. The drilling rig, located 66 kilometers southeast of the Louisiana coast, left an oil gusher that was finally capped on July 15, almost 2 months later. This was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history and the largest offshore environmental disaster in the United States (Telegraph, New York Times, BBC News). It is estimated by scientists that over 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the ocean, about half of the crude oil the U.S. imports each day and worth $400 million (Popular Mechanics, CBC News). About 1070 kilometers of coastline were contaminated. Over 47 thousand personnel were deployed, 1.4 million barrels of liquid waste collected, and $40 billion spent on cleanup. Aerial photo taken in Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Louisiana showing the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burning after a deadly blowout of an oil well. Credit: Gerald Herbert The Gulf of Mexico contains commercially important aquatic life, including blue crabs, squid, shrimp, and fish. Toxins in the oil can kill these species or cause injuries such as genetic damage, disease, cancer, and reproductive and immune system impairment. Marine mammals, fish, reptiles, and birds depend on clean, healthy habitats to provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds. The presence of discharged oil in the environment can cause decreased habitat use in the area, altered migration patterns, altered food availability, and disrupted life cycles. Plants affected by the oil could die, eliminating the roots that help bind and stabilize the soil in the ocean floor, leading to erosi... .... Web. 6 November 2011. Gunter, Ford. â€Å"Explosion could have Disastrous Business Consequences.† Portfolio. Wall Street Horizon, 28 April 2010. Web. 6 November 2011. â€Å"Bird Impact Data and Consolidated Wildlife Reports.† FWS Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, n.d. Web. 6 November 2011. â€Å"Sea Turtles, Dolphins, and Whales and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.† Office of Protected Resources. NOAA Fisheries, n.d. Web. 6 November 2011. â€Å"Gulf Coast Oil Spill: One Year Later.† Gulf Oil Spill Response. National Parks Conservation Association, n.d. Web. 6 November 2011. â€Å"British Companies’ Reputation in the U.S. is Under Threat.† The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 14 July 2010. Web. 6 November 2011. â€Å"David Cameron confronts Barack Obama in Battle to Protect BP.† The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 16 June 2010. Web. 6 November 2011.

How I Invented Writing Essay -- Writing Technology Invention Essays

Writing is, at its core, a technology. It allows us to take our thoughts and arrange them spatially in the physical world. Living in a culture where this practice is an every day occurrence, the physical nature of writing fluidly becomes part of our consciousness. This is what the class project exposed for me. Having to â€Å"invent† a writing technology forced me to see the importance of being able to easily put down my thoughts and work with them visually. At this very moment I am transferring thoughts into lines, shaping, moving, juggling them around on the familiar square format of the page. This is a process I wanted to allow for with my own invented technology. The ability to work with your thoughts and shape them, as an artist shapes clay or mixes paints, is the most important asset of writing. The project called for the use of â€Å"natural† materials to write up to 20 words. The first hurdle then was to try to find something as natural as possible. I had a little fun looking up the world â€Å"natural† in a thesaurus as a starting point for ideas. â€Å"Usual,† â€Å"normal,† â€Å"accepted,† â€Å"ordinary,† stuck out immediately. Writing as a technology has evolved to the point where it might fit with these words. â€Å"Innate† and â€Å"effortless† were the next two words in my thesaurus. Certainly writing has become effortless in recent years, with the advent of the computer. You can erase, move, copy, and write at blinding speed. Effortless is definitely a word I would use – but not for my invented technology. â€Å"Physical, biological, environmental.† These were words that were closest to what I was aiming for. With â€Å"biological† fueling my search, I went outside to scope out candidates to b... ...h, transportability, and permanence. Because of this its ability to communicate ideas is extremely hampered, and all the benefits of writing as we use it today are absent except for one. The goal I set out to achieve with my technology, the single quality of giving physical form to thoughts, remains intact. Works Cited Bolter, Jay David. "The New Dialogue." Writing Material: Reading from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble, Ann Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 75-86 Duguid, Paul and John Seely Brown. "The Social Life of Documents." Writing Material: Reading from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble, Ann Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 104-121 Ong, Walter. "Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought." Writing Material: Reading from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble, Ann Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 315-335

Medieval Morality Plays Essay -- Mystery Plays History Historical Essa

Medieval Morality Plays   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout time, there have been many books, plays, songs, pamphlets, sermons, lectures, etc. written. These writings were all written with some kind of purpose to either inform, persuade, entertain, or teach their audience. One such form of literature not too widely known about is that of the medieval morality plays. These plays were not aimed to entertain, but to teach morals and religion to the uneducated lower classes of people in medieval Europe. The morality plays were also quite necessary to teach and inform the underclass people, through the thoughtful persuasion of play entertainment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Morality plays, as said above, were most popular and most widely present in medieval times. They were also found in the early times of the renaissance, but in those times they were aimed more for entertainment rather than their original purpose of teaching and informing. (Warren 2). Location wise, most morality plays were written by French and English playwrights, but they can be found throughout Europe at that time. (1). An early predecessor of the morality plays were the mystery and miracle plays of the earlier medieval period. (1). Of the two, morality plays were more similar in the aim of the messages and such to the miracle plays rather than the mystery plays. (1). The main difference between the morality and the miracle plays is that the morality plays were allegorical, not historical like the miracle plays. (1). The morality plays were also known to be more on the entertainment side than the miracle and mystery plays. (1). The content of the morality plays is what played a hand in the persuasion of its audience. They taught their audiences because their main object was both religious and ethical and easy to grasp for the uneducated population whom largely went to its productions. (Warren 1). The plays also often examined the Christian character so that the flaws and strengths can be pointed out. (1). The plays were centered mainly on faith, dogma, and the application of the Christian doctrine to common folk life. (1). The characters of the morality plays were usually abstract qualities such as greed, friendship, love, death, etc. (1). There were many other cases when the characters of the morality plays were not abstract qualities. These alternative roles were ones of angels, devils, priests, doctors, fools (found usua... ...ordinary because they not only taught the uneducated, but they also influenced many forms of western drama down the line. (1). In conclusion, the morality plays of the 14th, 15th, and 16th century medieval periods have a rich history behind them. The morality plays did not only entertain the higher, educated classes of the medieval times, but they taught Christian morals and values to the uneducated lower class of people. Without the morality plays, the underclass people would of never learned about their religion and in result many things in the church may not be how we know it now. The morality plays also persuaded modern drama and that too, may of been very different from what it is today if it wasn't for the medieval morality plays. All in all, morality plays were important for the cultural growth of the western world. Works Cited Dohrn, Lori. Religion and Medieval Literature: A Look at Morality Plays. 14 Feb1999. Hanning, Robert W. "Miracle, Mystery, and Morality Plays." The Encyclopedia Americana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1997 ed. Morality Play. 22 Feb 1999. Morality Plays. 22 Feb 1999. Warren, K.M. "Moralities (Morality Plays)." The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1998 ed.

One-Sided Relationship Essay

In school there is always one kid that a person will hang out with, although that person does not want to be seen with him. They will only associate with that one person when they have no one else to hang out with or when they need something from them. It is evident through the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, that in a one-sided relationship there is always one person in a friendship who will unconditionally love the other person and one who will be willing to take advantage of the other. In the novel, Hassan will always do anything for Amir because he is a loyal and true friend. On the other hand, Amir only hangs out with Hassan when no one else wants to play with him. Amir does not notice how unfair his relationship with his best friend is until he brutally watches Hassan get raped in the alley by Assef. Through the actions of Hassan and Amir, it is evident that a one-sided relationship will not work out because there will always be jealousy, lies, and shame to deal with. Evidently, Amir and Hassan’s friendship is unhealthy because Amir is afraid to consider Hassan a true friend. He is afraid to consider Hassan a true friend because he feels shame in being the only Pashtun child playing with a Hazara boy because Hazaras are of a lower class. Amir is struck by the words Assef says to him, â€Å"How can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you? How can you call him your friend? If idiots like you and your father didn’t take these people in, we’d be rid of them by now† (Hosseini 41). It is at this point that Amir truly considers his relationship with Hassan. He wonders why he only plays with Hassan when no one else is around and why when other kids come over they never include Hassan in any games. This is the point where their relationship begins to struggle because Amir cannot distinguish if Hassan is a friend or a servant to him. Additionally, Amir tests Hassan’s loyalty to prove that he is a true friend to h im. One of the ways in which he tests his loyalty is by asking, â€Å"Would you eat dirt if I told you to?† (54). Out of shame, Amir asks Hassan this question because he wants to see if he would be willing to do anything for him. Amir constantly  looks to test his loyalty with questions like this one because Amir wants Hassan to say no in order to make himself feel better. He feels that if Hassan will not do one thing he asks, then it will make his doubts about his relationship feel better and not as one-sided. It is utterly clear that the boys’ relationship is unhealthy because Amir is always trying to test Hassan’s loyalty because he has developed too much shame in the way he treats Hassan to consider him a true friend. Furthermore, the relationship between Hassan and Amir is unhealthy because Amir has too much jealousy built up. Amir is jealous of Hassan because he has the attributes and talents that he wishes he had instead of his own. Amir is jealous of Hassan because he heard Baba exclaim, â€Å"I see how they push Amir around, take his toys from him, give him a shove here, a whack there. And, you know, he never fights back. Never† (22). Amir was offended when he heard his own father say this because at this moment he knew his father wished he was like Hassan. He learned that his father wished he was more athletic and did not read books all the time. Learning of this made him very jealous of Hassan because he had all of these features and was considered golden in the eyes of Baba. Additionally, Amir resents Hassan because he has always received attention from Baba and was treated like his favorite son. Amir is jealous of Hassan because he got a very thoughtful and loving birthday present: a doctor to fix his hairline lip. Amir does not understand why his father gave such a huge gift to Hassan because he had never received such a loving gift. Amir acknowledges the fact the he normally only receives a toy or little object from Baba and cannot comprehend the fact that his father put so much effort into Hassan’s gift. This makes Amir very jealous of Hassan because he yet again stole the attention from Baba. Overall the relationship of Amir and Hassan is very detrimental because Amir resents Hassan for having many of the things that he wishes he could obtain. Amir wishes he were more athletic and strong so that he could be the golden child in Baba’s eyes. Finally, the one-sided relationship comes to an end due to the fact that it cannot survive when too much hatred and lies have built up. One of the main reasons the relationship between Hassan and Amir failed was the fact that  Amir enabled Hassan to get raped. Before being raped by Assef, Assef blurted, â€Å"You’re nothing more but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he is bored, something he can kick around when he is angry. Don’t ever fool yourself and think you’re something more† (72). After the rape, these words that were said stuck to both Hassan and to Amir who stood by aimlessly watching him get raped. Both boys knew that if it was the other way around, Hassan would have jumped in and tried to prevent the rape from happening. However, in reality, Amir was the reason their relationship came to an end because he simply just did not have love for Hassan the same way he was loved back. Moreover their relationship could no longer work after t he rape because Amir could not stand to look at Hassan’s face everyday and tell lies about what had happened that day in the alley. Amir tried to deal with this trouble by trying to get Baba to kick Hassan and his father out of his house. For example, Amir stuck his watch and birthday money under Hassan’s mattress so that Baba would get furious and kick them out of his house. However, Amir’s plans always backfired on him, which resulted in him having to live with more lies building up. Their relationship came crashing down hard after the rape because Hassan woke up from his little fantasy and learned how good of a friend Amir was to him. He came to realize that he would always love Amir, and in return it would take years before Amir would love him the way that he did. Overall the relationship of Amir and Hassan came to an end because Hassan’s eyes were opened and they could no longer live with such huge lies in their lives. Due to the fact that there will always be lies, shame, and jealousy to deal with in a relationship, it is obvious that a one-sided relationship will never work out for the best. The relationship of Amir and Hassan never worked out well because Amir was afraid to consider Hassan a true friend. He was only the person who was there for him when he needed it the most and no one else was there to play with. Also the relationship never worked out because Amir built up too much jealousy towards Hassan. Amir could not stand the fact that Hassan was the golden boy in his father’s eyes. He always wanted to be that boy, and came to realize he would never be because Hassan was perfect from his father’s point of view. Ultimately, their relationship came to an end because Amir let Hassan get raped, while he watched it all  happen and took no actions to prevent it. This led to too many lies and too big of a burden for Amir to live with. This caused him to build up hatred, which even tually made Hassan and his father leave his house. Clearly, the relationship could not work out because Amir could not love Hassan for who he was. People need to take this example of Amir and Hassan and apply it to their own lives. They need to realize that they cannot and should not take advantage of a friend or a person because it will result in a failed relationship and hatred will most likely arrive. Thus people need to be more considerate and caring to the people they live and socialize with in their daily lives.

Mr collins proposal to elizabeth Essay

How does Austen use humour to portray Mr Collins and his proposal? Austen presents Mr Collins to be the most unwillingly comical character in the whole novel through his extreme idiocy and pomposity. From Austen’s description of Mr Collins it is clear that he is self satisfied, proud and serious. â€Å"Mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman†. This shows that although Mr Collins isn’t in a extremely high position in society he is proud of who he is and perhaps thinks himself to be more important than what he is in reality. In terms of physical appearance, Mr Collins is shorter than Darcy which could suggest that he has a weaker chance of marrying Elizabeth, as Darcy is more powerful and serious. Mr Collins isn’t presented as a purposely comical character, but rather the opposite, he is always serious in every situation and is often blinded by his own ego to see that people often mock him. Mr Collin’s proposal to Elizabeth is one of the most humorous points in the novel, which reflects his personality due to the fact that Austen presents it in a ironically humorous way. The first instance of irony is that Collins mistakes Elizabeth’s unwillingness to be left in the room alone with himself as ‘modesty’ and shyness when in actual fact she Just finds the whole situation uncomfortable. Another example of irony is when Mr Collins assumes that all young ‘modest’ girls refuse a proposal from men that they intend to accept, â€Å"l know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application†, and so takes Elizabeth’s refusal speech as encouragement and continues to persuade her with his literate proposal. This highlights how clueless and arrogant Mr Collins is as he has the audacity to continue with his proposal ignoring all sense of ridiculousness, and in a way patronises Elizabeth as he suggests that he knows how all young ladies act, and doesn’t take her response seriously which reinforces how unromantic and scripted the proposal is. The words â€Å"your sex† indicate how domineering men were at the time, and he almost contradicts himself as earlier he states that he singled Elizabeth out, but then however goes on to group the whole â€Å"sex† together suggesting that omen are all exactly the same. Mr Collins speaks of passion and love for Elizabeth as though he is reading a list or quoting something. The proposal is clearly unromantic and literate when Mr Collins begins listing his reasons for wanting to marry. â€Å"My reasons for marrying are, first that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish, secondly,†. This shows that marriage for Mr Collins is simply a convenience rather than emotion, opposed to Elizabeth who elieves marriage is based on true love, and so his proposal becomes even more un realistic and comical as their views are so different. The line â€Å"for coming into Hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife† suggests that Mr Collins created a plan for his proposal before hand, and suggests that he chose Elizabeth purely shows the dominance of men at the time as women were almost like a prize that they selected. Although Mr Collins is trying to convince Elizabeth into marriage, he suggests that she ‘almost’ his first choice when in actual fact he had planned to arry Jane. In contrast to this, he then goes on to say â€Å"but before I am run away with by my feelings on this subject†. This makes the situation more humorous as Mr Collins is clearly contradicting and humiliating himself as his earlier actions show that his need for marriage is not based on ‘feelings’ and that he may not have any romantic feelings towards Elizabeth at all. Elizabeth’s reaction to Mr Collins reaction is perhaps what makes the whole situation more humorous. Firstly, she does the unthinkable and refuses him, â€Å"l am perfectly erious in my refusal†, which would have been out of the ordinary and frowned upon in society at the time. The word â€Å"serious† shows how independent she is which was strange at the time as women were almost in possession of a man and you were only as good as the man you married. Strangely, Elizabeth finds the whole situation humorous, and slightly entertaining as he is so pompous and self- righteous that she cant help but laugh. â€Å"Made Elizabeth so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed her to stop him further†. Instead of stopping Mr Collins, she inds the whole situation overly awkward as she is aware of the total incompatibility of each other, in comparison to Mr Collins who is totally unaware of the fact that he looks ridiculous and so continues, hoping to impress Elizabeth. As Mr Collins continues on, Elizabeth begins to get frustrated as she tried to subtly suggest that his idea of marriage would never work, however Mr Collins stays persistent. â€Å"It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now’. This is humorous as it shows how self obsessed Mr collins is as he thinks of himself too highly and believes that he is orthy of every woman, which is why he is so shocked when Elizabeth assures him that she is rejecting his proposal. â€Å"l am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable†. The reader may petty or sympathise with Mr Collins as his inability to understand and pride could pass off to be innocence, which suggests he has no idea on the matter of marriage and love even though he speaks like he does. Mr Collins often elaborates in situations thinking himself to be the epitome of elegance, in ontrast to Elizabeth who stays silent and offers mere responses to his proposal. This is humorous as it highlights how shocked Elizabeth is at Mr Collins arrogance and reinforces their total incompatibility. To conclude, Austen successfully portrays a humorous scene which reflects the unwillingly comical character of Mr Collins. She does this using ironic humour, and in particular makes Elizabeth’s response to the situation much less elaborate than the proposal itself, which shows how idiotic and narrow minded she views Mr Collins to be.

As readers we feel confused by the events of the first chapter

From the outset, Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ creates an air of mystery in both the characters and setting that contributes to the confusion felt by the reader. Many of the ideas and symbols used in the first chapter of the book epitomise the technique utilised by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ throughout the novel. â€Å"Wuthering Heights† has been described as a ‘Chaotic novel'1and many believe that it is intended to confuse and bewilder the reader. After reading the first chapter, the reader is confused about the situation and questions are left unanswered. We are unsure about many of the facts. We know the date is 1801 and that Lockwood is a tenant of Heathcliff's at Thrushcross Grange, but we are unaware of any of the characters' significance in the novel. We are introduced to the servant, Joseph, and briefly encounter Zillah, although we are not told her name. The reader is not informed of the relationships between any of the characters. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ purposefully keeps the facts ambiguous, which emphasises the feelings of confusion. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s tone and style is mysterious and foreboding from the beginning. In particular, the use of descriptions such as ‘gaunt', ‘defended', ‘jutting', ‘crumbling' and ‘grotesque' add to the grim feel of the novel from the start and the seemingly impenetrable facade of the characters. As readers, we are intended to feel an affinity with Lockwood, who is portrayed as completely alien to the situation. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ uses many symbols which continue throughout the novel to suggest this. When Lockwood first arrives at the Heights, the atmosphere is unwelcoming, ‘a perfect misanthropists Heaven.' His entrance to Wuthering Heights is made difficult and uncomfortable, ‘he did pull out his hand to unchain it, and then sullenly proceeded me up the causeway' and the greeting is morose from Joseph, ‘looking meantime in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to digest his dinner'. Heathcliff's abrupt attitude towards Lockwood, ‘appeared to demand (his) speedy entrance or complete departure'. The doorway into â€Å"the house† is then guarded by ‘grotesque carvings' that reiterates that Lockwood is unwelcome. The famous essay, ‘The Window Image in Wuthering Heights' by Dorothy Van Ghent puts across the point that doors and windows are used symbolically in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†. Characters are unable, or find it difficult, to enter or leave Wuthering Heights. In the first chapter, we see a glimpse of this reality in Lockwoods uncomfortable entrance into Wuthering Heights. Phrases such as, ‘gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun' give the impression of people being trapped, an idea expressed by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in the novel as a whole. Wuthering heights at first appears to be a place trapped in time, almost, ‘completely removed from the stir of society.' The building, dated â€Å"1500† is 300 years old, which suggests a history to the building. Later in the novel, the perception that Wuthering Heights and its characters are trapped is extended. The idea is epitomised by the ghost of Catherine that appears to Lockwood. The repeated use of doubles throughout the book also adds to this effect. â€Å"Hareton Earnshaw† is inscribed on the entrance to Wuthering Heights and is also a character currently living at the Heights when Lockwood visits. The two Cathy's in the novel notably add to the confusion and mystery created in the book. This heightens the effect of Wuthering Heights as a place which seems to defy time. There are many more examples of this in the novel. Frank Kermode has pointed out that the names on the windowsill when read left to rights show the elder Catherine's life, but left to right, the younger's. This gives an example of how the characters lives are confusingly entwined during the course of the novel and adds to bewilderment in the reader. In the first chapter, we are introduced by Lockwood to the vast importance of weather in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†: ‘†Wuthering† being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather' Here, Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ prefaces one of the most major symbols used in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†. Depiction of the novel, from modern films to old paintings inevitably includes the imagery of the moors and ‘tumultuous sky and wild landscape.'2Even in the opening paragraphs, the connotations suggested by words such as ‘wilderness' and ‘jutting' suggest a feeling of defencelessness to the reader. The landscape and weather is portrayed as all-present, frequently reoccurring in metaphors and in the characters themselves, such as the ‘stormy'3Catherine. The reader feels overpowered and confused by the depth of thought in the novel as a whole and the vagueness of the first chapter. ‘Tumult', ‘gaunt', ‘crumbling' and ‘craving' when used to describe the surroundings at Wuthering Heights, also, simultaneously describes the feeling of confusion and helplessness that the reader experiences at the beginning of the novel. The confusion and feeling of being trapped in the novel is likely to be directly linked to Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own confusion and withdrawal from the world. Many of the Gondal poems Emily wrote as an escape included situations in which characters were trapped, often in prisons from which they could only escape through the imagination. Scholars such as Mary Visack have noted a progression in Emily's work from the poems to the novel in this way. This poem by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ shows uses of nature and weather, as well as very powerful language, ‘descending', ‘drear', ‘darkening', to describe the same feeling of loneliness and isolation depicted in Wuthering Heights. ‘The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow, And the storm is fast descending And yet I cannot go. Clouds beyond clouds above me, Wastes beyond wastes below; But nothing drear can move me; I will not, cannot go.' The reader feels not only an affinity with Lockwood and his own confusion and isolation, but also with Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own feelings at that time. Also, these feelings are symbolic of Cathy's loss of power and helplessness later in the book. The reader feels isolated at first from the events of the text and unaware of what it means. Lockwood does not inspire confidence as a narrator during the first chapter. He frequently misjudges things, leading the reader to mistrust his initial opinions and views, adding to the confoundment felt at the start of the novel. The ‘homely, northern farmer' that Lockwood would expect is deeply contrasted by the ‘rather morose' reality of Heathcliff. The contrasts themselves within Heathcliff are another cause for confusion. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ frequently utilises Lockwood's judgements in this way to further cloud the readers mind. ‘He is a dark-skinned gypsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman.' Heathcliff's description constantly contradicts itself. Lockwood then goes on to judge Heathcliff very quickly, ‘by instinct'. However, the overconfident manner in which he announces his opinions then dismisses them, ‘No, I'm running on to fast', puts the reader on guard. In his description of Wuthering Heights, Lockwoods view of what should be is opposed by the reality: ‘I observed no signs of roasting boiling or baking, about the huge fire-place.' Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ uses dark imagery in phrases such as ‘heavy black ones lurking in the shade', ‘swarm of squealing puppies' and ‘other dogs haunted other recesses' to re-emphasise the foreboding and unwelcoming feel to Wuthering Heights once again. The signs in Wuthering Heights appear to be unreadable. What Lockwood thought were ‘cats' were in fact dead rabbits. The dogs are ‘four-footed fiends'. The contrasting descriptions of Heathcliff are also perplexing and later Lockwood, and the reader, are unable to decipher relationships between the characters. We are unsure if Hareton is a servant or a master and we cannot understand Catherine's relationships with other characters. This is mirrored, later, when the reader is confused about the names on the windowsill. We are unsure whether the Catherines are the same person or not. Later still, the reader is confused again when the civilised Lockwood horrifically rubs the young girl's wrist against the broken glass 'till the blood ran down and soaked the bedclothes'. The eclectic mix of styles and qualities of the book in general add somewhat to it's confusion. There is a frequent use of ghosts and spirits, yet as Patsy Stoneman denotes, it has qualities of a ‘very down-to-earth book'4. In the first chapter we see a reflection of this mix in the grim descriptions, which contrast with both Lockwood and the ‘lusty dame'. The violence hinted at with the dogs contrasts again with these styles and is a direct precursor to events later in the book. â€Å"Wuthering Heights† is an extremely well-structured novel, in which Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is able to control the readers thoughts and emotions to add to the powerful effect of the novel as a whole. In the first chapter, she is able to create an air of mystery, confusion and intrigue which is enhanced and expanded as the story unfolds. Still many critics find â€Å"Wuthering Heights† ‘a preposterous text'5 that is ‘back to front'and refuses to make sense by ‘normal' standards. There are certainly many levels the book can be read and enjoyed on. However, I think the most profound message in the book's confusion is the affinity it creates between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and the reader. This message is also mirrored later in the similarities between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own character and Heathcliff's and the parallels drawn between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own religious crisis and the character of Joseph. Essentially, â€Å"Wuthering Heights† is the only insight into the mysterious and reserved Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½.

Hunting Snake and Cockroach Essay

The poems â€Å"Hunting Snake† and â€Å"The Cockroach† are very different but also vastly similar poems. The predominant language feature that is common in both poems is an extended metaphor – this is used in â€Å"Hunting Snake† to represent the colonisation of the Aborigines in Ancient Australia, and in â€Å"The Cockroach† to represent human nature, values and the way we live our lives. The poem â€Å"Hunting Snake† is obviously a poem about a group of people coming across a snake, staring in awe at its beauty and dissimilarity and then moving on. Wright uses a lot of sibilance in this poem, perhaps to emphasise the snake. However if we explore deeper we notice that the poem is not about this at all – in fact it has an exceptionally different meaning. The entire poem is an extended metaphor for the colonisation of the Aborigines in Australia – the snake represents the Aborigines and the persona represents the colonisers. Although the colonisers saw the incredibly beautiful and unique Aborigines, they simply looked at each other and walked on – this is exactly what happens during every colonisation. The colonisers do not think about anyone else’s feelings, just their own personal or monetary gain. Hunting Snake is a poem about ancient beliefs and values, and the way that humans acted many years ago. In comparison, the poem â€Å"The Cockroach† is also one that addresses the issue of human nature and values. Kevin Halligan uses a cockroach to portray a ‘disgusting’ creature, one that many people are eager to kill and get rid of. Cockroaches also have a very nomadic lifestyle – they scurry about from place to place, never settling down and are always â€Å"on the go†. Halligan wishes for us to compare the cockroaches’ lifestyle with our own – the scampering motion of the bug is a reflection of his (and all humans’) nomadic lifestyle. By describing these frantic movements he is saying something about how most of us live our lives and our incapability to settle down – we are all in a hurry to move on to the next chapter in our lives, the next milestone, the next day, month, or year. This poem is set in modern day, it is written as if the cockroach is inside a house or a building, not outside like Hunting Snake. This technique helps to give us a better understanding of the poem – we can more easily relate it to human nature and our own lifestyles.