Not so Good Literature Essay Example for Free

Not so Good Literature Essay Almost half of the population of young people have read and have heard about Stephenie Meyer’s book â€Å"Twilight,† a story about Bella Swan, an average girl borne of a broken marriage and who fell in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The book enjoyed much hype among young school girls and some boys as well, especially those in high school. It has provided young hearts and minds with ideals of fairytale love stories and superficial view of love and sacrifice. Twilight has received much popularity, but the question of whether it is a good piece of literature or not has not been given much attention amidst all this hype. Well, let me give you the answer for this: the Twilight books are bad literature, or to fulfill the requirement of the essay, they are not good for literary study. By literature, we mean, â€Å"the class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge; belles-lettres† (Brainymedia. com). Thus, bad literature means not passing the standards of literature from its definition which provides mentions it as â€Å"a class of writings distinguished for its beauty of style or expression† (Brainymedia. com). This paper would justify why Twilight is not good literature on the level of its form: the plot, style, characters, and content: the morals and lessons in life that it can give us. Good literature presents to the readers a complex and realistic plot, a certain literary style employing good use of figurative language and imagery and non-typical original characters. These elements define literary standards which distinguish literature from other forms of written works that claim themselves to be Literature. It adds to the enjoyment of reading and upliftment of the human soul. A good book must then enlighten us with lessons that are useful for us to grow in all aspects, with characters that are positive for us all to emulate. The oldest literary critics have told us to learn how to â€Å"teach and delight† (Plato). Literature is not only there to entertain but also to enlighten human minds about the workings of this life. Books that pass up these criteria can also be shelved with the likes of Charles Dickens, Khalil Gibran, Anne Rice, C. S. Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and Pablo Neruda, to name a few (Pearl). Twilight Does not do Away with the Form Let me go over the form of the novel. That novel did not do much when it comes to plot. It is too obvious and simple: a girl meets a guy. Both belong to different worlds, and both learn to accept each other and come up with sort of a stereotyped â€Å"love against all odds† kind of a relationship. There is nothing new in this kind of story. Next, the literary style used by the author can pass up for an amateur writer’s story book. About three things I was absolutely positive: First, Edward was a vampire; Second, there was a part of him and I didnt know how dominant that part might be that thirsted for my blood; And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. (Meyer qtd. in Goodreads Inc. ) This is a quote from Bella’s narration of Twilight. This would sound more of a giggling girl’s journal entry than that of a respected literary disciple. It is too explicit and superfluous. There are other ways to depict these thoughts. It could be by using images or situations and the like. Another alarming fact here is that Meyer had the inclination to distort archetypes in a not so refined manner. Let us take Edward Cullen as an example. He took off the typical human blood-hungry image of a vampire. It could be credited as a good idea. However, the way Meyer has transformed him into a teenybopper boy-next-door type of character is definitely out of the question. Moreover, it is somehow impossible that an inhuman character like himself can go through the process of falling in love without much justification or establishment that yes, a vampire can also love a human being. In Yahoo answers, one of the members said that â€Å"Edward just tells Bella love lines and [stares] at her, blah. † Twilight Possess Content that Does Not Hit Off to Belong to the Average Thinking Person What lesson can we learn from Twilight? Twilight raucously presents us with the concept that infatuation mistaken for love should be the center of our universe. Bella has met Edward for only quite a time, and they cannot just say that they would want to live with each other forever. It seemed that the love story has been sped up to have itself called a real love story. Bella cannot just walk up to Edward and say that she loves him given the fact that they only had little to no interaction at all when Bella arrived at Forks. What can we learn from Bella? She became a stereotyped damsel in distress who would need to depend upon Edward with her life. I am appalled at how Bella reacts especially on the thought that she will be separated from Edward. Even a Twilight fan made mention of how she did not like this portrayal of Bella as a damsel in distress, and that Bella’s character is also a bad influence among young women (Lichens). It is just a stereotyped fairytale love story. There is nothing much that we can learn from it in both love and life. Khalil Gibran speaks much about love and relationships as thus: But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each others cup but drink not from one cup. Give your hearts, but not into each others keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each others shadow. (Gibran) Love is standing strong together and not being together all the time. It is a concept too far away from what Bella Swan and Edward Cullen shared with each other. The book basically entertains with a limited readership of first-time book readers. Not everyone can take these words with ease. The book was able to deceive not a few fans but a large multitude. You can actually locate not a few but many quotes from the novel which you think might disprove my claim that the book lacks good use of figurative language, one of which is indicated right here. Nevertheless, the timeliness or relevance of these quotes was not well-established, and aside from being cliche, they seemed to have been inserted to untimely situations in the novel, and they do not seem so natural anymore. Take this quote for example: â€Å"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, is it not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end? † (Meyer qtd. in Goodreads Inc. ); or this: â€Å"Ill be back so soon you wont have time to miss me. Look after my heart Ive left it with you† (Meyer qtd. in Goodreads Inc. ). One may also claim that Twilight teaches us good lessons such as being selfless and being willing to sacrifice for love. Let us throw this question back: are the sacrifices that they have made necessary? We cannot expect that the public possesses considerable amount of literariness. Even people present in literary circles hail it as the very best. First-time readers might appreciate it, but there is a strong need to reeducate and process them that there are far more useful books than Twilight. There are books that can follow literary standards and are more substantial. Let us just see how long this book can withstand the test of time and the criticisms of people in the mainstream. Works Cited BrainyMedia. com. â€Å"Definition of Literature. † BrainyQuote. com. 2009. 1 April 2009 http://www. brainyquote. com/words/li/literature185325. html. Gibran, Khalil. â€Å"Chapter 3: Marriage. † The Prophet. n. d. Cypress Online: The Psychic Digest. 1 April 2009 http://www. geocities. com/Athens/5484/Gib03. htm. Goodreads Inc. â€Å"Quotes by Stephenie Meyer. † Good Reads. 2009. 1 April 2009 http://www. goodreads. com/author/quotes/941441. Stephenie_Meyer. Lichens, S. â€Å"A Unique Book in the Trilogy In All A Mix Between [Vastly] Disappointing and [Tragically] Romantic. † Rev. of Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer. Amazon. com. 13 August 2007. 1 April 2009 http://www. amazon. com/review/RRF68XOR2W8LR. Plato. The Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. South Australia: University of Adelaide, 2005. 1 April 2009 http://ebooks. adelaide. edu. au/p/plato/p71r/. Pearl, Nancy. â€Å"Book Lust. † USA: Sasquatch Books, 2003.

An Overview of Indigenous Culture in the Amazonian Floodplains Essay

The Amazon Basin has long been occupied by indigenous populations. Those populations that live closest to the basin, in the lo west elevations, are subject to the extreme seasonal changes. Social order, therefore, is shaped largely by the fluctuations of the seasons and of the river. There are two seasons, one wet and one dry. Issues concerning shelter, transportation, food, and social interaction are largely determined by the seasons. Creative expression – mythology, religion, celebration, and visual art – are rooted in nature. The wet season, lasting approximately from January to June, involves the flooding of the Amazon River. People are forced to travel by canoe, for there is no dry ground in their communities. Ho wever, because it is difficult and uncomfortable to move around, social interaction outside of the household is largely limited during this time. People spend much of their time in hammocks (one of the indigenous inventions), where they might repair clothing or tools. Crops cannot be grown during this time, and fishing is much more difficult, so people tend to lose ...

Cell Phones: Addicting or Not? Essay

Are we addicted to our cell phones? This is a common question that has arisen in the past several years as our phone technology and capabilities continue to increase. According to recent statistics, 85% of the U.S. population are cell phone users (Chen).We Americans use our cell phones to do just about everything. We talk, text, check our E-mail, surf the Internet, and interact in social networking, all on our phones. Because our phones have become so resourceful to us in our everyday lives, many say that cell phones have become addicting. Cell phones in today’s life have become very addicting to many people, and there are many ways in which to show how they are addicting. â€Å"An addiction is the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit- forming, such as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma† (dictionary.com). Addiction is when a person becomes dependent on something and feels like they can’t go without it. For example, a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol cannot go without that substance or drink without suffering from physical or psychological problems. Whenever they are away from it or withdrawn from it that is all they think about and they will do anything to get what they need to satisfy the craving. These individuals become dependent upon that substance or act and feel like they cannot go without it. The usage of cell phones has become very addicting for the people in the world today. David Greenfield, a psychologist who is an expert on Internet-related behaviors, says that constant and continual use of untethered devices produces chemical responses in the body similar to gambling (Tanaka, and Terry-Cobo). â€Å"We tote our iPhones, LGs and Blackberrys with us so we can contact anyone, anywhere, anytime, and so we can be reached instantly (Tanaka, and Terry-Cobo).† In today’s world, people depend on their cell phone for their businesses, their social lives, and for gaming. They have become so dependent upon their cell phones that many people no longer have the land-line phone in their house or their business. Business men and women have become so dependent on their cell phones that they now have become addicted. It would be almost impossible to find a business man or woman who does not carry a cell phone with them twenty-four hours a day. They use them to call and meet new clients to gain business. They use them to talk with workers and keep up with what is going on back the office as they travel. They can use them as reminders of meeting and when things are due as well as the activities they go through in everyday life. The way the business people use their cell phones has led to an increase in business’s efficiency and with increased efficiency at which people can work the cell phone leads that person to being more dependent upon their cell phone. Additionally, people use their cell phones as a way to keep up with their social life. People use their cell phones in their social life to the extent that without their phone they feel totally alone. This connection between phone and social life is the reason cell phones are so addicting. They can call from almost anywhere in the world. They can text someone when the time is not right to call or when they don’t want to talk. They can check Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, and even the news, from the convenience of their mobile phone. Lisa Merlo, an assistant professor of psychiatry in the University of Florida College of Medicine, said, â€Å"It’s this need to be connected, to know what’s going on and be available to other people. That’s one of the hallmarks of cell phone addiction. (cellular-news)† The ways that phones make it easier to communicate with people causes them to use the cell phones more and more as a way to communicate. This increased usage causes people to become more dependent and thereby addicted to their phone. People have become so addicted to their cell phones they have chosen their phones over a long-term relationship. Psychologist David Sheffield said, â€Å"The most shocking figure was that 7 percent (of students surveyed) said the use of mobile phones had caused them to lose a relationship or a job. (cellular-news)† Another way that cell phones are addicting is because people use their phones to play an assortment of games. There are millions of games that people can play just by simply downloading a game or application to their phones.  People no longer have to stay at home and play their games on a gaming device or computer. Now they can play games away from their homes and pretty much wherever and whenever they want. Many times people try to carry on face-to-face conversations while being distracted while gaming on their cell phone. This feeling of endless and uncontained gaming is yet another way that people get hooked to their cell phones. â€Å"Experts say cell phone usage will only increase as the phones become more sophisticated and powerful, likely replacing laptops in the future.†(Tanaka, and Terry-Cobo) Cell phones are used by so many people and do so many things to help people that they have become a necessity, rather than a convenience, in order for people to carry on their lives. This necessity or dependency is the addiction that people face with their cell phones. When these people lose or break their phones they panic, feel anxiety and look for the quickest way to fix the problem. For example, the car needs the oil changed and at the same time the phone is broken. Most people today will put their phones as top priority and get it fixed before repairing their car. This choice is a true indication of cell phone addiction. People’s cell phones have become part of their daily life, and they are so dependent on their phones that they cannot function without them. When that phone is taken away, people just don’t feel right or feel like they can’t function without their phones. People feel that it is so necessary to pay their cell phone bill, that they will pay that bill before they pay their rent. These actions of not being able to go without are cell phone is what defines an addiction. Therefore, cell phones are in fact an addiction. As additional proof of this addiction, try leaving your phone at home tomorrow. Will you return home to get your cell phone even if it means being late to work or school? If you do not return home to get your phone, how many times throughout the day will you wonder who has called or texted you? Are you missing an emergency? Will you rush home to check it? A â€Å"yes† response to any of these questions is an indication of cell phone addiction. Try this simple test and you will agree that cell phones are indeed addicting. Works Cited â€Å"Addiction.† _Dictionary.com Unabridged._ Random House, Inc. (2012) Web. 12 March 2012. . â€Å"Cellphone use becoming a major problem for some.† _cellular-news_. cellular-news, 22 January 2007 . Web. 12 Mar 2012. . Chen, Brian. â€Å"Gadget Lab.† _Wired_. Wired, 15 Oct 2010. Web. 15 Mar 2012. . Meyer, Michele. â€Å"Cutting the Cellphone Cord.† _Shape_ 2002: 26-. _ProQuest Research_ _Library._ Web. 15 Mar. 2012 . Tanaka, Wendy, and Sara Terry-Cobo. â€Å"Cellphone Addiction.† _Forbes.com_. Forbes, (2008) Web. 10 Mar. 2012. .

Adolescence & Transition

Adolescent development does not necessarily follow a similar pattern for every individual as the multidimensional phase spans through in a quite complex way. At a time of transition from childhood to adulthood traditionally, a period of rapid physical growth is flung upon the individual amidst brief periods of remission.In the last century however, the onset of physical change has occurred at increasingly younger ages, increasing the likelihood that the psychosocial and cognitive changes will lag behind (Neinstein, 2002). Physical changes thereby vary among adolescents as children of the same age critically vary in the growth and sexual development.For some, the rates of change occur and happen at different times as adolescents experience puberty in his/her own way and time. While it is interesting to observe pubertal changes in adolescents, the tremendous cycle brings about a cacophony of questions among the concerned age group. Some teens develop earlier than others and deal with c hanges earlier than others.For others, maturity may occur later than others and more pronounced is the variation of pubertal changes between males and females (Lerner and Galambos, 1998: 414). Adolescents of the same age do not necessarily follow a similar pattern of change and the comparison is quite pronounced between both genders.In females, the Luteinizing Hormone stimulates the ovarian cells to produce androgens and progesterone and stimulates ovulation and FSH increases estrogen production earlier compared to males whose LH stimulates testosterone production and FSH stimulates gametogenesis at a later stage (Neinstein, 2002).The onset of puberty varies, as female pubertal development begins on average at 11.2 years of age (range 9.0 – 13.4) and lasts about 4 years while male puberty development begins on average at 11.6 years of age (range 9.5 – 13.5) (Rosen and Foster, 2001:310.Up to and during puberty, girls develop physically and mature much faster than the ma le counterpart (Brayer, 1986:247).To say that adolescents encounter a lot of changes and challenges during this period of human development is an understatement. When each gender is marauded with varying levels of change, one goes through a critical stage in a short period of transition from childhood to adulthood. We shall identify the changes for males and females across this developmental stage in order to arrive at a comparison between both sexes.Physical ChallengesThe earliest signs of puberty for females include the emergence of physical changes that occur at different rates and intensity. On the average, breast budding along with pubic hair growth signals the initial phase of a female’s growth spurt that reaches its peak about one year and one month after breast development begins.Menarche, or the onset of menstruation starts typically one year after at an average age of 12 years old (Brayer, 1986: 247). The male equivalent of menarche is spermarche which is characteri zed by the first ejaculation of sperm (Beckett, 2002:113).Testicular enlargement is the common physical sign along with pubic hair development which definitely varies among the male age group but interestingly, the onset is spermarche signals the initial phase of adolescent growth in males which is a stark comparison to the female gender.Females marked the initial stage of puberty with physical changes while males mark the onset of change through the development of secondary sexual and reproductive characteristics (Brayer, 1986:248). The appearance of spermatozoa in males appears at a mean chronologic age of 13.4 as sperm begins to appear present in urine samples among teenage males (Greenspan and Gardner, 2004:610).As adolescents increase in height and weight during this stage, growth is rapid where females tend to typically experience this growth spurt one-and-one-half to two years earlier than males and on average grow 23-28cm. Males experience a 2-year delay in bone closure as c ompared to females, and this accounts in part for their greater growth in height.Females increase in body fat while males increase in lean body mass that can often lead to tripping and clumsiness. The variability of changes can be anxiety provoking for adolescents who tend to remain shorter than their friends as some experienced delayed puberty (Beckett, 2002: 114).Cognitive ChallengesDuring adolescence are often unable to deal with remote, future or hypothetical problems and often encounter difficulty in predicting and anticipating future experiences. Such is consistent with Jean Piaget’s conception pf cognitive development as a rational process with rational outcomes (Moshman, 2005:1).Often, the adolescent have problems effectively dealing with abstract ideas and resort to daydreaming and increased self-interest. Adolescents likewise assume that others are as interested in them as many have an unrealistic view of themselves that can commonly lead them to believe they are in vincible and immune to the dangers that befall others (Beckett, 2002:114).Young adolescents, at the beginning of this cognitive shift, have unrealistic career plans and for those who are exposed to disadvantaged situations, would lead to the beginning of feelings of hopelessness (Moshman, 2005:2).Moral and Psychosocial ChallengesAdolescence marks the movement from the conventional level of moral judgment to post-conventional (Neinstein, 2002). Early adolescents are typically in the conventional level of moral development as they are commonly motivated by the need to meet expectations of external factors such as opinion of friends (Strasburger, 2000: 802).They have a particular simple idea and concept and thought as they are heavily motivated on pleasing others. As a continuous process of experience boys and girls may follow a different thought pattern in moral development as most adolescents experience a moral crisis and breakdown (Adams and Berzonsky 2003:247).In the 80’s an d 90’s, many in the society had maintained that the society was in a moral crisis brought about by juvenile delinquency, adolescent drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy (Berzonsky, 2003:248). Society has however neglected the fact that transformations in moral judgment take on focus during adolescence.The central developmental task during adolescence is developing a sense of identity with significant turning points of shaping and reshaping different roles, beliefs and commitments (Lerner and Galambos, 1998:441). In a distinctly technological society, adolescents are faced with confronting the tasks and decisions amidst changing roles.At the early age of 11-13, females tend to start a separate identity from the family and build close relationships with peers primarily of the same sex (Scales, et al, 2000:29). For males, such challenges are encountered at the age of 12-14 year old as they become preoccupied with questions of normalcy yet begin concerning themselves with separation from members of the family. At a peak age of 14-16, most experiment with sexual experimentation, omnipotence leading to risky behaviors (Strasburger, 2000:789).

Outline and Evaluate the Multi-Store Model of Memory Essay Example

Outline and Evaluate the Multi Outline and Evaluate the Multi-Store Model of Memory Paper Outline and Evaluate the Multi-Store Model of Memory Paper Outline and Evaluate the Multi – Store Model of Memory ( 12 marks ) Information from the environment enters sensory memory, encoded through one of the 5 senses depending on the type of information. If attention is paid to this information it will enter short term memory ( STM )which, according to Miller, has a capacity of 7+/- 2 bits of information. It can last up to 18 seconds, without rehearsal, according to Peterson and Peterson. Baddeley found that information in STM is encoded mainly acoustically, although Brandimonte showed that sometimes it is done visually. If maintenance rehearsal takes place it will remain in STM or be forgotten through decay or displacement. Elaborative rehearsal will then transfer information into long term memory ( LTM ) which has unlimited capacity and, according to Bahrick, can last a lifetime. Baddeley found that LTM encodes mostly semantically. Information can be retrieved from LTM to be used in STM when needed and can be forgotten through decay or displacement. ( 157 words ) A particular strength of this model is that it is supported by evidence from clinical amnesics, and as this is based on real people rather than experiments, it is more ecologically valid and therefore can be applied to everyday life. For example, H. M. underwent brain surgery to cure severe epilepsy but this resulted in the inability to transfer information from STM to LTM so that he could not form long term memories, supporting the concept that there are separate stores. ( 75 words ) Other evidence to support this model comes from medical technology such as MRI and PET scans which show different brain patterns when patients are performing tasks associated with STM and LTM, therefore showing there are separate stores in memory. ( 39 words ) Empirical research also provides evidence of separate stores for example research on primacy-recency effect. Glanzer and Cunitz found that participants who were asked to remember lists of words could remember the first and last few words but the ones in the middle were more difficult. This supports the idea that there are separate stores as the first words in the list have been stored in LTM whereas the last words are still in STM ( 77 words ) However, much of the scientific evidence which supports multi – store lacks validity because it is carried out in a laboratory. This is an artificial environment and also the material participants have to remember is unlike information we have to remember in everyday life e. g. rigrams, so the results can not necessarily be applied to everyday life. ( 60 words ) However, another weakness of this model is that it is a much too simple explanation of a complex process because it explains little about STM and LTM but merely describes them as fixed structures and does not take into account , for example, that there are different types of LTM e. g. procedural or episodic. ( 54 words ) There are 496 words in total.

Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Nursing - Research Paper Example Although the process of medication reconciliation appears relatively simple, it has been difficult to organize and implement systems that ensure that reconciliation happens in a reliable manner. One author shows an error due to problems in the underlying processes of care: â€Å"A new report from the U.S. Pharmacopeia reveals that hospital medication errors may be on the increase despite efforts to combat the problem. The study also found that hospitalized patients over age 65 are twice as likely to be harmed by an error, accounting for half of all error-related deaths†. This particular perspective tends to contradict the initial assumption that mortality rates in cases of medication mistakes were relatively low when compared to other medical mistakes, but this is a matter of individuation. In the case examples, none of the results were fatal, but one was a root cause analysis event, which means that it was considered a sentinel event according to the JACHO. It is important to look at how this is also a problem that has interstices with home care environments. â€Å"Inconsistencies between patients’ admission orders and home medication regimens may occur. The JCAHO recognizes that medication safety is compromised when these discrepancies occur and require hospitals to develop a process of obtaining histories†. Hospitals can also help staff recognize the problem by putting up side-effect and drug combination charts. Education is also important because if a person does not receive an adequate education, they are not going to be able to apply knowledge.

Business environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Business environment - Essay Example The pre-privatization organization of electricity in United Kingdom is symbolized by broad vertical integration of production, transmission, distribution and its supplication (DTI, 2006). For instance, the structure of nationalized industry in Wales and England was control by one huge production and Transmission Company called CEGB which sold electricity in mass to 12 area distribution boards. Each of them served a franchise or a closed supply area. In Scotland, existed two vertically integrated boards that practiced regional monopolies though they cooperated nearly in utilization of their producing plant into ensuring that the demand was catered as viewed in the figure below: One of electricity innovation sector at privatization was the building of electricity pool of Wales an England (DTI, 2006). The pool become one of initial mechanisms of its type and thus, there involved little experience on other countries to rely on its creation and regulations connected with it. In its establishment, considerable weight was offered to arrangements functioned pre-privatization by CEGB, the time when electricity system was publicly-owned and centrally organized. Electricity Association (2002), after the first increase in numbers of licensed electricity suppliers functioning in electricity supplying market, the modern increase in acquisition and merger practices proposes the trend toward consolidation of electricity supply market. Electricity Association (2002) points onto the lowering prices and relentless competition, since spurring on companies gets a chance of consolidation to ensure they become more competitive (Electricity Association, 2001). There has been the recent trend into integration of production and supplication in recent years. In July 1998, Powergen purchased East Midlands Electricity as National Power purchased Midlands Electricity supply business. After the National