Systematic Theology free essay sample

An inclusive form referring to the human species, men and women. A impressive word, covering both male and female * Bible distinguishes between men and women in certain specific gender terms * Gender sensitivity uses:humanity, human beings, humankind, or persons. The Hebrew word for Adam is man * God did not choose to call the human race woman but man. Does it have any significance in male female relationship? Will discuss below . How did man originate? Varieties of views A. Atheistic Evolution : Theorizes the origin of matter and life apart from God. Several billion years ago chemicals in the sea, acted on by sunlight and cosmic energy, formed themselves by hence into one or more single-celled organisms, which have since developed through beneficial mutations and natural selection into all living plants, animals, and people (Eerie, 199:195) Principles of Evolution 1) Planets and the earth resulted from a big bang explosion of compressed, rotating protons and neutrons. We will write a custom essay sample on Systematic Theology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This continues to expand away from the original nucleus at fantastic speed (Eerie,198) 2) Lamarckian (1809), a French naturalist,. All vegetables, animals and man developed from certain original simple germ on earth (Hodge Volvo ii, 11). Lamarckian admitted God having created matter with its properties does nothing ore. Darwin built on Lamarckism theory in his Origin of Species.. 3) All other living organisms have developed from that first and subsequent simpler forms of life, 4) Mutations constitute the explanation for evolution: Mutations are sudden, small changes in the DNA code of genes, which are passed on to the offspring, causing them to differ from their parents 5) Natural selection is the system that preserves the changes caused by mutations. Evolution Based on supposition; survival of the fittest; cannot account for the arrival of the first, the ingot of matter and life Mutations are rare and always harmful. Only one in one million fruit fly will develop a mutation. 2. No mutations have produced new species or even new organ or system an existing species 1 . The whale, the bird, the mosquito, man all derived from slow process of selection countless million of years?. . Life cannot form by chance: the probability of forming one protein molecule by chance is one in 10 243 Figure of 1 followed by 243 zeros. Bases of atheistic evolution: science and faith. Natural selection does not guarantee improvement B. Theistic Evolution. The Theory: God directed and controlled the process of naturalistic evolution throughout the million of years to create the world and all that is in it. The bases of theistic evolution: science and the Bible. The scriptures teach that: God is the life-source, the originator and maintainer of all forms of life, and the one who created all to reproduce after their kind. (Conner, 123). 1. God created man in his image from the dust of the earth and gave his own breath of life to man (Gene 1: 27; 2:7; Image refers to likeness, I. E. Mental; moral; social. Only humans are Gods image-bearers; not animals or plants

Sociology Essay Example

Sociology Essay Example Sociology Essay Sociology Essay In sociology, a sect is a type of religious (or political) group which stands apart from a larger well-established social group. Usually, sects appear as the result of contradictions, misunderstandings and disputes between the members of large social groups on important matters or principles. Historically, members of sects were considered to be heretics and it was quite common practice among our ancestors to condemn and destroy them. From historical perspective, the term sect was greatly explained by famous British sociologist Bryan Williams, who dedicated his life to researching the issues of the relationships between religious minorities and sectarianism. In his book Religion in Sociological Perspective he wrote: In English, it is a term that designates a religiously separated group, but in its historical usage in Christendom it carried a distinctly pejorative connotation. A sect was a movement committed to heretical beliefs and often to ritual acts and practices that departed from orthodox religious procedures. (Williams, 1982) This term was introduced in sociology in 1930s by world’s prominent sociologists Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. In their theoretical works they described sects as the religious groups, which were formed to protest against some postulates or dogmas of the parental religion. Other sociologists were developing the ideas of Weber and Troeltsch, coming to different conclusions: some considered sects to be the carriers of purified versions of the religious beliefs, and the others argued that sects have â€Å"†¦ a unique and privileged access to the truth or salvation (Wallis, 1977)†. For example John Suburban monkey boy who was abandoned at the age of 2 and the only solicitation for him was with monkeys. Due to the fact that he only had limited solicitation and only with monkeys, he was found doing everything that only monkeys would do at the age of 14 was when he was discovered. Therefore even though his genetics meant he was human, the years of his life spent with the solicitation from monkeys, meant that when he was first found it seemed unreal that he was a human being. Likewise another case similar to this was when a Ukrainian girl who was discovered in the USA, who only had the solicitation of dogs. Therefore when discovered she could eat, wash etc as a dog would do and she wasnt capable of doing any actions a normal human being would be able to as she lacked experience of love, human care or social behavior. Therefore even though every human being has their genes and DNA, feral children that are deprived of the stimulation of human company, stripped of the opportunity to acquire human language in early life are barely recognizable as humans. In further detail culture lows humans to know language and from this comes shared meanings, norms, values, and roles which feral children lack and therefore they are not the same as normal human beings. Evidently sociologist Stuart Hall (1997) stated that humans are able to create meanings and make sense of the world because of language. Shared meanings are an important way to communicate due to the fact that over time each social group builds up shared understandings of the world. For example it is universal when someone waves their hand when meeting someone it is a shared meaning of another way to say hello. Therefore if shared meanings like this example was not there, then people would not communicate effectively. Culture also allows humans to have their own personal values, and therefore people live by their own principles in life such as love, truth etc. Therefore if culture did not give humans values, then people would not have principles to live by from their own beliefs or from their religion etc, because genetics cannot offer humans values. Also culture gives us norms which holds the social expectations of how people should or snouts Deanna. For example tons also ensures unmans nave manners as It Is norms o hold the door open for someone, therefore culture provides basic rules of what is acceptable or not acceptable in society. Moreover culture gives us roles which allows humans to acknowledge and learn what their individual role as a sister, brother, wife, husband etc which is changing over time to suit the generation. Therefore without roles, humans would not be able to acknowledge the important of relationships, which nature of the nature-nurture debate does not provide. Moreover Culture does play a big role in humans becoming completely human, as Norte Alias proves and tastes that throughout time there are changing attitudes towards the body, which ensures that human existence will always survive. For example Alias describes that people became more sensitive to the shame and disgust of bodily functions as they developed good manners and disciplined their bodies to act in a civilized way. This proves why humans are more aware of the importance of hygiene to survive and not have any diseases or viruses due to uncleanness. This proves why people are cleaner in todays society than they were years ago, when people used to throw access over the windows at that time. Genetics would not have been the cause of this change because in the nature argument it is believed that people stay the same throughout time. However if this is the case then there would not have been change towards hygiene and what is clean and not clean, therefore culture is the main reason for this. Another fact as to why Culture plays a big role in society is due to the fact that within different countries there is diversity. For example people in Africa dress and talk differently to people in the United Kingdom. Also not only do humans n different countries dress differently, they also eat different foods, talk in different languages etc. This shows that genetics as part of the nature argument is wrong because surely if everyone had human genes then they should be acting the same, dressing the same, eating the same etc. However because this is not the case it proves that genetics cannot be what makes people human, because there is no explanation of diversity within the nature side of the nature-nurture debate. This is why culture is needed to make a person human, and culture therefore dictates what s normal between one culture to another as there is diversity through places. On the other hand the statement is not completely correct because genetics provides human beings with survival instincts such as needing warmth, food, water etc. Therefore it is genetically wired into human beings, that they need to have these basic needs in order to survive. Therefore if genetics had no role to play within human beings lives then, it is more likely that humans would not exist today as they would not be aware of what their body needs such as food, which meaner they would be starving to death without even releasing. Additionally genetics also provides natural reflexes to human beings as another survival instinct such as flinching. If humans did not have natural reflexes then the outcome would be humans would not know when to move away from danger. For example if a human being touches a hot metal spoon they would automatically flinch away from the danger of burning themselves and this is what genetics provides and not culture. Also genetics does play an important role for people to become human due to the fact that there are identical twin case studies which found twins to be the same despite being operated at birth. For example sisters Paula Bemusement and Else were separated at Dealt Ana pope Y t a D Deterrent parents, never tenet lives were salary as teeny Don edited their high school newspapers, studied Film at University and became Writers. However they did not realizes this until they both met in the year of 2003 at the age of 35. This case study shows that even though the twins had different past histories, different lives and were brought up in different cultures, their personalities were similar. This proves that genetics does have a role in human beings personalities. Another example of identical twin case study is when in 2004, 2 year old Mitchell Socks from Manchester fell off a slide in his back garden and was taken to hospital. When taken to the hospital Mitchell had a check-up and doctors said that he had no problems and that he could go home. A few hours later Mitchell identical twin named Elliot, tripped over and fell off the same slide and had to be taken to hospital. Doctors examined him and the x-ray results showed he had broken his left arm, at the same time at home Mitchell left arm was hurting, when Doctors X-rayed him as well, they found that Mitchell left arm was broken too. Therefore this extraordinary case study proves that genetics does have a big role to play in peoples health and if it is genetically wired that a human being will have some kind of problem with their health, then regardless of their culture it will happen. This surely clarifies that genetics has a role to play and it isnt only culture that makes someone completely human. To conclude Sociologists would say that the statement of children requiring only culture to become fully human and that genes mean nothing is about 75% correct. This is because Sociologists would say that if Culture wasnt existent then owe would people be able to communicate with each other effectively if shared meanings did not exist, because nature of the nature-nature debate would not provide this to human beings. Also without culture sociologists believe that there would be no Values that people live by, no clear roles of how people should be and norms would not exist and this meaner that people would not have social expectations of how they should or should not behave. Sociologists also believe that if culture did not matter in peoples lives then why are there children who do not have primary solicitation with humans and only have solicitation with animals, why are they seen as almost not human in the case of no human solicitation; which surely proves the way people are is due to culture. Another reason as to why sociologists would agree more with the statement is because of the diversity of culture, they believe that if genetics only mattered then why are people different in the way they dress and what they eat in different countries. On the other hand sociologists would disagree with the statement about 25% because genetics provide survival instincts and natural reflexes in order for people to be aware of what their Asia needs are to survive and to stay away from a situation that would endanger their lives, this is what culture fails to provide for humans. Moreover sociologists believe that genetics have some form to play in human beings lives because if genetics didnt play a role then why are there identical twins who have been brought up in different cultures, still the same. Proving that genetics will play a role in human beings lives and personalities, despite different lifestyles and cultures. These are the reasons why sociologists believe that culture and genetics play a role in order to eke people fully human, however that culture has the bigger role. In my opinion I agree with what sociologists would say due to the fact that I believe culture makes us unman as It provides ten world Walt roles, values, Loveliest, snared meanings etc. However to make us fully human, genetics does play a role because without survival instincts and natural reflexes how would human beings even survive. Therefore in my opinion culture is more important in order to make us human, however I believe that genetics plays a role because it determines to some extent our personalities, interests etc.

SAT Percentiles and Score Rankings (Updated 2018)

SAT Percentiles and Score Rankings (Updated 2018) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you taken the SAT recently and need help deciding whether you should retake the test? Or maybe you haven’t taken the SAT yet but want to develop a target score. One of the best ways to understand your SAT scores is to understand your SAT score percentiles. You can learn to maximize your study time, find the biggest score gains, and impress your dream school by understanding percentile rankings. Read on for a guide to maximizing your SAT score- and your college admissions chances- by using SAT score percentiles. Bonus: Want to get a perfect SAT score? Read our famous guide on how to score a perfect 1600 on the SAT. You'll learn top strategies from the country's leading expert on the SAT, Allen Cheng, a Harvard grad and perfect scorer. No matter your level, you'll find useful advice here - this strategy guide has been read by over 500,000 people. Read the 1600 SAT guide today and start improving your score. What Are SAT Score Percentiles? In addition to the composite score you get on the SAT (i.e., that number between 400 and 1600), you'll get a percentile ranking, ranging from 1 to 99. The SAT gives you a percentile ranking for your overall composite score as well as for each of the twosection scores: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and Math. Your percentile tells you how you did on the SAT compared with everyone else who took the test. For example, if you got a composite percentile of 76, this means you scored higher than 76% of students on the whole test. If you got a percentile of 47 on the Math section, you did better than 47% of students on SAT Math. An example of an SAT score report with percentiles. Your percentile score is not like a grade out of 100.For instance, if you get a percentile of 90, this doesn't mean you got exactly 90% of the questions right. It just means that compared with everyone who took the SAT, you scored higher than 90% of them. (For more info on how the SAT is scored, see our scoring guide.) So, why do percentiles matter? Colleges use percentiles to compare you with other students. If you got, say, an SAT score in the 90thpercentile, this would make you competitive for many schools since you scored better than 90% of students nationwide. Paying attention to your percentile ranking, as well as your composite score, can give you the best idea of your performance and help you make strategic choices about which colleges to apply to. What Are the Percentile Ranges for the SAT? OK, so you get that percentile rankings are important. But if you haven’t taken the SAT yet or have taken it and plan to retake it, what composite SAT score should you shoot for in order to get a certain percentile ranking? Luckily, the College Board releases data about composite scores and matching percentile rankings to help you figure this out. These numbers change slightly from year to year, but we have the most recent info from 2018. We've summarized the SAT percentile ranges here in a percentile chart. Just find your score to see your estimated percentile. SAT Composite Score Range Percentile Score 1550-1600 99+ 1500-1550 99 to 99+ 1450-1500 97 to 99 1400-1450 94 to 97 1350-1400 91 to 94 1300-1350 87 to 91 1250-1300 81 to 87 1200-1250 74 to 81 1150-1200 67 to 74 1100-1150 58 to 67 1050-1100 49 to 58 1000-1050 39 to 49 950-1000 31 to 39 900-950 23 to 31 850-900 15 to 23 800-850 10 to 15 750-800 5 to 10 700-750 2 to 5 650-700 1 to 2 600-650 1- to 1 550-600 1- 500-550 1- 450-500 1- 400-450 1- Something to note about these percentile ranks is that they change the fastest with the middle scores. For example, the difference between 1450 and 1600- the highest possible score- is only 3 percentile points, 98 to 99. However, the same point gap between 1100 and 1250 has a vast percentile difference- 58 to 81. This means that if you scored 1100 or lower, increasing your overall composite by just 150 points would give a vast boost to your percentile rank and your admissions competitiveness! Did you know boosting your SAT score by 160 points can dramatically change your chances of getting into your dream school?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: SAT Percentile Charts by Section We also have data on percentile rankings for score ranges in EBRW and Math. Check out the chart below to see how your scores stack up. Section Score Range SAT EBRW Percentiles SAT Math Percentiles 780-800 99+ 98 to 99+ 760-780 99 to 99+ 97 to 98 740-760 98 to 99 96 to 97 720-740 97 to 98 94 to 96 700-720 94 to 97 92 to 94 680-700 92 to 94 89 to 92 660-680 88 to 92 86 to 89 640-660 84 to 88 83 to 86 620-640 78 to 84 79 to 83 600-620 72 to 78 75 to 79 580-600 66 to 72 69 to 75 560-580 59 to 66 64 to 69 540-560 52 to 59 57 to 64 520-540 45 to 52 49 to 57 500-520 38 to 45 40 to 49 480-500 31 to 38 34 to 40 460-480 25 to 31 28 to 34 440-460 19 to 25 22 to 28 420-440 14 to 19 17 to 22 400-420 9 to 14 13 to 17 380-400 6to 9 9 to 13 360-380 3 to 6 6 to 9 340-360 2 to 3 3 to 6 320-340 1 to 2 1 to 3 300-320 1- to 1 1 280-300 1- 1- to 1 260-280 1- 1- 240-260 1- 1- 220-240 1- 1- 200-220 1- 1- Source:SAT Understanding Scores 2018 Again, note that the percentile ranks change dramatically toward the middle scores: 500 in EBRW is only 38%, but 600 is 72%. In other words, a 100-point improvement- which is very manageable with some smart studying- could transform your score from poorto good. Note that the Math curve is more competitive near the top than the EBRW curve is. A 750 is in the 96thpercentile on Math but in the 99thpercentile on EBRW, and a 700 is in the 92ndpercentile on Math but in the 94thpercentile on EBRW. This means that if you were aiming for the same percentile on both sections, you'd have to get a higher score on Math than you would on EBRW. For more info on SAT scores and rankings, check out our guide to average SAT scoresin which we also look at score breakdowns by gender and ethnic group. How Can Knowing Your SAT Percentile Help You? We know that percentiles are important and that, in some cases, a relatively small composite score increase can have a huge effect on your percentile ranking. However, your target composite score for the colleges you want to apply to is the most important. While percentiles help college admissions officers compare your scores, schools also have their own score ranges that typically don’t change much from year to year. To find a college’s SAT score ranges, search â€Å"[School Name] SAT scores PrepScholar† on Google to find our Admission Requirements page with its SAT/ACT score ranges and info on GPA ranges and overall competitiveness. For more tips on how to use this strategy (and for a table you can fill out for your specific colleges), see our guide onwhat a good SAT score is. Maximize your study time by setting a personal SAT target score. Finally, SAT percentile rankings can be a useful tool for you. Especially if you’re deciding whether or not to retake the SAT, percentiles really help put your SAT scores in context. For example, the difference between your 700 in EBRW and 600 in Math might not seem enormous, but that EBRW score is in the 94th percentile, while that Math score is in the 75th percentile. A huge difference! This means you can get more bang for your buck if you focus on the Math section for your retake. Increasing your Math score by 100 points can raise your percentile from 75 to 92. However, raising your EBRW score from 700 to 800, though super impressive, only improves your percentile ranking by 5%. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should ignore EBRW- in fact, a gain of just 50 points would put you in the 99th percentile! But recognizing that you stand to gain more with Math can ultimately help you prioritize your study time better. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Tired of wasting time prepping in ways that don't work? We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. It's the best prep program available right now. Best of all, we guarantee your money back if you don't improve your score by 160 points or more. Check out our 5-day free trial today: Improve Your SAT Score by 160+ Points, Guaranteed What’s Next? Now that you know the ins and outs of national SAT percentiles, check out what the average SAT scores are, and take a look at the average SAT scores in your state. Trying to figure out your SAT target score? Or maybe you took the SAT but aren't sure whether your score is competitive. Our guide can help you develop a personal SAT target score based on the colleges you're applying to. Reaching for the stars? Check out what a good SAT score for the Ivy League looks like. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today!

Discrimination and the Role of Business Research Paper

Discrimination and the Role of Business - Research Paper Example However, the commonness of the term in our societies, there has been no stable and neutral definition of the feud. In an attempt to define the term, Altman (2011) views discrimination as the means of treating groups of people in distantly different ways. Discrimination in the workplace occurs when an individual employer or employee treats one group of employees with less consideration than others. All the same, Altman (2011) admits that not all unequal handling of employees constitutes discrimination considering the fact that various people in an employment set up perform different kinds of duties. Employment discrimination practices as comprising issues like biased hiring of workers, selective promotion, unequal job assignment, unreasoned termination of ones duties and unfair compensation. Furthermore, discrimination can be defined as the use of ones power to induce legal and behavioral restrictions on the impoverished societal members to with a vision to maintaining the inequality and desires of particular individuals. In addition, discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of a particular society or group having different believes and views on concerning particular issues. Workplace place discrimination does not just result from the specific work place but the established social relations mostly influence it. The elements of social discriminations are influenced by the varying relationship between groups, which later dictates power and participation in various issues. The hostile existence between groups and social prejudice can lead to development of bullying and stereotyping among various employees in the working organization. Discrimination in an organization may also result as a way of reiterating against past discriminatory acts to previously low ranking employees. Discrimination takes various dimensions that include race, gender, age, ethnicity, or disability among other natures of discrimination. Discrimination classifies under two major forms that include direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination involves the act of treating particular individuals in a disfavored manner with consideration to specific traits such as of gender, race, disability, nationality, disability, and culture (Altman 2011). Indirect discrimination on the other hand refers to the policies that tend to be transparent and fair from the outlook but appears opposite when critically investigated. Indirect discrimination can involve blockade of job applicants on the grounds of petty reasons such as age and unreasonable requirements. In most cases, indirect discrimination persists in organization since it is never for an individual to identify and disclose it on the open. Indirect discrimination have been problematic to certain individuals especially women and the disabled groups (Altman 2011). The general concept of discrimination involves unethical treatment of specific individuals in ways of harassment, bullying, and prejudices that finally ma y have negative impacts on the victims’ concentration. The impacts of discrimination are usually borne by the society as well as the organization in which the act is pursued. The gender form of discrimination has been problematic and with great influence to the society and job organization as well. Gender discrimination in the societies has seen women being viewed as the minority members of the particular families (Glucks 2011). Gender discrimin

Portfolio of Seven Case Briefs on Different Business Law Topics Essay

Portfolio of Seven Case Briefs on Different Business Law Topics - Essay Example Reeder-Simco is a business entity that acts as a Volvo dealer in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In February of 2000, it filed suit against Volvo on the allegation that its (Reeder’s) sales and profits declined due to Volvo’s price discrimination practices. Reeder-Simco alleges that Volvo offered to other dealers price concessions that were significantly more favorable than those given to Reeder-Simco. Thus, it filed suit against Volvo for allegedly violating the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), which prohibits forms of discriminatory pricing that reduce competition. On this basis, Reeder explained that its business is conducted in the following manner: retail customers take bids from dealers who solicit price concessions from the manufacturers. These concessions are factored into dealer’s bids. Reeder accuses Volvo of offering better price concessions to other Volvo dealers bidding for different customers, directly resulting in Reeder suffering losses. The District Court District Court allowed the case to go to a jury, who held in favor of Reeder and awarded damages. Volvo appealed the decision, arguing a lack of competition was present, which is required by the RPA to apply. Volvo substantiated its contention stating that Reeder was not actually bidding against the Volvo dealers who supposedly were given favorable concessions. The appellate court dismissed the appeal, ruling that even though Volvo dealers do not actually bid against each other, they effectively competed at the same functional level.

Realities Behind Deceiving Appearances Essay Example for Free

Realities Behind Deceiving Appearances Essay According to Alfred Kazin, â€Å"In every great novel of society what counts is the reality behind the appearance† (Kazin, 1981, 297). In other words, he’s saying that the best books are those that include one or more realities behind appearances. The novel first I chose is called Perfect by Ellen Hopkins. This book has four main characters; Cara, Sean, Kendra, and Andre, who are all teens struggling to fit the ideal of perfection, even if it means hurting and lying to themselves and others. The other novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain tells a story of a runaway slave named Jim and a young boy Huck, running from the dangers of his father. Together they are trying to get to the North but run into many roadblocks. This adventure includes deceit, danger, excitement and most of all, friendship. Both of these novels show reality behind experiences through its actions, dialogs, and the characters themselves! In the following paragraphs, I will compare and explain the reality behind appearances such as friends or family, disguises and secrets in both novels, Perfect and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim, a runaway slave from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows many realities behind deceiving appearances. An example of a deceiving appearance is when Huck and the duke paint Jim all blue and dressed him up in King Lear’s outfit before leaving to town. Huck doesn’t want to risk Jim being taken away and sold back into slavery so they disguise him as a â€Å"sick arab-but harmless when not out of his head† (Twain 157) so that he wont have to uncomfortably lay tied up in the wigwam all day. The reality behind this disguise is that Jim is a kind and harmless runaway slave. After a tiring adventure, Jim talks to Huck about his family. When telling stories to Huck, he reveals a reality behind a deceiving appearance about his daughter Elizabeth. When Jim’s daughter was young, she got very sick. When she was better, Jim had told her to shut the door but she just stood there smiling at him. He repeated himself and again, she just smiled at him. Thinking that she was being naughty and a rebel, he smacked her across the head as a punishment. When he slams the door shut and she doesn’t budge, wince, or make any notice of it, Jim realizes â€Å"Oh, she was plumb deef en dumb, Huck, plumb deef en dumb† (Twain 156). The biggest and most important reality behind a deceiving appearance is that along this adventure, Jim was  freed from slavery. After all the trouble Tom put him through, Tom finally fesses that Jim was free because â€Å"Old Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was so ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so; and she set him free in her will† (Twain 289). The duke and the king from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are very mischievous people. They are full with illusions, lies, and intelligence. The first reality behind appearance Huck saw is their names. On the day they first meet, both men claim they were a king and a duke in order to receive pity and to be spoiled by Jim and Huck. While Huck sees through this appearance, Jim does not. Later on in the story, the king cons the people of a religious camp in order to get some money. He pretends to be a pirate who changed his ways after he was robbed and now is working his way back to the ocean in order to change all pirates. He gives credit to the people of the town to earn their pity and succeeds. â€Å"‘Don’t you thank me, don’t you give me no credit; it all belongs to them dear people in Pokeville camp-meeting, natural brothers and benefactors of the race, and that dear preacher there, the truest friend a pirate ever had’† (Twain 132). The reality behind the king’s appearance is that it was all an act and that he is just a cheater. Even after this silly event, the king and the duke are still greedy for more. When they find out that a man who has a lot of money for a relative has died, they head towards the town. There, they pretended to be the uncle of three girls who are very sweet and innocent. Eventually, the actual heirs to the money show up and start to expose the duke and the king. They have a more authentic english accent and state that the handwritings when compared to an old letter aren’t the same. In my novel, Perfect by Ellen Hopkins, there are four main characters struggling to fit an ideal of perfection. One of the main characters is named Kendra. Kendra is a senior in high school and everything you would want to be. She’s popular, on the cheer team, rich, and most of all, skinny. Kendra’s obsession with perfection comes with dangerous consequences as she is willing to do anything to achieve it. The most deceiving illusion when it comes to Kendra is her appearance itself. Kendra has gone through many plastic surgeries to look as she is now. With a rhinoplasty already  scheduled, she is also hoping to get a boob job which her stepfather refuses to allow. Along with the plastic surgery, in order to lose weight, Kendra eats as little as possible. Kendra believes she is fat, being 5’ 10† and 122 pounds. Though everyone tells her she’s not, she states that the â€Å"stinking mirror doesn’t lie. Everytime I walk by, it shouts out, †˜Hey. Chub. When are you going to lose those fifteen pounds of ugly-ass flab? Do you want to stay size four forever?’† (Hopkins, 23). The reality behind Kendra’s illusion is that she’s already beautiful and dangerously skinny. With every calorie she doesn’t eat, she inches closer and closer to death. One of the reasons why she believes that she’s not beautiful is because her boyfriend Conner left her. She believed he left her because she wasn’t good and pretty enough. The thought of this tortures her because Conner was her first love, the first person whom she gave her heart and soul to. She later finds out that Conner is in the hospital because of an accident. The reality is that Conner didn’t get into an accident, he tried killing himself and he didn’t leave her because he thought she was ugly. He left her because he had fallen in love with someone else. When Kendra leaves her beauty agent for Xavier, she begins to work with a man named Gilles. Xavier tells Kendra that Gilles is one of the â€Å"biggies† and that she needs keep him happy. â€Å"I have to keep Gilles happy. He likes the way I look. Especially naked† (Hopkins 496). Gilles and Xavier claim that they love her but in all honesty, they are taking advantage of her. If they rea lly did love her as she is, they wouldn’t abuse her body with pills, sex and surgeries. The appearance of Gilles loving her for her style and determination masks the reality that in order to do business, she must trade it with her service to him. Another character who has a deceiving appearance in the novel Perfect is a girl named Cara. Cara, like Kendra is also on the cheer team, beautiful, rich, has good grades and a wonderful sexy boyfriend but is she really all the things people make her out to be? Cara has a secret, one that could ruin her reputation; She’s a lesbian. Her boyfriend Sean is just an appearance. An appearance to make her seem straight when in reality, she’s a lesbian. When Sean finds out about her secret after they break up, he exposes her by taking a photo of Cara and her lover making love and sharing it to all of her â€Å"friends†. After this incident, all of Cara’s friends leave her and  began calling her cruel names such as slut and dyke. â€Å"I can’t believe Cara broke up with Sean. Neither can half the senior class They’re chopping her into little pieces: is a slut anyway, always was full of it, serious commitment issues† (Hopkins 306). The comfort and companionship of her friends was all an appearance in which the reality was just to use Cara for their own benefit. Because of this incident, Cara finally decides to tell her parents. â€Å"‘Dani said I should press charges’ Mom’s eyes grew steadily more severe. ‘I think it’s best to let it drop. If this becomes public knowledge, the media will smear it all over the headlines. Our reputation will be ruined. Bad enough we had to deal with all the flak about Conner.’ She straightened her blouse, as if it had been wrinkled by the very idea of her children disgracing her name† (Hopkins 535). The definition of parents is a mother and a father and that’s exactly what Cara’s parents are. A mother and father, nothing more. Though they do provide Cara with materialistic needs, it is all for her mother’s reputation. Her heartless parents with their high expectations are so extreme that it causes her twin brother Conner to kill himself. The idea of loving and supportive parents is just an appearance that the Sykes family create when the cold truth is that they don’t hold any familial bonds with each o ther. In the preceding paragraphs, I have compared and explained the realities behind appearances in both novels, Perfect and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As Alfred Kazin was saying, realities behind deceiving appearances make a book more interesting to read. It also makes the readers realize that there are many illusions in our daily lives. Through the characters, we can perhaps learn a lesson on how to act, spot, and deal with these realities behind appearances.

Dulce et Decorum Est An Emotional Appeal :: essays papers

Dulce et Decorum Est An Emotional Appeal War brings with it countless tragedies. Many of these tragedies only a veteran could fully understand. All too often the ugliness of war is glorified, and even worse, glamorized. In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen, the glorification of war is sarcastically refuted. Owen’s anger is eminent, as he graphically describes war in terms only a veteran or embattled soldier could comprehend. Dulce et Decorum Est, means â€Å"It is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country†(Arp 566). The title is used satirically, which the speaker defines within the very first phrase in the poem: â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks†(565). The speaker continues the description of the once young and healthy boys: â€Å"Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, /Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs†(565), if the war enthusiast was not yet feeling guilty—now would be the time. The emotion that illuminates from these statements is powerful and intense. It is now clear, that one who has lived through war, could not possibly glorify it. The speaker vividly describes the hell soldiers endure while desperately trying to stay alive. Exhausted, injured, and â€Å"Drunk with fatigue†(566), the men go on—terrified, yet brave, the men go on. These men are not just a bunch of nameless men going to battle, the y have names, and families, and beating hearts. The author of Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, Thomas R. Arp, asks the reader to â€Å"List the elements of the poem that seem no beautiful and therefore ‘unpoetic.’ Are there any elements of beauty in the poem?†(566). Although this is an extremely dark poem, and reveals some very ugly realities, I find it beautiful. It may not be about flowers, and the sun, and the gleaming ocean, but it is beautifully expressed—the way it ought to be. It encourages thinking and feeling, while removing ignorance. The intensity grows as the length of the poem grows. First, the speaker told of the men, and how they trudged towards distant rest (566). Now, further in the poem he singles out a single man. He also mentions himself as he explains â€Å"I saw him drowning†. He is referring to the one man who could not get his gas mask on in time to prevent death. During this passage, I could not help but to visualize the one young man who was left â€Å"flound’ring†, and maintaining dry eyes became near impossible.