Flowers For Algernon Essay Thesis Example For Students

Flowers For Algernon Essay Thesis In Daniel Keyes compelling novel, Flowers for Algernon, the main character undergoes both important emotional and physical changes. The book has an interesting twist, as it is described in the characters progress reports. This book has a science fiction undertone, and takes place in exciting New York City. As the novel begins, the main character, Charlie Jordan is thirty-two years old, but cannot remember anything from his childhood. Charlie Jordan words at a bakery in New York City. But there is something a little different about Charliehe is mentally retarded. He also attends evening classes at Beckman College. Here he submits his progress reports to the research team at the college. In these reports the reader is revealed Charlies experiences in the bakery where the owner has brought him from the Warren State Home, an institute for mentally retarded. He soon becomes a part of the bakery, and considers his co-workers as friends. From these reports, the team has considered Charlie a prime candidate for an experimental surgery, which if effective, would improve his intelligence. Soon begins Charlies preliminary testing. For weeks and weeks on end, Charlie undergoes simple tests of ordinary tasks, and competes in racing with a mouse. He becomes depressed when the mouse beats him every time. The operations takes place soon after, and Charlie becomes more disappointed with immediate results. However, he is assured t hat he will progress gradually, and steadily. Over a short period of time, he begins to read more, win more mazes, and master some complex processes at the bakery. His co-workers begin to resent him, and he is completely disillusioned. He now has to spend more and more time being tested at the lab. Charlie learns that the mouse Algernon, whom he constantly competes with, has also undergone a surgery similar to his own, and accounts for his intelligence. Charlie surges ahead in knowledge, and masters languages. He begins to see his supportive teacher from the college, Alice, as an attractive young woman. They become extremely close, and Charlie eventually tries to make love to her. On these several occasions, he finds that he suffers a violent physical reaction while trying and has to stop.He cannot understand why this is happening to him. At this same time, Charlie begins re-living repressed memories of his childhood, and is disturbed by images of his mother pushing him to study, or his being neglected in favor of his sister. He is upset, and even frightened, but he finds his newfound intellectual ability more thrilling and keeps working hard. The scientists at the lab report to Charlie that he and Algernon are to be taken to Chicago for a convention, in which the head scientist will present the findings of his team. Once they arrive, Charlie and Algernon are the prime exhibits and Charlie is humiliated by some remarks made. He also discovers that the researchers had not given sufficient time to verify their results of Algernon before performing the experiment on Charlie. Charlie and Algernon run away to New York, and Charlie decides his time is probably short, and begins to try and trace the reasons for his experiments failure. Alice and Charlie cannot overcome their problems, and she is forced to move on. He soon gets involved with Fay, his neighbor and unconventional artist. Around her, he is able to defeat his inhibitions. But as Charlies work becomes harder and more time constraining, they too break up. Algernon the mouses condition worsens as a whole, and he finally dies. Charlie sees this as a sigh of doom, and know s that his own time is approaching. He seeks his parents out, and meets his father, but cannot bear to introduce himself. He then meets his sister and his mother, and brags about his accomplishments, makes peace, and continues on. Charlie meets the scientist Nemur at a party, and sites him as being insensitive. Nemur charges Charlie as selfish and arrogant, which Charlie does readily accept. Charlie also comes to terms with his old Charlie, and accepts himself as an important and enduring part of him. Charlie and Alice get together once more, but only to find their own fulfillment for a short time. As his mind

Terrorism in India free essay sample

Terrorism In India The attacks on Indian Parliament and on Mumbai has left the people of India in a state of shock and fear for their life. The situation on Kashmir is still haunting the government and to add to the problems of Indian government is the recent attack on hotels in Mumbai killing many people including people from different nations. I think its time that India should follow a zero tolerance policy towards terrorism and the terrorists. The attack on Mumbai is â€Å"an attack on the spirit of India†. This nation is under attack. The scale, intensity and level of orchestration of terror attacks in Mumbai put one thing beyond doubt: India is effectively at war and it has deadly enemies in its midst. As in the case of the demolition of New Yorks World Trade Center in 2001, Mumbais iconic monuments have come under attack. The terrorists who carried out the attacks are armed to the teeth and extremely well-motivated. We will write a custom essay sample on Terrorism in India or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The question now is whether the nation can show any serious degree of resolve and coordination in confronting terror. This war can be won, but it will require something from the political class, from security forces and from ordinary people. Its time now to move beyond pointing fingers at one another. Its also time to end the habit of basing ones stand on terrorism on the particular religious affiliation of terrorists, criticizing or exonerating them using their religion [as] a point of reference. Terrorists have no religion. Political bickering on this issue is divisive; what India needs now is unity. Indias divisive political culture, in which numerous parties, showing little or no spirit of cooperation, constantly battle each other for regional or national power, that has played a considerable part in allowing terrorism to breed. In India, it is still possible to approach counter-terrorism very casually and allow it to be diverted to byways that lead to dead ends. This is because national security has yet to carve out a worthwhile political constituency for itself. Till 2005, terrorist strikes, except in [the northwestern region of] Jammu and Kashmir, were annual occurrences. After the [July 11, 2006] Mumbai train blasts, they became biannual affairs, and for the past 18 months, they have become quarterly features. Terrorism in India has become a routine occurrence. The suffer-and-forget approach has become a national phenomenon. Politicians are routinely told by opinion pollsters that it does not pay to make anti-terrorism the central plank of any political campaign. The sense of outrage, they are told, is ephemeral and non-enduring. The Taj and Oberoi hotels werent some out-of-the-way lunch homes, they are at the heart of Mumbais social and business life. If it could happen there, or so the chattering classes must feel, it could also happen in the Taj and Oberoi in Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore. This Mumbai attack has brought terrorism to the doorstep of opinion-makers. India may well recede into its traditional slumber, but there is a strong possibility that it will be jolted into realizing that the country is in the midst of an unconventional war. And that it is time to hit back – â€Å"with both love and bullets. † Terrorism in India free essay sample In August 2008, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has said that there are as many as 800 terrorist cells operating in the country. [2] India has been accused by the Government of Pakistan of funding, supporting and arming designated anti-state terrorist or militant groups in Pakistan, as well of having direct involvement or links in many terrorist attacks inside the country, throughout multiple occasions in history. [1][self-published source? ] During the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India was blamed of possible involvement in the planning and execution of several terrorist incidents inside Pakistan to deter Pakistani support of the Afghan liberation movement against Indias ally, the Soviet Union. [1][self-published source? ] In particular, it was believed to have provided assistance to the KGB intelligence agency, which at the time was believed to have a considerable network of terrorist activities inside Pakistani cities. [1] Intelligence reports during the time suggested that several training camps had been simultaneously established in Indian Punjab; t hese camps were accused of providing training to anti-Pakistan elements. We will write a custom essay sample on Terrorism in India or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Several small-scale terrorist incidents that occurred in Pakistani cities such as Peshawar, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Sheikhupura during the mid 1990s were attributed to the clandestine activities of the Indian intelligence agency. [1][self-published source? ] The then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and many senior ministers within the Pakistani government condemned India for the upsurge of terrorist incidents, as well as for having a hand in sporadic Sunni-Shia sectarian conflicts in the country. 1][self-published source?

Free Essays on iMac

For years, Macs and PCs have been competing for home users. Apple has recently released the new iMac, and the notebook version of the iMac – the iBook. Even though several years ago, Macs were better than PCs, now, PCs are better than Macs for home users in terms of performance and expansion options. To some consumers, performance is often the most important factor in buying a computer. Performance doesn’t necessarily mean how well the computer performs potentially, but only on specific tasks. Both iBook and iMac are designed for home users, most of whom neither care about number of floating-point operations per second, nor know what it means. Very few home users will pay $500 for Photoshop 5.0 to edit photos on their PC. The more likely uses for home computers are: word processing, browsing the Internet, and 3-D gaming. Since the most popular word processor is developed by Microsoft and allegedly optimized for Windows, it would be unfair to compare the Mac version of M S Word with the Windows version. However, comparing the performance in 3-D games and the Internet is fair. Even though PC Magazine specializes in PCs, it reviewed the iBook as soon as it came out. The article focused on performance of the iBook and compared it to a similar IBM-compatible notebook. Since there are no new IBM-compatible notebooks that match iBook’s specifications, PC Magazine decided to use the notebook they believed to be closest to iBook – the IBM ThinkPad iSeries 1480. They have very few similarities: the both notebooks are available in different colors, and neither notebook has the fastest processor from its platform. Apple claims that its notebooks are â€Å"up to twice as fast as comparable Microsoft Windows-based portables† (qtd. in Hill 53). This statement is very vague – it doesn’t say how they compared the portables, and what Apple meant by â€Å"comparable†. Since similar statements have been made about iMac, speed will be discussed in ... Free Essays on iMac Free Essays on iMac For years, Macs and PCs have been competing for home users. Apple has recently released the new iMac, and the notebook version of the iMac – the iBook. Even though several years ago, Macs were better than PCs, now, PCs are better than Macs for home users in terms of performance and expansion options. To some consumers, performance is often the most important factor in buying a computer. Performance doesn’t necessarily mean how well the computer performs potentially, but only on specific tasks. Both iBook and iMac are designed for home users, most of whom neither care about number of floating-point operations per second, nor know what it means. Very few home users will pay $500 for Photoshop 5.0 to edit photos on their PC. The more likely uses for home computers are: word processing, browsing the Internet, and 3-D gaming. Since the most popular word processor is developed by Microsoft and allegedly optimized for Windows, it would be unfair to compare the Mac version of M S Word with the Windows version. However, comparing the performance in 3-D games and the Internet is fair. Even though PC Magazine specializes in PCs, it reviewed the iBook as soon as it came out. The article focused on performance of the iBook and compared it to a similar IBM-compatible notebook. Since there are no new IBM-compatible notebooks that match iBook’s specifications, PC Magazine decided to use the notebook they believed to be closest to iBook – the IBM ThinkPad iSeries 1480. They have very few similarities: the both notebooks are available in different colors, and neither notebook has the fastest processor from its platform. Apple claims that its notebooks are â€Å"up to twice as fast as comparable Microsoft Windows-based portables† (qtd. in Hill 53). This statement is very vague – it doesn’t say how they compared the portables, and what Apple meant by â€Å"comparable†. Since similar statements have been made about iMac, speed will be discussed in ...

Major General Benjamin Grierson in the Civil War

Major General Benjamin Grierson in the Civil War Benjamin Grierson - Early Life Career: Born July 8, 1826 in Pittsburgh, PA, Benjamin Grierson was the youngest child of Robert and Mary Grierson. Moving to Youngstown, OH at a young age, Grierson was educated locally. At the age of eight, he was badly injured when he was kicked by a horse. This incident scarred the young boy and left him afraid of riding. A gifted musician, Grierson began leading a local band at age thirteen and later pursued a career as a music teacher. Traveling west, he found employment as a teacher and band leader in Jacksonville, IL during the early 1850s. Making a home for himself, he married Alice Kirk on September 24, 1854. The following year, Grierson became a partner in a mercantile business in nearby Meredosia and later became involved in Republican politics. Benjamin Grierson - The Civil War Begins: By 1861, Griersons business was failing as the nation descended into the Civil War. With the outbreak of hostilities, he joined the Union Army as an aide to Brigadier General Benjamin Prentiss. Promoted to major on October 24, 1861, Grierson overcame his fear of horses and joined the 6th Illinois Cavalry. Serving with the regiment through the winter and into 1862, he was promoted to colonel on April 13. Part of the Union advance into Tennessee, Grierson led his regiment on numerous raids against Confederate railroads and military facilities while also scouting for the army. Displaying skill in the field, he was elevated to command a cavalry brigade in Major General Ulysses S. Grants Army of the Tennessee in November. Moving into Mississippi, Grant sought to capture the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg. Seizing the town was a vital step towards securing the Mississippi River for the Union and cutting the Confederacy in two. In November and December, Grant began advancing along the Mississippi Central Railroad toward Vicksburg. This effort was cut short when Confederate cavalry under Major General Earl Van Dorn attacked his main supply depot at Holly Springs, MS. As the Confederate cavalry withdrew, Griersons brigade was among the forces that mounted an unsuccessful pursuit. In the spring of 1863, Grant began planning a new campaign which would see his forces move down the river and cross below Vicksburg in conjunction with efforts by Rear Admiral David D. Porters gunboats. Benjamin Grierson - Griersons Raid: To support this effort, Grant ordered Grierson to take a force of 1,700 men and raid through central Mississippi. The goal of the raid was to tie down enemy forces while also hampering the Confederates ability to reinforce Vicksburg by destroying railroads and bridges. Departing La Grange, TN on April 17, Griersons command included the 6th and 7th Illinois as wells as 2nd Iowa Cavalry regiments. Crossing the Tallahatchie River the next day, the Union troops enduring heavy rains but met little resistance. Eager to maintain a fast pace, Grierson sent 175 of his slowest, least effective men back to La Grange on April 20. Learning of the Union raiders, the commander at Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, ordered local cavalry forces to intercept them and directed part of his command to guard the railroads. Over the next several days, Grierson used a variety of ruses to throw off his pursuers as his men began disrupting the railroads of central Mississippi. Attacking Confederate installations and burning bridges and rolling stock, Griersons men created havoc and kept the enemy off balance. Repeatedly skirmishing with the enemy, Grierson led his men south towards Baton Rouge, LA. Arriving on May 2, his raid had been a stunning success and saw his command only lose three killed, seven wounded, and nine missing. More importantly, Griersons efforts effectively distracted Pembertons attention while Grant moved down the west bank of the Mississippi. Crossing the river on April 29-30, he embarked on a campaign that led to Vicksburgs capture on July 4. Benjamin Grierson - Later War: After recovering from the raid, Grierson was promoted to brigadier general and ordered to join Major General Nathaniel Banks XIX Corps at the Siege of Port Hudson. Given command of the corps cavalry, he repeatedly skirmished with Confederate forces led by Colonel John Logan. The city finally fell to Banks on July 9. Returning to action the following spring, Grierson led a cavalry division during Major General William T. Shermans abortive Meridian Campaign. That June, his division was part of Brigadier General Samuel Sturgis command when it was routed by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest at the Battle of Brices Crossroads. Following the defeat, Grierson was directed to take command of Union cavalry in the District of West Tennessee. In this role, he took part in the Battle of Tupelo with Major General Andrew J. Smiths XVI Corps. Engaging Forrest on July 14-15, Union troops inflicted a defeat on the daring Confederate commander. On December 21, Grierson led a raiding force of two cavalry brigades out against the Mobile Ohio Railroad. Attacking a dismounted part of Forrests command at Verona, MS on December 25, he succeeded in taking a large number of prisoners. Three days later, Grierson captured another 500 men when he attacked a train near Egypt Station, MS. Returning on January 5, 1865, Grierson received a brevet promotion to major general. Later that spring, Grierson joined Major General Edward Canby for the campaign against Mobile, AL which fell on April 12. Benjamin Grierson - Later Career: With the end of the Civil War, Grierson elected to remain in the US Army. Though penalized for not being a West Point graduate, he was accepted into the regular service with the rank of colonel in recognition for his wartime achievements. In 1866, Grierson organized the new 10th Cavalry Regiment. Composed of African-American soldiers with white officers, the 10th was one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments. A firm believer in his mens fighting ability, Grierson was ostracized by many other officers who doubted the African Americans skills as soldiers. After commanding Forts Riley and Gibson between 1867 and 1869, he selected the site for Fort Sill. Overseeing the new posts construction, Grierson led the garrison from 1869 to 1872. During his tenure at Fort Sill, Griersons support of the peace policy on the Kiowa-Comanche Reservation angered many settlers on the frontier. Over the next several years, he oversaw various posts along the western frontier and repeatedly skirmished with raiding Native Americans. During the 1880s, Grierson commanded the Departments of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. As in the past, he was relatively sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans living on the reservations. On April 5, 1890, Grierson was promoted to brigadier general. Retiring that July, he split his time between Jacksonville, IL and a ranch near Fort Concho, TX. Suffering a severe stroke in 1907, Grierson clung to life until finally dying at Omena, MI on August 31, 1911. His remains were later buried in Jacksonville. Selected Sources HistoryNet: The Grierson RaidTSHA: Benjamin H. Grierson Hard Party: Benjamin Grierson

Acheiving Global Competitive Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Acheiving Global Competitive Advantage - Essay Example The organization employs more than 320,808 people in 160 countries (Toyota Motor Corporation, Annual Report, 2009). TMC is a multinational company. It is a very popular auto company. It designs environment-friendly and superior technology cars. The company was established in the year 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda. However, the company gained global eminence in the year 1952. The company started advancing in leaps and bounds. North American was the first country to import the cars of Toyota (Source: Toyota Motor Corporation, Annual Report, 2008). TMC and Toyota Motor Sales joined forces in the year 1982 to augment the international presence of the company. There are 522 subsidiaries of the company. In 2008 the company had achieved the status of â€Å"The biggest automobile-manufacturer†, but the financial crisis of 2007 saw the fall in revenue generation of TMC. Its current global standing is number three. The company is based in Toyota City, Aichi in Japan (Toyota, Overview, 2011). The company took over General Motors in 2008. The company is proficient in designing and manufacturing an array of products. The main line of production ranges from luxury and sports vehicles. It also manufactures buses, minivans, trucks, and SUVs. These vehicles are manufactured using either hybrid or combustion engines (like Prius). The subsidiaries of Toyota (like Daihatsu Motor) are also proficient in auto manufacturing. Hino Motors (another subsidiary) manufactures buses and trucks. TMC also produces automotive parts. These are used in the vehicles made by TMC, as well as sold to other automobile manufacturers. The most popular Toyota models are Tundra Truck, Lexus Line, Land Cruiser, Corolla, and Camry. Toyota vehicles are very popular in Asia, which contributes to 40 percent of its sales (Toyota, Products and Services, 2011). TMC has expertise in not only car-manufacturing but also many other fields like e-Toyota business, afforestation,

A Rose for Emily by William Falkner Research Paper

A Rose for Emily by William Falkner - Research Paper Example He also won the Pulitzer Prize for â€Å"Fable† and â€Å"The Reivers†. Faulkner started writing for material gains as he did not belong to a wealthy family he struggled his way through hard work and voracious reading. Skills of writing can be learnt but ways to pore your thoughts into words can be a gift from God. Faulkner depicted the social and moral connections between present and past. Most of his stories have an element of southern culture or link themselves to ethical aspects. As he was a survivor, witness and victim of world war, he portrayed his stories with the background of civil war and slavery. His books always had a flare of southern element in them. Faulkner’s stories contained the tragic part more sturdily than the adequate ending. He was a firm believer of southern values. Due to change in socio economical conditions people began to adapt them. Faulkner however wasn’t convinced to see the fall of those values exchanged by the new ones. The passion and never ending energy through which Faulkner wrote without financial security in the era of depressing war, his series of achievements contain As I lay dying, Light in August, Absalom, Absalom.(John) A rose for Emily, written by William Faulkner, tells the life story of a woman who had gone through complicated phases of life which she had to endure.(William) She showed acceptance in her youth to accept norms and customs taught by his father but after maturity she practiced the same values showing none flexible attitude to change and to accept change as large. Emily represented the resistance of decayingold southern values. The story mainly revolves around one character Emily Grierson, a young lady who lived all her life with her father. Her father was a proud man who believed that he was higher in status and superior to all the people in town, endowing the same beliefs to his daughter. The world of Emily revolved around her father and she was shattered when he died and sh e went into solitude. The town’s people felt sorry for her after the death of her father. They were curious about her way of living and they kept a close watch on Emily. â€Å"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant—a combined gardener and cook—had seen in at least ten years.†(Faulkner.) She again suffered a major blow when she got close to a newcomer in town known as Homer Borron who refused to marry her. But she found out her own way to deal with the situation and poisoned him and kept his body with her for thirty years. This was discovered in the end when she died and his body was found in her house. This shows her psychologically disturbed inclination towards past and the dead. Even if her father’s overpowering control over her beliefs and ideology or her isolation after his death causes this inclination, it was clearly a pathological scenario. The story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† presents Emily as a very stubborn lady who lives her life in her own way and finds her own ways to deal with situations. She constructs her own modes and methods to lead her life and does not care about the restrictions of society. This can be seen when Emily refuses to pay the taxes â€Å"

Classical music Essay Example for Free

Classical music Essay It is Saturday March 1 2008 and I have woken with an excited feeling in my stomach. Today, I am being treated to something I have never experienced before and I am looking forward to what is in store. My father, is taking me to a classical concert. I am 18 years old and big band music is not really my style, I appreciate music but of the modern variety rather than the old school kind. My father loves classical music and plays it constantly in his study. His favourite composer is Leonard Bernstein so it is today, with great animation, he is taking me to encounter his love of this music. We are attending the Waukegan Concert Chorus which is at 624 Douglas Ave, Illinois, the concert is a tribute to Bernstein Williams; namely, In Remembrance of Bernstein Williams. My father assures me that although my liking of music may not be to his taste, I will go away from the concert feeling uplifted and appreciative of what I have heard. Our journey takes us to Waukegan during the early evening and as we approach the venue I can feel a buzz in the air. Other attendees are heading towards the seating area and as my father and I locate where we are sitting, I am somewhat satisfied that we have seats near to the front. My father explained in the car, on the way, even though it is the music you are listening to, it is also just as important to watch the performance. Before me is a huge orchestra; perhaps the biggest I have ever seen, not that I have seen many. There is a plethora of various noises coming from the ensemble and as each musician tunes in their instrument and plays small excerpts from their music stand, it is perhaps unbelievable that any kind of harmony will occur at all. However, the moment the conductor enters the room, there is an eerie silence, almost as if someone had turned the musicians off by a control button. The conductor is a gentleman who turns to his audience and bows his head, turning and repeating this gesture to his orchestra. As the first piece of music is played I feel myself vibrating with the enormity of the noise. For many years I have heard my father’s classical records being played from behind the study door but to be present at a live performance was truly exhilarating. One of my favourites in terms of familiarity was West Side Story. The introduction sounded amazing; upbeat and vibrant, the instruments seemed almost alive. Even closing my eyes, which I actually did, I could hear each piece of equipment as it was used. The brass and woodwind instrumentalists brought intrigue and manoeuvre to the story of the piece being played whilst the drums added the extra element of spirit in the arrangement. Despite the variety of instruments played and the different roles they played within the piece, the unity came together with such an intensity, I was taken aback by its impact. The formation and structure of the concert allowed me to lose myself within the music, it was almost as if I were watching the musical itself. This perhaps was the purpose of the concert itself, it worked with an effortless outcome. As the flutes and violins played ‘I Feel Pretty’, I felt almost compelled to stand up and sing as the notes poured through the air. The tempo was light in places and amplified in others; the exaggeration of drama was as apparent as the subtlety of tenderness applied to the nature of the story. Its volume was deafening yet tolerable as each instrument alerted itself naturally within the composition. On occasion I did look around at other spectators, like moths to a flame, transfixed faces and total satisfaction and appreciation of what was before and around them. I did relate to this. As the concert came to an end, I did feel somewhat saddened that it was all over. The climax of the music was a crescendo of brilliance and I am pleased to say, my father’s original prediction of how I would feel, was absolutely correct. I felt euphoric and inspired by such a performance. I had attended the concert with an open mind and allowed myself to absorb the instruments intentions; I felt all the raw emotions of West Side Story and even the pieces of music played I had heard for the first time, still brought me a sense of appreciation.