Idealism in Realistic Context Essay Example for Free

Idealism in Realistic Context Essay Human idealism is a predominant theme in contemporary literature. Movies such as â€Å"Superman,† â€Å"Star Wars,† â€Å"Armageddon,† â€Å"Charlie’s Angels,† etc. have impressed the world with their portrayal of ideal human qualities as characters deal with social and personal conflicts of everyday life. The same theme can be found in the stories of Kincaid, Crane and Chabon. The stories titled, â€Å"Girl,† â€Å"An Episode of War,† and â€Å"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,† present the protagonists’ struggle towards idealism in a realistically imperfect society. Idealism, as the American Heritage Dictionary defines, is â€Å"the act or practice of envisioning things in an ideal form† (Answers. com). This idea is in contrast with realism, which represents â€Å"art or literature of objects, actions, or social conditions as they actually are, without idealization or presentation in abstract form† (as mentioned in Answers. com). In the three stories mentioned, human characters are expected to attain ideal qualities to compensate the flaws of society. While they are depicted with idealism, the stories present at the same time the real status of society characterized by discrimination, death, and superficiality. Primarily, the society, with its history, culture, and norms, establishes limitations and requirements for human characteristics. These requirements are directly established in Kincaid’s, â€Å"Girl. † In this piece of work, the mother embodies the society in setting standards for women. She orders her daughter what to do, from washing clothes, cooking pumpkin fritters, soaking salt fish, ironing her father’s clothes, to making ends meet (17). Although these requirements are set by a mother (Moore 2008) adhering with these is similar to fulfilling requirements set by society. Since the story does not specify a character’s name, it can be inferred that the author addresses the female population in general, and thus exempts the opposite gender of the said responsibilities. Therefore, while ideal qualities are expected of a girl, the standards disparage the female gender. In Crane’s â€Å"An Episode of War,† the situation of the characters demands them to have courage in spite of personal fears of death. Seeing the lieutenant’s blood gushing out of his body, the soldiers are confronted with the reality of death. Despite their fears, they need to show courage in the midst of disaster because it is what society expects of them. Similarly, the lieutenant has to face his fate with a brave heart because there is no place for cowardice in the military service. At the end of the story as he denies his pain and says, I dont suppose it matters so much as all that (11), the lieutenant submits to the standards of courage set by his society. In Chabon’s â€Å"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,† the author presents a different style in embodying the society it portrays. It uses the characters’ concepts of the world expressed in their dialogue. In the story, Sammy and Joe are seen brainstorming about a hero they would like to create. Both have the same notions of a hero based on what society has taught them. Based on their conversation, a hero is one who has supernatural qualities like Superman, but must be purpose-driven like Batman to ensure that people would love him. The making of a hero thus projects the idealism in the minds of the two characters. As they construct their own hero, the two present the expectations that each of them has learned from the society. Evidently, the concept of human idealism which asserts compliance with the rules of society makes the characters lose their self-identity in the process. In the first piece, as the girl does all of what the society (or the mother) expects of a daughter, she loses the opportunity to design her life according to her own plans. In other words, the ideal characteristics that she is expected to have all lead to losing her right to live and design her own life. The tasks that she is bound to accomplish each day thus prevent her from doing things that she wants or needs, such as attending school. In sum, these tasks imply stereotyping and gender discrimination. Stereotyping is very obvious as the story relates all the responsibilities a girl should do in a household. By advising a girl how to cook, iron clothes, or serve dinner, the mother implies limiting the girl to household chores and discouraging her from pursuing education and profession. In the second story, the loss of identity is vividly illustrated. The situation itself calls for pretense and deceit. As the men in the battlefield witness the wounding of the lieutenant, they suddenly grow strange, and at once become unable to face the situation. Besides the sergeant who nervously assists the lieutenant, the rest of the men are astound and do not know what to do. Their silence as the lieutenant is carried back to the camp explains the sudden strangeness that they feel. Idealism prevents them from expressing fear or disgust even at a very crucial moment. In contrast, if the soldiers were only imbued by realism, they would have expressed sentiments, or some would have backed out from their mission. However, due to idealism, they choose to pretend and bear the sacrifices brought by war. In the third story, as Sammy and Joe strive to construct a superhero, they lose their own human identity in the process. The superficial qualities they want their superhero to possess deconstruct their human characteristics. Accordingly, this motive suggests their wish for supernatural strength and escape from the ordinary ways of the world. Therefore, while they aim for a newly constructed identity, Joe and Sam attempt to abandon not only their own human characteristics but everything associated with it, including their society. Such attempt can be due to the difficulties they encounter in life, although there is no mention of this in the excerpt. The three literary pieces from contemporary literature present different struggles of the characters in the society they live in. Highly imbued by idealism, the characters show the reality of every person to attempt to adhere to the expectations and standards of society. Like many of us, although they experience the loss of identity and other social struggles, they still continue to face the challenges of life, the ideal requirements that social reality demands.

Christians and Muslims :: Religion, The Quran, The Bible

Why Don’t Christians Accept the Quran as a Revelation of God? Everything in the Quran that agrees with the Bible is accepted by Christians. However, Christians will not accept the Quran as a divine revelation if any part of the Quran contradicts either the Bible or the Quran itself. The Creation Story Christians believe that Heaven and Earth were created in six days. This is stated in the Bible and some verses of the Quran. But, the Quran in Sura 41:9-12 tells us that the earth was finished in six days, and the heavens took an additional two days to create. How can this be? The Bible’s creation story is consistent from beginning to end wherein the Quran’s creation story changes from six days in Sura 7:54 to eight days in Sura 41:9-12 The Crucifixion of Jesus The most compelling contradiction for a Christian concerns the death of Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified and died upon the cross. The Quran in Sura 19:33 agrees with the Bible. Yet, Sura 4:157,158 denies the death of Jesus. Which one is true? Jesus did not die (Sura 4:157,158), or Jesus did die (Sura 19:33)†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!" Mary the Mother of Jesus The Bible tells us that Mary was the mother of Jesus, and Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron. The Koran names Mary as the sister of Aaron, when Aaron lived 1570 years before Mary (Sura 19:28). If the Koran is perfect, why doesn’t it differentiate between Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, and Mary who became the mother of Jesus Christ (Sura 19:28)? Also, Mary was not from the tribe of Levi, but from the tribe of Judah. Is Alcohol to be Enjoyed or Is It Evil? In sura 47:15, those who keep their duty to God are promised rivers of wine. In sura 5:90, alcohol is referred to as Satan’s handiwork. Noah’s Family was Saved from the Flood The Bible teaches that Noah and all his children were saved from the flood in Genesis Chapters 7-8. The Quran agrees with this in Sura 21:76, but is contradicted in Sura 11:43. Which part of the Quran is true? ''Noah ... we saved him and his household from the great affliction" (Sura 21:76); or, ''Noah cried unto his son .

Baby Bottle Syndrome

Baby-Bottle Syndrome Putting an infant to bed with a bottle can result in aspiration or decay of all the upper teeth and the lower posterior teeth (Nainar & Mohummed, 2004); (Fig. 28. 21). Decay occurs because while an infant sleeps, liquid from the propped bottle continuously soaks the upper front teeth and lower back teeth (the lower front teeth are protected by the tongue). The problem, called baby-bottle syndrome, is most serious when the bottle is filled with sugar water, formula, milk, or fruit juice. The carbohydrate in these solutions ferments to organic acids that demineralize the tooth enamel until it decays.To prevent this problem, advise parents never to put their baby to bed with a bottle. If parents insist a bottle is necessary to allow a baby to fall asleep, encourage them to fill it with water and use a nipple with a smaller hole to prevent the baby from receiving a large amount of fluid. If the baby refuses to drink anything but milk, the parents might dilute the mil k with water more and more each night until the bottle is down to water only. | | |FIGURE 28. 21 Baby-bottle syndrome. Notice the extensive decay in the upper teeth. (K. L.Boyd, DDS/Custom Medical Stock Photo. ) | Obesity in Infants Obesity in infants is defined as a weight greater than the 90th to 95th percentile on a standardized height/weight chart. Obesity occurs when there is an increase in the number of fat cells due to excessive calorie intake. Preventing obesity in infants is important because the extra fat cells formed at this time are likely to remain throughout childhood and even into adulthood. If a child becomes obese because of overingesting milk, iron-deficiency anemia may also be present because of the low iron content of both breast and commercial milk.Once infant obesity begins, it is difficult to reverse, so prevention is the key (Benton, 2004). Overfeeding in infancy often occurs because parents were taught to eat everything on their plate, and they continue to i nstill this concept in their children. This appears to be the case most often with formula-fed infants whose parents urge them to empty their bottle or finish a cereal serving. It can occur any time parents automatically feed an infant when the child cries, rather than investigating what the cry might really mean. As a general rule, an infant should take no more than 32 oz of formula daily.When solid food is introduced, a bottle of water can be substituted for formula at one feeding. Nonfat milk should not be given because it contains so little fat that essential fatty acid requirements may not be sufficient to ensure cell growth. Another way to help prevent obesity is to add a source of fiber, such as whole-grain cereal and raw fruit, to an infant's diet. These prolong the stomach-emptying time, so they can help reduce food intake. Caution parents about giving obese infants foods with high amounts of refined sugars, such as pudding, cake, cookies, and candy.Encourage parents to lea rn more about balanced nutrition and to provide this for their entire family. Care of Teeth It is well accepted that exposing developing teeth to fluoride is one of the most effective ways to promote healthy tooth formation and prevent tooth decay. The most important time for children to receive fluoride is between 6 months and 12 years of age. A water level of 0. 6 ppm fluoride is recommended because this is the level that protects tooth enamel yet does not lead to staining of teeth.In communities where the water supply does not provide enough fluoride, the use of an oral fluoride supplement beginning at 6 months or the use of fluoride toothpaste or rinses after tooth eruption is recommended (AAP, 2001). P. 849 Teach parents to ask about the presence of fluoride in the drinking water in their community and help them to determine what, if any, supplementation is necessary. Breast-fed infants do not receive a great deal of fluoride from breast milk, so it may be recommended they be g iven fluoride drops once a day.Teach parents to begin â€Å"brushing† even before teeth erupt by rubbing a soft washcloth over the gum pads. This eliminates plaque and reduces the presence of bacteria, creating a clean environment for the arrival of the first teeth. Once teeth erupt, all surfaces should be brushed with a soft brush or washcloth once or twice a day. Children lack the coordination to brush effectively until they are school-age, so parents must be responsible for this activity well past infancy. Toothpaste is not necessary for an infant, because it is the scrubbing that removes the plaque.

How Does Google Influence On Humankind - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1376 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/08 Category IT Essay Level High school Tags: Is Google Making Us Stupid Essay Did you like this example? Is Google Making Us Stupid: A Summary and Analysis Every day, millions of people use the internet to learn, discover, and explore the world in ways that seemed nearly impossible hundreds of years ago. It is because of this new drastic change that many have questioned how this technology is affecting our brains, including Nicholas Carr in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid? While .. In his paper, he goes into the reasons why he believes the Internet is affecting our intelligence with examples to support his statements. Thesis: While he communicates how technology today is affecting our way of thinking, he does so ineffectively due to the bad structure, the lack of reliable resources, and a few other lacking features. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How Does Google Influence On Humankind" essay for you Create order Summary: Carr begins with a quotation from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey describing how his changing brain circuitry is similar to supercomputer HAL losing control of his artificial brain. Carr starts with this example to show how the advancement of technology and the internet has lead to the rewiring of his brain. He states that while he used to be able to get immersed in a lengthy novel or article, he now finds it difficult to even maintain focus after a few pages. He begins to explain why he thinks this is happening by explaining his history with the internet. In his own words, he says the internet has been a godsend for him as a writer because of the ease to find reliable information and jumping from resource to resource. Although the positives, he acknowledges how media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed that the media shapes not only what we think about, but how we think overall. He then explains that the internet is slowly chipping away at his abilities to focus on and contemplate ideas for him and his colleagues. When he contacted some of his friends, he heard multiple responses that reflected similar experiences to his own complaining about the more time they invested in the web, the more difficult it was to read long pieces of writing. Even bloggers that Carr follows, Scott Karp and Bruce Friedman, have expressed the same sentiments. After providing these individual accounts, he laments the waiting for experiments that will provide the answer of how the Internet affects our cognition. He goes on to say that according to results from a published study of online research habits, people visiting two popular research websites exhibited skimming activity. Although they sometimes would save a long article, there was no evidence of whether or not they fully read the article. Also, due to the prevalent amount of text all over the internet and popularity of online messaging and texting, people are more likely to be reading a lot more than they used to before the rise of the Internet. Next in article, Carr talks about Friedrich Nietzche and how he bought a typewriter in attempts to continue writing as his vision weakened. Although one may think that this would have been an easy solution to his problem, it had created an entirely different problem. Nietzches writing had become more compact and tight according to his friends after he used the typewriter. He then brings up how the brain is *tech shows how brain is malleable* and that the brain has the ability to alter the way it functions almost instantly. The advancement of technology with devices like the clock changed the process of human action and thought to be structured within an abstract framework of divided time. This caused people to rely on the clock instead of their senses according to Carr. Adapting to these new technologies also affected the metaphors of our every day life. Carr continues to explain how we used to think of our brains working like clockwork but as time has progressed, we now think of our brains working like computers. All over various types of media, Carr notes how we can see pop-up ads, capsule summaries, and easy-to-absorb info-snippets that tend to distract us and switch our focus. Similar to when Nietzsche started using his typewriter, Carr tells how a young man named Fredrick Winslow Taylor used a stopwatch to create precise instructions so that workers would work more efficiently, almost like machines. Carr then remarks how the Industrial Revolution finally found its philosophy when Taylor sought out to maximize efficiency and create a stable system for industry. This philosophy has remained apart of our society for a while now, and its effects can be seen in the Internet, a machine designed for efficient and automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information. ( I have only summarized about 2/3 of the article, but I think it is important that you review what I have now so I know I am summarizing correctly ) Is Google Making Us Stupid already misleads the audience even before they have read the article with its title. The title pulls in the reader by creating the concept that Google is detrimental to our intelligence, but in the article, he instead argues how the internet is changing how we think instead of our ability to learn. At the start of the essay, he references the film 2001: A Space Odyssey in order to appeal to the audience, but it does so ineffectively. The film was made in 1968 and has received a great deal of praise throughout its history (source). While the film has been praised greatly, younger audiences will have a harder time being drawn into an article that is talking about a movie they have not even seen. The gap between the release of the movie and article spans a total of forty years which makes it hard to believe that the new generation has seen this film. Even though this introduction does not properly entice the audience, Carr does a decent job at explaining the reference he makes to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but a modern movie reference would have appealed to the audience more. After his rough intro, Carr fails to prove his authority and uses unreliable resources creating a lack of trust with the author. When Carr begins to explain his argument, he comes across as a casual blogger who is not special in any particular way, except for the fact that he thinks that the internet is starting to affect how he thinks. If the reader were to do some research, they would learn that he had written three books by the time of this article and was writing the very popular blog Rough Type (source). All these examples could have been used in the article for the author to create a sense of authority, but he chose otherwise. He also lacks strong resources for his writing due to him referencing friends or inconclusive research. In the article, Carr mentions how his literary friends are also noticing the same issues that he has experienced. While this does prove that some people are experiencing similar issues to him, this does not show that this trend is common amongst many, e specially since he does not provide a number for how many of his friends have expressed the same sentiments. Another source he uses to support his argument, a published study of online research habits, shows that people exhibited skimming activity when using the internet. He uses this to explain why the thought processes of many is changing, but the information and the article itself lacks enough information to affirm that. Throughout Carrs paper, it is difficult to read it due to a weak and unsteady structure. Throughout the paper, he will bring up previously discussed topics in different contexts which makes the article hard to read and interpret. He would also talk positively about the internet for maybe a paragraph or two, but then return to how the internet is changing him in a negative light. The lack of a strong opinion could be felt throughout the paper and made it difficult to even understand where Carr stood on the issue. Even by the end, he provides no argument as to which side he believe, but instead remind the reader of how he is haunted by scenes in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. If he had employed the use of an easy-to-follow format, then it would be easier to understand this paper overall.