Erich Maria Remarque Essay Example for Free

Erich Maria Remarque Essay â€Å"If you tell the truth, you won’t have to remember anything† (Mark Twain). Throughout my life I have come to recognize many truths. Sometimes I would tell the truth and sometimes I would lie, but when I lied I didn’t always get away with it. Although I do lie about some things and get away with it, I still feel bad about doing it. Throughout my life, Algernon and Jack’s false identities, Father Hooper’s sacrifices, Dr. Heidegger’s experiments, Eldorado’s disappointing truth, and Paul’s journey, we are awaken with the truth. The theme of truth has been revolving around all our first quarter readings. In the poem Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe, a knight is on a journey to find this joyful land, called Eldorado. The knight continues to search for Eldorado, but he knows he has failed. But he keeps searching, and even though, in his mind, he knows that Eldorado is a fictional place, in his heart he still believes it’s real. The knight in Eldorado recognizes a fairly disappointing truth, that Eldorado is a nonexistent place. â€Å"But he grew old-this knight so bold-and oer his heart a shadow fell as he found no spot of ground that looked like Eldorado† (Poe 305). This quote illustrates how the knight realizes there is no Eldorado. Another example of the recognition of truth is in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, when Paul Baumer realizes the truth about war, and how it really destroys people, physically and mentally. â€Å"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another† (Remarque 263). This quote signifies that Paul is very young and that all he knows is death, fear, and despair, and it is because of the war. The war had destroyed him and made Paul a different person. Throughout my life I have come to recognize many truths, but one major one is that nothing in this world is free, even if it doesn’t cost any money, because it still requires work. Nowadays everyone wants to buy the new technology being created, and it has been like this for many years. They also want to buy the clothing that is popular and very expensive. But, neither of the two are free, and they both cost money and both take time to get. I realized this when I was about 8 years old. I would still ask for a lot of things, even though I knew whatever I was asking cost a lot of money, and it was just because everyone else had it. However, when you grow older, you come to recognize that nothing is free and that you have to work for everything. Another important truth that I have come to recognize is that revenge is insignificant and for the irresponsible. When someone does something to you that is cruel or hurtful, you are going to want to get revenge on them, and that’s just how every human being is. I learned that revenge was unimportant a few years ago. My brother told on me for something I did, and I got in a lot of trouble. I was grounded for one week, and that made me furious. So I decided to get revenge on my brother. In the end, when I tried to get revenge, I ended up in more trouble and was grounded for even longer. This has happened to me many times, and I have come to realize that revenge is insignificant, it just makes everything worse. A third, and final, significant truth that I have come to recognize is that everyone will die someday. No matter how old or how young you are, you won’t be alive forever, which is just how life is. So everyone must live their life to the fullest and go out and do things. Don’t kill time, because killing time is priceless, and will never grow back, so why do it. Many people have lists of what they wish to do throughout their lifetime, which is amazing, because these people to realize the fact that they won’t be here one day. I have recognized this truth and am taking it as an advantage, and so should everyone else. Everything is revolved around the truth, whether it’s in your life or in a book you read. However, not many people recognize these truths in life. Once they do, they will be taught remarkable life lessons that will help them out in life. Throughout our lives, I, as well as the characters in the books we have read, have come to recognize many truths about life, which have helped us come to discover many things. Many people should need to start recognizing the truths in their lives, as I did, and it will benefit them in the long run. Works Cited BrainyQuote. Xplore, n. d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. Holt Elements of Literature. Fifth Course. Essentials of American Literature. Orlando, FL. : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007. Print. Remarque, Erich Maria, and A. W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front;. Boston: Little, Brown, and, 1929. Print.

Free Hamlet Essays: Role of Women in Hamlet :: GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Hamlet

Hamlet   Role of Women For many years in the past women played a small role socially, economically, and politically. As a result of this many works in literature were reflective of this diminutive role of women. In Elizabethan theatres small boys dressed and played the roles of women. In contrast to this trend, in Shakespeare's Hamlet the women in the play are driving factors for the actions of many other characters. Both Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet's love, affected many of the decisions and actions done by Hamlet. Gertrude influenced Hamlet significantly throughout the course of the play. Hamlet was very angered by his mother's remarriage. A few months after his father's death, Gertrude married Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. He was driven mad when his father's ghost appeared to him and revealed that Claudius was responsible for the death of Old Hamlet. Hamlet even termed the marriage as incest. Hamlet's fury is displayed when he throws his mother on the bed and says, "Frailty, thy name is woman" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). This shows his extent of anger because he makes a generalization that all women are weak. As a result of his mother's actions, Hamlet strives to seek revenge against Claudius for the death of his father. In order to marry Gertrude, Claudius kills his brother. Therefore, Gertrude is the driving factor for the whole setup of the play. Another significant female character is Ophelia, Hamlet's love. Hamlet's quest for revenge interferes with his relationship with Ophelia. There is much evidence to show that Hamlet loved her a great deal, but his pretense of madness drove her to her death. Ophelia drowned not knowing what was happening to her. This can be deduced by the fact that she flowed down the river singing and happy when in truth she was heartbroken. Ophelia was very much afraid when she saw Hamlet "with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd, Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). She described him as being "loosed out of hell" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). In addition to that he scared her when he left the room with his eyes still fixed on her. She is especially hurt when Hamlet tells her that he no longer loves her and that he is opposed to marriage. He advises her to go to a nunnery and avoid marriage if she can.

Law reform regarding Animal Welfare Essay

As the world changes so do worldviews and therefore, so do the accepted morals and values of the time. With these changing morals and values come altering laws, amended or renewed to reflect these changing views. This is called law reform, in particular, the subject of Animal Welfare. Laws in relation to animal welfare have been made and amended to restore justice and equality to the voiceless members of society. Before recent times, the rights of animals had been severely overlooked. Attention has been brought to breeding and slaughtering practices around the world through wide scale media. In such countries these processes fly under the radar and are rarely monitored, until now. This is when worldwide regulations have to be put in place to ensure that appropriate and adequate treatments are adhered to around the world. Most animal cruelties on a small scale are kept quiet, and are performed either in secluded areas away from prying eyes or those who witness such things are unable or unsure of how to seek justice. Although most of the first laws regarding animal protection from human mistreatment were made in the early 19th Century, according to Peter Sankoff and Steven White’s book; ‘Animal Law in Australiasia’, these laws fall short of bringing adequate justice to the cruelties within Australia and New Zealand. Activists, academics, law professionals and many others share this view, giving even more reason to amend relevant legislation to cover any discrepancies and loopholes. Animal law has only recently emerged as a studied genre of law, which means it is slowly becoming more known. The constitution is the basis for all Australian law and in this case, particularly from section 51. Firstly, section 51 of the Constitution provides that the ‘Parliament shall†¦ have power to make laws for peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to’ 39 subject matters, known as ‘heads of power’. Although the constitution itself doesn’t outline laws regarding animals other than fish, it does give the conditions in which other laws can be created. The Commonwealth can enact any law, provided that the law is characterized as being under at least one of the heads of power. Subject to some limitations, a law that is characterized as being one with respect to one of these heads of power will be valid although it may regulate some other matter that is not specifically allocated to the Commonwealth (such as animal welfare). Through external affairs powers and corporations power came these treaties: Examples of the treaties form ed with other countries are as follows: * The Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, * The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 1973, * The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species and Wild Animals 1979 (‘the Bonn Convention’) and * The Convention on the Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific 1976 (‘the Apia Convention’). Mechanisms of Reform- Non-Government Organizations. ‘Lawyers For Animals’ is an organization dedicated to advocating the need to improve animal welfare through education and law, as well as ‘Voiceless’. Voiceless is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering networks for law professionals, academics and politicians to influence law and the need for law reform regarding animal welfare. They conduct research regarding agricultural industry practices, exposing legalized cruelty and promoting need for debate. They also attempt to inform the public about consuming and which products have and have not come from low quality, quantity breeders. They recognize the need for a voice that projects the facts of cruelty among everyday people and corporations that give way to law reform and law making in relation to the protection and rights of animals. By building a forum, social justice movement, funding in education, participation in events and forming relationships with law schools and firms, Voiceless hopes to pr ovoke change and awareness about animal welfare. The key issues that have been addressed as contemporary issues regarding this subject are; * Animals as property * Animals in agriculture * Animal welfare legislation * Labeling * Live animal export * Intensive livestock production and climate change * Animals used for scientific purposes * Animals used for entertainment * Pets * Pests * Wild animals * Fish and crustaceans These are a vast range of issues, which call for a vast range of bills to be introduced from a large number of interested politicians. Having animals as property and pets, means that we as humans own them. We dictate what it is they eat, drink, do etc. We are responsible for taking care of them, and the blatant fact is that many people don’t. As Gary Francione, ‘distinguished professor of law’, states – animals are ‘as a matter of law, solely means to human ends. As such, their value is measured in terms of their usefulness to humans, and not in terms of their own interests’. The Animal Legal Defence Fund (‘ALDF’), was established in 1979 and has more than 100,000 dedicated lawyer members who apply their skills in a number of ways in order to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. For example, the ‘Litigation Program’ files cutting-edge lawsuits to stop the abuse of companion animals, and animals abused in industries including factory farming and the entertainment business; while the ‘Criminal Justice Program’ works with law enforcement and prosecutors to seek maximum penalties for animal abusers. ALDF has also been at the forefront of law reform in respect to one that can actually make a difference. With changing times also comes the once described as ‘likely to be the next great social justice movement’, animal welfare is becoming more well known. Universities have been reflecting this growing issue, providing more and more opportunities for education on and relating to animal rights and animals and the environment. Examples of such debates for reform topics and their respectable supporters ( as found on http://www.alrc.gov.au/news-media/2008/will-‘animal-rights’-become-next-great-social-justice-movement) a re below: * Arguments in favour of basic legal rights for nonhumans (Steven Wise; President, Center for the Expansion of Fundamental Rights Inc., Coral Springs, Florida, USA ); * Suicide foods’: the anthropomorphising of animals (Prof Mark Kingwell, Uni of Toronto); * Animal rights activists’ case against the animal industries (Tom Regan, American philosopher and animal rights activist); * The philosophy behind animal welfare (Geoffrey Bloom, Geoffrey Bloom & Associates); * The law and pig farming (Dr Malcolm Caulfield, legal counsel for Animals Australia); * Animals and the law in Australia: a livestock industry perspective ( Kathleen Plowman; General Manager Policy for Australian Pork Ltd, with Alan Person and John Topfer); * The treatment of feral animals (Graeme McEwen, Barristers Animal Welfare Panel); * The ethics of animal biotechnology (Professors Mickey Gjerris and Peter Sandoe, University of Copenhagen); * Animal derived food labelling (Katrina Sharman, Corporate Counse l, Voiceless, the fund for animals); * The common law and animal rights (Nichola Donovan, Lawyers for Animals); * Animals, guardianship and the local courts Another benefit human’s get from animals is profit. Breeding and meat production are industries where greed comes into play and animals needs and rights are forgotten. These NGO’s raise awareness and with the help of media, put pressure on the courts and parliament to introduce change. Certain ministers will be targeted and issues put forward to so that agencies have a representative in court. Animal Laws that already exsist: * Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT) * Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NT) * Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW) * Animal Care & Protection Act 2001 (QLD) * Animal Welfare Act 1985 (SA) * Animal Welfare Act 1993 (TAS) * Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (VIC) * Animal Welfare Act 2002 (WA The shortcomings of these laws are the lack of equal treatment among animals used for scientific research and those that are pets. Eg: Cats will receive better treatment than pigs, as they are pets and pigs are used simply to grow and once they are grown, to eat. Again, seen as property beneficial to humans, which goes against the rules of law. The majority of the difficulties with enforcement stem from the manner by which the power to enforce animal welfare legislation is granted. The power is granted to: * State government departments; * the RSPCA; * and the police. Much of the enforcement is carried out by the RSPCA. It is the state and territory governments that are responsible for enacting legislation appropriate to their areas, therefore this will be done through the New South Wales Law Reform Commission. The New South Wales Law Reform Commission takes care of localized matters in relation to the state and the Australian Law Reform Commission takes care of matters to do with international treaties of trade and animal treatment. The New South Wales Law Reform Commission may be the pinnacle of law making bodies for New South Wales, The Australian Law Reform Commission itself recognizes the altering times and calls for change throughout the country. Dated 19th May 2009, David Weisbrot, President of the ALRC spoke at the University of Sydney about their views upon the issue, with the NGO ‘Voiceless’. He stated that; â€Å"I think we need; national – or at least harmonised – legislation that protects animal welfare; and is not set at the lowest common denominator; or is so riddled with loopholes that you could drive a large factory farm truck though.† From the President of the ALRC itself, one would have to assume actions were being made in establishing new laws regarding animals, however it is not so. In the recent years, there has been much talk of changes yet no actions or amendments have been put in place as a follow through of this talk. David also stated that we evolve over time, resulting in the need for law reform and that it is this slow and painstakingly gradual task. Reasons for law reform regarding animal welfare: An example of the altering views are prime in the subject of Sweden banning importations of Australian wool in the fear that it would be supporting mulesing. This could go on to be a major issue for the wool trade industry. Another concept is that of the changing and growing world, as the population grows, so does the need for food. This pressures farmers into states of mass production; Eg: The mass breeding and steroid use in chickens so that they reach adulthood 10x faster than usual, leaving their legs to break and mutate under the abnormal weight that grows too fast for the rest of the body to keep up. These chickens have shorter and extremely painful life spans, are kept in battery cages where there is no room for them to walk or sit. This issue has been addressed in documentaries attempting to make the public aware of the cruel and selfish origin their produce is coming from and spur politicians into addressing the subject with observance of practices and laws to protect such a nimals. As is seen in the many above genre’s relating to animals as pets, food and many other things, a massive need for appropriate and widespread legislation has surfaced. Ways of mass production are under complete scrutiny for cruel practices, while more monitoring of animal owners has become paramount for the RSPCA. Universities have opened doors to educating the worlds youth about this topic, providing a new force of law trained individuals, able to influence people within their league into the advertisement and hopeful altering of current laws. These trained professionals have the ability to uncover the shortcomings of current laws that have been so far swept under the rug, and take them to members of the State and Federal Governments for consideration. The Non-Government Organizations such as the RSPCA or Voiceless project widely held views of the public, who may not be as educated or influential within the political spectrum, but allow the public a say all the same. With a new influx of technology from the late 20th into modern 21st century, brings both positive and negative possibilities when monitoring and even bringing about animal cruelty. That is, one can use cameras placed in chicken farms to monitor such breeding, but it is the development of scientific technology that has allowed such abnormal growth in the first place. Education towards use of technology in a morally aware way should be a priority for the government, as well as making the public more aware of those cruelties that happen every single day. By making the public largely aware of various aspects of animal cruelty, many more opinions can be altered to support the work of the RSPCA and Voiceless, so that both the N.S.W Law Reform Commission and Australian Law Re form Commission can alter their own priorities and make changes to relative legislation. Bibliography: * http://www.daff.gov.au/animal-plant-health/welfare * http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/reform * http://www.lawyersforanimals.org.au/documents/Animal-Law-Subject-Proposal.pdf * http://lawyersforanimals.org.au/ * http://www.federationpress.com.au/bookstore/book.asp?isbn=9781862877191 * http://www.animallaw.info/nonus/articles/ovaustrailia.htm * http://lsa.net.au/wcb-content/uploads/lsa/files/2011/Animal%20Law%20-%20a%20need%20for%20reform%20(LSA%20State%20Conference%20March%202011).pdf * http://www.alrc.gov.au/news-media/2008/will-‘animal-rights’-become-next-great-social-justice-movement * http://www.alrc.gov.au/news-media/2009/voiceless-animal-law-lecture-series

Using El Over La for Spanish Feminine Words

El is the singular, masculine definite article, meaning the, in Spanish and is used to define masculine nouns, while la is the feminine version. But there are a few instances where el is used with feminine nouns. Gender in Words An interesting thing about Spanish is the fact that words have gender. A word is considered male or female, depending on what the word refers to and how it ends. A general rule of thumb is if a word ends in -o, it is most likely masculine, and if a word ends in -a, it is most likely feminine. If the word is describing a female person, then the word is feminine and vice versa. Definite Articles for Nouns In most cases, el is used for masculine nouns and la is used for feminine nouns. Another rule supersedes this, and that is when the feminine noun is singular and starts with a stressed a- or ha- sound, like the words agua, meaning water, or hambre, meaning hunger. The reason the definite article becomes el is mostly a matter of how it sounds to say la agua and la hambre and the clunkiness of the double-a sounds repeating. It sounds more definitive to say el agua and el hambre. There is a similar grammar rule in English about the use of the an versus a. An English speaker would say, an apple instead of a apple. The two repeating double-a sounds are too close to each other and sound too repetitive. The English rule  states that an, which is an indefinite article modifying the noun, comes before nouns that have a vowel sound at the beginning of the word and a comes before consonant-starting nouns. Feminine Words that Use the Masculine Article Notice the substitution of el for la takes place when it comes immediately before words starting with an a sound. Feminine Nouns English Translation el agua the water el ama de casa the housewife el asma asthma el arca the ark el hambre hunger el hampa the underworld el arpa the harp el à ¡guila the eagle If the feminine noun is modified by  adjectives  that follow the noun in the sentence, the feminine noun retains the masculine article. Feminine Nouns English Translation el agua purificada purified water el arpa paraguaya the Paraguayan harp el hambre excesiva excessive hunger Reverting Back to the Feminine Article The thing to remember is that words that are feminine remain feminine. The reason why this matters is if the word becomes plural, the word goes back to using the feminine definite article. In this case, the definite article becomes las. It sounds fine to say las arcas  since the s in las breaks up the double-a sound. Another example is las amas de casa. If a word intervenes between the definite article and the noun,  la  is used. Feminine Nouns English Translation la pura agua pure water la insoportable hambre the unbearable hunger la feliz ama de casa the happy housewife la gran à ¡guila the great eagle If the accent of the noun is not on the first syllable, the definite article la is used with singular feminine nouns when they begin with a- or ha-. Feminine Nouns English Translation la habilidad the skill la audiencia the audience la asamblea the meeting The substitution of el for la does not occur before adjectives that begin with a stressed a- or ha-, the rule only applies to nouns, despite the double-a sound.   Feminine Nouns English Translation la alta muchacha the tall girl la agria experiencia the bitter experience Exceptions to the Rule There a few exceptions to the rule that el substitutes for la immediately before a noun that begins with a stressed a- or ha-. Note, the letters of the alphabet, called  letras  in Spanish, which is a feminine noun, are all feminine. Feminine Nouns English Translation la à ¡rabe the Arabic woman La Haya The Hague la a the letter A la hache the letter H la haz uncommon word for face, not to be confused with el haz,meaning shaft or beam Feminine Words Can Use the Masculine Indefinite Article Most grammarians consider it correct for feminine words to take the masculine indefinite article un instead of una under the same conditions where la is changed to el. It is for the same reason  la is changed to el, to eliminate the double-a sound of the two words together.   Feminine Nouns English Translation un à ¡guila an eagle un ama de casa a housewife Although this is widely considered correct grammar, this usage is not universal. In everyday spoken language, this rule is irrelevant, due to elision, which is the omission of sounds, especially as words flow together. In pronunciation, there is no difference between un à ¡guila and una à ¡guila.