American Scholar By Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays - Transcendentalism

American Scholar By Ralph Waldo Emerson The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson In the essay the American Scholar, Emerson portrays the scholar as a person who learns from three main things. These things by which a scholar is educated are by nature, by books (the past) and by action. Emerson uses nature as a comparison to the human mind where he states, There is never a beginning, there is never an end to the inexplicable continuity of this web of God, but always circular power returning into itself.(296) The human mind is an object that is boundless and can be full of so much beauty and intellect such as nature can be. Emerson continues to explain how classification begins among the young minds. To the young mind, every thing is individual, stands by itself. Emerson presents this idea as a negative effect on the scholar because they seem to continue to break things down trying to find simple answers to complex questions. Man is then convinced that he and it (nature) proceed from one root; one is leaf and one is flower.(296) This thinking of man is the opposite from the truth of the relationship between nature and himself. He shall see that nature is the opposite of the soul. Its laws are the laws of his own mind.(296) According to Emerson, the next influence on the scholar is the mind of the past, where he uses books to convey his ideas. Books are the best things, well used; abused, among the worst.(297) Books were originally intended for good. The scholar of the first age, received into him the world around; brooded thereon; gave it the new arrangement of his own mind, and uttered it again.(297) According to Emerson, books can have a negative effect on the way the scholar should think. Instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm.(297) Emerson feels that the scholar should learn things for themselves and not easily accept the views and opinions presented by a writer in their books. He further on continues to state how books They look backward and not forward. But genius always looks forward. The eyes of man are set in his forehead, not in his hind head.(298) Emerson thus believes that all men have the capacity of being a genius. Man hopes. Genius creates.(298) But, Emerson does not encourage peo ple to be genius because the Genius is always the sufficiently enemy of the genius by over-influence.(298) Emerson believes that books are for the scholars idle times(298) and the only subjects that he should learn from reading are history and exact science. The action of the scholar is important to Emerson. Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without the heroic mind.(299) Emerson wants the scholar to learn but question everything. The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action past by, as a loss of power.(300) Emerson also places a value on action. The final value of actionis, that it is a resource.(301) Through action man has transformed himself into Man Thinking. The mind now thinks; now acts; and each fit reproduces the otherhe has always the resource to live.(301) English Essays

buy custom Developing an Evaluation Plan essay

buy custom Developing an Evaluation Plan essay In determining whether an evidence-based change brought out the intended result, evaluation is vital. The outcome of the analysis should point toward the formulation of possible alternative interpretation for the findings (Melnyk Fineout-Overholt, 2005). The general objective of an evaluation is to determine the effect of the adapted change. To examine the efficacy and probability of the implementation of the protocol, a three-month trial will be done. This is to enhance compliance of respiratory therapists and nurses in executing oral care on patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The evaluation process should answer the following questions: Was the oral care protocol initiated properly? Did the standardized oral care protocol increased nurses compliance with oral care? Did the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia decrease after the oral care protocol was implemented? Was the oral care implementation recorded according to the new protocol? For three months, the present study will be implemented in a medical surgical intensive care unit with 20 beds. Patients requiring mechanical ventilation but do not have baseline pneumonia are included in the study. The participants in the process include all respiratory therapists and intensive care unit nurses. Methods for Evaluation of Effectiveness The nurse designated in infection control will document the data regarding the incidences on ventilator-associated pneumonia. A graph illustration of ventilator-associated pneumonia trends within 6 months will be placed on the chart. The graph will show the number of occurrences of ventilator-associated pneumonia each month. The graph will show the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia each month from six months before the implementation of the protocol and after every month. To show correlation, the frequency of oral care and the documented amounts of time of oral care will also be charted from the start of the implementation of the protocol. Within an 8-hour time block, a trained research team member will perform a randomized direct observation audit and compare it with pre-implementation data. For evaluation use, significant data obtained and discussed during staff meetings will be recorded in abbreviated form. For evaluation use, comment suggestion sheets and questionnaires filled out by the nursing staff will also be collected and catalogued. All participants involved will be updated on monthly change in VAP rates and monthly level of compliance in oral care. The outcome will be evaluated by ventilator-associated pneumonia indicator measurements, such as incidence of VAP, average cost, length of ICU stay, and average ventilator days. For compliance degree with oral care, a post-observational audit and implementation chart will be conducted. Dependent Variables The quality of oral care and compliance of most nurses and respiratory therapists is not enough to reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in the patient population. This is happening even if they are knowedgeable of the importance of oral care for patients requiring mechanical ventilation. This happens because no consistent oral care guidelines, method, and frequency for performance exist at present. Independent Variables The education and experience of the nurses, their knowledge of the hospitals services and provision of ideal oral care based on the protocol, their attitude towards oral care procedures and the allotted time to perform the proceedings are the independent variables associated with the task. According to Furr et al. (2004), the proposed plan can be greatly affected by the nurses attitude towards oral care, their value and importance to the procedure, and their perceived unpleasantness of oral care performances. For example, the actual frequency of oral care determined and the quality of the oral care provided may be limited if observation within 24 hours was not conducted. Tools for Educating It is very important to let the staff understand the potential benefit of decreasing the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and the fundamental reasons supporting proper oral care. To establish the best practices prior to the development of the protocol, a review of literary studies will be conducted. The review will be compiled and presented through handouts and power point presentation to key stakeholders. The protocol will be outlined, and the results obtained from the past chart audits will be put in handouts and made available to all the staff and stakeholders. At different schedules, the administrative groups will be presented with the initial presentation of the protocol by using power point slides. On the other hand, respiratory therapists and intensive care unit nurses will be informed of the new oral care protocol through handouts and power point presentation during weekly meetings. Moreover, posters will be posted in various areas in the intensive care units ind icating the fundamental elements of the oral care protocol. Reminder posters will also be posted on the wall at the patients head of the bed. Assessment Tools For comments, suggestions, and feedback, comment suggestion papers and pre- and post-questionnaires will be distributed to all respiratory therapists and nurses. For the first three months, the education department will hold team meetings to address the oral care limitations, processes change and procedures related to the oral care protocol. The education department will be requested to discuss the importance of proper oral care for patients requiring mechanical ventilation. This will be done during the orientation process of newly-hired employess. Each month, staff meetings will be held to obtain feedback from the staff and share information. Changes will also be made according to the feedback. To see if there are differences after the introduction of the oral care procedures, all respiratory therapists and nurses will be surveyed about the oral care practices. To see if the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia has improved in the hospital from the time when the protocol wa s implemented, chart audits will be conducted. To implement the protocol, the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PPDSA) cycle will be used by planning. The protocol will then be implemented and tested on a small scale at a time. Then it will be analysed and the results will be compared. The protocol then will be adjusted according to the analysed results. When proceedings are not improving accordingly, a champion will be placed to make sure that everything proceeds in the right direction. The identified champion will discuss the problems with the staff and will help keep all involved personnel on the same path. Dissemination of Evidence After the completion of the study, the findings will be disseminated to the clinicians and other personnel involved who will use the information in decision-making about patient care. Dissemination mediums should include both written and oral presentations (Melnyk Fineout-Overholt, 2005). Dissemination will be done for all the nursing community and members of the audience to understand and have access to relevant information regarding the development of the new oral care protocol standard. The key stakeholders will be the first to inform on the significance of oral care by means of verified and tested studies conducted in other intensive care unit institutions. The information process will be in the form of evidence-based research articles summaries, power points, graphs, and original summaries. Numbers will also be presented about the patients. An example of the use of numbers is the use of percentages for the reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia after oral care procedures are done, and other hospital-related effects, including the decrease of the patients need of care and other cost factors. At first meeting, the same data will be shared with all the nursing staff involved in the oral care implementation. The meeting will also serve to disseminate strategies and information on the oral care changes that are significant to the nursing staff. New information will be derived and disseminated at a monthly meeting with the nursing staff. The information will be presented through power point presentations, handouts, and lectures. Gathering of information will be through questionnaires, suggestion sheets, and vocal reports from nurses. The information will be passed on to the key stakeholders in any form appropriate at their monthly meetings. Barriers anticipated include the lack of time to gather and present data in a filled out form, lack of available time for prioritization, attendance to meetings and completion of questionnaires. The new oral care proto col implementation will be published in the quarterly magazine circulated in the hospitals. The outline of the oral care protocol and the power point presentation will be posted on the the hospitals website so that the members of the nursing community can assess it. A brief presentation and general overview of the oral care protocol will be discussed in community meetings by the nurse practitioner. The dissemination process and evaluation will be considered successful if it involves careful planning, testing, and modification of the oral care protocol. To increase the oral care compliance of nurses and respiratory therapists, a multidisciplinary approach is necessary. All involved personnel should be committed, and the intensive care administration should encourage them to achieve a successful result. Buy custom Developing an Evaluation Plan essay

What is life Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What is life - Assignment Example It is the relationships that we maintain that makes us social beings. But it is the quality of the relationships that we build up in our life time that makes us worthy, be it family, friends or colleagues. In order to feel ourselves worthy of our lives, we need to achieve happiness. Happiness cannot be perceived by all those who are wealthy and honorable and are indulging in the pleasures of life. Instead, happiness can be achieved by only those who are equipped with all these 'external goods of life' and are highly virtuous in their deeds as well as their thoughts. I agree with Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, who describes that life will be meaningful only when we are able to distinguish the Good, by the pursuit of knowledge. As per Platonic epistemology, the idea of Goodness is innate and it is buried deep in our souls. This goodness, which exists in us even before our birth, is recalled in to our memory through learning. Learning helps to reflect this goodness in our actions and behavior. I also agree with Plato and his apprentice Aristotle in that the goodness of some people may outweigh others. It is this uncovered knowledge of goodness that inspire us to question the conventional wisdom if it seems contradictory to morals and human existence as life is made meaningful by revealing the ultimate truth of life, which can be revealed only by observing, interpreting and questioning the existing facts. For Epicurus, a worthy life denotes that one is essentially 'good' in nature, self-sufficient and enjoys a happy and tranquil life. He will be free of pain and fear, which are the indications of evil. As in the view of Augustine, the goodness in men is an indication that they are of the substance of God. It hence also means that everything that exists is ‘good’ and to lose goodness or to sin indicates that a man becomes unworthy of life. I also agree to the view of Tolstoy who exclaimed that life is impossible without the knowledge of oneself a nd one's purpose. The ideal purpose of life, according to Tolstoy, is to love and to serve humanity as we are the particles of the 'eternal source' and our life becomes meaningful when we become successful in making tiny changes to happen for the sake of humanity. I however object to the pessimistic view of Sartre who proclaimed that life is meaningless and that it ceases to be of worth once the illusion of being eternal is lost. Human life is and should be a representation of moral and intellectual righteousness and the feeling of being worthy to live is the end result of achieving the virtuous desires of life. 2] Our sensory perceptions are too limited that we cannot perceive the knowledge related to those things or concepts that go beyond our sensory capacities. Our knowledge as well as the concepts of the world will be limited if we are to rely on the knowledge gathered by mere sensory perceptions. Human beings are valued and considered superior to other life forms by their shee r ability to construct, receive and evaluate new perceptions, concepts and representations in the brain which are above the limits of senses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gathering of knowledge refers to its learning from experience, which was defined by Aristotle as the unorganized product of sense perceptions and memory. Experiences derived by the use of senses provide us with knowledge. Sensory perceptions that consist of sensations, feelings etc. are also experiences and they provide us with some knowledge. Here, we can indeed say that sensory perceptions do provide us with awareness and knowledge. But, based on the above refinements, it will be inappropriate to state that knowledge derives solely by sensory perceptions. In the view of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, knowledge derived from sensory perceptio

Philosophy of Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy of Religion - Essay Example Under perspectivism, Nietzche argued that selflessness is a component of Christian morality which can only be fully understood if a person speaks of one’s feelings and feels on matters distinctively or differently. Such implies that a person can be wholly considered selfless if his affective nature translates such selflessness in behaviors and attitudes in relation to others (Nietzche, et al., 1977). In his philosophy about self, Nietzche assailed an anti-Cartesian ideation and of naturalizing power pertaining to selfless consciousness. He contended that a selfless consciousness is without central intender, observer, and has no presence of self unto itself nor of natural unity. He however professed that there is mind and consciousness in nature (Nietzche, et al., 1977). This is consistent to the phenomenon of the body with consciousness embodying multiplicity of reasons but is inclined toward selflessness. As a naturalist, Nietzsche perceived that mind is not essentially consc ious and not essentially unified, thus, assailed that consciousness isn’t the heart of our being and that humans can perceived and actuate without consciousness (Nietzche, et al., 1977).... Some quickly pointed that Nietzche’s critique to altruist principles doesn’t indorse the theory of egoism and selfishness—that idea prominently advocated by Ayn Rand in her theory of objectivism and rational self. His ethical perspectives rest on the consequentialist perfectionism as evidenced in his theory of goodness innate in man and about the theory of evolving self that is in a continuing process of perfection. He however lacks the foundational theory on politics, where self is most inclined as a social being. As pointed, Nietzche hasn’t presented a systemic theory about the nature of state and society where human beings are in a sustained discourse to exchange values. His theory of selflessness however, emanated from his belief of a normative system perceived as morality that has certain structural characteristics. He assailed that language is significant in the interpretation and creation an individual—and, such narrative is a substitute to a n enduring methaphysical fact of self which is also presupposed in Plato, Christian, Cartesian and Kantian theories. He connects that precept of selflessness to his notion of amor fati (love of fate) which led him to conclude that a self can only dream to be free but cannot wholly practice freedom. At some point Nietzchie’s theory crossed with Simone Weil (Weil, 1952), a female philosopher whose thoughts combined her spiritual, social and philosophical concerns. Like Nietzche who was a virtue ethicist and who assailed that virtue is specific to individual, Weil likewise illustrated this value in her intrinsic care for the poor and oppressed labor sector in her time. Weil was unfaltering in her ideation of the absence of divergence in thought and way of life. She advocates the unity of values, principles, and

Militant Abolitionism In 1830s

Militant Abolitionism In 1830s During the colonial era, Quakers Society of Friends had a difficult time convincing North American people that slaveholding was against Christian doctrines. However, the age of Enlightenment and the American Revolution led many Americans into fighting for slaves rights. Northern states also started a gradual emancipation of their slaves. The federal government also prohibited slavery in the Northwestern Territories in 1787 and in 1808 banned trans-Atlantic slave trade. However, despite the abolition of slavery in these two areas, antislavery agitation dropped off due to the increasing profitability of southern slavery. The birth of the Movement and its Activities The modern American militant abolition movement began in the early 1830s as a result of religious revivalism popularly known as the Second Great Awakening. Abolitionists thought of slavery as a product of an individual sin by Revivalist tenets. These tenets believed that emancipation was the only price for repentance. Later on, abolitionists realized that slavery was receiving moral support with some racial prejudice. Immediately, the abolitionists lobbied to change the nations racial discriminatory practices. Abolitionists tried to reach and convert people during the 1830s. Founded in 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society recruited tens of thousands of members from all parts of America. The Abolitionists condemned slavery on moral grounds and pursued immediate emancipation of all slaves. National religious institutions and individual slaveholders, who were the chief targets, rejected the abolition appeals. Opponents went further to suppress antislavery agitation through enactments from the church and state. African American activists joined the new campaign. Some, like Brown, had many records of public opposition to racial discrimination in the north and the colonization movement. Fugitive slaves, such as William Wells Brown and Fredrick Douglass, provided strong antislavery testimony. However, black abolitionists encountered patronizing views and attitudes from the white abolitionists. Hence, many turned to self-help and civil rights groups, while others concentrated on separatist projects. Many women braved public disapproval and joined the abolitionist campaign. Women are known to be veterans of moral reform activities, and principles of religion and republican ideology inspired them. Like their African American counterparts, these women faced opposition within the movement. Women were first barred from the American Anti-slavery movements, but in response, they formed local organizations through which they channeled their concerns and sponsored antislavery events such as bazaars and picnics. Due to the widespread rejection of the anti-slavery program, many abolitionists changed their moral persuasion strategy. Most of them led by William Lloyd Garrison abandoned their churches. According to Garrison, churches had become hopelessly corrupted by slavery. Women participated in American Anti-slavery society after 1840. Maria Weston and Lydia Maria were among the many women who served in the groups operations and main office duties. Religious and political abolitionists also emerged in late 1830s. Non-Garrison abolitionists grouped in a new organization known as The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The abolitionists lobbied religious institutions, and by 1840, they had an organized Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist antislavery movements. Political antislavery campaigns also intensified during this period. Abolitionists petitioned legislatures and interrogated political candidates on slavery-related issues. Antislavery Efforts before 1830 Abolitionist feelings were strong during the American Revolution and the upper south by 1820s. However, the abolitionist movement never coalesced into a militant crusade until 1830s. In the previous decade, before 1830, much of the north underwent social disruptions associated with the spread of commerce and manufacturing. Powerful evangelical religious groups arose to impact spiritual direction to the society. These preachers stressed the importance of ending sinful doings and practices and the responsibility of every individual in upholding Gods will in the society. Lyman Beecher, Nathaniel Taylor, and other preachers, on what came to be called The Second Great Awakening, organized massive religious revivals in the 1820s. This came later to be the main impetus of the resurgence of abolitionism. By 1830s, William Lloyd Garrison, Theodore D. weld, Lewis Tappan, Arthur, and E. Wright had spiritually been nourished by revivalism and had taken up the cause for immediate emancipation Conclusion The main objective of the abolitionists was to end racial discrimination, segregation, and immediate emancipation of slaves. The religious favor of the Second Great Awakening partly fuelled racial abolitionism. This prompted many people to start advocating for immediate emancipation on religious grounds. As time went on, abolitionist ideas spread in northern churches. Politics of 1830s also contributed to the regional animosity between the South and the North, leading to a civil war.

Consumer Society Essay

Write an essay that outlines the view that a consumer society is a divided society. In response to this statement, there needs to be consideration as to whether or not a consumer society, like the one we live in in the UK, is a divided one or not and if so then where these divisions are displayed. Therefore throughout this essay, I’m going to explore some potential divides within society, specifically looking at division between the rich and poor, able-bodied and less able, and lastly the division created between those who have power to influence where we shop and those that do not have as much power, drawing on the example of supermarkets vs. small shop keepers on the high street influencing the consumer public. I will be using ideas from social scientists such as Bauman and Susman to further illustrate my points. As I examine evidence on potential divisions I hope to conclude that the consumer society, in which we live in, is moreover a divided one. Good, well done a cracking introduction here Gwen. This is just fine. Firstly, it could be argued that a division can be seen in a consumer society between the rich and poor. Because we live in a society where you are judged by what you consume, if you do not have much money to consume in the first place then it’s easy to see how someone who is poor may feel lesser or on the outskirts. What we ‘are in to’ and therefore what we consume not only gives us our identity and personality in the contemporary UK (Susman, cited in Hetherington, 2009, p 42), but also gives us our value within society. Kevin Hetherington in chapter one of the material lives strand, shows us a graph that displays what the average weekly household expenditure on main commodities and services in 2007 (Hetherington, 2009, p 24).*1* Transport is seen to be the top weekly expense, as it’s an essential. People might need to travel to work in order to make money for a consumer lifestyle; however the second highest expenditure was, surprisingly, recreation and culture. This category was higher than food and non-alcoholic drink. Hetherington describes this piece of evidence as ‘noteworthy’ presumably because it highlights how our society has become a consumeristic. We spend more money on things we ‘are in to’ than groceries in a week. If you are poorer than the average person in the UK, then it would be very difficult to fit into a society that revolves around consuming when you cannot. *2* Zygmunt Bauman depicts this division between poor and rich in his concept of the seduced and the repressed (Bauman, cited in Hetherington, 2009, p25+26). According to him, people that live in contemporary western society can be roughly put into two categories. The seduced being those who are able to ‘consume effectively’; they are employed, or young and good looking or have a particular skill that is valued financially within society. The repressed might be those that are old without a good pension, or the homeless. These people are repressed as they, more often than not, do not have the means to consume effectively and are therefore valued less in society. This causes a division as they are likely to not feel accepted by the majority who are able to consume. *1* Good content but try to be briefer, no need at all to refer to the module: â€Å"Hetherington displays a graph showing average household expenditure in 2007 (Hetherington, 2009, p 24)†.* *2* Here is where you could helpfully split this paragraph, the first section could have your main point emphasised again and then this would make a good paragraph on its own. People with disabilities might also be seen to fit into the repressed category Bauman speaks of, as they are not always able to go shopping for themselves and a lot of their money arguably goes on facilitating a life in which it is hard to get around. Furthermore, people who are mentally disabled might not have the capacity to know what sorts of things to consume in order for them to fit in with the latest fashion or with the people they’d like to be friends with. Additionally, people that are physically disabled might not only feel excluded by not having the means to consume effectively and therefore fit in with others, but may also be physically excluded as most shopping malls or places of social activity do not cater for someone who is physically impaired. Most shopping malls in particular have escalators, or stairs, or walkways without railings which means those who are disabled are not able to go into these places. This creates a divide between those who are able and those who are less able and can be seen to convey, whether it’s fair or not, that in society, there are winners and losers, people who lose out and people who are winning in the capitalistic race. Excellent content, I appreciate this is your own approach but it is relevant. However, if you find a suitable brief quote from the course it would be better evidenced, you can always do this appropriately but paragraphs without references just show you are not using course material and drop your marks down. This depiction of winners and losers within society is further seen in the tension between supermarkets and small shop keepers on the high street, which can also be described as those that have the power to influence where we shop and those that do not have as much power. This tension is evidently seen in the local market statistics and the falling number of independently owned shops, as well as factory surveys and local case st udies that highlight poverty and hardship (Allen, 2009, p93). Farmer’s markets and independently owned shops on the high street were once the most popular places to shop and were seen by some to contribute to the feeling of community in towns and small cities. *2* However in contemporary consumer society the majority of people are shopping a lot more at big supermarkets and chain stores, resulting in smaller shop keepers going out of business. Consumers may argue here that in supermarkets there’s a lot on offer and for a cheap price. Furthermore, supermarkets sell a huge range of different products, ranging from food to furniture to DVDs (‘Evidence in the social sciences’, 2009, track 1). People these days want all the trappings that come with a consumer lifestyle, and at supermarkets they can get these things for cheaper prices compared with independently owned stores, which appeals to the masses. *3* It is obvious to see how independent store owners and market stall owners may feel some animosity towards supermarket s, causing a power-play division. Excellent content and referencing from various sources, well done *3* You have too much of your own opinion in the next to last sentence here, also you need to mention Dennis Wrong’s theory of zero-sum and positive sum games ( Allen, 2009, p. 70). On the other hand however, supermarkets may argue that their shops contribute to regeneration on the high street as people who might not live in the area are drawn to it because of these mega stores and therefore more people are drawn to high street shops. Furthermore, national market statistics could also be seen as favourable to supermarkets. *4* People are drawn into buying more through these big chain stores therefore the economy is not going downhill. Although, the question arises: to what expense? *5* Supermarket owners say that the exploitation of people working in sweatshops still benefits the workers, as factory visits and local wage level comparisons suggest improved living standards (Allen, 2009, p93). However one might argue that this is true yet the workers are not in a position to protest as, if they do, the supermarkets will always find other people who are desperate to earn money, in that same country or another, who will work for them. *2* This might create a divide in consumer society between those who want to carry on consuming without worrying who’s expense it might be at or if the environment is suffering because of it, and those who care about the exploitation of people from third world countries and how the exportation of goods from countries that are far away increases our carbon footprint. *4* We may be a consumer society, but more and more people are becoming aware and active in world-wide issues like poverty and global warming. This creates a divide between those that are environmentally aware and retailers/ shop owners that have workers in third world countries and are exploiting them. Again, excellent content *4* needs referencing more, quantitative evidence can be shown by the inclusion of a few relevant figures with a reference rather than a word discussion *5* do not include extra questions here, just answer the one set In conclusion, it plausible to say our society is seen to be divided in many different ways. The points I have explored, not only show the many divisions that come up in a consumer society, but also propose the question: is a consumer society a sustainable one? Furthermore, is all that we consume globally sustainable? It is possible that our rate of consumption will one day come to a halt. Additionally, one might argue that the many divisions that are created not just between the general public but between shop-owners show that there are cracks beginning to form in our society.

Memory Boy Essay

Memory Boy The book that I choose to read this 9 week period is called Memory by Will Weaver. The book is based on the lives of a family of 4 people; Miles, Sarah, and their two parents. Memory Boy starts out in the Mid West after a mountain range in Washington erupts and spews ash what seems billions of feet up, and over the entire United Sates like a blanket. The ash is so thick that people have to wear dust masks outside to avoid the risk of breathing it in. Miles and his family finally decide to leave the town that they live in to head northwest.Since the ash is so heavy they can’t drive a car because those are restricted, and people can only use them on certain days to avoid the problem of pollution. So Miles assembles a new vehicle that he calls the Princess. It is a mix between a bicycle and a boat that they must pilot by either peddling, or when there is enough wind they have a sail from a boat to put up. They decide to leave under the curtain of night to avoid being d etected by other people who would want to take their vehicle from them.As they make their way North they must face encounters with many obstacles such as road blocks, bandits, hunger, the government, nature, each other, and other hazards. In between telling us about they’re adventure north, Miles, who is the main character tells us the events leading up to their departure, starting with the day that the eruption happened. The novel starts out a peaceful journey by the family but they soon learn that their trip will not be easy and they must work together to survive.Miles is our main character and we watch all the events happen through his point of view. He would be a junior in high school if they still actually went to school. Miles is a smart individual who enjoys doing the job of a mechanic. He built the Princess by himself and is the only one who is about to fix and maintain it throughout the book. He takes a strong leadership role; even his parents look to him to solve th e solutions. When the volcano erupted he was only in the 9th grade.So every other chapter he will flashback to his 9th grade year to tell us a story about after the volcano erupted. He often compares his life now to that of his 9th grade year, and how he would have done things different. He used to be disrespectful and would often act out in school to seek attention. He will explain to us how some of the events he tells us about have changed him. Miles sister Sarah is a few years younger than he is. She is a dark and morbid girl; the type that is into vampire, dark music, and dark literature.But even though she seems tough on the outside, but she is actually just hiding how scared she has been throughout this entire ordeal. She secretly looks up to miles even though she would never say so to him. She doesn’t like her father very much because he was always away when she was a child. Miles’s father was a jazz musician in a band before the eruption. He was always on the r oad with his band, so he wasn’t around much when Miles and Sarah were growing up.Although he seems quite docile at the beginning of the book we soon learn that he is actually quite the leader, and when Miles gets overwhelmed his father is always there to take the lead for awhile. Miles’s mother was the main caretaker of the children so she was always around. At the beginning of the book she kept the family together as a unit, they referred to her as being. The children see their mother as being helpless most of the time. It isn’t until later in the book that she really blooms as a character, and becomes a very useful asset to the group.