Masque Of The Red Death Essays - The Masque Of The Red Death

Masque Of The Red Death In Edgar Allen Poe's story "The Masque of the Red Death", he uses symbolism of the rooms, time, and the red death to portray his theme that no one can escape death. The masque was held in Prince Prospero's imperial suite that consisted of seven different and symbolic rooms. The fact that there where seven rooms was symbolic in itself. Many believe that the world was created in seven days. It was also said that there are seven stages in a person's life. I think Poe used the number of rooms in accordance with the stages of life. The rooms were arranged from east to west with the same process which we measure time. In the east, the room was blue as day and the western room was black as if the sun had set hours ago. The rooms were not arranged so one could see completely into the future rooms. Poe stated," The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect." I think Poe shows that the path of life is not easily predictable. Each stage was different and had "a novel effect". The windows in each room were colored the same as room it looked upon except the windows in the black room. The windows in this room cast a scarlet hue on the giant ebony clock on the western wall. Poe used this color to link the relationship of time and death. The ebony clock at the end of the seven rooms signified the end of life. If it was possible to look through all seven rooms and see the clock on the wall it would be the same as looking down the barrel of a gun and finding the bullet of a timely but certain death. The hourly bellow of the clock ceased the orchestra and a brief discontent overcame the courtiers as if time had stopped. The clock reminded everyone hourly that the end was getting closer. Poe wrote," the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolution's; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation." When the chiming stopped everyone returned to the comfort of the warm music and laughter. The night grew older and the party proceeded towards the black room. No one dared to set foot on the black carpet. The clock struck midnight and the music stopped. Everyone then became aware of the presence of a "masked figure which had arrested the attention of no individual before". The prince did everything he could to keep the red death away. He protected the courtiers and himself behind " A strong and lofty wall". "This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts." Poe proved that the prince tried to have everything inside the walls to survive by saying, "The external world could take care of itself. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure." Only until the last stroke of the twelfth hour did the prince feel the safety of the magnificent walls of the castellated abbey. On the last stroke of midnight the strange figure appeared in the black room in the shadow of the ebony clock. When the prince saw this mockery he demanded the mask be removed to unveil the soon to be hung guest. The prince, armed with a dagger, followed the figure into the black room. Poe wrote," There was a sharp cry ?and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero." Death had struck the prince's masque. The courtiers then attacked the tall figure whom stood in the shadow of the clock. "Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of revelers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless in the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible

Free Essays on Narrrator

In â€Å"No One’s a Mystery†, the narrator and the character Jack are unrealistically in love. They share different views on the outcome of their relationship and Jack seems to be the character that thinks with his head and not with his heart. If the narrator was not so young, she could understand that she is being naive about the entire situation and that a relationship with a married man is hopeless. The narrator really believes that she loves Jack and that is why she believes that they will be married in the near future. Although the narrator is in denial and is naive, the truth will come out that she is really not in love. In the future, the narrator will be writing that Jack decided to have an honest marriage and that he decided that they should move on. The narrator will be crushed, but at the same time, she will grow up and realize that Jack is entirely too old for her. Not only will she realize that he is too old for her, she will probably be writing about a new love that she has found. This is what she will be writing in her first year of her diary and the next few years she will be comparing her relationships with other men to Jack. The narrator will probably write about better men that respect her and that are not married yet. She will then begin to wonder what she ever saw in a person like Jack. This particular future will happen for them because in the society of today, it is a typical ending for a relationship, such as, Jack and the narrator’s. Personally, I have not dated an older, married man like Jack, but I have friends that have. Usually, the relationship ends in disaster, for example, the wife finds out or the parent of the young person ultimately finds out. This is very devastating for the young and naive person, but they have learned their lesson. If we were to read the narrator’s diary in the future, we will be able to see that Jack was just a minor fling and that she learns her lesson. She... Free Essays on Narrrator Free Essays on Narrrator In â€Å"No One’s a Mystery†, the narrator and the character Jack are unrealistically in love. They share different views on the outcome of their relationship and Jack seems to be the character that thinks with his head and not with his heart. If the narrator was not so young, she could understand that she is being naive about the entire situation and that a relationship with a married man is hopeless. The narrator really believes that she loves Jack and that is why she believes that they will be married in the near future. Although the narrator is in denial and is naive, the truth will come out that she is really not in love. In the future, the narrator will be writing that Jack decided to have an honest marriage and that he decided that they should move on. The narrator will be crushed, but at the same time, she will grow up and realize that Jack is entirely too old for her. Not only will she realize that he is too old for her, she will probably be writing about a new love that she has found. This is what she will be writing in her first year of her diary and the next few years she will be comparing her relationships with other men to Jack. The narrator will probably write about better men that respect her and that are not married yet. She will then begin to wonder what she ever saw in a person like Jack. This particular future will happen for them because in the society of today, it is a typical ending for a relationship, such as, Jack and the narrator’s. Personally, I have not dated an older, married man like Jack, but I have friends that have. Usually, the relationship ends in disaster, for example, the wife finds out or the parent of the young person ultimately finds out. This is very devastating for the young and naive person, but they have learned their lesson. If we were to read the narrator’s diary in the future, we will be able to see that Jack was just a minor fling and that she learns her lesson. She...

A Doll House Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Doll House - Essay Example as leaders of states and contributors in the development of various fields such as Science, Technology, the Arts, Music and other branches that are encompassed by the society. Nora’s character in Henrik Ibsen’s play depicts all of the conventional qualities expected of women during the 19th century. Women in the family were expected to stay at home, tend to the needs of her husband and children, keep the household in top shape and grant the wishes and commands of her husband which was the master of the house. Women back then were also forbidden to interfere with financial matters including loans and only a handful of females were allowed to work in offices. They were also not allowed to speak openly of their opinions because they were labeled as vulgar if they speak freely of what they have in mind, which was also evident in Ibsen’s play. In contrast to the present functions of women, the 19th century women who were expected to stay at home and not allowed to work had changed over the years due to the increasing needs of a family to subsist required the females to also get hold of a job. These working women were gradually accepted by the changing society and at present, women who support their families hand in hand with her husband are widely accepted and are no longer a controversial issue as it was in the 19th century. Ironically though, women today spend greater time in offices than they spend at home and with their families as opposed to women during the older times who barely went out of their homes and were only allowed to go out if they were permitted by their husbands. The aspect of today’s women as a co-provider of the family is in direct contrast to the portrayal of a 19th century woman in A Doll’s House wherein Nora’s husband, Torvald, acts as the sole provider for the family and firmly believes that the man should be the only provider in the family. In the play A Doll’s House, Nora mentioned that she was secretly working on some

Paper critic for program evaluation Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critic for program evaluation - Research Paper Example Jemmott III, PhD; Loretta S. Jemmott, PhD, RN; Ann O’Leary, PhD; Zolani Ngwane, PhD;Larry D. Icard, PhD; Scarlett L. Bellamy, ScD; Shasta F. Jones, PhD; J. Richard Landis, PhD;G. Anita Heeren, MD, PhD; Joanne C. Tyler, DSc; Monde B. Makiwane, PhD, tries to give a clear perceptive of what are factors behind this worrying trend in South Africa. This paper will critically analyze the article in various ways such as the methodologies used, settings, aims and objectives, theoretical and empirical perspectives and much more. Background Setting- the study focused on the primary schools in a large, black township and rural settlement found near Cape Province. The setting of the study seems to focus mainly on the rural and poor families. But the reality is that HIV is a pandemic affecting every member of the society-either directly or indirectly-despite or his/her economic or social status. In this regard, there is some biasness as far as the setting of the study is concerned. Particip ants- random sampling method was used to select nine of 17 matched pairs of schools. The selected students were mainly in their sixth grade. However, the researcher had the consent of the parents or guardians before interviewing the students. This is a rather good move as far as the study is concerned. ... Stakeholders-stakeholders are different types of people who have direct or indirect interest on the outcome of the study results. Stakeholders regularly hold competing and occasionally combative perceptions on the appropriateness of the study. The interests of the stakeholders are affected by the outcome of the result. There is no clear identification of the concerned parties throughout the study. This is because of unclear definition of the significance of the study. Program theory The results of the study represent a theory based, contextually appropriate methods for HIV/AIDS reduction among the South African adolescents. The meta-analyses indicates that results from the school level were almost similar to the results obtained from individual level, although slightly more significant statistically. While logic models and program theory are frequently used interchangeably, the more accurate definition of a logic model is the graphical theory. The importance of logic models in this t ype of study cannot be ignored. This is because logic models are used as tools to plan, develop, manage, communicate and evaluate program or study. The logic models are effectively used in this study. For example, tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 give description of logic models as used in the study. Table 1 shows the number of students used in the study. 558 girls and 449 boys participated in the study. Linking this to the logic model, then Table represents the input section of the model. Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for sexual behaviors through intrusion condition and assessment period. This is the activity section of logic model. Table 3 is a representation of the estimated intervention effects during the follow-up period, intra-class correlation

The technology of cloning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The technology of cloning - Essay Example Cloning is the phenomenon whereby an identical copy of a living creature can be created by man. "The process of making a clone, a genetically identical copy. Cloning can refer to the technique of producing a genetically identical copy of an organism by replacing the nucleus of an unfertilized ovum with the nucleus of a body cell from the organism." (MedicineNet.com, 2012) The cloning technology involves asexual production of an egg which does not have nuclear material. It is mainly the artificial fusion of a non sexual cell with an egg. The resultant is the production of a younger identical organism which is the exact twin of the earlier organism. A physician Lewis Thomas terms human cloning as, "The  cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from Science, along with behavior control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry and the unrestrained growth of plastic flowers." (SearchQuotes, 2012) The process sounds relatively very simple but it is a hard fact that the execution of this process involve many complications. It is not only the complications in the processing that are a source of an issue. The main problems are the pre-requisites that need to be settled prior to the processing. On one hand there is a belief that cloning could be extremely beneficial for the human race and would bring cure to many untreated ailments. One the other hand, one school of thought argues that the concept of cloning is against the well being of the society and should completely be eliminated. Others even maintain that cloning could become a menace to the society if left un attended. So it should only be restricted to secret services and should only be used for the well being of the security and safety of the human race as a whole. My views on this topic are that since cloning is such an advanced technology its benefits should be hailed by every individual on this planet. Then only would it be possible to get benefitted by it as a soci ety. When it comes to the sanctity and survival of the human race most of us readily agree that for the survival of the human race severe steps should be taken and any technology should be modified for the betterment of the entire human race and preserved so that it can be benefitted from in times of need. There are several advantages associated with cloning. Some of them are discussed as follows: The concept of human cloning is particularly of use when it comes to the handling of the matter of fertility in human beings. Any genetic defects or any accidental damage caused to genetic organisms, any genetic defects present at the time of birth, or accidental exposure to radiation or toxic substances may result in infertility. Cloning is one of the many technologies that assist in the overcoming of the problem of infertility. Around twelve million Americans are infertile at the age of child bearing. Years of medical treatment cannot result in satisfactory remedies to infertility. It is for such infertile couples that human cloning comes s a sigh of relief. With the help of cloning such couples can dream of happening their own offspring and they would not have to undergo years of continuous and painful treatments to get able to bear an offspring. The thought of having their own biological offspring, at the cost of no uneasiness and complex medical treatment at all would eventually result in the diminishing of clinical depression, inclination towards, suicide, divorce and madness among infertile individuals. A school of thought might maintain that gene therapy is present to cure

Research on Children’s Conception of Death | Methodology

Research on Children’s Conception of Death | Methodology This study design is to find out the understanding of death of children from different stages, and the difference between their concepts. Death is part of our life and also an accomplishment of it that no one can avoid. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine different ages of children’s concept towards death in these 80 years, and the first one was conducted by Schilder and Wechsler in 1934 (Speece, 1995). According to Speece, there is a positive relationship between age and children’s concept of death. Maria Nagy (1948) conducted a classic experiment on this topic and inferred that there are three stages that are closely related for children of understanding death. First stage (3 to 5 years old): Younger children cannot understand the outcome and irreversibility of death. Children understand that they need to eat and breathe in order to live, so they cannot imagine a person without these activities. Most of them regard death as the person who is sleeping or it is just a temporary state and starts to have the recognition that death is different from life. Second stage (5 to 8 years old): Children have not understood that death is unavoidable, natural and universal. During this period, they realize that death is the final outcome of human, and they think it is unpredictable and mysterious. Children tend to believe that life is taken away by external force, which they think it is the same force that gives us life, therefore it is reasonable that it could be taken away, and then we die. Third stage (above 9 years old): Children have mature understanding of death. They realize that death is not something that can be interfered by external forces (except accident), and could not be controlled by human’s will. Death is a natural process that will happen on every individual, including themselves. On the other hand, death is not a single concept, it has four components: universality, irreversibility, non-functionality and causality (Speece, 1995). In this study, we are going to examine children’s concept about universality and irreversibility of death. Definitions of Key Components Universality refers to the understanding that all living things will die. Irreversibility refers to the understanding that once a living thing dies, the physical body cannot alive (Speece Sandor B, 1984). Method Participants A total of 30 4-year-olds, 30 7-year-olds and 30 10-year-olds children are chosen to attend this experiment. All participants are right-handed, have normal eye-sight, hearing and their intelligence are at average level. They should not do similar experiment before. Informed consent was obtained from parents, teachers and related department of participants. Design and Procedure We duplicate the method which Zhu LiQi and Fang Fuxi used in Children’s Understanding of Aging. Experiment 1: Free Association Task Participants will be required to recall anything that could die, such as animals and plants. This step is to see if participants have the ability to distinguish non-living objects and living things. Guidance: â€Å"There are many objects around us, some of them will die one day, but some of them won’t die. Can you give me some examples of them? Very good. Do you have any more examples?† Experiment 2: Organization Task A total of 16 kinds (8 kinds of non-living objects and 8 kinds of living things) of stimuli in the form of real photos will be presented to participants. There are photos of rocks, clouds, rivers, sun, spoons, television, cars, chairs, mushrooms, flowers, trees, grass, birds, fish, dog and human.(We choose stimulus that children are easily seen in daily life.). Procedure: All photos will be presented in a randomly mixed order. Participants are required to separate photos into two sets (Those that can die and those cannot). Experimenter will record the reaction of participants and make sure that the 2 sets are correct. This experiment will repeat twice to reduce random error. Experiment 3: The irreversibility and universality of death. Choose 3 types of photos as stimulus from experiment 2, such as â€Å"trees†, â€Å"dogs† and â€Å"human†. Experimenter will ask two questions: 1) Question about irreversibility: If X dies, can it/she/he come back to life or it/she/he will be dead forever? 2) Question about universality: Does X has to die, or X can live forever? (X refers to stimulus) Results Experiment 1 The responses from participants can group into three categories. Not distinguishable: Participants reply not knowing the answers, having non-living objects in death example or vice versa and some will give conflict answer such as, the object will die and not die in different examples. Partly distinguishable: Participants’ answers are partially correct, they answer animals and plants, animals and human or only one of them will die and they know non-living things is not a biotic example. Fully Distinguishable: Participants answer that human, animals and plants will die and non-living objects will not die. Table 1 From my expected result, 4 years old children can hardly distinguish and this phenomenon will decrease when the age of children increased. Experiment 2 In this experiment, participants will only get 1 point if they get the correct answer twice, otherwise 0 point. Hence there are four categories: animals, plants, natural objects and artifacts. The total score for each category is 4 points. Table 2 We will use SPSS 3 x 4 Anova to examine the scores. We predict that there is a main effect for Age and Stimulus and interaction between them. Follow-up test is required if results are significant. The older the children, the more accurate they determine in each category. (Li-qi Fu-xi, 2006) Experiment 3 Participants will get 1 point for each question. Therefore, there will be 3 points for irreversibility and 3 points for universality. Table 3 We will use SPSS 3 x 2 Anova to examine the scores. We predict that most of the 4-years old and 7-years old children could not understand the concept of irreversibility and universality of death. It is because they thought that death is just a temporary state and they thought that death is avoidable if you are lucky enough (Nagy, 1948). 10-years old children have mature understanding of these two key components of death. References Li-qi, Z., Fu-xi, F. (2006). Perschool Childrens Understanding of Death. Chinese Journal of Clnical Psychology, 91-93. Nagy, M. (1948). The Childs Theories concerning Death. The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, 3-27. Speece, M. W. (1995). Michigan Family Review. 57-69. Retrieved from Childrens Concepts of Death. Speece, M. W., Sandor B, B. (1984). Childrens Understanding of death: A review of Three Components of a Death Concept. Child Development, 1671-1686.

Ever Heard of Chance Music? :: essays research papers

aleatory music (ā'lēətà ´r'ē) [Lat. alea=dice game], music in which elements traditionally determined by the composer are determined either by a process of random selection chosen by the composer or by the exercise of choice by the performer(s). At the compositional stage, pitches, durations, dynamics, and so forth are made functions of playing card drawings, dice throwings, or mathematical laws of chance, the latter with the possible aid of a computer. Those elements usually left to the performers' discretion include the order of execution of sections of a work, the possible exclusion of such sections, and subjective interpretation of temporal and spatial pitch relations. Also called â€Å"chance music,† aleatory music has been produced in abundance since 1945 by several composers, the most notable being John Cage, Pierre Boulez, and Iannis Xenakis. Aleatoric (or aleatory) music or composition, is music where some element of the composition is left to chance. The term became known to European composers through the lectures which acoustician Werner Meyer-Eppler held at Darmstadt Summer School in the beginning of the fifties. According to his definition, "aleatoric processes are such processes which have been fixed in their outline but the details of which are left to chance". The word alea means "dice" in Latin, and the term has become known as referring to a chance element being applied to a limited number of possibilities, a method employed by European composers who felt more bound than the Americans by tradition and who stressed the importance of compositional control, as opposed to indeterminacy and chance where possibilities tend not to be finite and which is an Anglo-Saxon phenomenon. The term was used by the French composer Pierre Boulez to describe works where the performer was given certain liberties with regard to the order and repetition of parts of a musical work. The term was intended by Boulez to distinguish his work from works composed through the application of chance operations by John Cage and his aesthetic of indeterminacy - see indeterminate music. Other examples of aleatoric music are Klavierstà ¼ck XI by Stockhausen which features a number of elements to be performed in changing sequences and characteristic sequences to be repeated fast, producing a special kind of oscillating sound, in orchestral works of Lutoslawski and Penderecki. An early genre of composition that could be considered a precedent for aleatoric compositions were the Musikalische Wà ¼rfelspiele or Musical Dice Games, popular in the late 18th and early 19th century.