The History Of Why Bother?

The History Of Why Bother? The Temperatures are rising, carbon emissions are increasing, ice caps are melting at a faster rate than most scientists expected and planet earth is experiencing ecological and environmental issues due to global warming. Earth as we know it might change drastically in the next couple of decades and it is our responsibility to preserve the environment and preserve earth. Michael Pollans Why Bother opens the readers eyes in a powerful manor to global warming and related environmental issues. Pollan uses rhetorical strategies such as current and past events, logos and pathos to persuade the reader to bother(218) and start thinking of the environment as an issue that involves all of the people. Pollan approaches the reader from different standing points as he addresses each counter argument and gives the reasons of why people should bother. Pollan argues that despite the fact that our plant is at risk because of carbon emissions, we(the people) have not done anything to stop it. It is this passive attitude, Pollan argues, that prevents us from helping our planet. Michael Pollen quotes Wendell Berry saying that the deep standing problem behind all the other problems of industrial civilization is specialization(87). It is this specialization that causes people to play only one role in society and that they cannot expand to other field which they are not familiar with. In other words, people do not waste their time on environmental issues because they do not believe that it is their job to do so. The author urges the reader to liberate from the cheap-energy mind (120) and for once try to make a difference in the world. Pollan suggests that the best way of being green is to plant a garden. Although Pollan suggests many other ways of being green in his article such as purchasing a hybrid car, walking to work, or even changin g your light bulbs to candescent type like Al Gore suggested in An Inconvenient Truth, none of these ideas will reduce [peoples] sense of dependence (182) or reduce carbon footprint as much as a garden would! Pollan hopes that a persons decision of being green would influence another person which in turn would create a huge chain reaction. Pollan effectively uses examples of current and past events throughout the article to show the reader how big the problem is. He uses Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth which is a familiar documentary to most readers to support his argument and to give the reader a hint about what his article is going to be about. Pollan makes a connection with the reader when he describes his own feeling about the documentary when saying Al Gore scared the hell out of me, constructing an utterly convincing case that the very survival of life on earth as we know it is threatened by climate change.(4) Pollan also references the analysis of Wendell Berry, a Kentucky farmer and writer, to support his argument of the peoples dependency for solutions on specialists. He points to the people who fund and support environmental organizations while polluting the environment in their everyday life. Pollan notes that the people will not change and think about the environment unless they overcome the double personali ties in their believes and behaviors. All this comes down to the moral prospective of each person and his inner consciousness to identify clearly what is wrong around him with regard to the impact on the environment. Pollan uses logos in a powerful manor to convince the reader of adopting a green life-style. He tries to influence the reader by presenting the scientists projections about global warming that seemed dire a decade ago to have been unduly optimistic.(48) as the melting of the ice caps are occurring at a faster rate than expected. Pollan effectively uses a set of words to describe the boost of the rate of change to the melting down of the ice caps such as terrifying, threatening and scary to influence the reader and think more seriously about global warming. Pollan then ends with a question to keep the reader thinking about global warming, he says have you looked into the eyes of a climate scientist recently? They look really scared.(53) Another strategy which Pollan excels is the use of pathos to convey his point and to reinforce and strengthen his argument. Pollan engages with the reader in a set of counter arguments of why not to bother throughout his article. He presents many questions that are common and familiar to the reader such as the evil twin(15) that lives halfway around the world and is eager to replace every last pound of CO2 [a person] is struggling no longer to emit.(18) This way, Pollan makes a connection between the reader and himself in a manner that ties the reader to his analytical thoughts. Pollan addresses each question throughout his article until he reaches to a conclusion of why to bother.(218) Pollan states that thinking about the environment and at least planting a garden have sweeter reasons(218) than just benefiting the environment. These reasons consist of healing the split between what you think and what you do(219) and re-engaging with neighbors. These reasons might influence other pe ople to follow the same path in dealing with environment and create a chain reaction that grows to outside of ones community. Michael Pollans Why Bother opens the readers eyes in a powerful manor to global warming and related environmental crises. He uses many rhetorical strategies to convey his argument such as past and current event, logos and pathos to persuade the reader to bother(218) and start thinking of global warming and related environmental issues as a serious matter that involves all of the people. Pollan approaches the reader from different standing points as he addresses each counter argument and gives the reasons of why to bother.(218)

Scarlet Letter :: Free Essay Writer

Scarlet Letter Through out the Scarlet Letter I believe that Hester and Dimmesdale do redeem themselves. I am led to think this for Three major reasons. The first being that the sin is between man and God. In my beliefs they do not have to repent to the people for they have not sinned against them. My second reason for my opinion is that both Hester and especially Dimmesdale feel bad in their hearts for what they have done. The third and final reason is that for every crime I feel that there should be an equal or greater punishment for the crime. Both of the two pay more than what is fair for the crime they committed. Sin is between man and God. Being Lutheran this is a belief of mine that I live by. I believe this for when you sin it is God’s heart you are breaking, there for you must repent to him not the people. Hester does this all through out the book. She takes the scarlet letter as a personal ignominious burden. Hester carries the shame of the A in her heart. Much deeper than just on the outside or in public. By this she shows that she is sorrowed in her heart, which in my opinion means she is repenting to God. It is very easy to see Dimmesdale’s shame and repentance in every action he carries out through out the book. Dimmesdale talks of how hard it is to preach to a congregation and save souls when his is polluted. In every action he does he feels bad for the crime he has committed and it shows with his health. For not being able to obtain peace of mind he looses sleep and proper nourishment and eventually his health for a very long period of time. When one can not obtain peace of mind in my opinion it is because ninety-nine percent of the time something is on their conscious. A conscious was God given meaning that there for Dimmesdale is constantly feeling bad begging for forgiveness from God. God is very forgiving and it is written that Jesus died on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. My interpretation of this means to me that Dimmesdale repenting with his whole heart will be forgiven. If one is inline with God I feel that they are redeemed. There are cases in the bible where it says if one is to sin against the people or the church then he must confess in front of those he

Lowering Testing Standards in Third World Countries Essay -- HIV AIDS

Lowering Testing Standards in Third World Countries ABSTRACT: Recently, Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group (PCHRG), charged the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) with sponsoring fifteen immoral HIV studies in sub-Saharan Africa. The trials are being conducted to determine if certain alternate medical procedures or a short course of treatment with AZT, zidovudine or other drugs prevent some mother-child HIV transmissions. (1) Since the control group receives only placebos rather than AZT, Wolfe claims that the tests give suboptimal treatment that will result in more children contracting HIV and AIDS. (2) Public Citizen’s Health Research Group and others are calling for an immediate cessation of these important experiments. Public Citizen raises an important moral question. (3) Is it morally permissible to lower testing standards for the Third World? Unlike PCHRG, I contend that the answer to this question is yes, if the trials meet certain conditions. I e xplain both the First Best and Second Best Method (FBM and SBM, respectively) of testing new drugs and then compare the two. Next, I show the FBM’s impracticality in developing countries releases researchers from the moral obligation to use it. I then propose a new set of criteria — the Second Best Criteria (SBC) — that show if a test is moral or not. Finally, I argue that imposing a developed country’s moral standards for clinical trials in the Third World is immorally insensitive to the needs and conditions present in the latter area. Section 1 In clinical trials there are two different standard protocols for testing new drugs. The First Best Method tests the effects of a known drug (a benchmark), rathe... ...Biotechnology, vol. 11, pp. 135-143. Pederson, Daniel and Eric Larson, "Too Poor to Treat" Newsweek, 28 July 1997, p. 60. Rath, Richard, "Horton Hears the W.H.O." Dissonance, AIDS and Africa Resource page, 3 June 1996, http:/www.way.net/dissonance/nyrb_ltr.html, pp. 1-3. UNAIDS "HIV/AIDS: The Global Epidemic", Press Release, 28 November 1996, http:/www.us.unaids.org/highband/document/epidemic/situat96.html, pp. 1-15. —— "HIV/AIDS epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa", 3 July 1997, http:/www.hiv.unaids.org/unaids/press/factafr.htm, pp. 1-3. —— "UNAIDS Announces New Clinical Trials for the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV", Press Release, 9 July 1996, http:/www.hiv.unaids.org/unaids/press/mtctpren.html, pp. 1-2 No Author Listed: "AIDS in Africa", The Guide, 9 May 1996, http://www.guidemag.com/newsslant/aids.africa.html. pp.1-2

Gulliver’s Travels Essay

Swift wrote ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ to be read by the literate higher classes of the British society, he did this because he hoped that the higher class people would have the higher ranked jobs in the government and could change Britain. In chapter 6 Gulliver gave a long detailed, description of Britain’s History and the way in which it had been ruled in Swift’s time, the king was ‘perfectly astonished with the historical account’ Gulliver gave him. The king tried to protest that the affairs of Britain during the last century were ‘only a heap of conspiracies, rebellions, murders, massacres, banishments, faction, cruelty, rage, madness, hatred or ambition could produce. ‘ All of these are negative points about England which clearly shows Swift’s dislike of the country. Swift uses the King’s response to make his point even clearer; this allows Swift to show his disgust of British society without stating that he himself said it; this offended many people. Another aspect of British society which Swift was very interested in was the physical human body and its functions. The public in the 18th century found the human body embarrassing, including things such as sanitation, which is perhaps why swift satirised it to show his unusual, for his time, interest in such things. Swift however was disgusted by bodily functions and he showed his disgust by using the differences for Gulliver in Lilliput and Brobdingnag. In Lilliput, where Gulliver was the large person, the empress was disgusted when she looked up at Gulliver walking over her but in Brobdingnag Gulliver was in horror with the maids breastfeeding the child, ‘I must confess no ever object ever disgusted me so much as the sight of her monstrous breast’ and ‘It stood six feet, and could not be less than sixteen in circumference. The nipple was about the half the bigness of my head. ‘ These are both examples of Swift’s hatred for human body parts because both of the descriptions for them are all negative. A second example of Swift’s interest in bodily functions is in Lilliput when Gulliver urinates on the Empress’ palace to save her from the fire, the ironic thing about this is that although Gulliver saved the Empress’ life from the fire he was later banished from the country for displaying such an act in front of the Empress. This is perhaps another satirical point from Swift mocking the English culture, maybe Swift feels like it’s unfair that even if you do something heroic, such as saving a royal family member, you can be convicted because of the method you used. Swift also satirises women and how vain they were, such as Chapter 5 in Brobdingnag ‘They would often strip me naked and lay me at full length in their bosoms; wherewith I was much disgusted; because, to say the truth, a very offensive smell came from their skins’ This is an example of Swift suggesting that women of his time were an illusion of physical beauty and that they weren’t as beautiful as was thought. Swift suggests that people often smelt hence why they used perfumes to cover the smell. Swift later states ‘I found their natural smell was much more supportable than when they used perfumes’, Swift was disgusted with how vain women were by using perfumes to try to impress the males, He could also be satirising how men wanted women to act like this. 18th century England was very different compared with modern day fashions, in the 18th century women tended to cover skin more compared to now where the fashion is to show as much skin as possible. So when Swift wrote in chapter 5 about the maids ‘stripping to the skin’ while Gulliver was in their presence, this would have been a preposterous thought for people of the 18th century even more than it would be now. Swift loved to satirise this because it was something that fascinated, it also makes us laugh in a childish way and would therefore keep us reading. From reading â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels† it is clear that Swift had a very strong dislike of the culture and government of Britain and showed his disgust by satirising them using literature. Satire is a rude way of getting your point across often ridiculing something and will offend many people. When Swift wrote ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ he said ‘he wanted to vex the world and intended to make people angry by holding a mirror up to English society’. Swift wrote ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ as a satirical book but wasn’t sure how the British public would take it, so he first published it under the name Lemuel Gulliver, which makes it sound even more like a travelogue. Swift using Lilliput and Brobdingnag ridiculed Britain and offended the majority of the population, so when the public found out that Swift was the author of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, he felt he could no longer work in Britain, so he left the country and went to live in Ireland. Bibliography – ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ by Jonathan Swift Word Count: 2,247 Ben Dewsnip 19th May 08 10co Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our  GCSE Jonathan Swift  section.

Benjamin Franklin Analysis

On Choosing a Mistress â€Å"On Choosing a Mistress† is a letter written by Benjamin Franklin to advise one of his close friends about choosing a mistress. In his 1745 letter, Franklin conveys that marriage is the only remedy for lustful inclinations, but if the friend is determined to stray outside marriage,  Franklin  advices, â€Å"you should prefer old Women to young ones. † Franklin  offers some basic, clean advice: they are more knowledgeable, they are more discreet, they cannot get pregnant, and then he gets down to more lascivious details.This letter was written by Benjamin Franklin long before he became president of the United States of America, Benjamin at the time was in the midst of his life. This document is unique because it was not intended for the public. The document suggests that Franklin still carried a sense of consciousness and morality, unlike what his critics say. The letter shows that Franklin was undoubtedly a really intelligent person wit h a sharp way of thinking. Franklin puts every prospect into effect in this letter; this explains why he was successful in life.The significance of this document comes in the fact that it is a personal letter rather than a document published for the public. This is extremely important in analyzing Benjamin Franklin’s personality accurately. Documents that are made for the public usually are written based upon what is accepted by the society, they tend to not include anything that may affect the writers’ reputation. It is clear that the society at the time in which the letter was written is different from today’s society in many ways. American society at the time was much more conservative than it is today.Sexual relationships outside of marriage were considered to be immoral and were shunned by the society. Franklin is wary about not having a person to make the mistake of being found of having an illegal relation or begetting an illegitimate child. The former po int may a result of his own experience with his legitimate son William. . In his 6th and 7th point, Franklin puts into effect the guilt of ruining a virgin girl’s life. He furthermore makes it clear that marriage is the most proper way to fulfill sexual desires. This explains that Franklin still has emphasis for morals and ethics.The conclusions about Franklin’s person put forward from this letter could in fact be used to foreshadow the decisions he made in his future, and how he calculated each decision by carefully studying all the negatives and positives. Supporters of Benjamin Franklin regard this letter in contrary with his critics. Supporters may argue that Franklin understood that not everyone was in the right situation to get married. They also argue that the point put out by this was only to be used as a last resort. Benjamin’s critics rather carry a conflicting opinion.These documents have used as means to demoralize Benjamin Franklin by his enemies. T hey claim that Benjamin was in fact a whoremonger. Regardless of who’s view is more accurate, this letter still demonstrates Franklin’s extraordinary intelligence in critical thinking and decision making. Three Fables Franklin was never content with mere learned argument and syllogism in his campaigns in the press. In 1770, he had written and published three fables teaching the foolishness of punitive measures against the American colonies.These three fables portrayed Franklin’s stunning use of literature for propaganda purposes. These fables also resembled the oppressive measures taken by Britain through the numerous acts which were seen as a heavy burden by the colonists. Franklin portrays the colonies as the cows, the cat, and the lion, while portraying Britain as the farmer, the eagle, and the mastiff. Consequently in all three fables, the weak overcomes the strong, but only as a result of extreme oppression by the strong. These fables may be have been perce ived as an indirect threat to the British in colonial America.The fables were published during a time in which there was increasing tension between the colonists and the British. Franklin at the time was appointed as an agent of several colonies to the crown. His job was to convince the king and the parliament to change their policies towards the American colonies. These fables further ascertain Franklin’s enormous talent in literature. Writing such precise and explanatory stories in just a few sentences require a great author, Franklin has proven himself likewise.Franklin attempted to use these fables as political propaganda, as well as to draw support towards the American cause. By getting the English lords and decision makers to view it, Benjamin franklin wanted to make it clear that treating the American colonies as cash cows would certainly backfire. This document draws its significant mainly due to the foreshadowing of the American Revolution. Not many people would prob ably have taken this writing seriously when it was first published, but some years later and with the beginning of the American Revolution, people would truly start to admire these fables.The British decision makers in which the fables were inscribed probably have showed little interest, that is clearly shown by the fact they continued to ignore the demands of the American colonies. Perhaps the nature of these fables prompted the British decision makers to further ignore the demands because they saw these fables as a challenge, and they wanted to show that they could face such challenges. Franklins has done an excellent job in summoning his literary skills for the American cause. The writing of the â€Å"Three Fables† was a symbolic warning to the English administration.Although the fables sounded threatening, the English parliament still didn’t react seriously to the American demands. Benjamin’s writing was an early foreshadowing of the American Revolution. He has shown that he is indeed a true American patriot. Rules by which A Great empire May Be Reduced to a Small One After failing to secure support in England, Franklin resorted to political satire in order to express the colonies grievances. In the 1770s, even after helping to defeat the Stamp Act and (later) the Townsend Acts, Franklin grew frustrated with the British leaders' ignorance of America and condescending attitude toward the colonies.Franklin at the time was still an ambassador of several American colonies to Britain. He wrote more essays denouncing British policies towards America. â€Å"Rules  By  Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One† was one of the most known of these essays. The essay was clearly deprecated by the British. Franklin argued that the settlers and their ancestors were the ones who have built and expanded the colonies. Benjamin Franklin has shown that he was a true patriot through this essay. Franklin’s essay was most likely r eceived by widespread discontent by both the public and the authorities in England.The fact that the writing threatened that British colonies may start breaking away has caused many British nationalists to condemn and refuse Franklins ideas. Even some of the lords who held some sympathy for the American cause pulled out their support after this essay was published. The King has probably received this with even wider discontent. It did not only make a direct threat to the kings’ authority, but the points within were more of an order than that of a request. That may have further prompted the British authorities to ignore the requests.Franklin also argued that the colonists and their ancestors are the ones who worked hard to bring the colonies to what they were at the time. Most colonials would have agreed with Franklins reasoning. Many of the American born colonists did not see any real connection with Britain. This shows the deepening division that was occurring between the Am erican colonies and Britain at the time. Although the writing shows that Benjamin franklin would have preferred to prevent violent escalation between Britain and the American colonies, it was clear he put the interest of the American colonies first.Benjamin franklin has pointed out some great points in the document â€Å"Rules  By  Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One†. His ideas which threatened that British colonies may did not sound appealing to people of Britain. This piece of writing also showed the widening rift between Britain and the American colonies. It was also made clear that Franklin put the interest of the American colonies as a priority. Although he sounded strict in some of his points, He has shown that he indeed does have what it takes to be a great leader.

Lennie Small is the central character in the novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Lennie Small is the central character in the novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’. The American John Steinbeck wrote the story about Ranch life in the 1930s. Lennie is perhaps the most interesting character in the novel. He is likeable and even loveable, maybe because he himself is so keen to show affection. There is a huge part of Lennie that means no harm, however he is definitely not harmless. He is both villain and victim, caring and destructive. He is complicated, even contradictory. At the time the novel was published the American stock market on Wall Street crashed catastrophically. This led to a massive economic depression in the 1930s when increasing mechanisation was driving agricultural labourers off the land. California was filling with official and unofficial refugee camps. Drought and over-farming were reducing the amount of fertile land. This meant owners in Oklahoma and Arkansas were going bankrupt and banks were repossessing their land. Banks themselves were collapsing and all of it was worse if you were black. America was still a highly racist and segregated society. The American Dream was dead. Poverty and starvation stalked California and other stricken states. Migrants were worst of, there were no unions to protect workers, the bosses held on to their own wealth. The rich stayed rich and the poor stayed poor. There was no more unclaimed land, striking gold was extremely rare and wages were so low no one could afford to save any of their money. Many people in society didn’t have jobs – there was a 30% unemployment rate. Everyone was suffering and everyone just wanted to have a better quality of life. The whole world was a mess. The depression affected Europe economically too. And politically, Europe was slowly descending into chaos, especially because of the rise in fascism in Germany, Italy and Spain. In 1937, when Steinbeck wrote ‘Mice and Men’ civil war broke out in Spain in an attempt to suppress fascism. The Nazis were in power in Germany and becoming increasingly repressive, world war two was not far off. Although Steinbeck’s novel isn’t about any of these things specifically, in a world filling with chaos and economic depression, here was story that almost everyone could identify with. So unsurprisingly it sold, and sold, and sold†¦ Lennie is a huge grown man, but he is also very childlike. He is a brilliant farm labourer because he is a powerful man with huge hands. He may grown up physically but he hasn’t grown up mentally, as Slim says, ‘he’s jes like a kid.’ Lennie is innocent, and doesn’t really know how to behave; he asks a lot of innocent questions. Slim says he can see immediately that Lennie ‘ain’t mean’. Lennie does not seem interested in other people, apart from beautiful women. He takes orders from George, and he can also take orders from Slim about petting his new puppy. It is clear that Lennie doesn’t want to disobey anyone or do anything wrong. He takes orders and can slave away, like a machine. He is a very useful person for George to have teamed up with, because he’ll earn loads of cash. Curley’s wife calls Lennie a ‘dumdum’. Earlier, Slim says he seems a bit of a ‘cuckoo’- ‘crazy’. But George quickly denies it- Lennie is very slow but he’s not insane. However, when we see what Lennie does during the course of the novel, you begin to wonder. He is subject to violent fits and may be mentally ill, but these things weren’t properly diagnosed back then. Lennie identifies with animals; he looks like a bear, and walks like one – ‘he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.’ He also eats and drinks like a hungry animal. He slavers and drools over beautiful women (e.g. Curley’s wife). It seems like he can’t control some of his animal instincts. Since childhood he has befriended animals before people – and it has to be cuddly animals. His Aunt Clara used to give him mice to play with. He is stubborn and very possessive over his animals, for example, over his mice, his puppy and his dream of tending his own rabbits. He never wants to let the animals we see him with out of his sight. But he is not very good at deceiving George – he knows whenever Lennie’s got one hidden in his coat or in his pocket. Lennie is always on the lookout for a pet, a mouse, a rabbit, a puppy or maybe a ‘purty’ woman. Lennie loves tame and friendly animals, that’s mostly what he is himself, tame and friendly. The mother of his new brown and white pup allows him to handle the others -‘she don’t care. She lets me.’ Animals seem unusually comfortable and unthreatened by him. However, there is another side to this obsession with animals. He’s also got a male animal’s sex drive. This expresses itself in his desire to stroke soft things, the lady in Weeds dress and Curley’s wife hair, for example. This seems sexual, but Lennie’s not mature enough to understand it. In both cases, whatever the motivation, the consequences were very bad. Lennie is dependent on George in both body and mind. George has virtually adopted him after Aunt Clara died. Lennie couldn’t survive on his own. He has none of the independence or practical skills of most adults. He wouldn’t be able to sort out food and shelter for himself. This is despite his repeated offer of going of on his own and living in a cave. In some ways he is animal-like but he probably wouldn’t survive a week out in the wild. George is the only person to stimulate Lennie’s mind, filling it with the dream of owning and farming their own land. Lennie is, in a way, addicted to this vision – pleading with George to tell him about it whenever he gets the chance. He gets himself into scrapes and he needs George to tell him about it whenever he gets the chance. He gets himself into scrapes and he needs George to get him out of them – like with Curley. He’d probably have been lynched or locked up years ago if George hadn’t stepped in. George is his parent, his brother, his guardian and his friend. He always there for him. George knows Lennie inside out. Lennie can’t keep secrets from him, like hiding mice in his pockets. Perhaps this isn’t surprising; Lennie has been with him for a long time, he has been independent on him for a long time. Lennie does however, give something in return, he is a good worker, he can do the work of two men. This is very useful for George. It helps them get and keep work, until Lennie mucks it all up. Lennie is also a killer. This is one of the key things in the whole novel. The gentlest man is also the most destructive. He is dangerous, and a violent killer. He attacks Curley, Curley’s wife, kills mice and throws his pup onto the barn floor in anger. He is not intentionally malicious. He doesn’t want to cause pain, when he fights Curley he’s actually encouraged by George: ‘Get ‘im Lennie!’ Lennie actually says afterwards he ‘didn’t wanta hurt him.’ Lennie has little self-restraint. He does everything in extremes. He’s liable to panic when someone else does, with Curley’ wife. In these panic attacks things tend to happen too suddenly, one minute he’s stroking Curley’s wife’s hair, the next he’s broken her neck. And even George can’t get him to stop crushing Curley’s hand. This is the tragedy of Lennie’s life; friendliness turns to aggression. As George says he ‘don’t know no rules’. But Lennie’s aggression is innocent, what’s what makes it different from the others’. Like others on the farm, Lennie is doomed to failure. Although his frequent violence is often unintended it still gets into trouble. For example, holding that girls dress in Weed, squashing mice and the puppy, and killing Curley’s wife. According to George Lennie is not malicious but he ‘don’t know no rules. But Lennie has sudden fits of anger, like when he hurled the puppy across the barn and he killed it. This suggests Lennie is not quite as innocent and blameless as George says he is. People pick on Lennie because he is stupid. Curley picks on him from the moment they meet. As does the boss, Curley’s wife and Crooks. His stupidity gets in him constant trouble. Because he can’t think for himself, he lives by his senses. That’s partly where the stroking comes in. he knows it feels nice, he doesn’t wonder why, he just does it. In the novel names are often symbolic. Steinbeck uses names to drop hints about the characters. Lennie’s surname is Small. Carlson makes a joke about it. But although he is huge height-wise, Lennie is fairly small in the brains department, so in a way it is not so ironic. Lennie is a complex, contradictory character. He is a large stupid, violent, strong, childish man who is very animal like. He always travels with George, he may be big and strong but it is very clear he is very slow. His main dream in life is to ‘tend the rabbits’ and ‘live off the fatta the lan’.

Bringing Home Adam Essay

Adam Walsh in his book â€Å"Bringing Adam Home† conveys different important information concerning people and the society they dwell. This book is based on Mathew Joe’s experience in his investigation for the murder and abduction. The book suddenly reveals the cases of abduction and murder that the world at large gets to be no longer innocent wit. Bring Adam Home is a definitive story about a six year old Adam Walsh who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered in 1981. It explains how Adam stopped by the local store to get some new lamps. He was captivated by a video game at the entrance of the store and begged his mother, Reve, to allow him try it out while she shopped. However, his mother never found him when she returned a few minutes later. His body was later found mutilated in a drainage canal. The book details the botched investigations conducted by the police that prevented discovery of the killer for nearly twenty seven years. The book is one of the finest true-crime stories that can be related to Thomas Thompson’s Blood and Money of 1976. Les Standiford is the author of the story that exposes notoriety of the case. He has authored other nonfiction books and novels such as The Man Who Invented Christmas that was released in 2008. Bring Adam Home tells the story of the young boy’s abduction with the help of detective Joe Matthews, who eventually solved the case. The detective was working for John Walsh’s TV show, America’s Most Wanted, while investigating the case. The book gives a meticulous recount of the events leading up to the kidnapping of Adam from a Sears store at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida. It illustrates the unsuccessful search for the missing boy leading to the subsequent location of his severed head bobbing in a canal miles away. The shock of Adam’s abduction and murder, as well as failure by the police to find the killer, was the most consequential in American history. Efforts of the parents of the young boy, John and Reve Walsh, revolutionized the justice system on crimes involving missing and murdered children. It influenced the way local, state and federal authorities investigate such cases. During the time of Adam’s abduction and murder, there were no Amber Alerts and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was nonexistent. In addition, the federal government did not have the pedophile registry or a database for crimes against children. It was a time when children received little attention as they played outside all day. Before his abduction, Adam was playing video game in a departmental store. The report of Adam’s abduction and eventual death led to investigations conducted by detectives from Hollywood Police Department. Detective Matthews joined the investigation team from Miami Beach Police department. Two years after the death of the boy, an illiterate arsonist, Ottis Toole, admitted to kidnapping and killing Adam. The police got this revelation during questioning about several unresolved murders. Toole was later convicted as a serial killer, but Adam’s case was not included among the crimes he had committed. There was a time Toole recanted his confession. However, he admitted to committing the crime several times later. In his confession, Toole explained that he took Adam to raise him as his own child. He only killed him when he found out that Adam could identify him. There are several reasons that resulted in failure by the police to issue charges against Ottis Toole. More prominently, the police failed in their work in correctly documenting the findings. This led to their eventual failure in the gathering of the physical evidence. Therefore, a warrant of arrest was never issued against Ottis Toole leading to dismissal of his confession. Several other facts clearly demonstrated that Toole was the culprit. Firstly, he was the only person who gave twenty five independent confessions connecting him to the crime. Secondly, Toole had detailed information concerning the crime scene that would only be known by the killer. Thirdly, scores of eyewitnesses identified Toole as the killer. The book outlines the tireless work done by the bereaved parents in search for justice on behalf of other missing children. The main attraction of the book is the investigation of the Hollywood Police Department that exposes the bulging of the investigators that had previously worked on the case. Standiford and Matthews carefully builds the case against the police. They provide details that contain numerous leads that were disregarded during the initial investigation. These included some obvious questions that were never asked, a number of crucial witnesses that were ignored, and details concerning incomplete or falsified reports. In addition, the fresh investigation of the investigators exposed evidence that was never examined and a number of vital evidence that got lost. The book exposes the most damning revelation concerning ignorance of the Hollywood police on repeated confessions by a serial killer. The killer had detailed information concerning the crime that was never made public. However, he was never tried for the crime despite confessing to the boy’s murder. The author does not bend facts to show his artistic skills. He details factual information and is not self-consciously literary. The spilling of the narrative follows a matter-of-fact style. This is an excellent choice for a narrative laced with so much mistrust, heartbreak, perversion, and gore. The authors also exposed names of several people that were never mentioned in the initial investigation. The authors recount how detective Matthews was, on numerous occasions, stonewalled by other detectives and superiors from the Hollywood police department. This occurred when he was on loan from Miami Beach Police department as a detective to assist in investigating the case. He was further frustrated when he accepted to assist the desperate parents in investigating the case afresh. It seems the Hollywood detectives and their superiors had ulterior motives of frustrating the cause of justice for the case. Moreover, the disappearance of the boy had attracted national attention with the media being at the fore front. Joe Matthews was a topnotch homicide detective who was entrusted the responsibility of unraveling who had killed the boy. However, his concerns on disorganization witnessed at the station handling the case went ignored. There was a time he was excused from the case after suffering a nasty road accident. The case was further groped by new revelations on shotgun accusations and lack of any tangible leads. This was until Ottis Toole, a convicted serial killer admitted to the murder. The investigations dragged for two decades before Matthews got access to all information on the case files. On scrutinizing the information, the detective found out what he had long suspected. The case files showed that there had been sufficient evidence to prosecute the killer of the young boy. Unfortunately, the said killer, Ottis Toole, had died in prison in 1996. He died of liver failure at the age of forty nine. He had confessed earlier to the killings and other grisly crimes. It was hurting for a country that has arguably the best justice system to allow the grieving parents of a murdered child to lead investigations that would culminate to the deserved justice. One may wonder why the case took that long without finding justice. There are several reasons that may have jeopardized the quality of investigations into convicting the actual culprit. During the time period when the crime occurred, DNA forensic technology was still rudimental. This could have been the reason why Toole was not charged for the murder despite loads of evidence linking him to the crime scene. The Hollywood Police Department was highly respected at the time of the crime. Failure by the department to effectively solve Adam’s case may have been caused by assigning wrong detectives to work on the case. The lead investigator failed to perform his duty as the investigation was marred with claims of laxity and lack of proper supervision. The assigned leader of the investigation team was very territorial. This is evidenced by his refusal to consider inputs made by other detectives, especially Joe Matthews. The case would have been closed twenty five years earlier had he put into consideration all the findings. Though nothing could have been done to prevent the abduction, the lead investigator should have solved the Adam Walsh case at the time it occurred. Adam’s father, John, later became a steadfast advocate for missing and exploited children. He was the host of America’s Most Wanted. Through his program, he championed for the transformation of law enforcement on matters pertaining to handling similar cases. The activism of the Adam’s father influenced Congress to pass the Missing Children Act in 1982. Two years later, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was launched. John reunited with Joe Matthews, the decorated Miami Beach homicide detective, after twenty five years of Adam’s death. It was in February, 2006, when the parents requested the detective to re-investigate the case involving their son. The investigator, armed with an arsenal of forensic tools and heartfelt intent, reopened the case and went through all the case files that contained all information pertaining to the initial investigation. After two years and nine months, Joe Matthews emerged with a 10,000 page report that exposed evidence that was never recorded or looked at by the original investigators. The findings had enough evidence to indict Ottis Toole with the abduction and murder. Bring Adam Home is an account of a crime that captured public attention. It is a story of dedication, tragedy, love, and faith. The author reveals the pain and persistence of a family determined to find justice. It reveals how police failed in their work and allowed a criminal remain without being indicted. The story shows how a determined police officer was capable of accomplishing what an entire legal system failed to achieve. It is a testimony of love shown by distraught parents who took up the cause of finding justice over twenty five years after the death of their son. Their struggle and that of detective Matthews has helped the nation develop programs dealing with the exploitation of missing children. Moreover, Adam’s abduction and death has had an impact on how mothers watch over their children. The themes in the book is much convincing in that, it has a lot of elements of brutality in the form of thriller. But it gets concern most on the unsympathetic characters as the lead officer could term. Also, it was portrayed as bumbling brute which was much discouraging. However, the book is made more attractive when Matthews’s works of detectives get started almost in the middle of the book. This also makes the author to recount in great details. For instance Toole confesses for the various ways of killings he made in his life and the tough readings of parents. The book is much unique in to the fact that, it confronts the readers through various horrifying natures of the world relating to the crime situations that comes to pass. However, with the clear and thorough understanding of the book, it reveals why the investigations took long in solving the crime and also where the investigation horribly went off target. Readers also come to admire the determinations of Walshe’s and Mathews for not giving up at an early stage until when the book comes to an end. The book is not so much perfect to some extend. This is evident when the police officer reports of the author’s quotes and even some of the information found in it, seem nauseam. After clearing the book, well, the tone is better placed. However since that period; 1981, there have been many rumors and doubts about the murder of Adam Walsh. The book leaves the reader in full world of doubt about the perpetration of the investigated crime. The book also puts the reader in a bad mood in that it disturbs the mind set of a person. The book is much graphic in its illustrations on what befallen the poor Adam. It imposes too much information on the person who was suspected to be behind the murder which is much uncalled for. For instance, if the story was about how the US handles cases of child abduction, it would stick on the issue other than giving more details of different murder, rape and other horrified acts which happened long time ago.