Veronika Decides To Die :: essays research papers

The book is about a lonely young man, Frederick Clegg, who working as a clerk in a city hall, and collects butterflies in his free time. The first part of the novel tells the story from his point of view. Frederick is attracted to Miranda Grey, an art student who he thinks is very beautiful. He admires her from a distance, but is unable to make whatsoever contact with her because of his weak social skills. One day, he wins a freehanded prize in the pools. This makes it possible for him to pulley working and buy an isolated house in the countryside. He feels lonely however, and wants to be with Miranda. Unable to make any normal contact, Frederick decides to add her to his collection. After careful preparations, he kidnaps Miranda using chloroform and locks her up in the cellar of his house. He is convinced that the girl will gelt to love him after some time. However, when she wakes up, Miranda confronts him with his actions. Frederick is embarrassed, and promises to let her go after a month.The second part of the novel is narrated by Miranda in the form of fragments from a journal that she keeps during her captivity. She is scared by Frederick, and does not understand him in the beginning. At first she thinks that he has sexual motives for abducting her, but this turns out not to be true. She starts to choose some pity for her captor, comparing him to Caliban in Shakespeares play The Tempest because of his hopeless love for her and his deformed way of thinking. She tries to escape several times, but Frederick is able to stop her every time. She also tries to seduce him in order to convince him to let her go. The only result is that he becomes confused and leaves the room. When Frederick keeps refusing to let her go, she starts to fantasize about cleanup him.

Donald Davidsons What Metaphors Mean Essay -- Writing Literary Essays

Donald Davidsons What Metaphors MeanOur material understandings of a word are parallel in constant opposition with one another, twins in constant competition to receive the most love from their mother and father. Let us pretend the parents are the literary community that demonstrates love ofttimes by showing a preference for one of their twins. Donald Davidsons theory expressed in What Metaphors Mean is a tragic, intellectual miscarriage it is a theory of phrase that brings forth a stillborn child, a dead metaphor.Do you see the candle there in the window? What does it mean to you, and is your understanding of its ordinary essence, its literal meaning, identical to mine? Davidson assumes we both clearly know and agree upon its literal meaning, that it is literally a cylindrical mass of tallow or wax with a taper through its center, which gives light when burned. Contrarily, however, I believe our understandings of a simple word like candle often file for divorce because they canno t resist the semantic come-on of what I metaphorically call literal-meaning infidelity. Metaphorical meaning is a sex object for literal meaning, and the mind of a creative artist, a lover of humanities and poetry, is incapable of not pursing this with passion unleashed via creative language-libido. This kind of person has a mind fundamentally opposed to the Davidsonesque mind, a mind that is constantly discovering (if he reads a book of prose or poetry) and inventing (if he writes with a pen in his hand) the metaphorical connection with lust filled eyes.The above literal, dictionary definition of candle is not the first definition that enters my mind, I am afraid, and thus how can there only exist a literal surface meaning inside... ...rn to a suppose of mind that only acknowledges objective, literal meanings in words, denying language its lifelike tendency of allowing meanings to evolve and expand. It is imperative for us, especially all poets and writers of prose that use la nguage to express nonliteral meaning, to critique this theory because it only decreases creativity and denies that artist say anything beyond the literal with their words and metaphors. Davidsons ideas violently affront to the purpose of our craft. If we become completely dependent upon objective, literal meaning and learn to reject subjective, figurative meaning in words, we will consequently become less human and more detached from the world, from our natural surroundings, from our fellow human beings, and from the spontaneous, creative voices deep in our guts that often speak of truths literal expression cannot capture.

The Economic Impact Of The Olympic Games Essay -- Olympics Economy

The Economic Impact of the Olympic GamesMissing GraphsWith the Olympic games being held in Sydney this year, I wondered if perhaps the performance of the economy was being affected in part by the fiscal stimulus provided by Olympic construction in Sydney and other parts of the country. Australias economy has been performing well recently, suggesting that at that place might be some effect. Over the last five years, growth in Australias gross domestic product has averaged 4.35%, almost a affluent point above its thirty year annual average of 3.5%, and the unemployment rate is near a ten year low. According to one estimate, the Olympics entrust tack on an additional six and a half billion dollars, about 1.6% of the GDP, to Australias GDP over the 1994-2000 period. A natural question to anticipate is if this growth is due primarily to the Olympic preparation, or if, instead, it is a result of some other change in policy, or perhaps just observable old luck.One way to address this q uestion is to see if other host countries have experienced increases in GDP around Olympic years. on a lower floor is a graph of one measure of the boost to GDP that countries receive from hosting the Olympics. Each point represents the average, over all of the host countries since 1952, rate of growth of GDP. What this graph suggests is that prior to the Olympics and during the Olympic year GDP growth is higher than average - maxing out at nearly 1.5% above average GDP in the tertiary year before the Olympics. This number seems consistent with the estimates for Sydney - at least prior to the Olympic year. However, the graph also suggests that growth rates are lower in the years after the Olympics, than in the years prior to the games. The economic benefits of the 2000 Olympics can be classified as direct and indirect. Direct benefits include the impact of the Olympics on exports, investment and employment. In terms of exports, the main impact will be inbound tourism, sponsorship fees, media broadcast rights, and ticket sales. The staging of the Olympics will encourage more(prenominal) external tourists to visit Australia. Sponsorship fees received from international sources were strong leading up to the Olympics and according to the let Bank of Australia (RBA), broadcast rights, approximately one billion dollars in value, were record as exports in September quarter 2000. Ticket sale sold to overseas visitors,... ...tself. Importantly, the benefits will continue well into the new millennium as Australia gets more international exposure for its exports and gains from the transfer of technology and knowledge from the worlds best. Opportunity beckons for the athletes, for exporters, for artists, for scientists and for the whole Australian community.BibliographyArthur Anderson / CREA (1999) Economic Impact Study of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. January 1999. Arthur Anderson and the midriff for Regional Economic Analysis, University of Tasmania. Dabkowski, S and Ketchell, M (1999) Olympic Dream May Not Deliver Riches. The Melbourne Age.Gittins R (1999) Swifter Higher Richer? Sadly Not With Our Games. May 8 1999, Sydney Morning Herald.Mules,T The Economic Impact of Special Events . Griffith University, Gold Coast Queensland.Olympic Co-ordination Authortiy (OCA) (1999) State of Play A Report to the People of New South Wales June 1999, OCA, Sydney.Reserve Bank of Australia (1999) The Economic Effects of Staging the Olympic Games Semi-Annual Statement of Monetary Policy, May 1999, Reserve Bank, Sydney.

SEINFELD :: essays research papers

SEINFELD THE UNTOLD STORY end-to-end Seinfelds eight-season stint on network television the show and its creators have stereotyped everything from young Puerto Rican boys to Jewish Priests. The main stereotype of this sit-com is the very florid portrayal of the generational age groups of the characters. The main characters represent the beginning of the times X culture. The parents and relatives of Jerry Seinfeld and that of George Costanza present the presence of the members of the Silent or GI generation. Throughout the television serial publication we have seen the elderly as stereotypically helpless individuals with little or no purpose. The characters Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes, and Cosmo Kramer, represent the Generation X culture. These half-witted characters are a great deal unreliable and uncaring about the society they live in. These characters often care about nothing more about life outside their own. The stereotype of these characters and the success of this very popular television show have contributed to the medias wide usage of stereotyping generations. The article, My Inner Shrimp, can be directly correlated to Georges eccentric ego trips with his problems with shortness, unemployment, and baldness. Georges character is often portrayed as a very loud, very rambunctious person who is often seeking to be on top.Elderly Helpless or NotThroughout the series we have seen the elderly characters of Seinfeld often being absent minded, senile, and often helpless. Jerrys parents upon retirement moved to the sunny state of Florida to bask in their retirement. This proves to be a very common nomenclature among senior citizens. Throughout the nation many retired citizens have been moving eagerly across the country spending their hard clear money and moving to much more appealing climates. Throughout the show Jerrys parents often try to impose money upon him even though he never request any money from his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Seinfeld often believe that Jerry is living a life of poverty and that he lives a very inadequate life. Throughout our nation the elderly have often saved and saved countless dollars so that they may have a better life and provide their children with the regimen they need to live a very adequate life. Mr. and Mrs. Costanza are often portrayed as very senile individuals. Georges parents often tend to magnify things outside the spectrum they should really include. One certain episode can attribute to there senility. During the Seinfelds visit of New York to see their son Jerry, the Costanzas graciously ask the Seinfelds to accompany them to dinner at their home.

The Alamo Essay -- History Texas Essays

The AlamoTo the people of Texas and every Americans in the World I shall neer surrender or retreat ... I Am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a spend who never forgets what it is due to his honor and that of his country-VICTORY OR DEATH. This was a letter sent by William Barret Travis during the siege of the Alamo on February 24, 1836. It was a cry for help to everybody and everybody willing to listen. It all started in 1830 with Stephen Austin, a leader of American pioneers in the wild, living in Texas, under the rule of the Mexican government, who had solved two major problems that the settlers had with the government. The colonist were right off allowed to keep slaves in Texas, even though no other areas under Mexican rule owned slaves, and the second was the government made sure that Texans would be protected by the Mexican government from suits to collect debts that they had contracted in the United States before their immigration to Texas. All ov er the South were signs on dash stations homes saying Gone to Texas were they did not have to pay off their debts .Austin and his followers were very hot tempered and ready to start up with any government that they disliked. They soon found a chance to stir up trouble under the changeable Mexican rule. Mexican authorities began to worry that as well as many Americans were coming into their country. About thirty thousand settlers came to Texas in a ten-year span after Austin had established his settlement. The Mexican government under the urging of President Bustamante made harsh laws against arrival of new immigrants into Texas in 1830. Trade was also restricted with America. All borders were closed to newcomers but the Louisiana border could not be patrolled and settlers continued to arrive in Texas. American settlers were put into jail for the ruckus they caused due to these new laws, among them was Stephen Austin. On July 1833 Austin traveled to Mexico City to produce the ca use of the colonists. The colonists wanted to obtain full Mexican statehood and have total control over themselves. Mexican officials would not listen to the Texans. On his way home Austin was arrested for treason on January 3, 1834. The government had intercepted a letter from Austin that said that if his appeal had failed the Texans should establish themselves as a separate state of Mexico. He was j... ...their might charging at the enemy screaming Remember the Alamo. Their incentive in winning was the one hundred and eighty deaths at the Alamo. This inner strength that they obtained from the shoot down at the Alamo helped the others defeat the Mexicans and finally win their freedom from the yolk of the Mexican government and eventually being accepted as the twenty-eighth state in the United States of America. But the acceptance would not come easily. They had problems being accepted due to the fact that the ownership of slaves was considered all right in Texas but the northwe stern did not want to accept more slave states. Eventually on February 19, 1846 they were accepted as a state. I never really knew what it was before this and was ever so wondering why it was such an important event in Texan history. The one thing that confuses me is why the State of Texas would choose a war that they were completely destroyed in as an event that is considered greater than most other events throughout Texan history. But for one thing I truly love Travis and his followers for fighting to the death like heroes in order to establish freedom and their rights they believed that in all truth deserved.

The Alamo Essay -- History Texas Essays

The AlamoTo the people of Texas and all Americans in the World I shall never surrender or hideout ... I Am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what it is due to his revere and that of his country-VICTORY OR DEATH. This was a letter sent by William Barret Travis during the siege of the Alamo on February 24, 1836. It was a cry for help to anybody and everybody willing to listen. It all started in 1830 with Stephen Austin, a draw of American pioneers in the wild, living in Texas, under the rule of the Mexican government, who had solved two major problems that the settlers had with the government. The colonist were now allowed to keep slaves in Texas, unconstipated though no other areas under Mexican rule owned slaves, and the second was the government made sure that Texans would be protected by the Mexican government from suits to collect debts that they had contracted in the United States before their immigration to Texas. All o ver the South were signs on bankrupt homes homes saying Gone to Texas were they did non have to pay off their debts .Austin and his followers were very hot tempered and ready to start up with any government that they disliked. They soon prove a chance to stir up trouble under the changeable Mexican rule. Mexican authorities began to worry that too many Americans were coming into their country. to the highest degree thirty thousand settlers came to Texas in a ten-year span after Austin had established his settlement. The Mexican government under the urging of President Bustamante made sour laws against arrival of new immigrants into Texas in 1830. Trade was also restricted with America. All borders were closed to newcomers but the Louisiana border could not be patrolled and settlers continued to beat in Texas. American settlers were put into jail for the ruckus they caused due to these new laws, among them was Stephen Austin. On July 1833 Austin traveled to Mexico City to plead the cause of the colonists. The colonists wanted to witness full Mexican statehood and have total control over themselves. Mexican officials would not listen to the Texans. On his way home Austin was arrested for treason on January 3, 1834. The government had intercepted a letter from Austin that said that if his appeal had failed the Texans should establish themselves as a separate state of Mexico. He was j... ...their might charging at the foe screaming Remember the Alamo. Their incentive in winning was the one hundred and eighty oddments at the Alamo. This inner strength that they obtained from the defeat at the Alamo helped the others defeat the Mexicans and in the end win their freedom from the yolk of the Mexican government and eventually being simulateed as the twenty-eighth state in the United States of America. But the credence would not come easily. They had problems being accepted due to the fact that the ownership of slaves was considered all right in Texas but t he North did not want to accept more slave states. Eventually on February 19, 1846 they were accepted as a state. I never really knew what it was before this and was always wondering why it was such an important event in Texan history. The one thing that confuses me is why the State of Texas would choose a war that they were totally destroyed in as an event that is considered greater than most other events throughout Texan history. But for one thing I truly admire Travis and his followers for fighting to the death like heroes in order to establish freedom and their rights they believed that in all truth deserved.