A dry January afternoon heated the milk pan in a nearby tea stall. Its owner, an old man in his sixties, looked on at the woman walking by with his lips pressed to the stained tea glass. She was barely five feet and had a sea shell in her leather purse tucked on her left hip. Her hair resembled stiff analogue signals, and her tiny feet called to mind two silent bells constantly in a battle. The city council had declared a holiday due to the scorching heat waves that were being carried from the…
The Starfish and the Spider – Book Report Stephen J. Reen Indiana University – Purdue University Columbus The Starfish and the Spider – Book Report In 2006, Brafman and Beckstrom set out to answer a question: “What do an encyclopedia, a piece of software, a phone company, classified ads, and naked people in the Nevada desert have in common?” (p. 59). Their resulting book, “The Starfish and the Spider”, describes how Wikipedia, Napster, Skype, Craigslist.com and the annual Nevada party/utopia…
When putting a frog in a pot with boiling water in it, the frog will jump out of the pot immediately. However, when it was put in a pot of cold water and the pot was slowly heated, the frog would be boiled alive and die in the pot. However, this story is proved not true recently. According to Fast Company (2006), J. Debra Hofman did a new examination of the boiling frogs. “We placed Frog A into a pot of cold water and applied moderate heat. At 4.20 seconds, it safely exited the pot with a leap…
Another striking factor embedded within the novel which contributes to the memorability of the novel is its fascinating language. A fairytale should be happy however, Yolen uses it as an allegory for the Holocaust. According to tradition, a fairytale by nature is didactic or moralistic; 'Briar Rise' does so on both an internal and external level. It teaches children that good will triumph over evil. There is much use of the traditional and original fairytale terms throughout the novel for…
“John Stuart Mill and Liberty” John Stuart Mill was one of the leading philosophers in the Victorian Age of England. Mill believed in Liberalism where society was best served by the maximum number of people being free with minimal government. He was born into a comfortable home in London in 1806 in a time when the Industrial Revolution was transforming England. Mill had no formal education and practiced no religion but was was schooled at home in order to become a perfect utilitarian. This…
As Iliffe notes, the majority of early twentieth-century Africans saw their immediate local area as the ‘relevant political arena’; this kind of localised attitude made the development of nationalism challenging to say the least. Cultural and linguistic divisions within ‘territories’ arguably made forming people into one united nation a highly complex task; as Bill Freund explores, the nationalist guerrilla campaigns such as those co-ordinated by the Land Freedom Army in Kenya were weakened by a…
This short story tells the tale of a young woman Miss Helen Stoner who fears for her life after hearing suspicious noises in her bedroom as these sounds also occurred before the death of her eldest sister, having a suspicion that it is her stepfather, Miss Stoner then goes to Sherlock Holmes for help. This short story is set in a crumbling, secluded manor house in the country a setting that fits in perfectly with the Gothic Genre. This mansion is described using negative adjectives as a “family…
of pain and disappointment from Mr. Kapasi out of the objective writing style. Both texts refer to similar emotions in different ways through the use of metaphors in “Araby” and details in “Maladies.” “Interpreter of Maladies” and “Araby” are two short stories that showcase two very distinct styles of writing. The two authors, Joyce and Lahiri, use various techniques ranging from the use of metaphors…
This device is perhaps one of the most primitive forms of the guillotine seen in the revolution. The maiden, along with the Halifax gibbet, a similar invention, gradually gained popularity, being used in places such as Italy and Switzerland during the 15th century. However, it was not until the 1700's that these machines were altered and improved to become the modern guillotine. Named for Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French doctor and member of the Revolutionary National Assembly, he believed that…
12) One of my group members, Rashmi, seemed to think Gabriel was simply being modest and polite. I however find his statement to be pompous and arrogant. It is quite obvious he thinks rather highly of himself. He knows he is smarter than his audience. He wants them to think that he is so humble when he is actually the opposite. Her perspective makes me contemplate whether Gabriel was ever considerate of others. Did he really care about their feelings? Is that why he made the statement? Some of…