Descriptive Essay The Cobalt Sky - 1515 Words

The cobalt sky was patchy with cirrus clouds that looked as though they’d been painted on with a dry roller. Standing on the soft shoulder with an outstretched thumb and a trust-me-I’m-friendly smile, I felt my exposed skin flushing Popsicle pink beneath the Mexican sun (which is also the Canadian sun, the Namibian sun and even the Venusian sun). When the Ford F-series pickup trundled to a stop, Matt and I swung first our backpacks, then ourselves, into the truck bed and tapped the side of the vehicle. â€Å"Vamos!† Suddenly the heat was abandoned alongside the dusty Pemex station, swapped for the cool rush of highway air that accompanied us the rest of the way to Mexico City. It was a terrific morning by hitchhiking standards, and on any other day I would have reclined against the wheel hump with my feet propped up on the spare tire, basking in the joy of life. But that day, anxiety turned my stomach like a bad burrito. I had backpacked through Latin America before and while I’d eagerly snorkelled with sharks in Belize and tobogganed down a volcano in Nicaragua (they clocked me going 46 kilometres per hour), I had vetoed a trip to Mexico City on the grounds of it being much too frightening a place. Hugging my knees as I leaned against the hatch, I now imagined cartel members on every corner, shooting at one another from behind tethered burros and taco vendors. I wondered what it would feel like to have the barrel of a handgun pressed against my spine as I was shoved into anShow MoreRelatedPhoto Descriptive Essay484 Words   |  2 PagesTime Photo Descriptive Essay The sweeping vista stretches out before me, offering a delightful study in contrasts, mountain, lake, sky, and desert, a feast for the eyes and soul. Not just the stark beauty, I feel the serenity and isolation of this place. Time seems frozen as I look out over this sun-drenched panorama that stretches for miles. My perch atop the sand dunes is nearly perfect for drinking it all in. The tranquility is almost palpable, like a hug. This impression is heightened by the

Siren Song Free Essays

In â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey† and â€Å"Siren Song† both show the weaknesses of human beings. Also it reveals humans find something so enticing that they are incapable of withstanding it. In â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey† Homer creates an illusion that the sirens are dangerous creatures, unlike Atwood’s poem, â€Å"Siren Song. We will write a custom essay sample on Siren Song or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Atwood’s poem however shows a desperation coming from the sirens. In â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey† the poem is told from Odysseus point of view. He portrays the Sirens as mysterious and luring.Circes advises Odysseus that the Sirens â€Å"spellbind any man alive, whoever comes their way. † Gaining this knowledge, Odysseus made his sailors plug their ears with beeswax so they would avoid hearing the thrilling songs of the Sirens. Odysseus was determined to hear the beautiful songs of the Sirens, even though he was aware of the consequences. This reveals mans selfishness by having Odysseus do whatever it takes to hear the song. Odysseus orders his men to tie him down on the mast to ensure his survival.Odysseus hears the Siren’s song and starts to react to it, his men â€Å"flung themselves to the oars† and â€Å"sprung up at once to bind him faster with ropes. † This shows how inciting the sirens were to men. In â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey† a man’s perceptive is shown, and describes how temptation will always be a part of life. Unlike â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey†, Atwood’s poem â€Å"Siren Song† is told from the Sirens point of view. The sirens are portrayed as irresistible creatures that cause men to completely lose all self control.One of the Sirens states â€Å"I don’t enjoy it here,† in â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey† all the sirens seem to be fond of singing their admirable songs. In Atwood’s poem a Siren is begging for help; â€Å"Help me, only you can. † Unfortunately no one can help because once the music of the Sirens touches the ear; they succumb to the power of the Sirens. The Sirens have a certain desperation to be set free from their unpleasant life on the island. â€Å"Will you get me out of this bird suit? † shows that the Sirens in Atwood’s poem have identities, opposite of â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey†.There is no information in The Odyssey that infers that the sirens have an identity. In both poems the Sirens voices show an irresistible lure to men. The reasons that the Sirens sings differ from each poem. In† Homer’s Odyssey,† Odysseus feels like they are targeting him, however in Atwood’s poem the Sirens are simply singing for themselves. The Sirens seem sympatric to the men who jump overboard, yet unable to stop themselves from calling the men to their island.The poems â€Å"Homer’s Odyssey† and â€Å"Siren Song† have many similarities in how the Sirens are portrayed but at the same time they differ in many different aspects of the poems. The â€Å"Sirens Song† Sirens use the men’s own natural curiosity to bring the men to them. The â€Å"Odyssey† Sirens use enchantment and the promise of passion to get the men to come. Either way, the Sirens reveal how tricky and clever they are with their magical songs. Nevertheless, the Sirens could just be trying to torment men for their own entertainment or they could be trying to reach out for help. How to cite Siren Song, Papers

Saturday Essays - 1159, , Term Papers, Research Papers

Saturday Saturday Saturday. The first day of the weekend, the first day of freedom at the end of every week at school. Saturday was always a day of great anticipation for me during my younger years. It signified not only the beginning of a weekend away from the rigours of Primary school and learning my times tables, but also my first real social experiences. Saturday was Club Day. At around the age of 8 or 9, my Mum decided that I needed to get out into the real world and get a taste of Saturday life, and all it had to offer. So, on the advice of my much older and wiser 10 year old cousin, I chose to join the local craft club. Each Saturday morning from that day onwards, I would join the 6 or 7 other girls in the hot, cramped Cathys Crafts store in Montmorency. For $7 a week I could paint pieces of wood shaped as teddies, or perhaps even stick some glitter on a nice picture for Mothers Day. Either way it served as a warning for the rest of my life that craft was definitely not my scene. Project after project, week in, week out, I came home bearing one more useless, awful testament to bad taste and craftsmanship. Mum would be gently supportive with kind words such as why dont you give this to Nana for Christmas? Or in other words I never want that hideous toilet roll cover in my house again. Dad wad not quite so understanding. My skills with the paintbrush were often criticised, as I had not used a polyglaze or a neutral undercoat or a size 12 brush. Although the $7 a week had produced some memories of gluing too many sequins on my photo frame, or never being able to paint flowers quite right, the time had come for me to give my craft club days away. Forever. And so it was that I found myself, hand glued to Mums, at the Little Athletics sign-up day. And so it was that I found myself being talked into being patriotic and signing up with the valiant Montmorency, who had never yet won a club championship and are likely to never achieve this coveted goal. My Saturdays had taken on a new light, a change of direction and an earlier morning wake-up. Every Saturday I would wake up early, in excited anticipation of the day ahead. Mum would check my schedule and inform me of the days events. If I was lucky, I would have The Walk, the 200 metres and Long Jump my best events. With deck chairs and thermos in tow, Mum would drive to Willinda Park in our old beat-up Holden Kingswood, and, despite my howls of protest, pull up right outside Montmorencys headquarters. It really was an old (embarrassing) Kingswood. The rest of the day would pass in a blur of events, icy poles and catching up on what was happening in my friends Lisa and Traceys lives. Usually we would compete against each other especially in The Walk. My pet event. I could do 11.07 mins into a head wind, pulling a tractor. I was Montmorencys little pocket rocket. In my mind, when it came to the walk, I was a star. Around 20 30 of us, just little under 10s, would line up on the starting line on the back straight of the track and nervously wait for the marshals to finally call us up for the start. Usually I needed to go the toilet. The thought of racing for so long was overwhelming at the time and more than a couple of girls would drop out before the race had begun. But I never gave up. I never lost sight of my goal. And that goal was, to beat Sarah Hicks. Sure, I wanted to win for myself. And my beloved Montmorency. But more than anything, I wanted to walk over that finish line ahead of Sarah, and turn around to see the look on her face as her Olympic dreams vanished into thin air. I wanted to see her crying to her Mum, and telling everyone that she wasnt even really trying, when everyone

Quotes From Controversial Book The Giver

Quotes From Controversial Book 'The Giver' The Giver is a middle-grade dystopian novel by Lois Lowry. Its about Jonas, who becomes the Receiver of Memories and then begins to understand the deepest secrets of his society. The book teaches a valuable lesson on the importance of individuality, emotions, and having a connection with others. It is often part of a middle school curriculum. On Aging Chapter 1 â€Å"After Twelve, age isnt important. Most of us even lose track of how old we are as time passes, though information is in the Hall of Open Records. Chapter 2 Whats important is the preparation for adult life, and the training youll receive in your Assignment. On Memories Chapter 23 It was not a grasping of thin and burdensome recollection; this was different. This was something that he could keep. It was a memory of his own.   Chapter 18 Memories are forever. Chapter 10 Simply stated, although its not really simple at all, my job is to transmit to you all the memories I have within me. Memories of the past. Chapter 17 With his new, heightened feelings, he was overwhelmed by sadness at the way the others had laughed and shouted, playing at war. But he knew that they could not understand why, without the memories. He felt such love for Asher and for Fiona. But they could not feel it back, without the memories. And he could not give them those. On Courage Chapter 8 You will be faced, now, with  pain  of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our experience. The Receiver himself was not able to describe it, only to remind us that you would be faced with it, that you would need immense courage. But when he looked out across the crowd, the sea of faces, the thing happened again. The thing that had happened with the apple. They changed. He blinked, and it was gone. His shoulder straightened slightly.  Briefly,  he felt a tiny sliver of sureness for the first time. On Fitting In Chapter 1 For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure. Chapter 3 No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule, but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals. Chapter 6 How could someone not fit in? The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made. Chapter 9 He was so completely, so thoroughly accustomed to courtesy within the community that the thought of asking another citizen an intimate question, of calling someones attention to an area of awkwardness, was unnerving. On Happiness and Satisfaction Chapter 11 Now he became aware of an entirely new sensation: pinpricks? No, because they were soft and without pain. Tiny, cold, feather-like feelings peppered his body and face. He put out his tongue again and caught one of the dots of cold upon it. It disappeared from his awareness instantly, but he caught another, and another. The sensation made him smile. He was free to enjoy the breathless glee that overwhelmed him: the speed, the clear cold air, the total silence, the feeling of balance and excitement and peace. Chapter 4 He liked the feeling of safety here in this warm and quiet room; he liked the expression of trust on the womans face as she lay in the water unprotected, exposed, and free. Chapter 13 They were satisfied with their lives, which had none of the  vibrance  his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them. Sometimes I wish theyd ask for my wisdom more often - there are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they dont want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable - so painless. Its what theyve chosen. Chapter 12 Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others. On Grief and Pain Chapter 13 Now he saw another elephant emerge from the place where it had stood hidden in the trees. Very slowly it walked to the mutilated body and looked down. With its sinuous trunk, it struck the huge corpse; then it reached up, broke some leafy branches with a snap, and draped them over the mass of torn thick flesh. Finally, it tilted its massive head, raised its trunk, and roared into the empty landscape. It was a sound of rage and grief and it seemed never to end. Chapter 14 The sled hit a bump in the hill and Jonas was jarred loose and thrown violently into the air. He fell with his leg twisted under  him and could hear the crack of bone. His face scraped along jagged edges of  ice...Then, the first wave of pain. He gasped. It was as if a hatchet lay lodged in his leg, slicing through each nerve with a hot blade. In his agony, he perceived the word fire and felt flames licking at the torn bone and flesh. Chapter 15 Dirt streaked the boys face and his matted blond hair. He lay sprawled, his gray uniform glistening with wet, fresh blood. The colors of the carnage were grotesquely bright: the crimson wetness on the rough and dusty fabric, the ripped shred of grass, startlingly green, in the boys yellow hair. Chapter 19 Jonas felt a ripping sensation inside himself, the feeling of terrible pain clawing its way forward to emerge in a cry. On Wonder Chapter 9 What if others - adults - had, upon becoming Twelves, received in their instructions the same terrifying sentence? What if they had all been instructed: You may lie? Chapter 12 Always in the dream, it seemed as if there were a destination: a something - he could not grasp what - that lay beyond the place where the thickness of snow brought the sled to a stop. He was left, upon awakening, with the feeling that he wanted, even somehow needed, to reach the something that waited in the distance. The feeling that it was good. That it was welcoming. That it was significant. But he did not know how to get there. Chapter 13 He wondered what lay in the far distance where he had never gone. The land didnt end beyond  those nearby communities. Were there hills Elsewhere? Were there vast wind-torn areas like the place he had seen in memory, the place where the elephants died? Chapter 14 Was there someone there, waiting, who would receive the tiny released twin? Would it grow up Elsewhere, not knowing, ever, that in this community lived a being who looked exactly the same? For a moment, he felt a tiny, fluttering hope that he knew was quite foolish. He hoped that it would be Larissa, waiting. Larissa, the  old woman  he had bathed. Jonas began to remember the wonderful sail that The Giver had given him not long before: a bright, breezy day on a clear turquoise lake, and above him the white sail of the boat billowing as he moved along in the brisk wind. Chapter 23 For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music, too. But perhaps, it was only an echo. On Choice, Change, and Consequences Chapter 20 Its the way they live. Its the life that was created for them. Its the same life that you would  have  if you had not been chosen as my successor. Chapter 7 He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself smaller in the seat. He wanted to disappear, to fade away, not to exist. He didnt dare to turn and find his parents in the crowd. He couldnt bear to see their faces darkened with shame. Jonas bowed his head and searched through his mind. What had he done wrong? Chapter 9 There was just a moment when things werent quite the same, werent quite as they had always been through the long friendship. Chapter 16 Things could change, Gabe. Things could be different. I dont know how, but there must be some way for things to be different. There could be colors. And grandparents. And everybody would have memories. You know about memories. Chapter 22 If he had stayed in the community, he would not be. It was as simple as that. Once he had yearned for choice. Then, when he has had a choice, he had made the wrong one: the choice to leave. And now he was starving.

The Sphinx in Greek and Egyptian Legend

The Sphinx in Greek and Egyptian Legend There are two creatures called a sphinx. One sphinx is an Egyptian desert statue of a hybrid creature. It has a leonine body and the head of another creature typically, human.The other type of sphinx is a Greek demon with a tail and wings. The 2 types of sphinx are similar because they are hybrids, having body parts from more than one animal. Mythological Sphinx and Oedipus Oedipus was made famous in modern times by Freud, who based a psychological condition on Oedipus love of his mother and murder of his father. Part of Oedipus ancient legend is that he saved the day when he answered the riddle of the sphinx, who had been ravaging the countryside. When Oedipus ran into the sphinx, she asked him a riddle she did not expect him to answer. Should he fail, she would eat him. She asked, What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 at noon, and 3 at night? Oedipus answered the sphinx, Man. And with that answer, Oedipus became king of Thebes. The sphinx responded by killing herself. Great Sphinx Statue in Egypt That may have been the end of the most famous, mythological sphinx, but there were other sphinxes in art and some of them still exist. The earliest is the sphinx statue made from the native bedrock in the desert sands at Giza, Egypt, a portrait thought to be of Pharaoh Khafre (fourth king of the 4th dynasty, c. 2575 - c. 2465 B.C.). This the Great Sphinx has a lion body with a human head. The sphinx may be a funerary monument to the pharaoh and of the god Horus in its aspect as ​Haurun-Harmakhis. Winged Sphinx The sphinx made its way to Asia where it gained wings. In Crete, the winged sphinx appears on artifacts from the 16th century B.C. Shortly thereafter, around the 15th century B.C., the sphinx statues became female. The sphinx is often depicted sitting on her haunches. Great SphinxThis InterOz site says sphinx means strangler, a name given the woman/lion/bird statue by the Greeks. Site tells about repair and reconstruction efforts.Guardians SphinxPhotographs and physical description of the Great Sphinx which is thought to have been commissioned by the Fourth Dynastys King Khafre.Saving the Secrets of the SandInterview and article on Dr. Zahi Hawass, director of the Sphinx Restoration Project, by Elizabeth Kaye McCall. See Recent Interviews for more information from Dr. Hawass.Remnants of a Lost Civilization?Zahi Hawass and Mark Lehner explain why most Egyptologists ignore the early dating theories of West and Schoch West and Schoch ignore the evidence of Old Egyptian society.

National Literacy Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

National Literacy Strategy - Essay Example To address suggestions on improving the ways in which children learn to read, the National Literacy Strategy was conceived in 1998, but by 2003 it was evident that more new concepts were needed. Results indicated that areas of need for children learning how to read still existed. Marian Sainsbury, principal researcher at the National Foundation for Educational Research, includes in a Literacy Today article (2004) a survey of 4,671 children, Years 4 and 6 combined, comparing 1998 with 2003, which shows that in 2003 children were significantly less interested in reading and going to the library, more interested in watching TV [SEE chart, next page]. Children surveyed in 2003, "after five years of teaching according to the National Literary Strategy" (par. 11), did show more confidence and independence, but although there had been some improvement in reading skills for the pupils in England, by comparison, their enjoyment of reading was poor. Sainsbury notes that teachers rather than the children often choose the reading material for the "literacy hour" in some schools. This is a practice that might discourage a child's interest in further reading, since the child has no input. Children do prefer reading by themselves silently and at home, and giving them more choices in the school setting might well increase their interest level. In a University of Reading press release (2003... They were invited to discuss the subject further by writing brief papers, expressing their concerns. The published papers are presently available at www.ncll.or.uk. According to the press release, "The authors argue against attempts to analyse and categorise the novel, story or poem, to 'stick labels on it, teach-and-preach it into a coma . . . or kill it off altogether with some kind of test' " (par. 3). The effort to meet curriculum needs in the classroom in early education creates stress, and teachers don't feel they can give pupils more freedom to learn at their own pace because they have to meet certain standards. Some of the issues addressed by the Early Years Curriculum Group (2000) that continue to be relevant in 2006 are listed below. They confirm the need for a more relaxed setting: The current emphasis on literacy and numeracy is having a negative effect on some young children's earliest experiences, particularly in the maintained sector and most particularly in children's reception year (par. 1.2) There is substantial evidence from research in this country, and from overseas, that a later start to more formal aspects of language and literacy learning will lead to quicker gains in competence in reading and writing, and actually to higher standards at age nine or 10 (1.5). Reporter Wendy Berliner, in her Guardian article "War of Words" (2005), outlines the success of a Scottish reading program using synthetic phonics and discusses the pros and cons of the system. In 1998, three hundred Scottish children were taught to read using diverse programs. Of the three programmes followed, synthetic phonics showed the best results after seven years. The proponents of

Healthy Grief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthy Grief - Essay Example The positive attitude develops as a result of someone acknowledging that the departed person or item is irreversible. The acknowledgment will help a person to act a near normal in case of departure. The positive attitude towards grief is what the psychologists refers to as a healthy grief. There are five stages that are involved when helping a bereaved person to recover from the grief. The grieving process established by Kubler-Ross projects some reactions that Job underwent in his life that is described in the Bible. The denial stage is the beginning point of the healing process. At this stage, the bereaved person will want to deny his or her real situation that he or she is facing (Kubler-Ross, 1969, p. 140). In other words, as the term denial suggests, the person will want to focus on other issues in order to feel like he or she is acting on the normal life. Drawing the perspective from the biblical account of Job, after all his children and animals died, he acted as though there was nothing happened to him. He preferred to suggest that all he had was given to him by God and if he had decided to take it back; he had no other measure to deal with the situation. The second stage that forms part of Kubler-Ross grief process is that of anger (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Shortly after the denial process, the bereaved person will come to the reality that he or she has lost a dear one or a property that is so valuable. There is an increase of emotional pain that affect the bereaved person (Nithyananda, 2007, p. 175). The person begins to be troubled by questions regarding the cause of the loss. For example, you will hear people asking, why did this happened to me? The power of anger in manifested in many ways and blames will arise towards himself and to others. In the Biblical story of Job, we see him having anger in the way he tore his clothes and went into the road and stayed without food. The only thing he did was to sit on the road