My Antonia and Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

My Antonia and Huckleberry Finn Essay Characters from various books that may or may not have anything to do with one another can be similar and different in many ways. Huckleberry Finn from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and Antonia Shimerda from My Antonia by Willa Cather are similar in a variety of ways, however they have important differences. Huckleberry Finn is always ready to go on any type of adventure with his best friend Tom Sawyer. Also, the pair are extremely superstitious. Huck is discriminated against for a myriad of reasons. Some being, he is the son of the town drunk, so the adults frown upon him. Because of his father’s lifestyle he is basically an orphan, he has to find his own food, clothes, and a place to sleep. He also does not attend church or school. Opposite to that, the boys of the town envy him for his freedom and lack of discipline. The Widow Douglass who lives in town offers Huck a place to stay. She says he can live in her house, and with the money from the treasure he and Tom found she would be able to support him. Tom encouraged Huck to take advantage of this offer while he could. This was a hard decision for Huck to make because he is not willing to give up his independence that he is accustomed to. He lives with the widow for a short period of time then decides he enjoys being on his own and is willing to face the hardships of life by himself to maintain his freedom. Antonia Shimerda is extremely generous and optimistic. Through the hardships of immigrating to America from Bohemia, her father committing suicide, and her fiance leaving her before they get married, and at this time she is pregnant, she never looses hope. She looks for the best in every situation and tries to find a solution for everything. Everyday she has to face racial and gender discrimination. She is judged brutally by the townspeople because of her love for dance. Her and her family, which now consists of her mother, brothers and sisters, have to face the difficulties of life after the death of their father along with the difficulties of living in a new country. Her and her family are living in poverty, and are trying extremely hard just to survive. Later, Antonia works as a servant. Her boss does not like her habit of attending the dances she enjoys going to. He threatens to fire her if she continues to attend these dances. She loves her independence too much to let someone take it away. So she works for a brutal boss and suffers so she can have her independence and go to her dances. Huckleberry Finn and Antonia Shimerda have many similarities and differences. They have very different characteristics, however they both face many hardships, discrimination on a daily basis, and they both value their independence a lot that they would rather live harder lives so they can be independent.

Causes Of World War I :: Papers

Causes Of World War I There were many reasons for the beginning of World War 1. Both small and large events contributed to war and it was impossible to control the situation in anyway. Tension was a very large contributor to war. Also there was the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which sparked major issues between Austria and Serbia. No one really understood the reason for the beginning of war or why the countries were fighting. In some cases, you could say that no one was to blame and that war was inevitable. In 1904, an alliance was signed between Britain and France and few years later, Russia, too, joined the alliance. This was to be known as the Triple Entente. Ten years later, the six larger countries had been divided into two alliances. Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy had formed the Triple Alliance. There were many predominant tensions between specific countries such as Britain- Germany, Russia- Germany, and France- Germany. Germany was a main source of tension between the two alliances due to the arms build up and the strength of Germany as a single power. Within the alliances, each member was made to promise that if an ally was ever in trouble, that they would always help that particular country and help. There were many tensions between people and there wasn't much trust at all. When Germany took the important industrial area of Alsace-Lorraine France in 1871, France showed resentment towards Germany and was trying to form an ally with someone to finally get revenge on Germany. And in 1894 this occurred and France formed an alliance with Russia. France was determined to get revenge on Germany and rightfully get back their land of Alsace-Lorraine. Kaiser Wilhelm 2nd, had always wanted Germany to be a strong power like Britain, but he wanted more power than the British. The German leaders were worried because of the positioning of the two powers in the Triple Alliance. France and Russia were either side of Germany and this was known as 'encirclement'.

Reflection paper in foundation of special education Essay

Taking up this course had freshened up what I learned from undergrad class. Even though we have already taken this subject before, it’s not bad to rush back with this, especially with the fact that I forgot some of the information I got from my previous school days. Then the world is constantly changing, the economy, government, other industries and of course the field of education. Being updated is the best way to be actively involved with these changes. Thus, this subject is a big step to move on to the next level of complexity. Closing of first semester is nearly coming and I learned a lot from this subject. It elucidates some of the questions I have before when I was teaching special children. Well, I do have ideas but it helps me to understand it further. It also informed me with the new laws for special education which really one of the things that a sped teacher must know. New strategies would never be left out from what I learned. Knowing about it would help me to improve my teaching skills. I have learned terms that we haven’t discuss before that promotes more understanding of special education. Anyway, I love listening from the first hand experience of the reporters, in this way I can relate more with the topic. I just realized that previously we are dependent with the books or other references but now we have exclusive experience to base on. Thus, we can explain further our reports in the class. It’s a good thing because we are sharing ideas as well as we help each other in solving certain classroom situation. Teaching skills of our professor is excellent, nothing to complain. I just observed that we often have a problem in borrowing projector from the office. We can’t deny that technology has a big influence nowadays. Of course, we can’t buy our own projector which is too expensive, except for those who have big salary. But I hope there will be additional of it in the office, so there will be more chances for others to borrow. I would also like to suggest to compile all the topics of the reporters before the reporting will start. We could put it in just a short folder and fastened it, so it would not be costly. Then in each topic there will be at least questions that we could answer after the class or at home. Not literally a recorded quiz but just an exercise activity or a reviewer. I know it is an additional work but I think it would help to improve the course. I enjoyed interacting with this class. I gained learnings and I shared experience. Therefore, I become more involved in the field of special education.

Rich Brother – Loyal to a Fault

Pete: Loyal to a Fault â€Å"The Rich Brother,† by Tobias Wolff is the story of two brothers that from all accounts couldn’t be more different. Pete, the elder brother, is the epitome of the American Dream. He has worked hard and become an entrepreneur, has a wife and kids, and even brags about an ocean view from his home. Donald is completely opposite. He is for the most part unemployed, and although he is a spiritual person, he has been unable to find the right fit for his spirituality and bounced from religion to religion. The Rich Brother,† begins at the end of Donald’s most recent search for spirituality when he must call his brother, Pete, knowing that Pete cannot deny his brother’s need for help yet again, and asks to be picked up from the communal farm where he had been living. Throughout the story the reader sees numerous examples of Pete’s sense of responsibility toward his brother, his love and his dedication for family; however, Pe te’s dominant characteristic is that he is loyal to a fault, making him an enabler of his brother’s childish ways at the same time allowing himself to be taken advantage of.The first evidence the reader has of Pete’s loyalty to his family and Donald occurs within the first few paragraphs when the reader finds out that after Donald fails to find his way living in an Ashram as a Hindu, Pete paid his extensive medical bills from an undiagnosed case of hepatitis. As adults in the â€Å"real world,† we are expect to take responsibility for our own actions by both learning from a less than ideal life experience and paying back a debt, whether through finances or with a change in future behavior.Donald doesn’t see it that way though, and appears to have no sense of the value of money and how tough it was for Pete to earn it. He also lacks the physical capability to pay his brother back because before Pete is even finished paying off Donald’s bills he has found Christianity and joined a pentecostal community and begun to speak his new truth in tongues. Donald knows that Pete will again bail him out the next time as he had done before.It is just a bit further into the story that we see Pete allow his loyalty to open himself up again to be taken advantage of when Donald demonstrates his lack of life skills, affecting the quality of life for others on the farm. This results in his being asked to leave the farm. Rather than work things out for himself, Donald calls Pete, knowing he can count on his brother for assistance to out of Paso Robles. It is no surprise that Pete’s immediate response is to state that his brother will come live with his wife and family while Donald gets on his feet.Additionally, Pete ends up driving a number of hours from Santa Cruz to physically pick his brother up because past experiences in loaning money to Donald and that of the Ashram in Berkeley, have taught Pete that simply giving Donald money is a no win situation. Donald’s non-existent life skills combined with Pete’s inability to create boundaries with his brother by saying, â€Å"no† is just another occurrence of Pete believing he is helping even though, it may not be the right thing to do for Donald in the long term.Again and again Pete’s unrelenting loyalty removes any need for Donald to fully act like an adult. Upon arriving at the gas station, Donald immediately requests money for food he has purchased, food he has consumed knowing he is unable to pay for it. Without a second thought Pete opens his wallet and produces $100, far more money than is actually owed. When Donald tries to give some of it back to his brother, Pete says, â€Å"I can’t keep track of all these nickels and dimes. Just pay me back when your ship comes in.Go on – take it! † (615). These are perhaps words parents might use with their college age child to ensure their child has enough to get them through a tough time, maybe a week during school exams or something. A parent knows that the money is not going to be paid back, just as Pete knows Donald will never pay the money back to him. This situation reinforces the idea that Pete enables Donald to take advantage of him. Just as history repeats itself, so does the cycle that is Pete and Donald.Donald once again takes advantage of his brother’s loyalty when on the drive home from the farm the brothers pick up Webster, a hitchhiker and conman. Webster spins a tale too good to be true but Donald can’t see anything other than dollar signs when Webster offers him a share in his gold mine in Peru. Pete, as most adults would have, can see the scam through Webster’s tale immediately and tries to help Donald see the truth by offering up multiple snarky comments and direct questions for Webster to answer. It’s just not enough though as Donald gives away Pete’s $100 to Webster in good faith for a share in the mine.This is a much larger issue than the fact that Donald just gave away Pete’s money and feels justified and blameless. The other issue is Pete’s – past experience should have taught Pete that Donald is incapable of understanding the value of other people’s money or material items, which is part of the reason he was asked to leave the farm. Throughout â€Å"The Rich Brother† there are so many examples of Pete being loyal to a fault, but none are as telling as when Pete and Donald argue over the money Donald has given away.The brothers fight until they can’t come to any option other than that Donald needs to get out of the car immediately at night in the middle of no where, effectively ending their co-dependent sibling relationship. By this point in life Pete should have realized that leaving Donald figure things out for himself may be the better alternative, but he just can’t. He is too loyal. Pete can’t even bear the idea of telling his wife that he left his brother along the side of the road with no where to turn.He can’t even kid himself – Pete knows that he is going to turn around and once again pick up the pieces of Donald’s mess, which will enable the cycle to repeat endlessly. All of these events lead one to wonder if Pete is a man driven by guilt. Is there any other reason that Pete, a reasonably successful man would allow himself to be taken advantage of and manipulated so often by Donald? The reader sees this manipulation when Donald questions Pete about why he has a new Mercedes, and why he chooses to skydive, all very expensive things, leaving Pete guiltily defending his choices to enjoy his success.Pete may also suffer from guilt for mistreating Donald after he underwent some sort of surgery as a child, a story that Donald adamantly recounts to Pete even though many years have passed and Pete isn’t even sure the events ever happened. Additionally, Pete av oids incurring any additional guilt on behalf of Donald by taking care of all of his needs as their mother did before she passed; a similar thought process for Pete as he doesn’t want to imagine the shame he will feel when he tells his wife why Donald is not with him.By the end of the story the reader can confidently assume that not only will Pete pick up Donald’s pieces but that he will once again put them back together for Donald, even though the best thing Pete could do for Donald would be to step back and allow Donald to take adult responsibility and find a way to put his own pieces back together, but, because absolute loyalty it is part of Pete’s nature it is also his biggest fault when dealing with his brother.

Names and Functions of Chemical Elements in Fireworks

Names and Functions of Chemical Elements in Fireworks Fireworks are a traditional part of many celebrations, including Independence Day. There is a lot of physics and chemistry involved in making fireworks. Their colors come from the different temperatures of hot, glowing metals and from the light emitted by burning chemical compounds. Chemical reactions propel them and burst them into special shapes. Heres an element-by-element look at what is involved in your average firework. Components in Fireworks Aluminum: Aluminum is used to produce silver and white flames and sparks. It is a common component of sparklers. Antimony: Antimony is used to create firework glitter effects. Barium: Barium is used to create green colors in fireworks, and it can also help stabilize other volatile elements. Calcium: Calcium is used to deepen firework colors. Calcium salts produce orange fireworks. Carbon: Carbon is one of the main components of black powder, which is used as a propellant in fireworks. Carbon provides the fuel for a firework. Common forms include carbon black, sugar, or starch. Chlorine: Chlorine is an important component of many oxidizers in fireworks. Several of the metal salts that produce colors contain chlorine. Copper: Copper compounds produce blue colors in fireworks. Iron: Iron is used to produce sparks. The heat of the metal determines the color of the sparks. Lithium: Lithium is a metal that is used to impart a red color to fireworks. Lithium carbonate, in particular, is a common colorant. Magnesium: Magnesium burns a very bright white, so it is used to add white sparks or improve the overall brilliance of a firework. Oxygen: Fireworks include oxidizers, which are substances that produce oxygen in order for burning to occur. The oxidizers are usually nitrates, chlorates, or perchlorates. Sometimes the same substance is used to provide oxygen and color. Phosphorus: Phosphorus burns spontaneously in air and is also responsible for some glow-in-the-dark effects. It may be a component of a fireworks fuel. Potassium: Potassium helps to oxidize firework mixtures. Potassium nitrate, potassium chlorate, and potassium perchlorate are all important oxidizers. Sodium: Sodium imparts a gold or yellow color to fireworks, however, the color may be so bright that it masks less intense colors. Sulfur: Sulfur is a component of black powder. It is found in a fireworks propellant/fuel. Strontium: Strontium salts impart a red color to fireworks. Strontium compounds are also important for stabilizing fireworks mixtures. Titanium: Titanium metal can be burned as powder or flakes to produce silver sparks. Zinc: Zinc is used to create smoke effects for fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices.

Unforgettable Place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unforgettable Place - Essay Example Add to that, the cattle that reside on it are also one of the reasons why I frequent my father’s farm every now and then. Since I am young, being 22 years of age at present, my father has not given me the permission to call the shots as far as managing his farm is concerned. However I am sure that seeing my excitement at reaching his farm and with involvement that comes quite naturally to me, he will ask me one day to take over the reigns of the farm. This farm is unique because it has a number of trees within it. There is also a small house that my father has built so that we can spend the night over and enjoy the cool breeze that sweeps across the farm. I absolutely cherish the idea of spending nights at the farm because it is indeed one of my favorite pastimes. My happiness knows no bounds when my friends are given the permission to spend time with my family on my father’s farm. It is like a nightly picnic that my father allows once every 4 months or so. This unforgettable place however has its limitations as well. There is electricity but it keeps coming back and forth. Then there is the issue of a lot of mosquitoes which attack the individuals who are sleeping at night inside. Often times, with the permission of my father, I have spent a good amount of the night on the roof top of the house built on one side of the farm. But more often than not, we had to call it quits because the mosquitoes had a better army to destroy our fun and enjoyment. This farm is indeed very special and important for me. The biggest reason is that it is ours and no one can claim it to be theirs. Moreover, I have spent some of the best moments of my life at my father’s farm, thus making it an automatic choice to become the favorite place to be at any point in time. I have often dreamt of being at my father’s farm during the night and have told my father about what I saw. He appreciates my love for the farm yet disallows me from visiting it regularly. He believes

Response to the three students with no more than 80 words with at Coursework

Response to the three students with no more than 80 words with at least 2 references for each response - Coursework Example Worse of all, there was no reference list and a couple of grammatical mistakes. It is said that in the comparison of leaders to show evolution of leadership, fallouts done in the comparison of the leadership attributes exhibited by the various leaders hinders the success of the whole comparison (Herman, 2000). This is because there ought to be comparison so that the real moments of evolution can be identified but this was lacking in the student’s presentation. Even more, the student presented his dates in a descending order instead of ascending order to give a clear link between the leaders. Clearly, dates do not flow in descending orders (Almah, 2008). The writer did a great job by linking the personal attributes and natures of the leaders to their leadership reign and this brought out a great sense of the leadership styles practiced by the leaders. This has always remained an important practice in the comparison of leaders for evolution of leadership (Amahe, 2011). The writer could however have widened his search of leadership database to include leaders from different backgrounds instead of two leaders from United States presidential background. Once this is done, the comparison lacks dynamism (Grey,