Reading Responses 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Responses 3 - Essay Example As the story proceeds, Leo reads Harry’s personal letters which greatly angers harry and he threatens to kill his father. Harry goes to the beach and does not intend to return back home even when his father pleads to him. The story ends when his father runs after his hat and Harry stands motionlessly with his feet in the water. The readers are able to understand the position of both father and son as both of them take turns in narrating the story. The School: The story is set in a classroom which has witnessed a lot of deaths in the course of the year. Plants, pets, and even children from the classroom had died and the story shows the dialogue between the students and their instructor. The language used in the story is very simple and conversational which readily grasps the readers’ interest and attention. The narrator of the story is the teacher, through whose conversation the readers come to know about the deaths linked to that classroom. By the end of the story, the teacher is asked different questions regarding the reality of death and life which he is unable to answer properly. I believe that the story is more than just a narration. It tells about the cycle of life and the bitter reality that everything that dies is replaced and the cycle continues.

Columbian exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Columbian exchange - Essay Example Nevertheless, in October 1492 when Christopher Columbus together with his team docked in the Bahamas, the two long-separated worlds: Afro-Eurasia and the Americas were rejoined. Together with the various voyages that ensued, Christopher Columbus’ voyage led to a great disruption of much of the biological separation that the continental drift caused. Following Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, these two worlds’ plant, animal, as well as bacterial life started mixing. This process is known as the Columbian Exchange. It reunited formerly biologically distinct landmasses and had lasting and dramatic impacts on the world (McNeill 1). This paper describes the Columbian exchange in its four aspects namely biological, demographic, cultural and economic aspects as well as its impacts on Europe, Asia, the New World and Africa. For a long time, the prevailing pattern of biological growth on the globe has been one of geographical variation dictated by the clear fact of the separateness of continents. Rather than identical, organisms have had the tendency of becoming more dissimilar, even in the Amazon, Congo basins among others where climates have been similar. This is owing to the fact that they had little or no contact with one another. People have gone to and lived, or at least spent time the world over. They always carry with them their weeds as well as disease organisms unintentionally, and their crops and domesticated animals knowingly. Because of this, humans have overturned, in the very most recent tick of time, the ancient trend of geographical bio-diversification. The Columbian Exchange was appreciably an extensive swap of fauna, flora, transmissible diseases, customs and ideas between the Western and Eastern hemispheres. It was, in the entire human history, one of the most important events with reference to traditions, the natural environment and farming. Christopher Columbus, who was the first to take a voyage to the Americas in

Frontier Thesis Essay Example for Free

Frontier Thesis Essay US History I Honors Frontier Thesis Jan. 14, 2012 Frontier Thesis Analysis Throughout the early 20th Century, Fredrick Jackson Turner changed many people’s views on evolution by creating his idea of the Frontier Thesis. Throughout his entire thesis he explained that the more west the settlers move, the more distant and individualized they become from their homeland of Europe. After receiving his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and later becoming a professor of history at Wisconsin and Harvard University, he became one of the most intelligent men when it came to history. His encyclopedic knowledge of American history earned him the reputation by 1910 as one of the two or three most influential historians in the country at that time. After completing the US History I class, I can confidently say that I agree with Jackson’s thesis. History has proven that as the years progress so does the evolution of the American people. Not only did people evolve more as they moved west, individuals also established their own religion, government, and education system. Religion was a topic that was extremely strict in Europe; it was their way or no way. As more immigrants came to America looking for a fresh start, they realized they had more freedom to do as they pleased, for example, the Mormons. The Mormons were not accepted by many, therefore forcing them to move around the country and expand westward into the unknown territory. The farther into the new territory they went, the farther away they were from anyone who had any say in what they could do. Even though the Mormon religion was frowned upon by many throughout the country and ended up coming to a halt when their leader Joseph Smith died, it was a prime example of how separating from Europe gave people the option to have more of an expression of how they wanted to live them lives. Moving westward showed that the farther west a group of people who were frowned upon travel, the less people wanted to do with them. Government and security were extremely big parts that made the United States become more of an independent country. The United States refused to let one ruler have all of the power, just like they did in England. To prevent this from happening, the US created a democracy. Being controlled by someone who is across an entire ocean made it extremely hard for them to monitor what was going on and moving west made it nearly impossible for the British to even have an idea of what was going on. Putting more distant in between lead to the realization that moving west gave them the freedom of an entire new life. In today’s day and age, the world in which we live in thrives on education. It is proven that the more education that one has, the farther they are able to go in life. Education gives many people opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have. Depending where you live, you often learn things very differently. For example, in New Jersey many people know about the Civil War, but if you travel down south the Civil War is not common. Many refer to the war as the War of Northern Aggression or the War for Southern Independence. The more west you travel into the United States, the more the story of the Civil War might also change. The more west an individual may move, the more distant and uninvolved they will become in what is going on in with the majority. Every region of the United States has their own criteria and curriculum; this proves Tuner’s Frontier Thesis because the more distant and spread out over an area individuals become the more different and individuali zed their lives become. Fredrick Jackson Turner’s Thesis does an extremely good job of explaining why life is the way it is today. The more distant that is between two groups of people, the more likely they are to go down different routes in life. As generations moved farther west they became more American by losing the traditions of their ancestors in Europe and creating their own. The newer generations begin to pick up traditions from others around them and combine them with what they were taught. As the years go on, nothing can stay the same. Things and people change, which is just a part of life. It is hard to  remain in contact with people who are half a world away. People were bound to become more Americanized as they moved west, it was just a matter of time.

The Millennium Development Goals Mdgs Sociology Essay

The Millennium Development Goals Mdgs Sociology Essay The Millennium Development Goals are an integrated set of eight goals and 18 time-bound targets for extending the benefits of globalization to the worlds poorest citizens. The goals aim to stimulate real progress by 2015 in tackling the most pressing issues facing developing countries poverty, hunger, inadequate education, gender inequality, child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation. UNDP helps countries formulate national development plans focused on the MDGs and chart national progress towards them through the MDG reporting process (Wacc, 2006). In most developing countries, gender inequality is a major obstacle to meeting the MDG targets. In fact, achieving the goals will be impossible without closing the gaps between women and men in terms of capacities, access to resources and opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and conflict. Millennium Development Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women. The goal has one target: to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005 and to all levels of education no later than 2015. Four indicators are used to measure progress towards the goal: the ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education; the ratio of literate women to men in the 15-to 24-year-old age group; the share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector; and the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments. The existence of a separate goal on gender equality is the result of decades of advocacy, research and coalition-building by the international womens movement. Its very existence demonstrates that the global community has accepted the centrality of gender equality and womens empowerment to the development paradigm- at least at the rhetorical level. Gender inequality means inequality between men and women in accessing the existing resources (Saroukhani 1991:673). In the view of Krammara Treicehr any kind of behavior, policy, languages, and other actions that represents a fixed, comprehensive, and institutionalized view in regard to women as inferior beings, means gender inequality. (1985:185). Therefore, gender inequality refers to the differences between men and women in receiving social and economic advantages which is often to the benfit of men at the expense of women, which means men take superiority over women. Men and women experience the world of work quite differently. Wage disparities, occupational sex segregation, and gender differences in authority, for example, are well recognized (e.g., Padavic and Reskin 2002). Despite distinguished changes in work, meaningful differences in these areas remain persistent features of contemporary society (England 2006, 2010). While there are certainly other factors at play, this paper focuses on discrimination in a variety forms, including in hiring (Gorman 2005; Goldin and Rouse 2000), promotions (Olson and Becker 1983), wages (Meitzen 1986), glass ceiling, and as well as sexual harassment (Welsh 1999).Of course, documenting the contemporary occurrence of gender discrimination in employment is only a first step. As Reskin (2000, 320) argues, We need to move beyond demonstrating that employment discrimination exists, and investigate why it persists in work organizations. We must look at processes that lead to unequal outcomes for women and men. The real challenge is to uncover how discrimination unfolds in actual work settings. The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal feature of developing countries.One of the areas of disparity between males and females is related to the difference in their employment status which is present through occupational segregation, gender-based wage gaps, and womens unequal image in informal employment, unpaid work and higher unemployment rates (UNFPA, 2005). As women in developing countries have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be valued less; and womens low status is also perpetuated through the low value placed on their activities (March et al., 1999). In the case of Mauritius, even though there has been a rapid change in the society where women have reached a high level and hold status such as Judges, Directors, Engineers which were unconceivable to be the fields where women could emerged; there are still some occupation where women are entangled in the culture norms and could not take the lead. For example, there are some sectors such as Fire Men at the Fire Services where there are no female officers. There are less women who work as Electrician, Plumber or even Carpenter, as these occupations do not allow women to perform well due to their physical strength. Besides there is no doubt that there are organisations which are gender biased. Most of the organisations are entirely rules by male managerial culture as when organisations were first performed; only males were in the paid workforce.   Despite there has been an increased in the education field at all level and the increase of women in the workforce, there has been a minor change to the men dominated culture in the workplace where women are still treated as inferior agents. Our study focused on how gender inequality still has an impact on the Mauritian female within the workplace. General context An Overview of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal aspect of developing countries. Unlike women in developed countries who are, in relative terms, economically empowered and have a powerful voice that demands an audience and positive action, women in developing countries are generally silent and their voice has been stifled by economic and cultural factors. Economic and cultural factors, together with institutional factors state the gender-based division of labour, rights, responsibilities, opportunities, and access to and control over resources. Education, literacy, access to media, employment, decision making, among other things, are some of the areas of gender disparity. One of the areas of disparity between males and females is related to the difference in their employment status which is distinct by occupational segregation, wage inequality, and womens unequal representation in informal occupation, unpaid work and higher unemployment rates (UNFPA, 2005). As women in developing countries have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be valued less; and womens low status is also perpetuated through the low value placed on their activities (March et al., 1999). In-depth analysis of DHS by Hindin (2005) showed that only 17% of women in Zimbabwe, 12% in Zambia and 4% in Malawi have higher status job than their partners. The respective percentages of women whose partners have higher status jobs are 52, 43 and 53. Women are also overrepresented in the informal sector. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 84% of womens non-agricultural employment is informal compared to 63% of mens. The figure is found to be 58% and 48% for women and men, respectively in Latin America (UNFPA, 2005). Studies generally show that women are more likely to be engaged in work which is for longer hours than men. For instance, in 18 of the 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, greater than 50% of women were employed and even in six of these countries the percentage of employed women was greater than 75% (Mukuria et al.,2005). However, as most of the employed women work in agricultural and other activities which are mostly considered to be having limited or no financial returns, their employment does not contribute much to their status in the workplace. Thus, women in those countries are dependent on their partners in most aspects of their life. In spite of its importance in enabling women to get access to information about personal health behaviours and practices, household, and community, the percentage of women exposed to different types of media is limited in most developing countries. Womens limited access to education, employment opportunity, and media, attached with cultural factors, reduces their decision making power in the society in general and in a household in particular. Regarding their participation in decision making at national level, though the number of women in national parliaments has been increasing, no country in the world has yet achieved gender parity. According to the millennium indicators data base of the United Nations, cited in the UNFPA (2005), the percentage of parliamentary seats held by women in 2005 was 16% at world level, 21% in developed countries, and 14% in developing countries. This low representation of women in national parliaments could be due, among others, to type of electoral systems in different countries, womens social, economic status and beliefs about womens place in the family and society, and womens double responsibilities for work and family (UNFPA, 2005). Women are underrepresented in the formal sector of employment. The survey conducted by the Central Statistical Authority (CSA, 2004) showed that women account for less than half (43%) of the total employees in the country. Considering the percentage of female employees from the total number of employees by employment type, the highest was in domestic activities (78%) and followed by unpaid activities (59.3%). In other types of formal employment (e.g. government, NGOs, private organizations), the percentage of female workers is less than 35. On the other hand, the survey showed overrepresentation of female workers in the informal sector. About 58% of working women work in the informal sector whereas the percentage of working men in the informal sector was 37.7 % (ibid).The breakdown of the federal government employees by occupational groups also indicated gender disparity. From federal government employees found in the clerical and fiscal type of jobs 71.3 % were female, while the percentage of females was slightly more than half (51%) in custodial and manual type of jobs. Women make up 25% and 18% of the administrative and professional and scientific job categories, respectively, indicating that upper and middle level positions are overwhelmingly dominated by men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005). This concentration of women in the informal sector and low level positions has implication on their earnings. In this regard, the survey showed four out of ten women civil servants earn Birr 300 a month compared to two out of ten for men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005).Ethiopian womens access to mass media is one of the lowest. In their DHS comparative report, Mukuria et al. (2005) show that, among 25 Sub-Saharan African countries. Chapter 2 Component of gender inequality-horizontal and vertical segregation Jonung (1984, p. 45) defines the presence of occupational gender segregation as when women and men are given different occupations that is reliable with their overall shares of employment, irrespective of the nature of job that they have. Gender segregation mean when the percentage of one gender is higher than that of males and females in an occupation. It reflects the gender differences in employment opportunity. The number of occupation with segregation against women is far greater than the number of occupations with segregation against men. Occupational gender segregation consists of two main component dimensions known as horizontal and vertical segregation (Blackburn et al, 2000). Horizontal segregation is known as under or over representation of certain group in the workplace which is not ordered by any criterion (Bettio and Verashchagina, 2009). According to Anker (1998) horizontal segregation is an absolute and universal characteristic of contemporary socio-economic systems. It focuses mainly when men and women possess different physical, emotional and mental capabilities. Such discrimination occurs when women are categorized as less intelligent, hormonal and sensitive (Acker 1990). Women are labeled as unreliable and dependent workers when they are pregnant. They are less competent as they will not work as long and hard as others. They become more stressful and sensible to tiny issues happen in the workplace. Martin (1994) declared that in masculine management style, most of the time women possess soft skills and men possess hard skills. It is this concept which creates gender segregation in the workplace. Vertical segregation referred to the under or over representation of a clearly identifiable group of workers in the workplace at the top of an ordering based on desirable attributes such as income, prestige, authority and power. Huffman (1995) finds that women do not possess enough supervisory authority at work, in education, occupational experience and prestige. One reason that women lack authority is because most women are more concentrated in female-dominated occupations which comprise fever position of authority than male-dominated occupations. Moreover, it is viewed that mens have greater status value, that is mens personality are more valuable than womens and they are much more skilled. (Broverman et al. 1972; Deaux and Kite 1987; Eagly 1987). Men possess more powerful position in the workplace (Bridges Nelson 1989). Womens wage rates are lower than mens even if their qualifications are similar. As women enter in the workplace, this reduces the level of prestige related with the task and men leave these occupations. Sex discrimination-discrimination, harassment and glass ceiling In many parts of the world, women have experienced breakthroughs in their rights in employment. Despite these advances, women from every country and culture continue to face sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. The international community has recognized both discrimination based on sex in the terms and conditions of employment and sexual harassment as violations of the fundamental human rights of women (Gudrun and Danya, 1998). Although sex discrimination is prohibited by law, it continues to be a widespread problem for working women. There are three forms of sex discrimination that have an effect on women in organizations: overt discrimination, sexual harassment and the glass ceiling. Each has negative effects on womens status and ability to perform well at work. Overt discrimination Overt discrimination is defined to make gender as a decisive factor for employment-related decisions. This type of discrimination was targeted by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited making decisions based on sex in employment-related matters such as hiring, firing, and promotions. It consist such behaviours as to refuse to hire women, to pay them inequitably or even to steer them to womens jobs. Overt discrimination also led to occupational sex segregation where jobs are classified by low pay, low status and short career ladders (Reskin, 1997). Sexual Harassment MacKinnon (1979:1) defined sexual harassment as the unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in the context of a relationship of unequal power. As in overt discrimination, sexual harassment is a persistent gendered problem for women in the workplace around the world. Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination, but one manifestation of the larger problem of employment-related discrimination against women. It now appears obvious that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. There are three psychological dimensions of sexual harassment that continued to persist worldwide: sexual coercion, gender harassment and useless sexual attention ((Fitzgerald et al., 1995; Gelfand et al., 1995). The case of sexual harassment in the workplace is mainly due to obtain more power and status than the opposite sex (e.g., Baugh, 1997; McKinney, 1992; Piotrkowski, 1998; Riger, 1991; Welsh, 1999) Statistical discrimination is another form of sex discrimination in the workplace, it consists of sex-typed job assignment (i.e. error discrimination-Aigner Cain 1977, England McCreary 1987, Bielby Baron 1986a). For example, employers put men into jobs which consist physical demands and women into jobs demanding social skills (Bielby Baron 1984, Farkas et al 1991). However, employers introduce gender segregation in job assignments exceeds technical or economic justifications: within the mixed-sex occupations that either sex could presumably perform, small differences in job requirements were accompanied by large differences in sex composition (Bielby Baron 1986a:782). The Glass ceiling The term the glass ceiling was coined in a 1986 Wall Street Journal report on corporate women. The glass ceiling is a concept that most frequently refers to invisible or artificial barriers that do not allow women from advancing past a certain level in corporations, government, education and nonprofit organization (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission -FGCC, 1997; Morrison and von Glinow, 1990). These barriers reflect discrimination a deep line of demarcation between those who prosper and those left behind. The glass ceiling is the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission 1995b:4; emphasis added). This official description suggests that the definition of glass ceiling must know that it reflects job inequality that is unexplained by a persons past qualifications or achievements; it reflects labor market discrimination, not ju st labor market inequality. For the purpose of this study, the glass ceiling concept is discussed regarding women who suffer from discrimination in the workplace. The usual method to know where there is discrimination is to look for inequalities that are unexplained by prior personality of the employees. Inequalities that originate from past discrimination in education or training or from choices that people make to pursue nonmarket goals such as family, volunteer work or leisure are not generally measured as part of a glass ceiling. Therefore, glass ceiling inequality represents a gender or racial difference that is not explained by other job-relevant characteristics of the employee. The glass ceiling is a third type of discrimination that affects women in the workplace and it is an important factor for women who do not get enough access to power and status in organizations. It also includes gender stereotypes, lack of opportunities for women to get promotion and prevent women to get higher income than men.

Medical Revolutions :: essays research papers

The Civil War started as a picnic and ended in compassion, but in between were four hideous years of twisted flesh, burning fevers, rampant pus, and oozing raw stumps. Never before had America faced even a hint of such agony and the way it responded to the occasion is fascinating history. In a very real sense the War Between the States brought forth a medical revolution and, perhaps above all, an awareness of public health. The terrible, swift scalpel became less terrible: and the dank, dirty, dingy pesthouse evolved into a pavilion of hope. Nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy also experienced a renaissance and the art and science of military medicine was projected into the future. The man of medicine who served in the Civil War was, whether he liked it or not, first and foremost a surgeon and always referred to as such. Though his first knife may well have been government issued, he learned the tricks of the trade in due course and sometimes became quite an expert. â€Å"Do your best† was the general idea, and most surgeons did, or at least tried. Nearly all the older doctors had received their education on an apprenticeship basis but the younger men, those who made up the bulk of the army surgeons, usually held a medical school diploma along with an office internship. Little attention was paid to clinical instruction, and in most cases the laboratory was all but forgotten. Further, stethoscopes, thermometers, syringes, and the like were widely used in Europe while many doctors here at home had never seen them let alone used them. In regard to ability and competence, there is no reason to believe the doctors in the North and the South differed in any significant way. While the North was home to more prestigious medical institutions, the South was learning to become less dependent on the North in this area at the outbreak of the war. A number of schools became established. Whether good, bad, or indifferent, the doctors were needed and just about every device was tried to keep up supply, a task compounded by frequent absenteeism. This situation was by no means peculiar to the medical people, for many others in the Civil War had the habit of picking up their blankets and heading back to the old homestead. This is exactly the case for Inman in the novel, Cold Mountain, by Carles Frazier.

Does Vision And Mission Emerge Essay -- essays research papers fc

Does vision and mission emerge from the particular culture of a firm or is it dictated by strategy?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The culture of a firm and the formation of strategy are two very important aspects of an organisation. The world contains many different people all with different values, ideas and beliefs. These differences create a diverse range of cultures within organisations, some having bigger influences than others. Strategies within organisations are highly dynamic and complex, and can have positive and negative effects on an organisation. Vision and mission are concepts that many believe are vital for an organisation to operate effectively and to the best of its abilities. Andrew Campbell (1991) , a prominent writer on vision and mission, believes that both the culture and the strategy of a firm come together side by side to build an overall definition of mission for a firm. The paper will be based around Campbell’s perception and whether either culture or strategy has a greater part to play in an organisation’s mission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Culture and strategy will be examined in a context relevant to the title question. Hofstede (1993) defines culture as ‘the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another’. Hofstedes research of different organisations and countries allowed him to make predictions on the way different societies operate, including their management processes and the theories that would be used in management. Morgan (1996) refers to culture as ‘the pattern of development reflected in a society’s system of knowledge, ideology, values, laws, and day-to-day ritual’. In subsequent writings he expands on organisational culture as ‘self-organising and is always evolving’ and also ‘ we are observing an evolved form of social practice that has been influenced by many complex interactions between people, events, situations, actions, and general circumstances’. These broad definitions of o rganisational culture are important bases and will be used throughout.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Defining strategy is a difficult process because it is a complex concept that has many forms and is constantly changing. Andrews (1987) attempt is a comprehensive definition... ...(1980) Defining the Business – The Starting Point of Strategic Planning New Jersey, Prentice Hall Collins, J.C. & Porras, J.I. (1996) Built to Last – The Successful Habits of Visionary Companies Kent, Century Ltd. De Wit, B. & Meyer, R. (1998) Strategy – Process, Content, Context London, International Thomson Business Press Fawn, J. & Cox, B. (1985) Corporate Planning in Practice London, Kogan Page Ltd. Morgan, G. (1996) Images of Organizations London, Sage Publications Porter, M.E. (1985) Competitive Advantage New York, The Free Press Journals Baetz, M.C. & Bart, C.K. (1996) Developing Mission Statements Which Work Long Range Planning 29 (4), pp.526-533 Campbell, A. & Yeung, S (1991) Creating a Sense of Mission Long Range Planning August pp.10-20 Campbell, A. (1997) Mission Statements Long Range Planning 30 (6), pp.931-932 David, F.R. (1989) How Companies Define Their Mission Long Range Planning 22 (1),pp.90-97 Piercy, N.F. (1994) Mission Analysis: An operational approach Journal of General Management 19 (3), pp.1-19 Hofstede, G (1993) Cultural Constraints in Management Theories Academy of Management Excutive 7 (1)

Fahrenheit 451

This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing. † (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him. montag becomes kinder: he sees the self-destructing, depressed people and is affected by them, instead of merely moving on in his life and not caring. He is so moved by his new change that he states, â€Å"It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was. he decides to stand for a real purpose: he decides to rebell against this terribly corrupted government by remembering his book. Quote: It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journa ls. Quote: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. Fahrenheit 451 Most people today think nothing of knowledge and take it for granted because they think it is easy to gain. In fact, many young adults tend to resist gaining knowledge and would rather entertain themselves with games, television or partying. However, authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen Vincent Benet would pity their indifference. In science fiction story, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of Guy Montag whose search for meaning and knowledge leads him to make difficult decisions throughout his journey. In â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† a science fiction story, a boy, John, discovers the truth while on a journey to become a man. Both stories teach an important lesson about gaining knowledge, that it cannot be gained passively-it requires sacrifice. Primarily, both stories show that the cost to gain knowledge is to lose part of one’s old self. In Fahrenheit 451, we see the main character, Montag, doing actions that require him to abandon his old routines. He had to give up his job, his wife, and his house to gain the books and knowledge he so desires. Bradbury quotes Montag in his description stating, â€Å"You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, one night, some women and her books-,† (page 51). This quote shows that Montag wants to quit his job just for the sake of gaining books and finding knowledge so he can be happier. This is necessary to gain knowledge because it shows how he had to abandon of all the stuff he did over so many years because he can’t gain knowledge with the other luxurious life right in front of him. He needed to let it go so he won’t go back to it. Montag did not quit his job at that point (but did later) because of opposition from his wife, Mildred, but learned that he had to let go of Mildred because she did not want to gain knowledge. Similarly, â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is like Fahrenheit 451 when approaching this idea of losing part of one’s old self. John, the main character is on a journey to become a man. He wants to gain knowledge and truth. He must go to a forbidden land where the Gods used to live, but soon finds out that they were men before his time. Benet mentions John in the following quote, â€Å"It is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now—there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken-but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we can make a beginning,† (page 509). This is when John finds out the truth and decides to abandon his old life. He finds this necessary because he knew the truth and knew that he can no longer follow his old life because it wasn’t true. He wants to make a new beginning and begin right where the â€Å"gods† left off but more slowly. He wants it slowly because he knows that too much knowledge will eat anyone up. All in all, both stories show that losing part of one’s old self is necessary in order to gain knowledge. Without doing so, the journey will be more difficult. In addition, one must take risks in order to gain knowledge. not finished lost other part Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenheit 451 Most people today think nothing of knowledge and take it for granted because they think it is easy to gain. In fact, many young adults tend to resist gaining knowledge and would rather entertain themselves with games, television or partying. However, authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen Vincent Benet would pity their indifference. In science fiction story, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of Guy Montag whose search for meaning and knowledge leads him to make difficult decisions throughout his journey. In â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† a science fiction story, a boy, John, discovers the truth while on a journey to become a man. Both stories teach an important lesson about gaining knowledge, that it cannot be gained passively-it requires sacrifice. Primarily, both stories show that the cost to gain knowledge is to lose part of one’s old self. In Fahrenheit 451, we see the main character, Montag, doing actions that require him to abandon his old routines. He had to give up his job, his wife, and his house to gain the books and knowledge he so desires. Bradbury quotes Montag in his description stating, â€Å"You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, one night, some women and her books-,† (page 51). This quote shows that Montag wants to quit his job just for the sake of gaining books and finding knowledge so he can be happier. This is necessary to gain knowledge because it shows how he had to abandon of all the stuff he did over so many years because he can’t gain knowledge with the other luxurious life right in front of him. He needed to let it go so he won’t go back to it. Montag did not quit his job at that point (but did later) because of opposition from his wife, Mildred, but learned that he had to let go of Mildred because she did not want to gain knowledge. Similarly, â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is like Fahrenheit 451 when approaching this idea of losing part of one’s old self. John, the main character is on a journey to become a man. He wants to gain knowledge and truth. He must go to a forbidden land where the Gods used to live, but soon finds out that they were men before his time. Benet mentions John in the following quote, â€Å"It is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now—there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken-but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we can make a beginning,† (page 509). This is when John finds out the truth and decides to abandon his old life. He finds this necessary because he knew the truth and knew that he can no longer follow his old life because it wasn’t true. He wants to make a new beginning and begin right where the â€Å"gods† left off but more slowly. He wants it slowly because he knows that too much knowledge will eat anyone up. All in all, both stories show that losing part of one’s old self is necessary in order to gain knowledge. Without doing so, the journey will be more difficult. In addition, one must take risks in order to gain knowledge. not finished lost other part Fahrenheit 451 This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing. † (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him. montag becomes kinder: he sees the self-destructing, depressed people and is affected by them, instead of merely moving on in his life and not caring. He is so moved by his new change that he states, â€Å"It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was. he decides to stand for a real purpose: he decides to rebell against this terribly corrupted government by remembering his book. Quote: It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journa ls. Quote: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. Fahrenheit 451