To Kill a Mockingbird: An Appropriate Classic :: Free Essay Writer

Do you believe To Kill a Mockingbird is an unsuitable novel for teenagers to study? To be perfectly honest I don’t. After reading the book and having repeated class conversations on chapters day after day I don’t see the improper language, violence or situations as a teen. Many people deem Harper Lee’s classic novel to be a wonderful insight into a time of prejudice, religion and courage, these people are right and that is why we have been studying it. If our teachers had seen it as inappropriate they wouldn’t have let us read it, if this were inappropriate why it is an all time classic and Pulitzer Prize winning novel, I have no idea. We have studied it to learn about the notion of powerful and powerless, To Kill a Mockingbird is an ideal novel for that topic, with the character and situations we read about we have a clear understanding of life in the 30’s and how class changed people’s lives. To Kill A mockingbird does not only explore the tumultuous times of racism, loss of childhood innocence and morality but is a pure and simple love story. What is so inappropriate about a love story? The fact that the bad guy gets what he deserves? Or that the only violence is the shooting of a disease carrying dog? Teens live in a world of prejudice, ignorance and are faced with events that ultimately change them into being mature and caring. Studying this novel helps teens discover what the worlds past is like and what makes our life and the people around it how we are now. By reading To Kill A Mockingbird we can learn what we could do right in the present, changing our attitude about life can come from a life experience but reading a novel which gives us specific ideas like ‘have moral standards and stick to them no matter what’ appears loud and clear from scouts experiences of sticking up for Atticus, to Atticus’ own courage in standing up for Tom Robinson against most of May comb County. We learn the principles of respect for law and justice, for fairness and rules and the need for integrity, honesty and compassion. Harper Lee suggests people can’t stand against the pressures that come along without a commitment to such principles. Learning life lessons through an enforced novel for English we are positively influenced and inspired. Atticus who in many ways, the novel is built around is recognisably human, not a hero as such but idealised enough to be a convincing model of right behaviour.

Of Mice And Men: Burdens Of Responsibility :: essays research papers

Of Mice and Men: Burdens of Responsibility "OF MICE AND MEN IS A NOVEL WHICH EXPLORES THE BURDENS OF RESPONSIBILITY AS MUCH AS ITS REWARDS." By evaluating the novel of mice and men carefully I have found that every character in the novel has a facet of life that consists of burdens and responsibilities. The characters in the novel basically have three options in which they can live their lives. They can knuckle down, work hard, keep a positive frame of mind and try earnestly to improve their standard of living. An example of this is would be George Milton and Lennie Small. The other option is to walk around with a chip on their shoulder, not bother to improve oneself but eradicate those around him or her that serve as a frustration or nuisance. An ideal example of this would be Curley when he decides to target Lennie as a'frustration' and subsequently attacks him with no real valid reason apart from jealousy and spite. The last option concerns Candy and Crooks to an extent. They live a fairly meaningless life void of love and affection. They have few friendships and cling to anyone who shows them sincere attention. An example of this is when Lennie has a conversation with Crooks and he expresses his feelings of loneliness. Another example is when Carlson shoots Candy's dog. Candy becomes very eager to attach himself to George and lennie and purchase a house with them as a result of the loss of his only real love in his life. The responsibilities of aspiration and hope play a major role in the structure of George, Lennie and Curley's wife's character. To an extent their aspirations protect them from reality for short stints and acts like a recharge to their motivational batteries. This is a good thing more often than not. Examples of these instances are when Lennie and George are sitting on the bank of a pool of the Salinas river in the last chapter. George is in the process of telling Lennie how together they are "gonna get a little place." He does this because he knows it makes Lennie happy and he wants Lennie's last thoughts to be of his ideal world not terror. George then shoots Lennie in the back of the head doing whats best for everyone, and Lennie dies in a state of utopia, his reward. An example of Curley's wife's hopes is when she finally finds a person around the ranch who sees her not as an object of lust but someone to talk to. This person

Ethical Issues in Human Cloning Essay

In the modern society, cloning has been described as the man-made, genetic duplicate of another living form (United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2005). Cloning of mammals has been a far-fetched idea to some scientists for a very long time. However, in 1997, Dr. Ian Wilmut, along with his team, successfully cloned a lamb from a mature ewe (Kass & Wilson, 1998). This announcement has caused a lot of positive and negative responses from medical and non-medical communities. Protests from religious groups, bioethicists, humanitarians, and the general public led former President Clinton, the United States president of that time, to form the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) (Campbell, 1997). This committee then published a report and concluded that human cloning was morally unacceptable. It was then that government funds have been forbidden to be provided for human cloning research, making it illegal (Kass & Wilson, 1998). Critics of human cloning dispute that human cloning provides a number of medical risks that may harm the clone and the progenitor (Huang, 2001). Ninety percent of failure rate and high mortality rates in animal cloning have been reported. Dolly, the first lamb clone, was euthanized for developing old-age diseases despite her young age (Kass & Wilson, 1998). To create one successful clone, a huge number of unsuccessful embryos also have to be sacrificed. This concept has resulted in outrage among the critics of cloning for killing innocent clones for the benefit of one (Kuppuswamy, Macer, Serbulea, & Tobin, 2007). Apart from the medical risks of cloning, human reproductive cloning may also weaken the concept of kin and human reproduction (Kass & Wilson, 1998). A successfully cloned child would also have to face psychological problems such as personal identity and individuality. Designer babies and human enhancements will also be provided by reproductive cloning. Babies with perfect features and desirable characteristics will be available to high class societies because of the high-priced value of making them. Low class societies, on the other hand, will not be able to afford these babies, thereby creating a new form of discrimination that would further increase the gap between the rich and poor (Piercy, 1999). With human enhancements available, diseased and disabled people could be categorized as the â€Å"undesirables. † This implies that the lives of such persons are not worth living (Quick, n. d. ). In the society today, life is promoted and extended as much as possible. Discrimination is frowned upon and despised by all. Such ethical issues and many more are still being argued because of human reproductive cloning. Until these ethical issues are resolved, human cloning will still be morally unacceptable in the society. References Campbell, C. (1997). Cloning human beings: Religious perspective on human cloning. Retrieved from http://bioethics. georgetown. edu/nbac/pubs/cloning2/cc4. pdf. Huang, N. (2001). The ethics of human genetic cloning. MURJ, 4, 69–75. Retrieved from http://web. mit. edu/murj/www/v04/v04-Features/v04-f6. pdf. Kass, L. , & Wilson, J. (1998). The ethics of human cloning. Washington, CD: AEI Press. Kuppuswamy, C. , Macer, D. , Serbulea, M. , & Tobin, B. (2007). Is human reproductive cloning inevitable: Future options for UN governance. Yokohama, Japan: United Nations University – Institute of Advanced Studies. Retrieved from http://www. ias. unu. edu/resource_centre/Cloning_9. 20B. pdf. Piercy, E. (1999, December). Human cloning scientific, ethical and regulatory considerations relevant to cloning of human beings. Retrieved from http://www. aph. gov. au/house/committee/laca/humancloning/sub240. pdf. Quick, S. (n. d. ). Stem cell research and cloning—Science and ethics (Rev. ed). Retrieved May 27, 2010, from www. ethicalhealthcare. org/articles/quick_scr_cloning_ethics. pdf.

How Do the Sacred Texts and Beliefs of Islam or Christianity Essay

How do the Sacred Texts and beliefs of Islam OR Christianity, inform a Religion that is relevant to contemporary adherents? In todays society, unlike many years ago religion is not seen as an important part of peoples lives. People are way to busy or so they think to be ‘wasting their time’ with religion, and church. But for those who do believe in a religion, especially those from the Islamic religion, they take part in a religion that was formed hundreds of years ago, still using and believing in the same scared texts and beliefs. Islamic environmental ethics are drawn from the 3 underpinning principle beliefs, that are the 3 central concepts of Islam and the pillars of Islamic environmental ethics. Tawhid a belief brought upon many many years ago, is the belief of Unity. It believes in the Unity and oneness of all created by Allah and that unity is reflected in the created world, thus the Tawhid demands that the integrity of the created world be maintained by balance and harmony. â€Å"The whole earth has been created a place of worship, pure and clean.– Hadith The Khalifa, belief in Stewardship, is the belief that Allah has made humans responsible for all creation and with this involves appropriate use of resources for human needs. â€Å"It is He that has made you custodians; inheritors of the earth. † (Qur’an Surah 6:165) Akrah is the belief of accountability, Muslims believe that they will be judged on how they have acted, and ones treatment of gods created world. The sources of ethic al teachings, and the relationship between humans and the universe is outlined in the Qur’an, Hadith and Shari’a. It is defined in Qur’an as based on meditation of the universe and what it contains, sustainable utilization and development for human benefit, care and nurture extended beyond humans to the benefit of created beings. The Hajj is an obligation which fulfils one of the five pillars of Islam required of a Muslim at least once in a lifetime for those financially and physically able â€Å"those who can make their way there†. It is a faithful submission to the will of Allah. And pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah† – Surah 3:96. Before embarking on this miraculous journey, pilgrims must redress all wrongs, organise funds for the journey and the family being left behind, and prepare themselves for good conduct during the Hajj. The Journey then goes for 5 full days, starting officially on the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah. After completing the Hajj with all rites performed, pilgrims have earned the right to be called al-Hajj or al-Hajji. The Hajj expresses the beliefs of Islam through commemorating important religious events. These include Abraham and his son Ishmael built the Ka’ba, and established the rituals of the Hajj to reflect his life, Muhammad’s last sermon on Arafat, Jamra symbolises Abraham throwing stones at Satan who tried to dissuade him from sacrificing Isaac, and Nahr reflects Allah replacing Isaac with a sacrificial lamb. The Hajj reinforces fundamental islamic concepts with the Five Pillars of Faith. Shahada, the declaration of faith that there is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah is expressed through the Hajj by Talbiya (a prayer that states the pilgrimage is only for the glory of Allah) and through Mount Arafat (the place of Muhammad’s last sermon, where all are closest to Allah) Salat, the 5 daily prayers is expressed through the Hajj as the Hajj is a period where pilgrims are directly communicating with Allah and Muslims are in actual proximity of the Ka’ba. Zakat, Almsgiving is shown through the Hajj as the meat sacrificed or money given for nahr is distributed amongst family, friends and the poor, it also shows the obligation of the wealthy to the poor and Ihram, which means that money and status are not a factor for pilgrims and that all are equal. Sawm, fasting is expressed through the Hajj as it is a time of prayer, meditation and asking for forgiveness, as well as the Sa’y as it re-enacts Hajar’s search for food; empathy for hunger. Al-Akhira is believed to be the world to come, Muslims believe in an afterlife where they will be held accountable for their lives (Akhra), they believe that by participating in the Hajj there is a greater prospect of reward in the afterlife. The Hajj is not only significant to the individual but also to the community. The Hajj is significant to the individual as the Hajj is an opportunity for Muslims to experience spiritual rebirth and develop a sense of consciousness in Allah. It is also opportunity to reassess and confirm their Islamic beliefs. The Hajj provides opportunity for the pilgrim to improve their spirituality through worship, hardship and salat. It focuses the individual on jihad; sacrificing time, skills, money and struggling against external evils. Enables the pilgrim’s renewal through cleansing from sin. â€Å"whoever performs the Hajj†¦ will come home like a newborn†. The Hajj reinforces Allah’s mercy and compassion as it exceeds His anger by forgiving the sins of the sinful creation by declaring an absolute pardon for every pilgrim upon completion of the accepted rituals of Hajj. The individual strengthens their relationship with Allah and gains a greater understanding of Islamic history and has a better prospect of reward in the afterlife. The Hajj is significant to the community as the Hajj is a sign of unity, equality and a sense of pride in the global umma as they pray together and are equal in the ihram garments. It brings together Muslims of all races to from a fellowship for such a significant practice in the Islamic faith, and the hajj acts as a universal reminder of the blessing of Allah on humanity of our diversity and the brotherhood to worship the one Allah. As the Hajj and Environmental ethics apply themselves with todays contemporary society, the beliefs and sacred texts are used to form ideas of how to look after the environment and why it is necessary to participate in the Hajj.

Accidents Resulting from Police High Speed Pursuits and Responses to Research Paper

Accidents Resulting from Police High Speed Pursuits and Responses to Emergency Calls - Research Paper Example Driver training has been implemented in previous policy changes. Response policies have also been reviewed in the past but there is still a need to look into them one more time to reduce the rising accident cases. Whenever the police are on a high speed chase, they break all the traffic rules. They do not stop at stop signs, they are free to drive on the opposite lanes, and even when they ram into civilian vehicles, they do not stop to ensure the safety of the victims. High speed chases are among the top reasons of accidents in the highways. Despite the actual intention to capture the law breakers, the police violate their response policies by being too inconsiderate and putting the lives of others at risk. The suspects only use the high speeds while trying to escape from the police. Persistence of the police to keep up with the deadly speed only adds fuel to the fire, and not only does it place the lives of other motorists and pedestrians at risk but also threatens the lives of the police and the suspects. Emergency response services provided by the police also fall in the same category of road hazards. While the police are on an emergency response mission, they break all the rules of traffi c, endangering the lives of innocent civilians. Due to flashing lights and loud sirens, the police assume that their vehicles are immune to accidents, and cruise through crowded cities at very high speed, which causes fatalities in case of accidents. The response safeguards several lives at the expense of hundreds more. Emergency responses are vital, but there is no logic in endangering other lives and the respondents lives at the same time. This paper addresses the accidents resulting from police speed pursuits, responses to emergency calls, and the most relevant liability policy that can be implemented to change this. Lawsuits on deaths, damage of private property, and injuries of innocent pedestrians have become the order of the day with each high speed pursuit that takes to the suburbs. This paper focuses on police negligence while in hot pursuits and while responding to emergency calls. It further addresses the need to introduce a more conservative response policy among the off icers. Literature review The National Highway Traffic Safety administration in the United States undertook a survey in 1998 to gather statistics on road fatalities and accidents. The survey found out that in that year, 314 people were killed by the police in high speed pursuits. Among the 314 people, two were police officers who were on pursuit, 198 were suspects who were trying to escape the police and 114 were innocent pedestrians and motorists who were on the roads where the pursuits occurred. The findings also showed that by that time, 10% of all pursuits claimed lives, with 42% of the victims being bystanders who had nothing to do with the pursuits (Hickey Law Firm, 2011). In April 9th 2011, a veteran police officer in pursuit of a suspect rammed into a private car that was carrying a woman, her son and her one year old daughter. The impact was so hard that the baby and the mother were thrown off the car. The child was severely injured and, according to the report, was in a bad condition when she was admitted to the hospital. The woman and her son suffered several injuries and were treated in a hospital in Essex County. The police officer was not hurt and he went right back to work. Similar cases have happened before whereby the police cause fatal accidents and they assume their normal lives as if nothing happened. The negligence to the response policies laid down by the

Designing an In-Service for Underserved Population about Health Care Research Paper

Designing an In-Service for Underserved Population about Health Care Resources - Research Paper Example Moreover, a curriculum will be designed to organize what the program will address and various stakeholders as well as concerned parties will be involved. The reason why I have decided to handle the drug and substance abuse topic in this in-service program is that majority of the underserved population lacks knowledge about the health care resources about drug and substance abuse provided by the federal and state governments. Such resources include information about drug and substance abuse, rehabilitation facilities and drugs, information about the law monitoring distribution and sale of drugs and chemical substances and the places where they can go for advice on drug and substance abuse. As a result, these kinds of people are not able to access such services when they need them and therefore they become victims of the drug and substance abuse menace. A very high percentage of the people in this underserved population that I have chosen are affected by the drug and substance abuse me nace whether directly or indirectly. I also discovered that among those affected by this menace majority got affected due to lack of necessary and up-to-date information about drugs. I also realized that a good number among these people do not know the health care resources availed for them by various governments. ... Moreover, it could make them to understand where they can get various services that they need in order to improve their conditions. Several organizations oversee the issues relating to drug and substance abuse in this country. These organizations are either national based, state based or community based. A national organization mandated to oversee the activities designed to hand the drug and substance abuse menace is the National Drug Control Policy. This is the organization that is mandated to design and develop the National Drug Control strategy that entails all the activities designed to handle the drugs menace (McCaffrey, 1998). Moreover, each of the American states has a department in its government mandated with a responsibility to oversees alcohol and drug abuse. A good example of such departments is the Missouri Department of mental Health that is a single state agency responsible for overseeing a statewide network of publicly funded substance abuse, treatment and recovery su pport services within the state of Missouri (MDMH, 2011). Moreover, there is also the Substance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that is the major federal organization mandated to oversee all the issues of drug and substance abuse throughout the United States. This organization works with other state, community and private organization to improve access to quality substance abuse and mental health services (Niles, 2010). It makes sure that all the necessary facilities are put in place to facilitate the fight against drug and substance abuse and to facilitate promotion of mental health. There is a very big controversy surrounding this area of drug and substance abuse. Most people argue that drug, substance abuse is the use of illegal

Media and Religion in Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Media and Religion in Conflict - Essay Example serious issues, news of other areas like entertainment, spiritual or religious etc are primarily targeted for the common man who can relax and rejuvenate with the information. I therefore, disagree with slinger’s assertion. Religion is intrinsic part of one’s life and is primarily used as a guideline for leading a moral and ethical life. Slinger’s claim that television has subverted the value system of contemporary society is biased not because as Postman (1987) says that it redefines the truth but mainly due to the fact that but for the television, world would not have known about the 9/11 catastrophe or quickly brought help to the victims of natural disasters from all corners of the world and habilitate them in the shortest possible time. The television news, howsoever gross they may be, nevertheless inform public about what is going on different part of the world. Newman (1996) says that some Christians are of the view that selective religious news should be broadcast. Their major fear is that television distorts news so how will one know if the selective news is correct? There are wide variety of channels that show all kind of shows, some may be offensive but then it becomes one’s choice to see it or not. One can exercise one’s choice according to one’s religious guidelines. In fact, television becomes one of the best critics to test one’s sincerity in one’s religion. If the person can be swayed by the images or content of the television, then religion plays not so significant role in his/her life. Television is the mirror of society and reflects its values and hence, cannot be antithetical to religious