The grand theatre leeds Essay Example for Free

The grand theatre leeds Essay Linda as a child is very excitable and active. She is dressed up (by her mother) in a very feminine way, however, she was a real tom boy inside. She carried on in everyday life things such as sitting down, as if she was a boy, legs wide open and crossed, as if unaware of the fact she was revealing her knickers to boys. On this scene when Linda is sticking up for him, they treat each other as the same sex, they are all the same as far as they are concerned, and they are totally oblivious to the world around them. Another scene when they are together is the scene when Mickey introduces Edie to Linda. They are all sat playing shooting with the guns. They are all extremely imaginative as they believe there are really shooting things. The three children are sat in the corner of downstage right, they are situate here so it makes them look smaller than they actually are because there is all the space around them compared to the amount of space used when the adults are on the stage. Here the relationship between Linda and Mickey is at its strongest. Linda hits the target every time, whereas Mickey misses, he doesnt show that he is jealous though. She laughs like a boy here, she feels completely at ease with him. Linda-Nikki Davis Jones-portrays the age of Linda very well here by shoeing the amount of concentration on her face when she is shooting, she is totally engrossed in her target. The relationship between Mickey and Linda is very close at this age and Mickey is not afraid to show his affections towards Linda or his mum. He doesnt think about his affections though, they are what come naturally to him; he loves to get excited and jump around. E. g. when Mickey bends over Linda to get the gun off Eddie he leans on her, whereas soon when he is a teenager he would never get as close to her as that without feeling embarrassed. The way Linda laughs when she wins shows the lack of problems and stress they had in between the relationship at that age, she is laughing with happiness and such an open body line, she has nothing on her mind. She has a lot of respect for Mickey but different to the respect he has for his brother, in the way that Linda laughs , flinging her head back as she does, she sees her self as equal to him, and would not get embarrasses in front of him. As teenagers Linda and Mickey are totally different. In the scene on the stile Linda is much more psychological, she thinks about her movements and what reactions they might have on Mickey. She is very flirtatious whereas Mickey is the shyest we have seen him in the whole play. Linda is stood astride on the stile; she is wearing her extremely short school skirt with her shirt buttons undone at the top. This outfit alone makes her look a lot older than she is (14) not because the actress is older but because her body language too is very different to hers as a child. When she talks to Mickey she tends to move forward from the waist as she speaks, revealing the space between her bra and her shirt. She intends to flaunt this to Mickey and his reactions are the total opposite of Lindas body language. He looks away and has his body on an angle to hers. He is embarrassed at the position she puts him in. Linda lets her hair down; she thinks that this will make her appear sexier. She is very impulsive here and doesnt seem to get embarrassed at all. She is much more sexually aware than Mickey and she thinks hes playing hard to get but really, he just thinks shes weird. Mickeys eye contact is very flickery and he doesnt actually look her in the eye very often. Her eye contact is very intimidating, her whole body level is a lot higher than him (because she is stood on the stile) and therefore she is looking down on him, making him feel small, her eye contact is fixed though in his eyes. She speaks in a slow provocative voice. When she deliberately gets stuck on the stile Mickey feels unsure what to do about this. She asks him for his help, she even says this sexily her knowing that he will feel uncomfortable about being so close to a girl wearing such a short skirt. He walks over and helps her and she presses her body close to him. Her eyes are still intensely looking upon him, he is aware that she is trying to flirt with hi but he is unsure how to react to it. He doesnt smile at all through this scene he tends to keep a straight face throughout but, making it obvious that something else is going on in his troubled mind. Linda and Mickey are almost at the end of the play, during the scene where Linda is trying to stop Mickey from taking his pills: In this scene both actors portray their complete change in characters well. Mickey has lost all pride in him self, he can barely look at Linda. They argue, this is a complete shock to the audience because you have seen them grown up from the age of 7 and yet you have never seen them argue. They have always stuck by each other. Linda is still behind Mickey but he is not the same anymore. Since Mickey got out of prison he had to take anti-depressants. Mickey has lost a lot of things, as a child he lost his dad. That is not something which has been an issue in the rest of the play. AS a child he lost his twin, he does not know about this but it makes the audience feel for him as all his life he has lost thinks. He lost his job, this made him become very cynical about life and be annoyed with Eddie his blood brother, this was the start where everything went wring. He had been made to grow up too fast, he had needed to, and he was annoyed with envy that Eddie was having such a good life. This showed tragic irony because; if his mother had have given him away he would have been in Eddies position not leading the terrible life he was now. His brother Sammy was his idol; right from the very beginning he looked up to him and loved him. He thought that Sammy was perfect from the beginning, but gradually, especially in the teenage section, he realised that Sammy was street- cred but was not who he wanted to be. Recently Mickey had been put under emotional blackmail from his brother; he didnt want to grass his brother in to the police because his brother got himself into trouble trying to help him. He had that dilemma on his mind. The weights of these problems and losses on his mind were conveyed amazingly in the pills scene. Mickey was pale; he looked several years older than he actually was. He was stooped over at the shoulders and wore brown baggy jumpers, trying to hide him. He lacked confidence because of his poor stance. Before he would stand tall and from the age of 17+ he was very open to Linda in a sexual way. Now they were so different he barely looked at her because he knew that he had given up on his life and felt ashamed that he had. When Linda was shouting at Mickey the tension felt was so intense because their body language was so private to themselves. This scene was the most emotional moment in the play for me because everything had gone wrong. You could see the frustration in Lindas face, she was frowning as she was shouting, she loved him and she had to watch her husband making a mess of his life because of the drugs. The voice skills the actor used here were brilliant; he talked in a monotone voice rather than Mickeys usual exciting voice. He also twitched which Mickey never did before; this showed what the drugs had done to him. All of the facial expressions and vocal skills were very subtle yet effective. The relationships between Linda and Mickey changed throughout the play; at the beginning they were extremely relaxed, fun, carefree, and full of life. AS teenagers they came to have more issues on their mind e. g. school life, one another, but they still kept the fun, and liveliness theyd had as a child. As young adults they had been forced to grow up as quickly as they did because they had to get married because Linda was pregnant. Because they had been forced to grow up like they did, they were face with more problems. Mickeys facial expressions throughout the play were the key to the audience believing whatever age he was, as a child they were much more impulsive and cheeky, as an a teenager he often looked embarrassed, and as an adult he looked extremely miserable, and stress ridden. Mickey and Linda both played their ages perfectly throughout the play and this were showed through their detailed voice skills, movement, facial expressions, and characteristics which ran through each scene. Willy Russell wrote this musical in a very witty and intelligent way. I noticed that in the beginning of the play there was a lot of humour, especially in the scenes between Linda Eddie and Mickey. The humour was used in ways which would show Eddies up bringing to be very different to Linda and Mickeys.

Richard vs Richmond Essay Example for Free

Richard vs Richmond Essay 1. The first recruitment poem, named Fall In follows the style of a simple ABABCDCD pattern, found most commonly within poems. However the second of which is the focus of our analysis, In Flanders Field, is much different. The first verses pattern is AABBA whereas the second verse is different yet again. Fall In has a style the is a lot more colloquial then Flanders Field relying on using more slang terms to attract the attention of the reader while Flanders Field has a tone that is a lot more easy going and not as in your face. 2. Fall In is much lengthier than Flanders Field; its words are much more direct and to the point. It contains questions that would make young men think about; how would their families and friends think about them given that they made the choice not to go to war. Flanders field arouses the memories of fallen friends and family members within the minds of men throughout the land, persuading and coercing them to join the ranks with many others. 3. The first poem Fall In is attempting to recruit young men to the forces by using what could be assumed as a sort of blackmail tactic. One can only assume that at the time of its publication the words found within its verses would have struck several chords in the hearts of the audience of young men, no doubt accomplishing its task; relying heavily on planting the seed of doubt into the minds of the young men, making them wonder just what indeed their family, friends and potential partners and children would think of their actions and absence from the forces during their countrys time of need. In Flanders Field follows a totally different path. I feel its words are meant to reverberate mostly in the hearts of those who have lost loved ones to war before; its words encourage those young people to pick up the torch and pride and carry it anew. I think personally that this poem would appeal to the more highly educated members of society, its words and underlying message would probably be more attractive to those with a higher education and a deeper understanding for poetry; Fall In uses colloquial language, slang and terms used on the street at the time, it would be much more likely to be understood by the lower class of educated men. 4. Despite my earlier comment that the second of the two poems under analytical scrutinising, I find the poem Fall In much more affective. It is easy to see how the questions would arose feelings within a young man of the time, not so much forcing but using a clever play on words to make them think that they would be lesser men if they did not do what many other men were doing and signing up for the forces. Being coerced and herded like so many sheep before them. 5. The structure of the first poem War Exalts is an unusual one, it is made up of question and answers throughout; one question is cheering on the war effort and the act of war itself while the reply completely disagrees with it, using religion as a main argument in retort. Anthem for Doomed Youth is a sonnet while the other is not; it follows the standard Shakespearean style consisting of 14 lines and five syllables per line. Both poem and sonnet respectively rely on de-idolising war itself; trying, one can only assume, to show the deadlier side to it by bringing attention to the point that not every one comes back alive to be praised by their loved ones, many will mourn. Too many. 6. I feel on a personal level that the shorter of the two poems is much more affective, this is due mainly to its mention of God. Most armies will use God to raise the morale of their troops, or simply to give good reasoning to their cause; with God on their side how could they lose? War Exalts will raise the question within any religious mind; what exactly does God think of war itself? To see your creations killing themselves in your name would upset anyone. Beliefs are harder to change, people fight against them and dont wish to have them altered, is it not better to have a good idea? Truthfully and from the heart this poem touched me, bringing to mind yet again the family members that have, and still are, fighting overseas in the name of God and country. Truly an affective poem.

Family Systems Therapy And Theories

Family Systems Therapy And Theories Family Systems Therapy is undergirded by a variety of theoretical approaches all of which focuses on human problems which result from relationships. As individuals we are encouraged to be autonomous, independent, make our choices and accept the consequences of these choices. This individualist stance seems to contradict the reality that we are born into families and spend our lives attached to a family either our own creation or one into which we are born. It is within these families that we learn, grow and develop. It is to these families we turn in times of hardships or triumphs. Family Systems Theories postulate that individuals are best understood within the context of their family. Like a living organism, families have properties which none of the individuals have, these properties are destroyed when members of the family are considered as individuals. Family systems theories shift the focus from individuals to the patterns in their relationships. Nichols 2009à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p102. The behaviors manifested in one family member are linked to the behaviour of other members and may be a hallmark of how the family system functions not just symptoms of one members maladjustment. The difficulties of the presenting family member may, according to Corey 2009à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ p.412 Serve a function and purpose in the family Be unintentionally maintained by the family Be a function of the familys inability to operate productively Be a symptom of the dysfunctional patterns handed down across generations. This kind of approach is very different from the framework of individual psychology which conceptualizes human problem in an intrapsychic framework. The body of knowledge known as Family Systems Theory arises from observations by counselors as they work with individuals and their family. According to family system theories families are systems of interconnected and interdependent individuals. They do not exist in isolation whatever affects the individual affects the entire system. Perhaps the most fundamental concept of how families operate is that the family is a system which has a tendency to maintain stability by using information about its performance as feedback Nichols (2009)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p98. In this theoretical framework a family is considered to be cybernetic. At the heart of cybernetics is the feedback loop which determines whether the current operation of the system is acceptable and if not attempts to make the necessary changes. The feedback can either be negative or positive. Negative feedback is not bad but indicates that the system needs to take corrective measures to return to stability. Positive feedback may have negative consequences as it may serve to reinforce an error in the system. In order to maintain this stability, there are family rules and family roles. Family Roles-this is a description of what is expected of each family member. At a basic level there are roles of father, mother, daughter, sister and so on, but there are less obvio us roles for example one member may assume the role of the responsible one or the humorous one as the case may be. Family Rules-these are often understood by member of the family although not written down and often unspoken; they set guidelines for how the family operates. For example a family would understand who makes the final decision in important matters. Although family members may see these rules as just the way things are they may or may not be aware that different families would do the same thing differently. The pioneers of family therapy recognized that social and cultural forces shape our values, thoughts and our concept of normal, but it was Murray Bowen that first defined a family theory. According to him, the history of our family creates a mold that shapes our values thoughts and experiences. He further suggested that this mold is passed from one generation to the next. Bowens theory focuses on two counterbalancing life forces. The first is togetherness and the second is individuality. When a family shares too much togetherness, fusion is created and where there is too much individuality the result is estranged family. He introduced eight interrelated concept to explain how families develop and function. Differentiation of self is the ability to distinguish and maintain personal thoughts feeling goals and identity in the face of emotional and social pressures to do differently.Differentiation of self is the cornerstone of Bowens theory. This involves the psychological separation of intellect and emotions and the independence of self form others. It is ability to think and reflect and not respond automatically to emotional pressure. Differentiated people have the ability to balance their feeling and thoughts, they are capable of strong emotion, yet posses self restraint. They are able to take a stand on issues and have the ability to think decide and act on what they believe. Undifferentiated people act emotionally they tend to be impetuous displaying submissiveness or defiance. They find it difficult to be autonomous and are unable to take clear position on issues. They tend to reflect the dominant emotional pattern in the family. Emotional triangles are formed when two people who are unable to resolve a problem draw a third person into the conflict. The third partys involvement may be short lived so forcing the two people to resolve their differences. If the third parties involvement becomes long term then a triangle becomes a part of the relationship. Triangulation ease the tension but freezes the conflict in place Nicholas (2008) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p128 and eventually undermines the relationship. According to Nicholas 2008 most family problems are triangular. Nuclear Family Emotional processes are the emotional patterns in a family that continue over generations. A partner who lacks differentiation in his her family of origin may become emotionally cut off from hisher parents and this would lead to fusion in marriage. Fusion can produce different effects on the marriage including emotional distance between partners, marital conflicts, physical or emotional dysfunction in one partner or projection of the problem on one or more of the children Nicholas Shwartz, 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ p 128. A parent lack of differentiation is transmitted to children in Family projection process. An undifferentiated mother may become attach to a child (or children) because she has decided that her spouse is inattentive to her. The mother would project her lack of differentiation to the child who is most attached. This child will achieve least differentiation and more vulnerable to problems. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the more the mother forces her attention n the child the more the childs functioning is impaired Nichols and Shwartz ,2008p129 Multigenerational Transmission Process describes the transmission of anxiety from one generation to another. This is the unconscious passing on of anxiety which overrides the adaptive thinking and behavior of succeeding generations. Sibling Position children develop personality characteristics based on their position in the family. Emotional Cut Off describes the way people manage anxiety between generations. the greater the emotional fusion between parents and children the greater likelihood of cut off Nicholas and Shwartz 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p130 Societal Emotional processes are social expectation and their effect on the family. According to Bowen, all families lie along a continuum and there are no types of family. He believes that optimal family development occurs when members are differentiated and maintain a healthy contact with each other. For Bowen, family problems are the result of emotional fusion. Typically the family member with the symptom is the one who is least differentiated. This member is unable to separate hisher thoughts from the families and absorbs the anxieties of the entire family. Structural family theory emphasizes the need for parents to maintain a clear hierarchical position of authority. The origins of the theory can be traced to early 1960s to Salvador Minuchin who formulated the theory and set guidelines for therapeutic techniques. The theory is built on three component structure, subsystems and boundaries. Structure refers to the organized pattern in which families interact. Nicholas Shwartz 2008à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p185. It describes the patterns of authority, communicating and interacting. Patterns develop as family transactions are repeated. In time these patterns become embedded and define roles and functions of family members creating predictability of the family interactions. These repetitions create expectations that establish rules in the family. Although alternatives are available the family rarely considers them and even in situations where patterns are dysfunctional, they are maintained. Dysfunction patterns give rise to a dysfunctional family structure. According to Minuchin, it is this dysfunctional structure which is the source of family problems. According to structural family theory each family system has subsystems. These are sub groups within the family structure which exist to accomplish various family tasks. Subsystem may be determined along the lines of generation, gender, role and interests. For example there are spousal subsystem and child subsystems. Within the subsystem each family member plays a different role. When one subsystem intrudes into another causes structural difficulties and indicates that boundaries between subsystems are diffuse. Diffuse boundaries can result in enmeshment. On the other hand boundaries which are rigid result in disengagement. Clear boundaries blend characteristics which are both rigid and diffuse. When there are clear boundaries parents occupies a position of leadership in the family. There are some aspects of the theoretical constructs of both Bower Family Systems Theory and Minuchins Structural Family Theory that are constant with my own world view. Like Bowen, I believe that our familys history creates a template which shapes our values thoughts and experiences and many of these values thoughts and experiences are passed down through generations. However this template in my opinion is only one of the possible template which shape values thoughts and experiences as there are many factories other than ones family of origin which influence who we become. Many persons can see the family pattern and make a conscious decision to build a life with different patterns. In this way the pattern in the family of origin is a powerful determinant but rather than been a template of what should be these patterns is template of what to avoid. The concept of differentiation is cornerstone of Bowenian theory and I share Bowens view that lack of differentiation can be transmitted from generation to generation. Parental lack of differentiation may manifest itself in children who are either emotionally fused or rebellious leading to emotional cutoff from family of origin. Bowen however seems to emphasize the mothers role in the process of passing anxiety from one generation to another. In my opinion he has pathologized the maternal role. Our social norms have prepared mothers to assume a nurturing role and this is not pathological. Bowens belief that there is a chronic anxiety in all life that is both emotional and physical Gladding 2009 p.235 is very different from my over world view. Generally the prominence given to anxiety as a defining force in all life is very foreign to my personal belief and system. My worldview starts from the opposite end. I see all of life filled with hope and choices. A life governed by anxiety is a life that chooses anxiety. It is my belief that the structure, subsystems and boundaries are three essential components of families. Family structure sets out the pattern of authority and the lines of communication. I strongly believe that parents should be in charged in every family and the children should know this. Parents should present a united front to children and any disagreement they have between themselves should not be played out with the children. Thus is one way of ensuring that the parent and child subsystems remain separate. To ensure separation clear boundaries must be establish between the subsystems. I believe that most family dysfunctions are the result of structural problems. Where there is no structure children develop chronic uncertainty which affects their overall functioning. Some children are at one extreme of severely maladaptive behavior while others are at the other extreme of over compensating behavior to gain favor. Along this entire continuum is the common thread of low self esteem. Keeping the family subsystems separated by clear boundaries in necessary for a healthy functioning family. Parents and children share their lives but parents relationship is maintained separate without threat from the relationship with children. These clear boundaries establish a hierarchical structure in which parents occupy a position of leadership. I believe that in Jamaica family structure problems and single parent households is a kind of chicken and egg situation. As the single parent tries to compensate for the absent parent, child and parent subsystems are confused as boundaries become rigid, defused, enmeshed and even destroyed. Often in these households it is hard to tell who is in charge and this leads to a wide range of problems including hostility between children and parents incest and other types of abuse. Many of these children assume adult roles before they are ready which result in early (single) parenting to begin the cycle once more. It is difficult for me to relate my own family to Bowerian family theory. Bowens emphasis on anxiety in the family of origin has no currency with me personally. Anxiety was not a part of my childhood. My parents were highly differentiated individuals who were independent thinkers. I am unable to see any triangulation and multigenerational transmission of anxiety. Among my nine siblings I do not even see birth order as an important consideration instead I see us accept each other as individuals with different abilities, talent, strengths and weaknesses. My family of origin was definitely ordered along the lines on Minuchins Structural Family Theory. There was a firm structure in place with strong subsystems and clear boundaries. We were nurtured and cared as children and guided into adulthood. We were encouraged and taught to be ourselves and the sibling all get along. My oldest sibling is 72 and my youngest is 49. We all agree that if our parent had any favorites among their children we cannot tell. The Bowenian Theory in counseling and psychotherapy is applied to trace patterns of family problems with a view to identify emotional reactivity and triangulation. The genogram has been found to be a useful assessment tool to identify these two issues. The aim of the therapist is to de-triangulate individuals and help them to develop differentiation. Along the way parents become better equipped to manage their own anxieties and less likely to transmit these anxiety to their children. Structural Family Theory underlines a therapy that seeks to reorganize families. The underlying assumption is that the familys difficulties are as a result of the organizational structure. The structural therapist assesses the presenting problems in four steps Firstly involve the whole family in the problem, secondly help them see how the family exchanges continue and support and perpetuate the problem. The therapist then exposes the impact of the past on the problem and finally explores options which the family members can take to relate in more productive ways that will create shift in the family structure and help resolve the presenting complaint (Nicholas and Schuartz 2009 p.196). Bowen and Minuchin had very different views of the source of dysfunction in individuals but both agreed that the dominant force in our lives is located in our families. Therapies based on this theoretical framework is directed at changing the organization of the family. When this is done then the functioning of the individual will be altered. This is not a change on the present individual only , but the whole family changes. In this way the individual change has a greater likelihood of remaining a permanent one.

Metamorphosis vs. Johnny Got His Gun :: essays research papers

Gregor vs. Joe The short story, â€Å"The Metamorphosis,† discusses how Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning transformed into a giant beetle like insect. As a result of Gregor’s appearance, he faces many obstacles such as loosing his job, communicating with his family, and learning to survive as a bizarre creature. Gregor shows a similar trait to the character; Joe in â€Å"Johnny Got His Gun†. These traits entail the solitudes and loneliness of being locked up in your own little world with no communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Gregor and Joe end up in a situation that neither of them can change. Joe has no limbs and is covered up to his head in bandages. He also has no ways of communication other than the movements of his head to make telegraph signals. Up to Gregor’s transformation, he was an essential part of his family by providing stable income and support. But due to his gruesome appearance, his family and coworkers immediately shunned him. However different from Joe, Gregor was in more of a conscious state, he could almost do everything a normal human could do. His father and mother kept Gregor locked in his room and continued to ignore his existence while his sister, Grete, attempted to keep Gregor fed. As time passed by, Grete’s efforts to keep Gregor alive diminished. His family neglected him and hastened his death. I think the author’s thoughts on how society reacts towards Gregor’s appearance are very accurate. Everywhere in today’s society, people are judged and treated based upon their outward form. For example, while walking through the halls of Coral Springs High, I overheard a group of kids criticizing a fellow student because of the way he dressed. Due to the fact that the students were too engulfed in his appearance, they failed to realize that he might actually be a respectable person. Metamorphosis vs. Johnny Got His Gun :: essays research papers Gregor vs. Joe The short story, â€Å"The Metamorphosis,† discusses how Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning transformed into a giant beetle like insect. As a result of Gregor’s appearance, he faces many obstacles such as loosing his job, communicating with his family, and learning to survive as a bizarre creature. Gregor shows a similar trait to the character; Joe in â€Å"Johnny Got His Gun†. These traits entail the solitudes and loneliness of being locked up in your own little world with no communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Gregor and Joe end up in a situation that neither of them can change. Joe has no limbs and is covered up to his head in bandages. He also has no ways of communication other than the movements of his head to make telegraph signals. Up to Gregor’s transformation, he was an essential part of his family by providing stable income and support. But due to his gruesome appearance, his family and coworkers immediately shunned him. However different from Joe, Gregor was in more of a conscious state, he could almost do everything a normal human could do. His father and mother kept Gregor locked in his room and continued to ignore his existence while his sister, Grete, attempted to keep Gregor fed. As time passed by, Grete’s efforts to keep Gregor alive diminished. His family neglected him and hastened his death. I think the author’s thoughts on how society reacts towards Gregor’s appearance are very accurate. Everywhere in today’s society, people are judged and treated based upon their outward form. For example, while walking through the halls of Coral Springs High, I overheard a group of kids criticizing a fellow student because of the way he dressed. Due to the fact that the students were too engulfed in his appearance, they failed to realize that he might actually be a respectable person.

Kurt Vonnegut :: essays research papers

Here is some info on Kurt Vonnegut. Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 11, 1922. After attending Cornell University from 1941-43 Vonnegut served in World War II and was captured during the Battle of the Bulge. As a prisoner of war, he survived the fire bombing of Dresden by Allied forces on 13 February, 1945 in an underground meat-storage cellar. When he emerged the next morning, Vonnegut was put to work pulling corpses from the ruins of the desolated city once known as "the Venice of the North." In one night the horrific fire-bombing of Dresden killed more people than the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, more than 135,000 in all. Vonnegut's first-hand experiences of this, one of the darkest episodes in human history, would later provide the basis for his most influential work, Slaughterhouse Five (1969), though it would take him more than twenty years to come to terms with his wartime experiences and complete the novel. After returning from the war Vonnegut attended the University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology. In 1947 he moved to Schenectady, New York, where he began to work on his first novel, Player Piano (1952), as well as a number of remarkably varied stories that would appear throughout the next decade in such magazines as Collier's, Playboy, Esquire and Cosmopolitan. The story starts off with Kurt reminiscing about the pass and how he wrote this book. The main character is Billy. Billy is born in 1922 in Ileum, New York. He grows into a weak and awkward young man, studying briefly at the Ileum School of Optometry briefly before he is drafted. After minimal training, he sent to Europe right in the middle of the Battle of the Bulge. He is captured behind German lines. That is where this story mostly takes place then there’s his wife who he meets later her name is Valencia. I chose this book well honestly I didn’t know what to read and this is what Mr. S suggested so I thought it would be good, but it just isn’t my type of book. Billy is the main Character I already talked about him in last paragraph, so you can just look there for more info on him. Kurt Vonnegut: The novelist inserts himself in the sections of Chapters One and Ten that frame Billy Pilgrim's story.

Armistice :: Creative Writing

It was raining. I was crouched in a large burrowed hole, surrounded by sandbags and half filled with sky water. I had not heard a single gun fire in what seemed like forever. I poked my head up, still clutching my gun with both white-knuckled hands. The dust and debris, everything along the empty street collectively turned to mud. Uniformed bodies lingered face down in the mire. The stucco buildings were sprinkled with bullet holes. Our snipers were on the cracked roofs to both sides, looming down on the center street like wicked angels with rifles. I could see Cleveland positioned in the shadows of a cracked building that once resembled a library. The big black figure masked in an ominously volleying afternoon shower. Joe Soap from Florida was hunkered in a leftover trench adjacent to where I was. The Sergeant and the other men assembled in a tall brick building to my left, stitching Healy and hopefully trying to contact head quarters. We had been lost for days with no word from any one, trekking from Caporetto almost to Vienna, through the worst carnage imaginable. We got lost somewhere and happened on a deserted mill town, twenty-three guys reduced to nine, including the Sergeant. Marky, the Sergeant’s messenger boy caught my attention running over to Cleveland unarmed without cover, then calmly to Soap, and then towards myself with something of a smile on his face. â€Å"Henry!† he said out of breath. â€Å"Is everything cleared?† I nodded. â€Å"Well then, the Sergeant would like to see everyone right away!† Marky turned and ran into the big brick building and at first I was uncertain to follow until I saw Cleveland emerge from the shadows with his rifle resting casually on his shoulder. Everyone was crowded around Healy’s lifeless body. He was still alive but the morphine had him now, his eyes swayed back and forth in his skull, his hands bloody and clenched. The Sergeant stood over him, smoking a giant cigar. I don’t know where he got hold of it, but he puffed and smiled and grabbed at his belt like a proud father. â€Å"Boys,† He gleamed. â€Å"I got something to tell y’all.† He paused for a moment. â€Å"The war is done†¦It’s all over. The powers that be had some sort of truce, signed some treaty.

Bullfighting & history

Since civilisation, humans entertain themselves in typical and traditional ways. Bullfighting is one of them and a part of Hispanic culture. Bullfighting is a national sport and spectacle of Spain. It is called the corrida de toros in Spanish; the bullfight takes place in a large outdoor arena known as the plaza de toros. The object is for one of the bullfighters (toreros) the matador to kill a wild bull, or toro, with a sword. At best, the term â€Å"bullfighting† is a misnomer, a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented, and physically debilitated bull. Supporters justify the act by calling it a tradition.Opponents maintain that no matter what its history, bullfighting is the torture, mutilation, and slaughter of animals for entertainment. Bullfighting can be traced back to ancient days. They were popular spectacles in ancient Rome, but it was in the Iberian Peninsula that these contests were fully developed by the Moors from North Africa who overran Andalucia in AD 711. Bullfighting developed into a ritualistic occasion observed in connection with feast days, on which the conquering Moors, mounted on highly trained horses, confronted and killed the bulls.The Minoans of Bronze Age Crete practiced bull leaping as part of religious ritual, and later Greek and Romans also had rites that involved the slaughter of bulls. The Moors, who fought bulls from their horses and killed them with javelins, probably introduced the sport to Spain (c. 11th cent. ). Originally the central figure in the Spanish bullfight was the mounted torero; Francisco Romero is generally credited with being the first (c. 1726) to fight on foot. Bullfighting is also popular in the Latin American countries of Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and in S France.The Portuguese practice a style of fighting from horseback in which the bull is not killed in the ring. Critics contend that bullfighting is an inhumane spectacle of animal torture; aficionados respond that it is a c omplex ritual central to Spanish culture. In Spain the bullfight is called the Fiesta National (The national Sport). There are few places in Spain where a bull-ring can not be found within a short drive. It is the most common thing associated with Spain, and rightly so for its origins date back to 711AD when the first bullfight (corrida) took place in honour of the crowning of King Alfons VIII.Every week, all over Spain, many thousands of Spaniards flock to the nearest bullring, but not all Spaniards agree with the sport, or like it. It is reported that each year, within Spain, 24,000 bulls are killed in front of an audience of 30 million people. The bullfighting season runs from March to October. Felipe V prohibited the nobles from practicing the sport as he felt it was a bad example for the public's education. From then on the commoners took on the sport, facing the bulls unarmed, dodging and taunting the bull then eventually placing small spears into the bull, the origin of the b anderillas of today’s bullfights.Around 1724 the sport was transformed from horseback to foot. The bullfight is literally a dance with death. The bullfighter has to carefully examine and study the movements and strengths of the bull. One wrong move and he will end up gored or seriously injured. It is certain though that at the end of the show, the bull will die, yes, it is literally a show. The bullfighter has to demonstrate his skills to the audience in a dramatic and enthusiastic way. If he makes a good job of it and gets a good round of applause at the end, he could be bestowed the ultimate honour by being presented with one of the bull's ears or its tail.If he has been really good he may even be carried round the arena. One variation of the traditional bullfight is bull running where bulls are released into the streets and masses of participants do their best to avoid them and stay alive. Pamplona is the best place to see this. One of the oldest bullrings in Spain is loca ted in the hilltop village of Ronda in Andalucia, southern Spain. It is the venue for one of the most spectacular corridas of the year. In early September the ring hosts a week-end of bullfights in celebration of Pedro Romero, the Saturday corrida being staged in Goyesc costume for which tickets are very hard to obtain.The bullring in Ronda is open to the public, with a small admission charge. The bullring also houses an interesting museum dedicated to the sport. A modern bullfight consists of three stylized parts (tercios). When the bull enters the ring, toreros wave capes to prod it to charge; then the picadors administer pic (lance) thrusts, which tire the animal and cause him to lower his head; in the second part, the banderilleros come out and, while on the run, plant banderillas on the withers of the bull; these often spur him into making livelier charges.In the final segment the matador, almost always a man, although some women have entered the sport in recent decades, amid c ontroversy, holds the muleta, a small cloth cape, in one hand, and a sword in the other. Feet Square on the ground and head hung low; the matador must then approach the bull from the front and kill him by thrusting his sword between the shoulder blades and into the heart. A matador's performance requires great skill and courage and successful matadors reap immense awards in money and adulation. Fighting bulls are bred and selected for spirit and strength.One of the biggest supporters of bullfighting is the tourist industry. Travel agents and bullfight promoters portray the fight as a festive and fair competition. What they do not reveal is that the bull never has a chance to defend himself, much less to survive. The bulls are intentionally debilitated with sandbags dropped on their backs. (1) One of Spain’s bullfighting critics, Joaquin Vidal of El Pais, wrote of drugged bulls at one bullfight, â€Å"There was nothing in the arena to fight. The bulls were mostly moribund.â⠂¬ (2)A study conducted by scientists at Spain’s Salamanca University found that 20 percent of the bulls used for fighting are drugged before they step into the ring. In the sampling of 200 bulls, one in five had been given anti-inflammatory drugs, which mask injuries that could sap the animal’s strength. One common practice is to â€Å"shave† the bulls’ horns by sawing off a few inches. (3) Bulls’ horns, like cats’ whiskers, help the animals navigate, so a sudden change impairs their coordination. Shaving is illegal, so a veterinarian sometimes inspects the horns after a fight.But in 1997, the Confederation of Bullfighting Professionals, including Spain’s 230 matadors, went on strike in opposition to these veterinary inspections. The bulls aren’t the only victims of the arena. The horses used in bullfights are blindfolded so that they don’t become frightened of the charging bull. They are often gored. At the Barcelona Olympics, The Philadelphia Daily News reported, â€Å"One time last night, the bull charged the horse, knocked off the rider, knocked over the horse and got his horn tangled up in all the padding.The frightened horse, still blindfolded, kicked furiously as it lay on its side. The bull pushed and pulled, shoved and yanked, unable to free itself from the horse’s padding. † (4) American author Ernest Hemingway, famous for romanticizing the bullfight ritual, once described the scenes of horses being gored: â€Å"I have seen these, call them disembowelling, that is the worst word when, due to their timing, they were very funny. This is the sort of thing you should not admit, but it is because such things have not been admitted that the bullfight has never been explained.Selective breeding has enabled ranchers to create a bull who will die in a manner most satisfying to the public. Mexican bullfighting also includes â€Å"novella,† or baby bullfights. The bulls that are used are all less than 3 years old. (5) The Portuguese bullfights that are legal in many U. S. states involve people’s teasing and attacking the bull. Eight men, known as â€Å"grabbers† line up in front of the bulls to grab the bull’s horns, piling on top of the animals and tackling them until they fall to the ground. (6) In Portuguese bullfights in many countries, the bulls are still stabbed with banderillas and have their horns shaved. (7)Although tormenting and abuse is part of the show, killing must be done outside the arena. In Colombia, there is an annual festival in which solitary bulls are tormented by thousands of people who think they are testing their â€Å"bravery† (aided by a festive atmosphere and large quantities of alcohol). â€Å"If nobody gets killed, it’s boring,† laments Carlos Perez, head of the committee that organized the contest in 1996. But even Colombian bullfighter Luis Cuadrado admits, â€Å"It’s just one bull against a thousand. morons.†Cuadrado prefers to sit on the ground until the bull is close enough to stab with a lance, after which Cuadrado promptly scurries away to safety. These festivals last four or five days, with at least 35 victimized bulls each day. Pope St. Pius V decreed that bullfights are â€Å"altogether foreign to piety and charity. † He wished that â€Å"these cruel and disgraceful exhibitions of devils and not of men be abolished† and he forbade attendance at them under pain of excommunication. 8) Even supporters cannot deny that the practice is barbaric.The Mexican author Eduardo del Rio glorified the maiming of bulls, candidly described bullfighting as â€Å"a stumbling block for the humanization of man. † Lyn Sherwood, publisher of a pro-bullfighting magazine, proudly declared, â€Å"I have no moral problem promoting something I consider morally unjustifiable. † Most forms of the practice are illegal in the United States because of its inherent cruelty. But tourists, especially from the U. S. , keep bullfighting in business. . According to a 2002 survey by InterGallup S. A. , 69 percent of Spaniards show no interest in bullfights, up from 30 percent in the ’90s. (9)At the same time, more young Hispanic people are protesting the crude ritual. In 1995, Madrid was besieged with 5,000 Spanish demonstrators calling for an end to the practice. Many anti-bullfighting groups have sprung up worldwide, including the Spanish Alternativa para la Liberacion Animal, the Mexican Pena Antitaurina Mexicana, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Tijuana and Mexico City. Spain’s Green Party has been working with the country’s Association for the Defence of Animal Rights (ADDA) to have bullfighting banned.In 1993, a petition drive by the coalition garnered more than 1 million signatures.References: 1) Phil Davison, â€Å"Matadors on Horns of a Dilemma,† The Independent , 12 Feb. 1994.2) Reuters, â€Å"One-Fifth of Spain’s Fighting Bulls Drugged? † 28 Nov. 2000.3) Al Goodman, â€Å"Machismo vs. Money: Whose Bull Is Gored? â€Å" The New York Times, 9 Mar. 1997,p E6.4) Bill Lyon, â€Å"A Slaughter That Is Really a Slaughter,† The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 Jul. 1992, p. C1.5) Tony Hendra, â€Å"Man and Bull,† Harper’s Magazine, Nov. 1996, Vol. 293, No. 1758, p. 69.