A Comparison of Dulce Et Decorum Est and Exposure Essay example -- Wil

A Comparison of Dulce Et Decorum Est and Exposure Traditional war poetry gives the idea of patriotic idealism of war. This style of poetry implies that war is patriotic and that people who fight for their country are honorable. But many of the poets do not portray war as it really is, by glossing over the gory details with attractive images. Many traditional war poems were written before the war to persuade and encourage young boys to become loyal soldiers. Many of the soldiers were taught to believe that they were the chosen few and they were delighted to take part. They even thanked God, ‘Now, God be thanked, Who had matched us with His hour’. The capital ‘H’ on ‘His’ implies the importance; meaning that ‘His hour’ is God’s war. This makes the soldiers even more delighted and thankful. And the worst occurrence would be death. But as it says in ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke, death doesn’t last long and everybody shall die at one point, so why not die honorably for your country? Owen and many other ww1 poets were a contrast to traditional poems. They wrote about war realistically. They wrote from personal experience. They include horrific details of death and injury. They also criticized those who were running the war. Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 into a middle-class family. His family came under financial difficulties and his education was stunted. Nether the less his ability of poetry writing grew fuelled by his reading of romantics. In his twenties he went through life going from one badly paid job to another. During this time he had little spare time to concentrate on writing poetry. In August 1914 Wilfred Owen found himself with a stable job as a private tutor of a French family in the ... ...ir personal, first hand experiences of the war. Owen met Sassoon at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh. The two men worked together to write ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, this partnership worked particularly well as both men had experiences of war and could express themselves in their poems. Although ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Exposure’ are different poems, they have their similarities. They are both written by a man who was awarded the Military Cross for bravery at Amiens, they both have the same theme (war and the effects, both short term and long term) and both are superbly written. Wilfred Owen experienced the terrors of war first hand and filtered his experiences into his work. That is why ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Exposure’ are such wonderful, emotive and interesting poems. Their writer had first hand experience of the horrors of warfare.

Costa Rica Essay -- essays research papers

Costa Rica   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Known for it’s natural beauty and gracious people is a small country located in Central America. Located between the countries of Nicaragua and Panama, bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea is a true gem, the Republic of Costa Rica. Located ten degrees north of the equator Costa Rica is in the tropics and even though it is a small country it has a very diverse landscape and a variety of weather as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One unusual aspect of Costa Rica is that the country has no army and instead of a national hero being a general it is a young barefoot campesino (farmer). Costa Rica prides on the idea that they have gained through evolution what other countries have tried to attain through revolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first Spanish settlers arrived around the 1560’s and upon their arrival they were shocked that the indigenous people were resistant to forced labor and there was no wealth of minerals. in 1522 there were an estimated 300,000 natives and by 1801 there were only 8,000 due to intertribal conflicts, wars with the Spanish, illness from the Old World, intermarriage, and the sale of natives as slaves to other countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because Costa Rica was such a poor, neglected piece of the Spanish Empire the poverty gave rise to a simple life, with strong individualism, and an equality among social classes that contributed to the beginnings of democracy in Costa Rica.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Costa Rica’s government is divided into three branches with a Supreme Election Tribunal in charge of elections which are held every four years. Costa Rica does have a large beauracy, the government produces electricity, runs the telephone service, the national banking system, builds houses, and distills liquor. About 14% of the population is employed by the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today the population of Costa Rica is 3,710,558. The main agricultural resources are bananas, coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes, and timber. The main industries of Costa Rica are food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, and plastic products. The average Costa Rican’s annual income is only $2,719 compared to the U.S.’s $25,000. Minimum wage is just under $1 an hour. Spanish is the language of the country and 95% ... ...and monkeys just to name a few.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The country relies heavily on tourism and a type of tourism that is rapidly growing in conjunction with eco-tourism is the adventure tourism industry. Hiking, camping adventures, waterfall repelling, mulit-day horseback riding trips, wilderness skills courses, and whitewater rafting are some of the more popular adventures. Outward Bound even runs a school in Costa Rica.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All in all from what I can gather Costa Rica is best experienced by traveling through a variety of places around the country. Do what the locals do to experience the culture. Visit both villages and the capital city of San Jose, go to the beach and take a trip to the cloud forest, visit the National Parks and join in the local celebrations. One’s experience in Costa Rica is what you make of it but the opportunity is there to get a taste and feel of the traditional local culture. References 1. Sheck, Ree Strange, Adventures in Nature, Costa Rica, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2001 2. Kussalanant, Chakris, The Tico Times, Culture and Arts, VolumeVII No. 14 April 6, 2001 3. Yahoo, www.infocostarica.com, accessed o

Wealth Disparity in the United States :: essays research papers

Wealth in the United States has always been unequally dispersed among African Americans and whites, even dating back to the 1800’s. African Americans own less property, are less educated, and are in a lower socioeconomic class than whites. Policies since the 1960’s have been implemented in the United States, such as welfare, to help lessen the gap between the two, but the evidence suggests that these policies have not worked to their potential.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, the question that the author is trying to answer is what can be done to help lessen the wealth gap between African Americans and whites. The author looks at affirmative action, business ownership among blacks, but overall focuses most of his attention on home and property ownership.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author suggests that to achieve the goal of racial and class equality, a policy needs to rely on socioeconomic status, but especially take a person’s assets into account. Whites own substantially more property than blacks, which creates a large gap in assets between blacks and whites. While many blacks want to live in integrated neighborhoods, white neighborhoods do not want their property value declining, so therefore white flight ensues. The author proposes to have a policy that guarantees that black ownership in a neighborhood will not top 15 percent, so whites would be less likely to leave. Also, many incentives have been proposed to help the poor gain prosperity, such as a national wealth tax. This tax would make individuals review their assets and liabilities, and then individuals would be required to pay the government a percentage of that net worth.

Greek Life: the Negative College Experience

Rachael Susco Mr. Rose ENGL 1302. 13 6 November 2012 Greek Life: The Negative College Experience? Most people do not have the ability to think of college without thinking of some sort of Greek life organization. Whether that thought is negative or positive may vary, but it is rare to think of any time in a college of any sort without thinking of a fraternity or a sorority at all. This is to be expected because most of these groups have somewhat dominated their campuses for hundreds of years, or since their particular chapters were formed.Supporters of Greek life, especially of fraternities, argue that being involved in Greek life organizations encourages brotherhood, the development of leadership skills, and the participation in philanthropic organizations throughout the students’ collegiate career. The bonds of brotherhood within fraternities have proven to be some of the strongest bonds among young men across the country. When it comes to supporting each other, it appears th at the young men of collegiate fraternities are masters in the field.Whatever problems are faced by one brother can easily be backed up or even repaired completely by another, and the massive amount of time that the members are required to spend with each other due to meetings or rituals or any other function for the particular fraternity does nothing but strengthen the bond that was already set by initiation into the group. It is rare among college campuses, especially at Sam Houston State University, to see a member of a fraternity walking alone or spending any amount of downtime doing anything but socializing with the other members of their organization.This type of bonding can most certainly be considered to be a very positive aspect of participating in a fraternity, especially when the ability build relationships and work together as members of a team is one of the main concepts behind the organizations in the first place. These organizations may seem harmless enough in the set tings that are viewed by the public, but if a closer look is taken at specific time periods of brotherhood, especially pledgeship for the newest members of the fraternity, it is obvious that these groups are anything but innocuous.There have been many reports of underage binge drinking at the parties for all different fraternities and requirements of the pledges to consume extremely large and ultimately unsafe amounts of alcohol, all in the hopes of acceptance into the organization and done out of fear of rejection. For example, it has been observed for many years that the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Sam Houston State University requires their pledges to finish an entire handle of Jagermeister liquor among themselves within a small window of time, and if they fail to do it properly, they are handed a new bottle and forced to start again.This activity is done on Bid Day, the very first day that the young men announce their desire to join the fraternity. Another example of this ty pe of encouragement of binge drinking would be the two deaths of the pledges of completely different fraternities and two different college campuses during 1997. The first, Scott Krueger, an â€Å"18-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology freshman honors student† who died after a party that was thrown off-campus by the â€Å"Phi Gamma Delta fraternity† that Krueger was in the process of pledging (Scrivo 1). His blood alcohol level was a determined to be a â€Å". 1,† which is â€Å"more than five times the legal limit† (Scrivo 1). The second is Benjamin Wynne, a pledge of the â€Å"Sigma Alpha Epsilon† fraternity at Louisiana State University (Scrivo 1). His blood alcohol level after death was reported to be â€Å". 58,† a level that is â€Å"nearly six times the legal limit† (Scrivo 1). This type of strict enforcement and fear of rejection by the pledges must be taken into account when discussing what constitutes â€Å"broth erhood. † The definition of the word itself is â€Å"the feeling of kinship with and closeness to a group of people or all people. One could easily question how the requirement of new members to binge drink to the point of alcohol poisoning or potentially even death equates what is described so often as â€Å"brotherhood. † Another aspect that must be taken into consideration when defining â€Å"brotherhood† is the racial profiling that has gone into choosing and accepting members into fraternities in the past and how it has translated into today. Many different fraternities were originally founded as specifically one race organizations, such as â€Å"Pi Kappa Alpha,† which was rimarily an â€Å"all-white fraternity† (Black, White 1). Now, there are laws set into place that prohibit â€Å"membership bias and exclusion based upon race† in both United States educational institutions as well as in the â€Å"corresponding fraternities and soror ities† of the institutions, but this brings up the question of whether or not the organizations would be any different in modern times than they were when originally founded (Black, White 1). Are these organizations only accepting racially different members because they are required to by law?This question is very difficult to answer, but is something to consider once again when determining whether or not the term â€Å"brotherhood† is used genuinely or if it should be replaced by something a little more truthful: forced acceptance. Focusing again on the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and their lack of true brotherhood, there was a reported case of a student member of the PKA fraternity at the University of Tennessee being sent to the hospital during the month of September, 2012, with a blood alcohol level â€Å"well over a . ,† induced by the alcohol ingesting practice called â€Å"butt chugging† (Jacobs 1). This practice is more formally known as an â€Å"al cohol enema† and is essentially when an individual ingests alcohol into his or her system through the rectum, where it is then directly absorbed in the intestines (Jacobs 1). By consuming mass amounts of alcohol in this manner, the effects of the liquor â€Å"come quickly and potently† and are extremely dangerous for the individual partaking in the practice (Jacobs 1).Also, when members of this particular fraternity are asked about their experiences in the organization so far, all of their answers are overwhelmingly positive and many of them wholeheartedly support the claim that there is absolutely no negative aspect that comes with being involved in a Greek organization. How can a situation so incredibly terrible for the members such as the one that occurred at the University of Tennessee be encourage among the members and still be seen as â€Å"positive† in any way?Anyone with any amount logic or concern for the young men who join these organizations must take situations like this one into account when deciding on whether or not these groups are a positive aspect of the collegiate experience. Although all fraternities across the country are run in different manners and have different sets of rules that, all of them have some sort of executive board or positions that are deemed the leaders of the organization.They tend to have jobs, such as running the meetings, managing the money for the fraternity, filling out necessary paperwork for every different type of function, or taking care of matters of law breaking within the fraternity. Holding this type of position is considered to be prestigious because it means that that particular member is an excellent example of leadership towards their peers, and by being voted into a position of executive power, these leadership qualities are refined by the work required of that position.Refining leadership qualities can be used later on in life in the setting of the adult work environment, which can u ltimately lead to better paying jobs and a more impressive, well-respected position in life. Again, this is a nice enough concept, but not necessarily as true as it seems if examined in the actual fraternities.Personal interviews with the members of Tau Kappa Epsilon at Sam Houston State University have revealed that even though a member is elected into position by his peers, his position is not necessarily respected, especially if the elected member is young in both age and amount of years they have been involved in the organization. The amount of time that a member spends within the fraternity ultimately equals the amount of power he holds in comparison to his peers, and according to the members of the TKE fraternity, this type of power tends to overrule the executive position holders regardless of the title that they may hold.This type of thought process will not always be functional or acceptable out in the workforce of the country, and many times if executive position rulings a re ignored, the result is a loss of a job or even jail time. If the development of leadership skills is supposed to be a positive aspect of Greek life, then the type of leadership qualities and the acceptance of them should be modified to reflect more real world attributes. Another positive feature of Greek life is that each organization has a particular philanthropy that they participate in and donate funds to every year.This annual participation with so many different organization is in fact one of the most positive aspects that all Greek life organizations have to offer, especially because of all the constructive repercussions that occur because of it. Not only do the fraternities and sororities donate to their particular philanthropic organizations unrelentingly, but they also raise awareness about the many different types of charity groups in the surrounding communities and in the world altogether among the other students of the universities.Each Greek life organization usually has a minimum time span, usually a week or a month, where they try to recruit the help of the students around the university in supporting their particular charity. By having a particular time span, such as â€Å"Movember† for the Delta Tau Delta fraternity which encompasses the whole month of November every year and encourages male students across campus to not shave their facial hair in order to raise awareness about testicular cancer, the organizations are able to plan events and different types of advertising in order to maximize the amount of awareness about their patronage.With all of these differing types of events for the philanthropic organizations, it truly helps to make such types of charitable work more approachable and even more exciting to an entirely new group of unknowing people, such as the non-Greek affiliated students on the campus.It would seem that fraternities and sororities helping out with charitable organizations would be somewhat difficult to underm ine and find any negative aspect with, but it most certainly is not that difficult when you consider that most of the Greek life establishments are only participating with these charities because they are forced to by University rule. If the Greek groups were not required by their Universities to participate in at least one philanthropic event every year, it presents the question of whether or not these groups are participating with pure intentions, or if they are only doing it because they are forced to.Something that should also be taken into consideration when comparing the positive aspects against the negative ones is again whether these patronage events are done with purely wholesome intentions of helping out the less fortunate, or if these events are done simply to add on to their future resumes in the hopes of again increasing their potential for better job opportunities.On the surface, it appears that fraternities and Greek life organizations as a whole have many positive as pects, until further inspected and genuinely analyzed. When the majority of an organization’s positive features are required by law or chapter by-laws and the members willingly participating in such dangerous or negative activities, the question of how constructive the organization truly is comes into context and has the ability to destroy any positive reputation that the establishment had to offer in the first place.If the laws and by-laws monitoring and ruling the fraternities were made stronger, or if more people spoke out about all of the negative aspects of the organizations in a more public manner, then the opportunity for such harmful results to come out of such groups that play such a major role in the collegiate experience could be greatly reduced or eliminated overall. Works Cited Arriaga, Robert. Personal interview. 5 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Fraternity Not Allowed on Campus Next Fall Due to Hazing Activities. Houstonianonline. com. Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Ho uston State University, 3 May 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Huchting, Karie K. , et al. â€Å"Comparing Greek-affiliated students and student athletes: an examination of the behavior-intention link, reasons for drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. †Ã‚  Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education  55. 3 (2011): 61+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Hughey, Matthew W. â€Å"Black, White, Greek †¦ like who?Howard University student perceptions of a white fraternity on campus. †Ã‚  Educational Foundations  20. 1-2 (2006): 9+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Jacobs, Don. â€Å"Charges Stemming from Butt-Chugging Night at UT Frat Heard in City Court. † Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville: Knoxville News Sentinel Co. , 2012. Knoxnews. com. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Scrivo, Karen Lee. â€Å"How Colleges Have Responded to Teenage Drinking. †Ã‚  Teen Alcoholism. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001.Contempor ary Issues Companion. Rpt. from â€Å"Drinking on Campus. †Ã‚  CQ Researcher  (20 Mar. 1998). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Stevens, Ashlei N. â€Å"Greek Members Are More Likely to Binge Drink and Use Drugs. â€Å"Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Report: Fraternity, Sorority Members More Likely to Drink, Use Drugs than Non-Greeks. †Ã‚  Spartanburg Herald-Journal  18 Feb. 2008: A1. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.

Accepting Men

For many things, change is inevitable. According to an excerpt tittled â€Å"Accepting Men as They Are†, written by Albert Ellis, men are sex- orientated, selfish, and workaholics. Ellis believes that it is useless to try to change a man because that is how they are built. There is no point in changing because it simply cannot be done. That could be true, however, this passage was written in 1979, about three decades ago. The author had another perspective because he lived in a different generation. Men acted like they were superior, but it is now the 21st century; times has changed, and so have men.Even though many people will say that men are all the same, men are capable of changing for the better. After all, we are all humans. Humans change for the better every day like going to rehab and fix their problems. Men that change for the better are shown throughout literature, history, and the media. There are many times where men were able to change completely, like the Grinch, Tiger Woods, and in the movie â€Å"Click† where Adam Sandler acted as Michael Newman who was portrayed as a workaholic.In the passage, Ellis stated that â€Å"All men are selfish†, however in the popular childrens’ book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Grinch was able to change. Symbolic of men, the Grinch was selfish, bitter, and did not want to relate himself to any of the Whos. He wanted to take everyone’s joy away so he attempted to steal Christmas. Even though he takes all the decor, he was appalled that everyone still had the holiday spirit in them. Because of a young adolescent named Little Cindy Loo Who, he was able to change and return all the decorations and presents back to the village.One of the peak points in the movie was when Little Cindy Loo Who was about to fall off a cliff because of his sleigh was too heavy to carrying all the Christmas decorations and presents. The Grinch’s heart grew bigger and bigger, and he did not care if he got hurt and tried to save the life of the child that saved his. The villagers were able to see that he transformed into a heartwarming man. They gave him a chance and at the end the Grinch was able to cut the ham. Due to his positive outlook he was able to become a new person and change into a better man.Albert Ellis claims that men only want sex from a woman. However, some men are lustful to the extent where they were addicted to it, and even lost their whole family. In the last year, Tiger Woods was exposed to the media for having many mistresses and cheating on his wife. Not too long after this was made public, they got a divorce. Woods realized his obsession with sex, and checked into rehab. Even though this is one of the times where it was too late for the man to realize his addiction, he was able to admit that he had a problem.He lost his wife, kids, and almost his career. Checking into sex rehab was one of the choices for him and was a big step, but he knew he had to chan ge. He already lost his family, but he did not want to lose everything he had, including his career. This is to show that he is progressing into a better person. Some men become workaholics because they need it to support their family. In the movie â€Å"Click†, Adam Sandler plays a workaholic that tries to give the best to his family. By using a remote to fast forward time, he was able to fast forward to where he was promoted.In doing so, he spent many nights working on projects that will prove to his boss that he is a trustworthy person that can handle bigger jobs. He could not wait any longer so he went to a mad scientist which fast forwarded time, and sent him to a different time in the future. Traveling through time saw how he would be in the future if he kept focusing on his work. He lost his wife and kids, and devoteds his whole life to his job. He realized that he missed all the good times with his wife and children, and was fortunately able to go back and realize his mistake.He paid more attention to his wife and kids and was more romantic. He changed his outlook on life and was able to get back his old life. All men are different, but one thing in common is that they are able to change for worse and better. The only person you can change is yourself. Without saying more, no one should be able to change anyone because it must be the desire of the person wo needs to change. Change is still possible, but it is in only self-realization where it can only happen.

Charlemagne The Undisputed Ruler of Western Europe

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, became the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. As Western Europe was deteriorating Charlemagne was crowned the privilege of being joint king of the Franks in 768 A.D. People of Western Europe, excluding the church followers, had all but forgotten the great gifts of education and arts that they had possessed at one time. Charlemagne solidly defeated barbarians and kings in identical fashion during his reign. Using the re-establishment of education and order, Charlemagne was able to save many political rights and restore culture in Western Europe. Charlemagne was born in 742 A.D., to a very famous and well-known family. Charlemagne’s grandfather was Charles Martel, the man who was responsible for the defeat of the Saracens. Charlemagne was also the eldest son of Bertrade (also known as Bertha Greatfoot) and Pepin the Short, the first to become king of the Franks. With the almost full extinction of schools in the 8th century, many historians say that Charlemagne received very little education, but did learn the art of reading from Bertrade. The one thing that kept Charlemagne motivated throughout his entire life was his deep devotion to the church. Charlemagne was a tall young man with light blond hair, and was described by his secretary as stately and dignified. Charlemagne had great wit, but was stern at times. He had simple and moderate tastes; he enjoyed hunting, riding and swimming. Charlemagne had a large wardrobe with many Frankish dresses, linen shirts and breeches, silk-fringed tunics, hoses wrapped with bands, and for the winter he had coats made of otter or marten skins. Charlemagne asked his people to improve their lifestyles, but he divorced two of his four fives without any given cause. In 768 A.D., Charlemagne at the age of 26, along with his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of Franks. However, in 771 A.D. Carloman died, making Charlemagne the sole ruler of the kingdom. At this time the northern part of Europe was out of order and unruly. In the south, the Roman Catholic Church was asserting itself alongside the Lombard kingdom in Italy. While in Charlemagne’s own kingdom, the people were becoming and acting as barbarians and neglecting education and faith. But Charlemagne was determined to make his kingdom as strong as possible. In 772 A.D., Charlemagne put forth a 30-year campaign to conquer and Christianize the extremely mighty Saxons in the north. He charged over the Avars, a large tribe on the Danube. He forced the Bavarians to surrender to him. When possible Charlemagne attempted to settle his conflicts peacefully. However, he was forced to use brute in some situations. For instance, Charlemagne offered to pay Desiderius for the return of lands to the pope, but after Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized the kingdom of Desiderius and restored the Papal States. The most important aspect of Charlemagne’s conquests was his uncanny ability to organize. Charlemagne sent out more than 50 military missions during his time in power and he led the missions as commander more than half of the time. He was able to lead his troops through vast lands in unprecedented times, but his every move was planned ahead of time. Before every crusade, he informed all those involved the number of men needed, the weapons required, and he even went as far as to tell what should be in the supply wagons. These tactics were later studied and used by another great man, Napoleon. One of the smallest campaigns undertaken by Charlemagne became on of the most well known. In 778 A.D., Charlemagne led his troops into Spain and laid an attack on Saragossa. The movement failed and upon their recoil they were attacked from the rear and Count Roland one of the leaders of the group was killed in that battle. Roland went on to become a hero in medieval songs. By 800 A.D. Charlemagne was the sole ruler of Western Europe. His immense kingdom included what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It also covered half of present-day Italy and Germany, part of Austria, and the Spanish March. This Spanish March stretched to the Ebro River. Through his establishment of a single government over the entire Western Europe, Charlemagne re-established much of the old Roman Empire, which paved the way for the progress of present-day Europe. It was on Christmas Day in 800 A.D. that while praying in St. Peter’s in Rome, Pope Leo III approached Charlemagne with a golden crown and placed it on the head of the king. Charlemagne was a very noble man and he had great compassion for the peasant people and had a belief that that government was in place to benefit those that it governed. When Charlemagne came into power many of the people working under him were very careless and sometimes unfair. To change the ways of these people Charlemagne expanded their work, wrote down everything they did and forced them to work in groups of people. This helped those lacking in their work effort to restore some law and order. Two times a year Charlemagne would summon the leading man in the kingdom to talk about the happenings going around. Charlemagne always had the final word in everything including church matters. Charlemagne was determined in establishing improvement in lives of his people. By setting up money values he encouraged trade, he attempted to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and gave advice on different farming techniques. Charlemagne preached the most on education and Christianity to his people. He was responsible for the restoration of Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He also set up other schools for noble boys as well as peasants. Charlemagne was very devoted to education and he never stopped studying himself. He brought in scholars of many languages to his courts. He learned to read in Latin, some Greek, however, he was not too keen of mastering writing. During his dinners, he preferred to have men reading books to him rather than having jesters performing. For his churches, Charlemagne sent his monks to Rome to learn to sing. For his art collections, Charlemagne brought some valuable pieces from Italy. In the cathedral at Aachen there is a large monument, which stands in loyalty to Charlemagne for his religious devotion. Charlemagne built and was buried in the cathedral in Aachen. At the time of Charlemagne’s death in 814 A.D. only one of his three sons, Louis, was alive. Louis had a weak ruling after his father, which brought on many civil wars and rebellions. Charlemagne brought back order to Western Europe; he led his people to many victories and was responsible for the rise of Western Europe

Changes (John Updike’s “A&P”) Essay

Breaking away from the traditional is a struggle that contains several sacrifices and consequences. In John Updike’s â€Å"A&P,† Sammy is a young teenager who transforms his wishes into reality. At first glance, he seems like a normal teenage boy, but instead he is an observational character who is trying to find a way to stand up for himself. Throughout the story, he undergoes changes to reveal a different outlook for his future. Sammy demonstrates that he is a dynamic character through his views on the regular customers, his reaction to the girls, and in his decision to quit his job. First, the way Sammy sees the regular customers reveals that he is a dynamic character. In the beginning, Sammy is at the cash register checking out a â€Å"witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows† (Updike 18). The reader can tell Sammy has strong perspective on the customers that come in to the store. He sees them as disgusting, evil, lifeless and dead by the descriptions he gives the audience. As the story continues, Sammy looks down the lane and notices â€Å"the sheep pushing their carts down the aisle— [while] the girls were walking against the usual traffic† (20). The girls’ unorthodox direction represents Sammy noticing that the customers are followers– not wanting to break the cycle like the girls. From the description Sammy gives, the reader notices that he does not want to be like the customers, following the same rules, guidelines, and policies. By the end of the story, the girls are stopped by Lengel, the manager, when they reach the check-out lanes. The customers that were showing up, â€Å"like sheep, seeing a scene,† crowded around Stokesie’s lane to avoid any confrontation that was happening out of the usual (22). Sammy’s way of describing what the regular customers would do in a tough situation makes him wonder if this is the type of life he wants. The descriptions and views Sammy displays about the customers make him think twice about his surroundings. Next, Sammy’s reaction towards the girls reveals that he is a dynamic character. At the check-out, he notices that three girls walk in the store â€Å"in nothing but bathing suits† (18). As the girls head for the aisle, Sammy observes that they are not wearing shoes (19). He begins to check them out and discovers that Queenie has on a bathing suit with the straps down by her arms exposing her â€Å"clean bare†¦chest† (19). As they continue walking, he details how the girls look, from their â€Å"chubby berry-faces† to how their hair was not â€Å"fizzed right† (19). Sammy makes these vivid observations about the girls to show the reader how they stand out from the normal. The girls represent Sammy’s thoughts and views on how he wishes to escape from the ordinary. By the end of the story, Lengel comes up to the girls and confronts them about the way they are dressed. Queenie starts to blush and feel powerless when she realizes where her place is (22). At that point, Sammy stands up for the girls and quits. The reader can tell that Sammy is going out of his way to defend the girls and for what he believes in. Throughout the story, he wishes to escape and standing up to Lengel was a way. Sammy’s descriptions and bravery reveal that he is changing into someone different than the normal. Most importantly, Sammy demonstrates that he is a dynamic character when he decides to quit his job. By the end of the story, Sammy realizes that he is tired of being surrounded by what is normal. When Lengel asks Sammy if he has rung up the purchase in his hands, he starts to think about the process it takes for him to check-out a person in the line. â€Å"It’s more complicated than you think, and after you do it often enough, it begins to make a little song† he thinks to himself (22). By the detailed description given by Sammy, the reader can tell that he is tired, bored, and trying to find ways to make the ordinary fun. The first breakthrough Sammy makes is when he says, â€Å"I quit,† to Lengel after he dealt with the girls’ attire (22). Sammy’s message is clear and direct towards his manager, making the reader conclude he has finally stood up for himself. He starts to doubt his decision to quit, but sticks through when he sees the regular customers. At the climax of the story, Sammy heads towards his counter, and, â€Å"fold[s] the apron, ‘Sammy’ stitched in red on the pocket, and put[s] it on the counter† (23). Taking off the apron and leaving it behind shows the reader that Sammy has finally escaped from the normal and able to live a life that he has wanted. Even though Sammy decided to take a leap towards faith, he knows inside that the road ahead is going to be tough. Getting away from the normal can be complicated. The person will have to change certain situations and make them for their best interest. For Sammy, his views on the regular customers, his reaction to the girls, and in his decision to quit his job demonstrate that he is a dynamic character. With the help of the girls, he was able to stand up for himself and make a better future for his life.