Tim O’Brien Essay Example for Free

Tim O’Brien Essay Tim O’Brien is a well-know war writer, probably the most famous war writer of our time but also a writer about relationships that disintegrate and how they do so.   His novels hinge on his own experiences in the Vietnam War or the time leading up to that experience.   But he is not a typical writer of war.   In Tim O’Brien’s novels, O’Brien blurs the lines between truth and portrayal of truth or fiction. In essence, he says that there is no such thing as truth. Truth depends on the perception of the person experiencing the episode and what goes on in the mind of this person. The truth fades and shifts or is illuminated further in the telling. Truth is slippery and ever-changing and completely subjective. He blurs these lines over and over again to show the reader the slippery slope of what we call truth.   O’Brien, in some ways, can tell the same kinds of stories but with a different focus so they are completely new.   Overall, O’Brien believes in the power of stories.   As O’Brien says, I’m a believer in the power of stories, whether they’re true or embellished, and exaggerated, or utterly made up.   A good story has a power that transcends the question of factuality or actuality† (Bonn).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   O’Brien’s novel styles and themes begin right from the start of his career.   .   If I Die in the Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home was published in 1973.   It is a memoir which deals with Vietnam and the region around My Lai.   It was the first book that began O’Brien’s genre of what is called â€Å"creative nonfiction.   And then comes his first published novel, Northern Lights discusses two brothers.   One has returned from war wounded and the two brothers are uncomfortable with their own lives as well as their relationships with their father, who has died.   His themes of war and disintegration of relationships begin to be shown in this novel. He continues with these themes in Going After Cacciato published in 1978 and the Nuclear Age in 1985.   Going After Caccioto is the story of a soldier who decides to run away from the Vietnam War. In many ways, this novel is an earlier telling of a story from â€Å"The Things They Carried.†Ã‚   The short story â€Å"On the Rainy River† retells this novel, only with a different ending, which characterizes O’Brien’s creative nonfiction.   In other words, the novel is another way that the story could have ended, not necessarily the way it did end.   Nuclear Age is a discussion of how we would live if confronted with the possibility of nuclear extinction. Then in 1990 he seems to hit a stride and critical acclaim with The Things They Carried.   This is a collection of short stories but also a novel in itself as it begins and ends with the same story.   The book begins with the quote, â€Å"This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author’s own life, all the incidents, names, and characters are imaginary† (O’Brien).   Two pages later O’Brien provides a dedication to â€Å"the men of Alpha Company, and in particular to Jimmy Cross, Norman Bowker, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Henry Dobbins, and Kiowa.† (O’Brien).     These are the novel’s main characters. The reader is meant to question the blur of the lines between fact and fiction. The reader is meant to ask, â€Å"Why O’Brien would be thanking these men if this work is entirely fiction?†Ã‚   In this book, Tim O’Brien manages this blur of truth in many other ways as well. One of thos e ways is that he creates a narrator who is modeled after himself. This narrator is a Harvard grad, a drafted Vietnam War vet, and goes by the name of Tim O’Brien. The reader is encouraged to connect the narrator with the author as a way to question what is true. The narrator says, â€Å"I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer than happening-truth† (O’Brien 203). When asked in an interview, â€Å"What do you say when people ask, â€Å"Are these stories true?† Tim replies, Tim: â€Å"I tell them to reread the book. It’s kind of the point of the book: What is truth?†Ã‚   Tim explains more thoroughly when he talks in the same interview about getting to a deeper truth through fiction.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"One of the chapters in â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a character with my name going to the Canadian border. He meets an old man up there, almost crosses into Canada but doesn’t. I never literally did any of these things, but I thought about it. It was all happening in my dreams and in my head. And the one thing fiction can do is make it seem real. To let the reader participate in this kid making this journey and it feels like it’s really happening. You hope the reader’s asking the same questions that you were back then. You know, like ‘What would I do? Would I go to Canada? What do I think of war?’ So even if the story never happened, literally, it happened in my head.† If I were to tell you the literal truth about that summer, the truth would be that I played a lot of golf and worried a lot about the draft† (Curran).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other words, what is the real meaning of truth?   O’Brien plays with this concept over and over in his fiction.   The portrays the strangeness of how the mind works when dealing with memories and hypothetical situations. In the Lake of the Woods published in 1994 A spooked veteran who has secrets discovers that his wife has secrets too.   Both of these people â€Å"escape† to the inner recesses of their own minds in order to come to some kind of terms with their lives.   O’Brien shows his mastery at blurring the lines between reality and fantasy here as well as the novel focuses on two of his favorite subjects, war and failing relationships.   As the couple struggles with the secrets in their relationship, O’Brien uncovers that fact that truth is what we say it is, and what we say determines how and what we think.   He continues to blur the lines even further with an essay called The Vietnam in Me in 1994 in which he goes back to Vietnam twenty years later to reflect on the experiences of the Vietnam War.   This essay also explores the deterioration of a relationship for him.   He basically tries to reconcile what really happened in My Lai in his mind after all these years while faced with the gap opening up between he and Kate. His more recent work changes focus just a bit.   War becomes more secondary content.   In Tomcat in Love (1998) this humorous story or â€Å"black comedy† as it is called in the Gadfly interview is told from the perspective of a sexist professor who attempts to deal with the disintegration of his relationship.   However, he tries to wreak revenge on his ex-wife by sabotaging her current relationship.   And in July, July (2002) ten friends reunite about 30 years after they graduate.     They find that many of the same things haunt them now as haunted them then, only they are at totally different places in their lives.   This story is much like The Things they Carried in that the individual stories are tied together in the end. One of the characters has been through Vietnam, but more than anything this book is again about re-telling of the truth.   The â€Å"truths† that these characters had identified for themselves thirty years ago are different in many ways than their truths of today.   Does that make them any less true? When asked about the various truths of this novel,   BRC: Your books, and their characters, display a certain amount of moral ambiguity—a sense of this is true but that also is true—or both could be true at the same time. Does this reflect your personal philosophy? TO: Yes. Truth evolves. Truth is fluid. Truth is a function of language. (If I were to say to you, ‘It’s now 10:00 A.M., I would be telling the ‘truth’ of Boston, Massachusetts, but not the ‘truth’ of Tokyo Japan). A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written. (Bookreporter). Ultimately Tim O’Brien is a writer who deserves all the acclaim he gets as he has much to say not only about war and relationships but about the very essence of truth itself.   He is a storyteller in every sense of the word and believes in the power of stories, no matter what kind they are.   In an interview, he clearly demonstrates his philosophy about the power of storytelling and truth. Interviewer: What can stories do for us? Tim: Stories do a lot for us. They can help us heal. They can make us feel part of something bigger. We all tell stories to ourselves—about today and tomorrow—we live our lives based on a story we tell ourselves. And we’re constantly adjusting it†¦hoping for a happy ending. (Curran) He describes good fiction as fiction that makes us look inside ourselves and O’Brien is a master even when the â€Å"content† of the stories are not typical for most of us.   He can make us look at courage and truth and evaluate our own relationships all in the reading of his fiction. Works Cited Tim O’Brien, Novelist.   Retrieved November 27, 2007 at Web Site:   http://illyria.com/tobhp.html Iver, Pico, Missing in Contemplation, Time Magazine.   2001, Retrieved November 27, 2007 at Web Site:   http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101941024-163119,00.html Bonn, Maria S. Can Stories Save Us?   Tim O’Brien and the Efficacy of the Text, Critique, Fall 1994, No 1:   2-5. ’Brien, â€Å"The Things They Carried,† Broadway Publishing. 1991. Curran, Colleen. Tim O’Brien discusses â€Å"The Things They Carried in Richmond for GO READ. Nov. 11, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2007 at http://www.richmond.com/ae/output.aspx?Article_ID=2730476 Tim O’Brien. Retrieved November 30. 2007 at Web Site:   http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-obrien-tim.asp

Developing Reading Habits in Students

Developing Reading Habits in Students Nowadays, most students are less keen on developing their reading habits. Still, to be able to stand on the same ground as other leading countries, this habit should be instilled on the students. Many parties especially the government and teachers are concerned with the students declining reading habits. However, parents are unaware of this problem or choose to turn a blind eye towards it. Parents choose to leave this problem for teachers to handle. The government, teachers, parents and students have their own views on this matter and in this essay I will state and discuss their views so that I can decide for myself who is responsible on how Malaysia could enrich students reading habit. After approximately 11 years in formal education, majority of Malaysian students are able to read efficiently after finishing their secondary education. However, even equipped with literacy skills particularly reading skills, the reading habits of students are still at an unsatisfactory level. The Sunday Star newspaper (8th August, 1999:p2) reports that the poor reading habits among Malaysians was common knowledge but, in true Malaysian fashion, it took an official survey to jolt the education sector that something had to be done fast. There has been a debate on who is responsible for these students who are lacking in reading. Many parties are blaming parents on this matter as they lack the time to teach their children the basics of reading. They are prioritizing more on their career and making money rather than their childrens education. The government is very much concern on this matter. Based on the statistics issued by the National Statistics Department during the year 2002, Malaysian students only read two books a year. Studies in the past have shown that the exam-oriented educational system in Malaysia promotes routine learning and that there needs to be a standard shift in how we view education and about the way we teach (Chitravellu, 1997). The Education Minster, Datuk Najib Tun Razak, has frequently commented in the local media that most students read only to pass exams and do not read for pleasure. He has been instrumental in implementing many projects aimed at improving students reading ability in the country. Reading skills are important throughout our lifespan, particularly as we respond to new demands and changes in jobs and reading for pleasure or recreational has been found to improve reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammatical development (Krashen, 1993). The positive an d rewarding effects of recreational reading have been demonstrated in numerous studies (Burgess, 1994; Krashen, 1984, 1993). In other words, it is important that Malaysia must aim to re-evaluate the present education system, not to reverse it or simply oscillate forward and backward within the same unchanging parameters, without ever conducting a critical evaluation of where, how, and why things went wrong. The government must therefore set up an educational re-evaluation or reform program or a national enquiry committee to look seriously into the Malaysian education and develop a set of realistic, practical, and forward-looking ideas for improving the national education system in accordance with the requirements and ideals of Vision 2020. However, the more immediate task is to prepare the future human resource of the nation with the ability and intellectual skills to adapt to the expansion of the Malaysian economy and its globalization. Parents are the most influential people in the life of a child; students normally model the behaviours and attitudes of their parents after constantly observing them since they were in diapers. Logically, if the parents have positive attitudes the child will mimic and model after them. It goes the same if the parents have negative attitudes and behaviours. If the parents themselves do not make reading as a daily activity, they should not expect their child to cultivate reading as a daily activity. In this context, parents should be good role models to the students by including reading as one of their daily activities (Clark, 2007). Other than that, parents should allocate a small percentage of their monthly earnings to purchase books and suitable reading materials for their children. They should also designate a small section in the house specifically for reading. This allows their children to always have a place to read. If the child is still an infant or a toddler, allocate some pe rsonal time with and read a story book together. By the time child is starting his or her formal education, he or she will associate reading with not only for exams but also for pleasure. Parents also can bring their child to the local library and allow them to read books which discuss the topics of their interest. If the child is fond of cars then allow him to read a book regarding the anatomy of a car. By doing so, the child is reading for pleasure and personal interest. This can translate into good academic performance and personal development in the future. Other than parents, the school which is the primary educational institution of the society also has a crucial role to play in improving students reading habits. The school library is one of the usual facilities found in a public school. However, it is not fully utilised by the students. Students will seldom go and read at the school library unless it is for some special reading programme which is conducted once or twice a week by the school. This may be due to the schools library lacking certain attractive factors. The school should allocate some money to ameliorate the facilities of the schools library. Computers should be provided to enable the students to utilise the internet for research and also to locate online reading materials. Air-conditioners should be installed and quality chairs as well as tables should be provided in order to create a conducive reading ambience. The books available should be of variety of genre and topics to capture the many interests of the students. Th e school engender book publishing companies such as McGraw-Hill and Dawama in order to purchase suitable reading materials for the library. The elected student librarians and the teacher-in-charge should make an effort to promote the books available in the library to the student body. Most of the time students have no interest to go to the school library due to the absence of awareness regarding the books available there which may attract their interest (Clark, 2010). Lastly, the only people that can improve the students reading habit are the students themselves. It is futile to assist the students in improving their reading habits if they themselves have no intention of doing so. The student should be aware that reading is one of the primary key to success in the modern world. In our information-saturated globe, knowledge is constantly being updated and upgraded wherein previous information would deem obsolete or impractical. Moreover, with the advent and evolution of the internet, information can be transmitted throughout the whole world in the blink of an eye. Therefore, it is imperative for students to make reading as a pleasurable and continuing habit if he or she wants to stay abreast with the world and have the competitive edge. Students should realise that they will have to read continuously even after finishing their formal education. The knowledge that the students studied when they were sitting for their exams may have undergone signifi cant changes in the next five or ten years. In order to keep abreast with current development, students must read relevant publications. If the students do not hone this habit, they will not have the initiative to constantly read not only to improve their career standing but also for personal development in order to become a better and useful citizen. There are many reasons for the deplorable reading habits of Malaysian students either due to parental, school-related or personal habits. Even so, they are innumerable numbers of ways to improve the current reading habits of students. This requires the amalgamation of the efforts of many authoritative bodies such as the school and the government. Readings is one of the most essential language abilities. I am not implying that the other language skills are of lower standard but much of the knowledge within the society is disseminated through writing. For me, personally, even after just finishing school I still allocate some time to read books concerning my area of interest such as linguistics and novels. I read such books not for passing an exam later on but for reading itself. In conclusion, even though students are still passing exams, their reading habit is not continuous. Reading for pleasure is a far cry for Malaysian students as they are more exams oriented. Both the government and teachers have valid arguments to argue. Parents are the first teachers to children. However, parents fail to nurture their children in this habit while they are young. Thus, resulting in the situation we are nowadays. In my opinion, based on the current reading habit of the Malaysian students, Malaysia has a long way to go before it can compete with a reading and successful society such as Japan.

The Native American Experience as Portrayed Through the Essay Titled, A

The Native Land Imagine living in a place where you feel free, and safe all of your life, and then one day it’s all taken away from you. Native Americans have always depended on the land to take care of them. Had the Great Spirit forsaken them? These are the thoughts that pondered the mind of Seattle as he answered to the Governor of Washington, in the essay titled â€Å"Address†. What was the purpose or message behind Albert Bierstadt’s painting titled â€Å"Among the Sierra Nevada†? How are these two separate works associated? To understand the relationship that these two works share we must look at them from today’s perspective. The Address is a Political Science/ History piece that addresses problems, and states facts about the way of life for Native Americans the beauty of the land and how Americans were to take that away from them, while Bierstadt’s painting is able to show us the piece and serenity to the earth and within ourselves. Although the text and painting have different backgrounds, they are both similar a different in many ways. Both the text and the painting challenge the relationship between land uses, background of ancestors, and power. The painting and essay display similar expressions of darkness to light. The mountains represent the downfall of Native Americans fore fathers being forced westward out of their land (Seattle, 55). Bierstadt’s painting depicts the freedom of Native Americans being driven out of their homes and lands, interrupting their peace. â€Å"Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold, and which to us appear challenges and eternal, may change† (Seattle, 55). This statement illustrates even though they are the same people inside their way of thinking about wha... ...sion Native Americans made a connection with the earth that was an ongoing affirmation to be close to nature. To witness the beauty of the land and all it had to offer them. Seattle’s address took a strong and powerful stance against the Americans, not only did he stand up for his people but he showed the wrong in the Americans. The essay and art work have affected the progress and solidity of the Native American culture in the past and the present. Each piece possess vitality, power and a drive to move forward, they also coincide on different levels where as to the message, that they bring forth understanding the environment and relationship between land, and man.† At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land† (Seattle, 57).

hydropower :: essays research papers

Renewable Energy (Hydropower) The first time hydropower was used was in 1880 to generate 16 lamps at a wolverine chair factory in Grand Rapids Michigan. In the United States, hydroelectric plants opened near Appleton, Wisconsin on the Fox River on September 30, 1882. At that time, the only fuel used to make electricity was coal because of its abundance and low cost. People knew about hydroelectric power but the only places you could do that is by a water source. Hydropower became more popular when technology could send electricity long distances. To make hydropower, you have to direct moving water into pipes known as penstock. The swiftly flowing water in big rivers determines the energy produced or waterfalls, like the Columbia River or Niagara Falls. After the moving water is directed into the penstock, it pushes against the blades in the turbine to spin a generator that produces electricity. The other way to get hydropower is a storage system where water is collected by dams and will direct water into the penstock to turn the generator when the demand for electricity is high. The water being held back by the dam becomes lakes used for boating and fishing. The rivers beyond the dam become whitewater rafting and kayaking spots. An example of this is the Hoover dam, made in 1936 between Arizona and Nevada. This dam created lake 110 miles long called Lake Mead, offering water sports and fishing. Almost all of the hydroelectricity made in the United States is made in nine states, Washington, California, Oregon, New York, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Arkansas, and Nevada. Hydropower is an ideal fuel because it is renewable and almost free, having no waste products, and does not pollute the water or air. A negative about hydropower is how it changes the environment and alters the natural habitats. An example of the negative effect on nature by a dam was when the salmon was blocked from their spawning grounds upstream.

Teenage Abortion Essay -- essays research papers

Teenage Women, Abortion and Law Abortion has always been a very controversial issue. This can be due to the fact that people have different beliefs that are emphasized by their own religion and set of moral values. Many people believe that abortion is wrong, but they believe that is it only wrong under certain circumstances. This could be true, but is it more right to kill for a specific reason than to just do it because you made an irresponsible decision? Because of the wide spectrum of religion and various moral beliefs, there will never be a right or wrong answer to abortion. Fact: Each year, one million American teenagers become pregnant, and 85% of these pregnancies are unintended. Four in every five Americans begin having intercourse before age 20. Many of the youngest women in this group (60% of those age 15 or under) report having had sex forced on them. By the time they turn 20, about 40% of American women have been pregnant at least once. Many of these young women have little understanding of their bodies and have begun having sexual intercourse before knowing about ways to prevent pregnancy. Because teens in other developed countries receive more education about sexuality and have more access to contraception and family planning services, they have much lower rates of pregnancy and abortion. For example, in the Netherlands, where teenage sexual activity is about the same as in the U.S., pregnancy rates are only one-ninth those of the United States. Fact: Of teenage women who become pregnant, about 35% choose to have an abortion rather than bear a child. Next slide Teenagers with unplanned pregnancies face difficult choices. If a teen gives birth and keeps the baby, she will be much more likely than other young women to: „X drop out of school; „X receive inadequate prenatal care; „X rely on public assistance to raise her child; „X develop health problems; „X have her marriage end in divorce. Children born to teenage mothers are more likely than children of older mothers to suffer significant disadvantages: medical, psychological, economic, and educational. New slide Many states have enacted, or are considering, laws that restrict teenagers' access to abortion by requiring parental involvement in the abortion decision. Such laws include: „X Parental notification laws that require medical personnel to notify a minor's parent(s) of her i... ...el forced to have a baby against her wishes; her parents may turn their backs on her or force her out of their home; or she might run away from home to face her pregnancy alone. Some teens may resort to a secret, unsafe, illegal or self-induced abortion if her way to a confidential, legal abortion is blocked. Any additional state laws restricting abortion (such as mandatory waiting periods between abortion counseling and abortion procedures) are doubly burdensome for teenage women who have fewer resources, less privacy, and less ability to meet all the requirements. All such restrictions to a woman's access to safe and legal abortion rob her of her ability to take control of her life. Fact: Laws restricting teen access to abortion. Laws in 46 states and the District of Columbia allow mothers who are under 18 to place their children for adoption without involving their parents, but many of those same states require parental notification or consent before these young women can obtain abortions. This sets up a standard that clearly favors one resolution over another, restricts the reproductive choices of young women, and forces some to bear children that they do not want to bear. Teenage Abortion Essay -- essays research papers Teenage Women, Abortion and Law Abortion has always been a very controversial issue. This can be due to the fact that people have different beliefs that are emphasized by their own religion and set of moral values. Many people believe that abortion is wrong, but they believe that is it only wrong under certain circumstances. This could be true, but is it more right to kill for a specific reason than to just do it because you made an irresponsible decision? Because of the wide spectrum of religion and various moral beliefs, there will never be a right or wrong answer to abortion. Fact: Each year, one million American teenagers become pregnant, and 85% of these pregnancies are unintended. Four in every five Americans begin having intercourse before age 20. Many of the youngest women in this group (60% of those age 15 or under) report having had sex forced on them. By the time they turn 20, about 40% of American women have been pregnant at least once. Many of these young women have little understanding of their bodies and have begun having sexual intercourse before knowing about ways to prevent pregnancy. Because teens in other developed countries receive more education about sexuality and have more access to contraception and family planning services, they have much lower rates of pregnancy and abortion. For example, in the Netherlands, where teenage sexual activity is about the same as in the U.S., pregnancy rates are only one-ninth those of the United States. Fact: Of teenage women who become pregnant, about 35% choose to have an abortion rather than bear a child. Next slide Teenagers with unplanned pregnancies face difficult choices. If a teen gives birth and keeps the baby, she will be much more likely than other young women to: „X drop out of school; „X receive inadequate prenatal care; „X rely on public assistance to raise her child; „X develop health problems; „X have her marriage end in divorce. Children born to teenage mothers are more likely than children of older mothers to suffer significant disadvantages: medical, psychological, economic, and educational. New slide Many states have enacted, or are considering, laws that restrict teenagers' access to abortion by requiring parental involvement in the abortion decision. Such laws include: „X Parental notification laws that require medical personnel to notify a minor's parent(s) of her i... ...el forced to have a baby against her wishes; her parents may turn their backs on her or force her out of their home; or she might run away from home to face her pregnancy alone. Some teens may resort to a secret, unsafe, illegal or self-induced abortion if her way to a confidential, legal abortion is blocked. Any additional state laws restricting abortion (such as mandatory waiting periods between abortion counseling and abortion procedures) are doubly burdensome for teenage women who have fewer resources, less privacy, and less ability to meet all the requirements. All such restrictions to a woman's access to safe and legal abortion rob her of her ability to take control of her life. Fact: Laws restricting teen access to abortion. Laws in 46 states and the District of Columbia allow mothers who are under 18 to place their children for adoption without involving their parents, but many of those same states require parental notification or consent before these young women can obtain abortions. This sets up a standard that clearly favors one resolution over another, restricts the reproductive choices of young women, and forces some to bear children that they do not want to bear.

Symbolism in a Seperate Peace

â€Å"A Separate Peace† Throughout the novel, many settings reveal characters and events that had great importance in the book. The tree, the Assembly Room and the White Marble Staircase revealed Finny’s accident, and how the characters reacted. At the tree, Phineas is shaken from the tree and into the Devon River. Finny breaks his leg, creating the climax of the novel and a while after, Brinker hosts a trial to discover the truth about what really happened at the tree in the Assembly Room. During the trial Gene is revealed as a coward.He begins to make up lies to show that he didn’t push Finny out of the tree. He eventually starts to proclaim that he was standing at the bottom of the tree when Finny fell. When Brinker and the other young boy who had been questioning him came closer and closer to the truth, he began to come off very defensive to the audience; arguing with what they were accusing him of. As Brinker went on and on about what may or may not have hap pened, Phineas will not listen, and this portrays his character as very naive.For example, Phineas seems to be blindsided by the friendship he and Gene share, and believes that Gene truly was at the bottom of the tree, and also that he just simply lost his balance. Further into the trial, Leper Lepellier is called into the Assembly Room and clarifies what really happened the day at the tree. The truth was, Gene was standing on the limb right next to Finny and jounced the limb, causing the fall. Hearing this news, Finny is completely dumbfounded. He leaves during the trial very quietly and when Gene calls out to him, he responds, â€Å"Never mind.I don’t care. † This concluded the trial. The Marble Staircase is also a very significant setting in the novel. After the trial, Finny stumbles down the marble stairs, re-breaking his leg, Finny soon after dies from bone marrow entering his blood streams. This setting and the event that took place here impact Gene immensely. â €Å"Then these separate sounds collided into the general tumult of his body falling clumsily down the while marble stairs. † Gene says this as he is listening to his ‘best pal’ fall to his death. Fifteen years later, Gene revisits Devon School.Gene’s first visit was the Marble Staircase, where he reminisces about his best friend. Many settings John Knowles incorporated in the novel also reveal Finny, Gene and many of the other boys’ personalities. For example, one setting that was very substantial during the novel was the Playing Fields. At the Playing Fields Finny invented a gamer called Blitzball. Many of the boys enjoyed playing Blitzball (instead of the instructed game of Badminton) because Finny made the rules as the game progressed, showing his leadership as well as athletic side.During the game, Finny created a rule that there will be no teams, showing that he wants everyone to be included. John Knowles portrays Gene as a follower within the game of Blitzball. For example, Gene does exactly what Finny tells him to, when he tells him to. Additionally, Leper Lepellier’s character is also shown within the game. At one point, Gene throws the ball to Leper, he says â€Å"Leper looked up in anguish, shrank away from the ball and voiced his first thought, a typical one, â€Å"I don’t want it! This scene shows through Lepers tone and actions that he is very shy and lonely, hence his given nick-name of ‘Leper’. In chapter three Finny and Gene take a trip to the beach. When Finny convinces Gene to go to the beach to go to the beach with him, it reveals that Gene is willing to do everything in his power to earn Finny’s approval; even if it means failing the math test he should be studying for he would attend the next morning. While being at the beach the boys do activities such as swimming in the ocean and drinking in the bar.This represents the main theme of the novel, â€Å"A Separate Peace,à ¢â‚¬  which is the reason this setting has such great importance. At the end of the night Finny tells Gene that he is his best pal. When Gene doesn’t say the same, it reveals that Gene may not truly feel the same. Another example of a setting that reveals the characters and events is the tree. Many important events take place at the tree. For example, one night Gene and Finny take a walk to the tree and climb it together. They then decide to form the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session.Finny, again showing his leadership, made the rule that he and the other new members of the society would meet every night, creating something fun for the boys; creating peace. Also at the tree, Gene shows a huge betrayal when he causes Finny’s fall, and also the climax of the novel. This happened because of Gene’s extreme jealousy of Phineas. The settings John Knowles includes throughout the book help the reader understand the characters and events that happened further in depth. The settings also show the main theme of the book; creating a separate peace for the boys of the summer of 1942.

Complete the Ethical Lens Inventory Essay

Over the past few years I have been in the ‘finding myself’ phase. I have always been a person to be analytical and constantly working things through in my head. As of recent, I have been meaning to find purpose and meaning for all things humane. I would guess in the pursuit of happiness as they say. I often find myself wanting to reach out and see what I can do in my own pursuit to help others along the way. After taking the Ethical Lens game I can most definitely identify myself with the Rights and Responsibility lens. At a young age, I was attracted to my neighborhood church. I remember waking up to dress and walk myself there, to be around others in the community coming together for united purposes. After reading this specific lens focuses its ideals as said ‘through Nature or given by God’ as the way for man kind to strive to abide. A secondary value of this lens is loyalty. Nowadays, I find myself having to think about how far one should take loyalty. I have been in many debates on fairness to others. Defending friendships or family to the point where I’ve lost a few friendships from debating what I thought was right in a situation and came off too strong. That point leads to my blind spot, which was identified in this exercise as the ‘Belief that motive justifies method’. Looking back I can agree that I have hurt people unintentionally with what I thought was fair but being too pushy or as said in the inventory, having the risk of being too bossy. Also, I find often have to send myself reminders of not to be so judgemental of others when they don’t live up to the expectations I believe they should have for their lives. Yes I know ‘I have some nerve’. I am glad this was also pointed out as a risk in the inventory as my vice. The Ethical Lens Inventory now solidifies areas in my life that I now know for sure deserves immediate attention if I want to move forward and have succesful relationshi ps. I have never taken an ethical inventory in such detail as  this. I am grateful for this experience to identify my strengths and weaknesses in this unique exercise.